A little behind...

I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to post to my blog. I guess life gets in the way and we start to put smaller things on the back burner. There has been so many times I wanted to reach for my laptop and just write, but ended up falling asleep (because lets face it, sleep happens to be something I now treasure and milk up when I can). BUT, I made a promise to myself and to our boy Michael at New Years that I would start blogging again, so here I am!

Where do I begin?! An entire year has gone by and there are so many things I want to sit and fill you in on, but that would take days.. weeks... months! Michael has continued to THRIVE throughout all of 2014... reaching more milestones then I could have imagined. One of the biggest being WALKING! Our big boy started walking at the age of 20 months. Now, there are "time frames" in which MOST children with Down Syndrome start to walk and majority don't until at least age 2. We have our wonderful Physical Therapist Miss Nessa to thank for helping us reach this huge milestone. Michael now LOVES to keep us on our toes. He is receiving PT three times a week. Recently through Early Intervention, he has joined a Gymnastics class that is funded by the state of NY so we will be decreasing PT to twice a week. Michael absolutely loves his gymnastics class and enjoys being around the other children.

Michael also receives speech therapy, three times a week. Michael is definitely delayed in his speech, but as of recently has made such an improvement on making certain sounds and piecing them together with his signs. His first official word was PIZZA. Yup, Pizza. Typical first word for a male in my family; as they all love their pizza. Recently his favorite word is ByeBye! Michael mostly uses sign language to communicate with us. Some examples of what he can say are as follows: Mom, Dad, Eat, Drink, Milk, More, Yes, Please, Thank You, Bath, Fish, Book, Ball, Bear, Baby, Play, Music, Bubble.. just to name a few! Mike and I are avid ASL learners. I am hoping to take an ASL class at our local college, as I know that this will only help us communicate fully with Michael until he learns to piece actual words with the signs.

Additionally Michael receives OT once a week and also Special Instruction twice a week. A grand total of 9 in-home therapy sessions that last 45 minutes each. Michael attends a local program at a wonderful pre-school once a week. He has made many friends there and loves to socialize, learn & explore. I find that Michael really thrives in settings with other children his age. He also attends another group class during the week that involves arts & crafts, story time and music. Michael doesn't really get a lot of down time, but all of these programs and therapy sessions are what is helping our little fella thrive so much!

Now that Michael is two years old, we are starting to think of his future and where he will be attending pre-school. We have many options, which make my head spin. Michael will be eligible to graduate from Early Intervention next January, but if we choose to keep him in services he can stay in EI services until August 2016 and start preschool that September. Even though we have about a year I am already starting my research as to what is available for Michael and starting to list the pros & cons to each route. Once we start to get close to that time, I am sure I will be more aware as to what will be more beneficial for Michael; which would be to either attend a "typical" preschool setting and have therapists visit him at school OR attend a stated funded special education program.

I tried to keep this post as short as possible; as I hope to get back on here during the week so I can give you weekly updates of Michael. Those of you who are family and friends of ours, know that Michael is going to be a big brother this June! Mike, my husband, and I are so excited to give Michael a little brother and to add another member to our family. We know that Michael is going to be an amazing and VERY hands on big brother.

Last weekend we celebrated Michaels 2nd Birthday! It was a wonderful evening with our family and some of our close friends. We are SO thankful to have such supportive and loving people in our lives who adore our son.

Talk to you all soon!...

A Letter to Michael on his 1st Birthday

To my Dearest Michael Vincent,

A year ago today, you came into my life and I am forever changed. I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I love you. It's the kind of love that never stops growing; the kind that touches not only my heart, but each and every inch of me. The kind of love that gets me through each day and reminds me what my purpose is in this life.

You shine in absolutely every way. You are such a beautiful and inspirational baby boy. I am so proud of you. You have a HUGE fan base- including your grandparents, great grandma, aunts&uncles, cousins and friends who adore you to pieces.

You are stronger than anyone I know. You have turned me into one of the most patient and understanding people. I have learned to love whole-heartedly. To not let petty things get in the way of what really matters in our lives. You have taught me that in life there are no "limits" or "standards". You create your own.

You have no idea all the joy you bring into my life. Being your Mommy is the best job I could have ever asked for. I have never felt more blessed or honored. You have completely changed my relationship with Daddy. We thought we knew what love was before you, but now that we have you, the love and bond that we have, has grown stronger- it's unbreakable. We are a team and you complete us.

Right now you see the world as a beautiful place full of wonderful people. I only wish every person viewed life with this lens you have. I constantly pray that I can save you from the ignorance that you may someday face. Unfortunately, I know that is impossible and there will be a time you will be sad and not understand. Just please know that no matter what anyone says or whatever happens, Daddy and I will always be here to remind you that you are perfect in every single way and we wouldn't change a thing about you.

There is no stopping you from excelling in life. You are a go getter. You will achieve so many great things in your life and I will stand behind you in anything and everything you do. I will ALWAYS love you unconditionally. I will constantly push you to do the best you can. But let's face it, so far you have done that all on your own. Always remember to keep your faith in God above. It is he who creates our destiny and guides us on the mysterious journey we call life.

Keep shining on, my darling. I am forever wishing you all the happiness and good health in the world, especially today.

Happy First Birthday my sweet Michael- I love you to the moon and back times infinity.

Your biggest fan,
XoXo Mommy XoXo

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's been too long since my last post. A LOT has been going on within our family. Especially with our precious boy Michael. He will be TEN months on Christmas Eve, can you believe that?! We are happy to tell you how well he is doing. This baby boy never ceases to amaze us. He had a check up two weeks ago and came in at 17 lbs 8.5 oz & 28 1/2 inches long. Tall and skinny, just like his Daddy.   He has begun crawling and is all over the place. Currently, Michael is still reaching all the appropriate milestones and then some! We are so proud of him.

This post is to merely reflect on the past year. Michael came into our lives and we are forever changed. He has made us become stronger, wiser and happier then we ever thought we could be. He has been a huge part of the National Down Syndrome Society with being their cover baby and helping spread awareness, he is very involved with his local DS support group, therapy four days a week (whoa) and just landed a place with a modeling agency based out of NYC & LA. With only a short time of his life he has accomplished to surpass all things that could have been against him with his little *extras*. Like Katy Perry says, "baby you're a firework, come on show them what your worth, make them go "oh oh oh" as you shoot across the sky"... That is exactly what Michael Vincent is doing to everyone that knows him.  He's our little firework.

I constantly am questioned, "is he always this happy?!", well not exactly- but I enjoy telling everyone 98% of the time! Just like any other baby he can be stubborn and cry when things don't go his way, but overall he is one happy, smiley & giggly baby.  His favorite word the past few weeks is "Da Da". Mike is VERY thrilled to say the least. We all are.

The past few months have been hectic; heading back to grad school, Mike working 6 days a week, running into the City to see Michael's specialists, therapy sessions AND wedding planning- it sure is all very time consuming. I am happy to announce I am taking a brief hiatus from school until next fall. I want to take time to spend with Michael while he is young and help him reach his milestones (and plan our wedding, too). Thankfully I am fortunate enough to have a loving man who provides for us so I am able to focus on our family.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. I look forward to being able to update more often after the holidays.

Love,
The Delaney Family

Our *1st* Buddy Walk

Hi everyone! Those of you who are a part of our sons life or know someone with DS knows October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. This will also be the month that the Down Syndrome Organization we belong to will hold their annual Buddy Walk (our first walk).

I have designed "Team Michael's" shirts for our buddy walk and would like whoever is interested in joining in on our buddy walk or to maybe just buy a shirt to support our son to let me know. I will need to know how many you will be coming with and what size tee shirt you will need. We will have youth sizes XS, S, M, L and adult sizes in S, M, L, XL & 2XL.

All the information you will need can be found on www.dsahv.org. (Directions, Early registration, etc). !BY THE WAY! We are looking for some more sponsors- so if you or anyone you know would be interested in sponsoring our group, please let us know!

For any of you interested in also walking with us in the NYC Buddy Walk, that will be held on September 21 and is run by the NDSS. You can find further information on this walk at www.ndss.org.

I want to stress that all the money raised in these walks all go to proceeds for the NDSS or the local support group in which we are apart of. It helps our community have these great resources and also to raise money in research for Down Syndrome. The reason I am so educated today on DS is because of all the supporters we have throughout the world. Without all of you and your support, we wouldn't have such a great community.

I want to personally thank each and every one of you ahead of time for helping our family and for always supporting us. Michael does know how much he is loved and you can simply tell by the pure and effortless smile he shares with us each and everyday!

Looking forward to spending this special moment with all of you. Much love.

Believe

For those of you who are close friends and family- you all know about my obsession with turtles. Turtle newborn photography, turtle stuffed animals, turtle clothing, turtle bedroom, turtle toys, turtle books... it goes on.

A few of my family members make jokes about my turtle obsession; but tonight-through this post which is WAY overdue- I promise to prove that it is so much more than that. To some it may seem silly, but to me- the meaning behind the turtle in my life means more than you could imagine.

A month after I found out I was pregnant I asked Mike to take me to the NJ State Aquarium. While visiting I envisioned my life with my future baby. Someday taking them back to this very place. The very place that little did I know at the time, would have so much impact on my life. 

Before we left, I had to visit the souvenir shop and pick something out for my future little one. That is when I looked at a huge pile of stuffed animals and there it was- the sea turtle. The turtle that I fell in love with while walking through the exhibit. "Here Mike! There it is! This will be our baby's first stuffed animal!" 

So, you're probably wondering why this turtle has so much significance in my life. Well, the day I found out the odds of Michael having Down Syndrome, I went into his room and opened up the souvenir bag and grabbed the sea turtle. I wept all night long holding the turtle so tight. Praying and hoping that our baby would be okay and that God would keep him safe. 

From that night on the sea turtle slept with me each and every night. I named him peanut, which is how we started calling Michael "Pea". This turtle helped me through some of the darkest days by reminding me that I had such a beautiful future ahead of me.

When I was stuck trying to figure out what I could do for Michael's nursery theme I picked "turtles". It made perfect sense and I was so very excited because I had not known anyone who had done turtles. 

So, the reason for my blog tonight is to prove that this turtle fever has so much meaning in my life then just some silly obsession that everyone thinks I have.

When Michael was in the hospital getting testing done to evaluate if he was having seizures we ended up in a room with a distinct picture over Michael's crib. This picture was drawn and framed by a small child who was once on the floor. Of all the rooms that we could have been placed in, I know that God made sure that we ended up in this room. 

So please, take a close look at the framed picture from Michael's hospital room and tell me that this was not coincidence and that my baby definitely has someone special watching over him. That this turtle obsession I have truly has meaning to me and my son's lives. It is a pure act of God and brings so many happy tears to my eyes every time I am reminded of this picture. (FYI- Michael is currently seizure free!)

6 months already? Where does time go..

During the last two months a lot has changed for Michael. He has started physical therapy and doing quite incredible. He has mastered rolling over on both sides (front to back) and is beginning to bear a lot of weight on his arms and able to push up off of them. He is such a strong little boy. I always knew he would be. 

Although I knew he would be strong, there are few things that he is needing to work extra on- which are mostly all physical aspects. He tends to favor one side of his body (the right side). The therapist has him working on strengthening the left side of his body by simply bearing weight on his left shoulder by putting his arm on the ground and bearing his weight. Each week she is seeing a significant change and saying he is improving so quickly.

Michael is doing so well in all other aspects. Social, motor skills, etc- are all excellent. He is reaching every milestone, and then some! Our baby really is a go getter who has actually started the beginning phase of crawling! Can you believe that?!

Recently, he has found his inner voice. And no, it is not the sweet cute baby voice. He is finding it very funny to scream and yell at the top of his lungs. No, he isn't crying, upset or aggravated- he is simply just enjoying screaming at the top of his lungs. We are really hoping this is phase! But are finding it quite entertaining to say the least.


We spent a nice week with family from Florida that had not yet met Michael. It was such a nice time, and we were very sad to see them go back home! We recently spent a weekend down the shore with my parents and Michael loved spending time in the ocean and with his uncles and grandparents. He's had a few sleepover at Grandma's within the past couple of weeks, getting in lots of loving. I'm telling you that our son really lives the life. 

At his 6 month check up he weighed in at 15 lbs 8.5 oz. He had one oral shot and three injection shots. Additional to that he had blood taken. Results have shown that Michael's thyroid levels are just a little bit higher than a normal level. Instead of waiting until he turns one year old, they will test his thyroid again at 9 months. He will also be going to an eye specialist within the next month to make sure his vision is okay and to make sure he does not have any cataracts (Babies with DS are more likely to have this). Overall, our boy is very healthy and doing great.

Each and every day I am always working with Michael to make sure he is thriving in every way possible. It is very important to always challenge him and keep him working. It sure sounds like a lot and I'm sure there are people out there who wonder if this baby catches a break- yes he does, he naps four times a day and gets plenty of down time.

We are still waiting to hear back from the NDSS. I spoke to Vanessa last week and asked how everything was coming together for the magazine and brochure . I was told that they are still putting everything together and as soon as it was done I would hear from her. We wait every week to hear and can't wait to see our "famous" boy on the cover! 

Model life

Yesterday Michael had his first photo-shoot for the National Down Syndrome Society. He will be the cover baby for the New and Expectant Parent Magazine that is issued by the NDSS. We are beyond proud and excited and cannot wait to get some sneak peaks to share with all of you. He did absolutely wonderful at the shoot and was full of smiles and model poses for the wonderful Victoria Will.

We want to give a big shout out to Vanessa Quick at the National Down Syndrome Society who is the Director of Educational Planning for giving us such a wonderful opportunity and for choosing our family to be a part of something so big in the Down Syndrome Community. Mike and I have never felt so honored and proud. 

We look forward in always being the number one advocates for our son and helping as much as we can within the Down Syndrome community to help spread awareness. We love sharing how wonderful our lives really are with the beautiful *extra's*.

This is one "behind the scene" photo that Vanessa had taken during the shoot. 

Love life

Tonight has reminded me how much I love and appreciate everything I have in my life.

I came over a friends picture on Instagram of her 10 children on the beach for summer vacation. It brought back memories of when I was young. The joy I experienced then is the joy I experience now. My family would go to the beach every summer and spend a full week together. No interruptions. A time where we could bond and forget the world.

And that is what life is about. The no interruptions; the small moments that really mean so much. I cannot thank my family and friends enough for blessing me with such a beautiful life and for embracing my son and loving him to no end.

He is pure joy. He is beauty. He is everything I saw when I was young. He has come into my life without interruption and has shown me that I need to constantly remember that life has a mysterious way of always working things out. 

Tonight I am grateful. I am grateful for all of the beauty that life gives. I am grateful for the people I get to share my beautiful life with. I am grateful that my life is entirely full and that I'm not even sure how it gets any better from here (but it will). That gives me more joy and makes me so hopeful.

I wish for everyone to feel the joy that I feel in my life. To experience hardships, but to accept them with grace and patience. To know that in order to appreciate the good, you will always have to put up with "the bad". That in the end, everything has its meaning and your life will always be beautiful.

Time flies

Guess who's laptop finally got fixed? Oh yeah, that's right... MINE! I have every intention of updating daily/weekly. WOOHOO!


Our sweet, sweet boy is now four months old and living life like a king. He has been enjoying the beach, parties almost every weekend, Grandma & Grandpa's pool, day trips with Mommy & Daddy, Gymboree class, therapy sessions weekly and much more! Michael barely has time to "relax". He is always on the go!

In his down time, we love working on reaching milestones. Michael is able to hold his head all on his own and is beginning to tolerate more time on his tummy. He has been rolling over the past few weeks from his back to his side, and a few times all the way over onto his belly. We don't think that he is aware of just what he is doing yet, but I am sure within no time he will be rolling over onto his belly purposefully.

He responds very well to faces and enjoys having a "babble" conversation with "ooo's" & "gahhhs" with just about anyone he meets. He is an exceptionally happy baby who just loves being loved. Michael sleeps through the night (YAY!) and has been doing so since about two months of age. He has not mastered having bigger bottles at one time, so he is still eating about every two hours- but that's just fine. It is what works for Michael.

On Saturday June 29 he tried Rice cereal for his first time. It was very unsuccessful. Let's just say that I guess he thought it would make a very nice decoration for his onesie & bib. Day #2 of rice cereal was a little more successful, but it was very short lived.

Grad school is starting up again next week for me. It reminds me of how quickly these last four months have gone. I wish I could go back and replay all these memories that our family holds and relive them once more. It reminds me of how soon I will be going back full-time to school and I won't be able to spend all this precious time with Michael everyday. As much as I know this will help Michael and ultimately will make me very happy to teach and have my own career- it makes me sad in knowing I won't get to spend 24/7 with my sweet angel. It is important for me to count my blessings each and everyday and to always remember to treasure all these special moments we share. A baby has a special way of adding joy into each and every day and that is just what Michael does.

Our fella is getting so big!

It's been a few weeks since I have posted. We have been very busy between parties, therapy, mommy and me class, visits from friends and family and our getaways on the weekends. Michael is getting so big. Last week he had his three month check up and he weighed in at 11 lbs 15 oz and 23 inches. He is full of smiles all day long and loves to interact with others. I will update some more later, but for now enjoy the video! Much love!