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!