Update from ...Canadian girls

[Guest guest]

I have not sent an update in a while… sorry about that.

a (T21) & Tianna turned 4 last week. They started Junior kindergarten in

September (the first Pre school year in the Canadian school system) and things

are going great. They are in the same class. a participates in most

activities with the class but also has an EA (which she shares with another girl

).

a is now wearing glasses (-2.5). She likes to wear them and has a funny way

to " readjust them " (palms straight on the lens!). We found this great site

(specs4us – located in the US) –they make have a line of frames ('s world)

designed for kids/ people with Down syndrome (they also look like up side down

glasses to accommodate the lower nose bridge).

We attended our first Down syndrome conference (the Ontario DS conference) and

loved it! It was held at Great Wolf Lodge (bonus!) and between the 2 of us we

attended 4 workshops. We learned something from every single one and met a few

new families (including one with identical twin girls). We also met Sujeet Desai

(he was one of the guest speakers). Sujeet is a remarkable young man with Ds

(some probably heard of him or watched him on Oprah a few years ago) and his

speech and musical program (he played 3 instruments for us and briefly serenaded

a) were absolutely inspiring.

a goes to swimming lessons (LOVES the water). Last week she jumped from the

trampoline twice (after the first try she couldn't stop saying " again!). We also

enrolled her for downhill skiing lessons. Our PT said that there is no reason

for her to start the same time her sister starts (which is the first week of

Jan). We have a future Olympic champion in the making!

a dropped her signs and is now using one word or 2 words sentences. She also

has a 4 word sentence that she uses quite often: " I CAN DO IT " ! God forbid you

interfere! Ha!

She can be extremely sweet but stubborn too! There are days when she is visiting

" the terrible two's " and is also...staying there for a bit. Other days you can

only wonder if she is part human, part angel ( probably also part …fish)

We're busy but loving it. It's the " good busy " . When I look at my girls I know I

can't ask for more. They are more than a dream come true. But now and then I

could use some sleep. Can anybody describe to me how " sleeping in " feels? Will

that ever happen again?

If you would like to get more info on the glasses for Ds or read about our first

day of school, The Ds conference, B-day cakes or just " visit " with us please

check our blog.

http://hopelovejoyandalittleextra.blogspot.com/

I have also added a few pics to our album (a & Tianna+ Alyssa)

Take care,

Anca

Mommy to

a (T21) & Tianna (Nov 2007)

Alyssa (2004)