Why today? Today marks the 21st day of the 3rd month of the year. A person that has Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, has 3 copies of their 21st chromosome. So the date chosen is 3/21.
9 years ago, I didn't know that this day would mean anything special to me. Now, I know that it's a day to spread awareness. I'm not interested in explaining to the world how Down syndrome makes my little girl different. Rather, I'd just like for those around her to know how she's like them.
Jennifer's a rambunctious 8 year old little girl that loves her family and friends. She's very blessed to have a huge family and lots of friends that love her too!
Her favorite thing to do is read. Yes, read! She can and does read just like you and me! In fact, she probably reads more for pleasure than we do on a typical day. For Jennifer, reading is a place she can go to do anything or be anything her heart desires.
Like most little girls her age, she loves to sing and dance. You can guarantee that if she's heard a song once, that second time she'll be singing along. She sings in the car. She sings when watching TV. She sings in the shower. There are times, she can be found singing even when she's on the potty.
Jennifer adores babies. She asks me almost everyday if I'm going to have a baby. She ays that she wants a baby brother. The gender choice is likely due to the fact that she LOVES her big brother, Jonathan, so much.
If, she had a choice, she would be raised on a farm with more animals than you could imagine. She loves any animal! Going to my parents' house is special to her because she gets to play with their chickens.
I could go on, but here are just a few things about my sweet girl.
HAPPY WORLD DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Rub-a-dub-dub
Jennifer is showering pretty much independently now.
I'd tried putting her in the shower once before, but wasn't successful in getting much accomplished independently. At that point, I took a step back and worked more on teaching Jennifer how to wash her hair, making sure it is really wet and making sure that she shampoos it all. I've also worked on her washing her entire body. In doing this, we name each body part as she washes. Almost like a check list.
Sunday night, we tried showering again. This time I only needed to start her water, put shampoo on her head, put body wash on her washrag and turn the water off. The next time, she was already turning off the water on her own. She is so proud and now loves to shower by herself! She's even been singing about each body part as she washes. :-) At least, I know that she's washing everything...even her arm pits!
I'd tried putting her in the shower once before, but wasn't successful in getting much accomplished independently. At that point, I took a step back and worked more on teaching Jennifer how to wash her hair, making sure it is really wet and making sure that she shampoos it all. I've also worked on her washing her entire body. In doing this, we name each body part as she washes. Almost like a check list.
Sunday night, we tried showering again. This time I only needed to start her water, put shampoo on her head, put body wash on her washrag and turn the water off. The next time, she was already turning off the water on her own. She is so proud and now loves to shower by herself! She's even been singing about each body part as she washes. :-) At least, I know that she's washing everything...even her arm pits!
Where are my keys?!?!?!?!
"Where are my keys?" were the words I asked Jennifer this morning, as we began the process of trying to get out of the house for school/work.
I had looked on the hook by the front door and triple checked my purse. I had also looked around the kitchen for places I might have dropped my house keys yesterday afternoon. No luck!
The good news...Jennifer knew exactly where the keys were. Yay! The bad news...The keys were under the house and it was storming outside! I'm not kidding.
So, in the pouring rain, I headed outside with an umbrella and flash light. I went to our access door in the backyard. There they were!! My keys were laying in Jennifer's new favorite place to explore.
She doesn't EVER actually go under the house. Luckily, she's afraid of the dark. She recently discovered the door and now wants to use it as her new hiding place.
We have a large rock in front of the door. One I thought was too heavy for her to move. WRONG! Time to add another lock to our house.
More good news....Jennifer remembered that she had left them there yesterday afternoon. We did a lot of fun things after school yesterday, attempting to get her out of the funk she was in. (She spent a good bit of the day bursting into tears for no apparent reason.) Typically, Jennifer would not have remembered something out of routine from the day before.
So, although I had to search for my keys on the way out the door for work... under the house...during a thunder storm and I ended up getting to work later than I wanted, my Jennifer was able to recall something she had only done one time and from more than 12 hours earlier! Woo hoo!
One of my favorite things about Jennifer is the never ending supply of surprises and first times. Each day brings something new and the excitement is never ending!
I had looked on the hook by the front door and triple checked my purse. I had also looked around the kitchen for places I might have dropped my house keys yesterday afternoon. No luck!
The good news...Jennifer knew exactly where the keys were. Yay! The bad news...The keys were under the house and it was storming outside! I'm not kidding.
So, in the pouring rain, I headed outside with an umbrella and flash light. I went to our access door in the backyard. There they were!! My keys were laying in Jennifer's new favorite place to explore.
She doesn't EVER actually go under the house. Luckily, she's afraid of the dark. She recently discovered the door and now wants to use it as her new hiding place.
We have a large rock in front of the door. One I thought was too heavy for her to move. WRONG! Time to add another lock to our house.
More good news....Jennifer remembered that she had left them there yesterday afternoon. We did a lot of fun things after school yesterday, attempting to get her out of the funk she was in. (She spent a good bit of the day bursting into tears for no apparent reason.) Typically, Jennifer would not have remembered something out of routine from the day before.
So, although I had to search for my keys on the way out the door for work... under the house...during a thunder storm and I ended up getting to work later than I wanted, my Jennifer was able to recall something she had only done one time and from more than 12 hours earlier! Woo hoo!
One of my favorite things about Jennifer is the never ending supply of surprises and first times. Each day brings something new and the excitement is never ending!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)