A River in Egypt

My gosh, it's been weeks since I've posted! I could go on about how busy it's been with the end of the school year or getting ready for vacation, or some other blather, but what it really boils down to is my baby is getting older and I'm in denial...deeeeeep denial...about the whole thing.

Suzanne turned 3 last Sunday. Her last day of baby school was Monday and her last speech/PT was Thursday. Now she enters the world of "Public School." It's just that she's been so protected within the Early Intervention sphere and especially at PRIDE that I'm having a little difficulty with the thought of my little precious mixing and mingling with kids who aren't like her. Reverse snobbery in a way.

Greg's mom came to see us for Suzanne's birthday, which was nice. I managed to get a cake made while they were out buying Pat a new car. We took a drive to try out the GPS system, went to have some Mexican food and just had a nice evening. Sunday was much the same. Here are some before/after pictures of Suzanne...

BTW, Pat--you should come see us more often. You are a good influence on your son. He went out and bought a headboard for the guest bed just because you were coming. If you came more often I would probably get all of my household projects done!!

I've got more pictures of Suzanne's last day at PRIDE coming--my photographer/husband hasn't had time to photoshop them yet. I really can't say enough about all the wonderful folks at PRIDE. They care so much about the little kids and it shows. Suzanne went to her preschool visitation this week and totally took over the joint. She blew away the 3 teachers with her independence and self assurance. They might have thought she was going to be a demure, sweet little girl, but they quickly figured out that Suzanne will keep them on top of their game because she demands excellence from everyone she meets. And she does it with a smile and a hug.

I may be in denial about Suzanne turning 3, but Suzanne is more than ready to go out and conquer the Washougal Preschool Program.

2 good days...

Suzanne's birthday is looming. She will be 3 on June 17th and I can hardly believe it. On her first birthday (when this picture was taken with her Aunt Susan) she couldn't even pull herself up on the furniture--now she's climbing to the ceiling. "To Infinity & Beyond!" as Buzz Lightyear says.

Yesterday she followed a 2-part instruction. We were in my bedroom and she kept trying to close the door on me. I told her, partly in sign, to leave the door open and find her brother. She had to think about it for a second, but then she did what I asked!! If I get a couple of these little victories every day, we'll really be making some progress.

She also invented a new game. She took her baby doll and stood her up against the wall. Then she took one of Kirk's baseballs and tried to play catch. Turns out that when the ball hit the baby, it rolled back to her. She played this way for quite a while. Then she decided to try whacking the baby's head with the ball. Good thing the baby has a hard head...

Today she is mad at me. She wanted to use her play table to climb to the top of her dresser, so her mean old mommy just took the legs off the table. If you heard a lot of booing and hooing from the direction of Washougal, that was her. She is now consoling herself by sitting on my bed and watching Martha Stewart. She chose the channel, not me. I think she is really starting to take after her Aunt Susie!

What's In a Name...

It is such an exciting moment in a parent's life when their darling child begins to speak. Kirk started talking in earnest at 18 months and has yet to shut up about anything. He is at ease in nearly every situation and is quite deft at expressing himself. In fact, he's yakking at me while I type this--it's all about the Relay for Life, which he and Greg participated in last weekend. They camped out all night and he played with his friends and slept under the stars, and checked out the luminaria, and played with his friends...yadda, yadda, yadda.

Suzanne talks a lot, but mainly in Russian. At least it sounds like Russian. She has a lot of single words, but doesn't put them together very much. In fact, her first word was "dada," which totally made Greg's day 2 years ago when she said it. She is learning everyone's name, too--except for mine. I don't know why she won't say "mama" because usually M sounds are easier. She says "me" and "maymen" which actually means amen. Gosh, she can say "Kirkie" which has got to be harder than "mama" and Ok for Oscar. She can even say Emmy (more Ms). Maybe it's because she's with me so much that I just blend into the scenery.

Whatever it is, I'm finding myself getting a little impatient at the wait. She's going to be 3 this month, which is astonishing. She's made tremendous progress in her life, with this one exception, so I shouldn't get too torn up about it. And it makes her daddy feel good every time she runs to the door to welcome him home after work. I should be content with that, right?

I've settled for a lot of things in my life, but this is not an area where I want to settle or make do. I want my daughter to recognize me as a person who is important to her, not just a presence in the background. I think a lot of women settle for being that presence in the background, but when you do that you're relegating yourself to the status of the furniture or the wallpaper. You start to become invisible to others and to yourself. The old saying is that children should be seen and not heard--it doesn't say anything about mothers...

Suzanne Van GO!

Want to know what awful thing Suzanne did yesterday? Well, I'm not going to tell you!! It was such a horror that I don't want to relive it. Suffice it to say that while the floor is now clean, I will be chipping the dried pancake batter off the kitchen chairs and an end table for awhile longer.

The good news is that she may have some artistic talent. The "finger paints" on the end table are nice and swirly if you don't take into account the actual medium...

Needless to say, this is what I looked like yesterday. In fact, this is how I look on most days anymore. The Makeover Queen needs her own makeover...

I think that there is a book missing in my repertoire of Down Syndrome material. Most of what I've seen talks about the physical symptoms of DS or the mental issues or other clinical stuff. Then there are the plethora of "feel good" books about what a wonderful and uplifting privilege it is to have a child with DS. That is true--it is a wonderful privilege to have a DS child. To a point...

I have yet to find a book that talks about navigating the day-to-day, mind boggling, spirit crushing onslaught of activity that I find myself inundated with. (Sorry about ending the sentence with a preposition--I really couldn't care less.) The point is, there should be some kind of manual or guidelines that lays things out. Some helpful hints like Heloise used to dispense...

For example, "Beware of hardwood floors. They do not provide resistance when child is learning to crawl and when they can walk, hardwood is merely another item on which to bonk one's head." Or how about, "At first birthday, gather all relatives and friends to help install ceiling shelves. Begin moving all items, including cotton balls, liquids, and kleenex to upper storage, completing task on or before 2nd birthday."

It should also contain a list of things you should get by the caseload, such as packing tape and bungee cords. You will use these to tape and strap shut EVERYTHING that cannot be suspended from the ceiling. And let us not forget the doorknobs. If you have the lever kind that are so popular now, plan on replacing each and every one of them with the round, slick kind. And put deadbolts or chains on every door, inside and out. Step stools or kitchen ladders--get rid of them immediately!!! I don't care if your spouse has to toss you in the air like a cheerleader to get the olive oil off of the ceiling shelf--DS kids do not need any help in the climbing department.

And chairs or sofas in general--you might want to consider replacing your furniture with a mattress and some beanbag chairs.

Well, that's all for now folks. I'll get started on the topic of Yard & Garden Safety at another time!