Happy Birthday Suzanne

We had a lovely birthday party for Suzanne. She spent the day telling everyone that she is "Four!" It was fun to watch her because she usually hangs around the edges of the kids playing, but on Saturday she was right in the middle of things. We had a rousing game of Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty, which she wanted to play over and over. She's never had a party where she was the center of attention, so it was quite fun for her.

I really wanted her to have a girly party. To be quite honest, part of it is mother's guilt. I still feel guilty that we didn't beat the statistics when she was born. A 44 year old woman has a 1 in 25 chance of having a child with Down Syndrome and Suzanne was the 1. Her birthday is a time of mixed emotions for me--happiness at all the growth and progress that she's made and sadness that her life isn't just like everyone else's. I don't know if you ever get over feeling that even though you had no control over it, you let your child down in some way.

We are going to a DS playgroup for preschoolers today. Kirk loves to go almost more than Suzanne and just as she believes that all of his friends are her friends, he believes that all of her friends are his friends too. He does not discriminate and believes that segregation of any kind is evil. I'm so grateful that when my mothering skills aren't what they should be, Kirk is there to pick up the slack.

Summer

Today was Suzanne's last day of school--summer vacation has officially begun! For some strange reason she just walked past me and whacked me with her Curious George. Sign of things to come?

Here is a partial list of all the things Suzanne has learned at or around preschool this year:

1. Shoes stay on--all the time. On the bus, at circle time, out on the playground, on the bus.
2. Lots of songs--Wheels on the Bus, Row Your Boat, Baby Bumblebee, Twinkle Twinkle and the ones that she makes up on her own.
3. Clean up--we make it easy with a big plastic tub to put stuff in. She also knows that baby wipes can fix those "personal" stains that a girl encounters now and again.
4. Waving--at the bus driver, her teachers, other kids at school. Everyone likes it when Suzanne waves!
5. Kleenex--she loves a clean face. Too bad Kirk never learned this lesson.
6. ABCs--she made it all the way to G yesterday, with a pause at LMNOP and ZEEEEEEE.
7. Colors--fortunately she colors a lot using green and yellow, which are daddy's faves.
8. Sympathy--if one of your classmates is crying it is a good idea to give them a hug and pat on the back.
9. Better table manners--no more sippy cups for Suzanne and she prefers the real forks and spoons.
10. How to group objects together, line them up, and count them. This works for toys, books, baby dolls, potato chips and shoes....which should stay on...maybe we still need work on No. 1.

We are having her first kid birthday party tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. Our theme is Hello Kitty, which we love. I'll post some pictures after the event.

Big Juicy and the Froggy

As I write this evening, Kirk and Greg are at a Portland Beavers baseball game in a "luxury" box. With my one good eye (and I do only have just the one) I am watching hunky Robert Redford in a forgettable 1970s era movie, but mainly I'm just watching Robert Redford. Suzanne is snoozing in the most uncomfortable chair in the house. She's not quite in the froggy position, but almost. If she goes full froggy, she'll probably roll out and then there will be hell to pay.

I haven't blogged in awhile because May was a horrendous month in terms of getting through the day without some badness from Suzanne. I've spent most of the month cleaning one thing or another and it still doesn't look like I've done a darned thing. It's like treading water--you may not actually sink, but you don't make any headway either. You're just out there hoping that a boat will come along before the sharks do.

She's so sweet when she sleeps. She snorts a little (tiny nose, easily clogged) and rolls around quite a bit. She's a good snuggler, but hot. Both the kids prefer to sleep next to Greg because he's an ice cube and appreciates the heat.

Oooh, Robert is trying kill a hit man with a fireplace poker--his longish 70s hair is falling over his eyes. Mmmmmmmm....

This child is such a puzzle. Some things she learns quickly, others not so much. The things I really want her to learn, she doesn't (potty training, complete sentences). Other things she picks up very quickly. It's a puzzle and I am hoping to solve it sooner rather than later. If only I could see inside her little head to figure out how things work in there. I don't want to change anything about her--but I could sure use a GPS.

I am thankful for a few things, though. I'm thankful that she has the ability to show love. I'm thankful that she is healthy and physically fit. I'm thankful that she is sociable and caring and that she has sympathy for those in distress. I love her beautiful smile and the way she squinches her eyes up when she's really happy about something. She is sunshine and she just radiates.

Except for this moment. She just woke up long enough to complain and remove her shoes and socks. It's jammie time, so I'd better get to it. I like this part--when she's really snuggly and just wants me to hold her and make everything nice. She's learned to give sloppy kisses--big juicies. I suppose that is an acquired taste, but I really like them...when her face is clean and free from snot, that is. She's not quite 4--I'm still working on cleanliness...