Proud Mom Moment

While we were preparing for one of our evening walks around the block, Christina made a request.
"I some shoes".
We were ecstatic, as she had never put three independent words together before!
When she said, "I some" it was always with relation to food, as in, "I some" indicating the rice she wanted me to put on her dinner plate.
This time, she was indicating another type of need, using "I some". All of her other multiple word phrases have been learned in their entirety from us, like her favorites, "I don't want to", or "I don't like it".

"I some shoes" is totally unique for her, and a big milestone in her slow linguistic development. Her sisters, delighted, have given her a new nickname, "I some". We hope to respond to many more such requests in the future!
Nice job, Christina! We are all SO proud of you!
Photo credit: Grandma

Potty Training Journal

I have potty trained at least a dozen children, two as a mom, and many others when I operated a home-based daycare/ preschool. I can potty train kids who barely speak English, as I potty trained the children of Chinese scientists in my care. I can potty train active boys. So, why is my five year old Christina not trained?
One of the cardinal rules of potty training in the books I've read is readiness, shown by the child's ability to communicate. I've been waiting for this sign in vain with Christy, knowing full well she has been physically ready for two years. She is developmentally in her toddler 'no' stage, however, and I was waiting for this to pass. It isn't passing, and I'm tired of the questions from well-meaning family and friends. I read on blogs about other children with Down syndrome who were trained well before this, and so, I took the plunge.
How are we doing after two weeks? OK. If you consider that IF we remember to take Christy to the potty (the girls are in on this too) she usually goes number one. She has yet to tell us 'it's time to go' in any manner or form, and so we are the ones who are trained. This is exactly what I feared. But it IS summertime, and the best time to try this. I am not optimistic, but we will keep trying. And washing clothing!

Christina's Physical Therpapist, Denise

As a new mother of a child with Down syndrome, I was going through the emotional rollercoaster and lifestyle adjustments, and the first outside help to walk into our lives was Denise, the Physical Therapist. Patient and perpetually cheerful, Denise's enthusiastic encouragement worked miracles with the little baby who couldn't yet roll over.
Together they learned to sit up, crawl, stand up, walk, climb stairs, jump on one foot, jump on a trampoline, and now, ride her tricyle. They worked on her tummy strength, and coordination. Denise could cajole work out of Christina on the worst of days, and she was the one therapist whose name Christina could say, she called her 'niece'. We will all miss her sunny presence in our home, as Christina moves on to a school-based therapist, and wish her God's blessings.

Look, Mom, I can do it myself!