Our Bundle of Joey

My Beautiful Boys

2012-01-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Zac had his first photo shoot a few weeks ago for his birth announcements. Like his big brother he takes pretty cute pictures. Thanks to Chris Henning for the beautiful pictures.

Will be posting pictures from Christmas soon. I promise. As you can probably imagine, things have just been a little crazy around here.

Zac Clayton

2011-12-03T19:51:00.001-08:00

On November 18, 2011 Zac Clayton was born via scheduled c-section. He weighed 9 pounds 8 oz (thank goodness for the c-section). It was no wonder he was so big...because I was huge. Here I am going into the hospital.

At 12:26 p.m. Zac was delivered screaming. He was high up in my uterus still and was not planning on coming out any time soon on his own. My actual due date was December 2 but he was delivered two weeks early due to my high blood pressure.

Our first kiss.

Zac with his proud daddy.

Zac is a total snuggle bug. He loves being held and cuddled.

After four days in the hospital we went home but Zac had to be readmitted on Thanksgiving day because of jaundice.

After 24 hours under the lights however, his bilirubin levels were down and we were able to take him home again. Here he is with proud big brother Joey heading home from the hospital the second time.

We are slowly adjusting to life with two kids. It helps that Zac is a good sleeper (he has only been waking once during the night to feed) and we are so proud of how gentle Joey has been with him.

Joey has been a great big brother. He has only tried poking Zac in the eyes a few times.

I did not think it was possible, but I am in love all over again!

Getting Ready for Baby Zac

2011-11-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that baby Zac will be here in about 2 weeks (if not sooner). I am so tired of being pregnant...but Joey seems to be enjoying the process. Especially the boxes that Zac's things arrive in.

Poor guy has no idea how life is about to change...so I let him have his fun.

Summer Vacation 2011

2011-09-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue. For our vacation this summer we went to San Diego for a week to visit my parents. We had a busy busy week filled with the beach, legoland and the San Diego Wild Animal/ Safari park. Here are some of the pics

Joey and his Grandma...he looks so big in this picture!

Daddy getting Joey ready for the water

All the mess of going to the beach is totally worth it when you see the look on his face when he first touches the water with his toes!

Some of the last shots of our family of three!

Joey running away from the waves...he was still not a big fan of the ocean. Oh well maybe next year!

This was the only way he tolerated being in the water.

Joey and his baby brother Zac (still inside but looking quite prominent in this picture).

This was the first trip that Joey got into physically playing (like a big kid) with his cousins. It was so cute...here he is trying to lift his cousin Ellie by the waist.

And jumping on top of both Walker and Ellie!

They were all having so much fun together.

It was awesome watching them play together so nicely.

Of course Joey got in some time in the kiddie pool in grandma's driveway too.

It was a way bigger hit than the ocean.

And then we met my sister and her family and the Sanchez family at legoland. Here Joey is on his first ride.

And with Daddy on the safari

Watching Sofia and big brother Mateo interact...Joey was mesmerized by them.

Joey and Sofia having a snack while the others went on a bigger rollercoaster.

Joey and Cousin Ellie exploring.

Joey and cousin Walker in kiddie jail.

Joey on a train ride

and enjoying it big time!

Joey at the controls of the airplane ride.

Let me tell you this place is not compatable with pregnancy...in addition to all the walking, the rides were not all that comfortable with the baby bump...but Joey was having a blast.

Here we are with my sister's family.

Tony squeezed in to another ride with Joey.

Tony and my sister's husband Mac on one of the (few) more adult rides.

It was cool how many characters and things they had there made out of legos. Here we are in the star wars area.

Then we took Joey to the San Diego Wild Animal park...which is now called the safari park. Joey got to feed some goats...

and the lorikeets

Joey was fascinated by the lorikeets.

My favorite part (after all of the walking) was the tram ride through the natural habitats. Joey missed out.

To him this was a lovely opportunity for a nap.

But then we got to do one of his favorite things...ride the carousel.

He so loves this!

I know it is hard to tell that he is having a good time here.

Lastly we got to help Ellie celebrate her fourth birthday with a pool party. I love how all the little girls cling to Tony. I hate to break it to him but we are going to have to try once more for a little girl.

Joey enjoying his cupcake.

Joey getting to enjoy a little time with grandma before we left.

And last but not least our little angel keeping himself amused on the long long car ride home.

Joey's First Pony Ride

2011-07-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

Joey had his first pony ride at the State fair this past weekend. It was a huge hit. Unfortunately my camera battery ran out so all I have are a couple of cell phone pics.

But trust me...he enjoyed it so much that I promise there will be more pony rides and therefore more pony pics in the near future. I am even foreseeing a future birthday party with a pony!

When the short ride was over he held on to the saddle for dear life and said "Noooooooo!" I was willing to buy him another round....but for the record, Daddy said no.

Water Therapy

2011-07-08T19:33:00.001-07:00

Tony takes Joey to water therapy every Friday with Joey's regular PT Michelle. I know it is hard to tell (sarcasm) but I think Joey really enjoys it.

Thankfully his love of water therapy has led to a love of swimming and the water in general. I will have to post some of our other summer water pics later. I have a ton of catching up to do. I totally forgot how exhausting pregnancy is. We are 19 weeks today, however, so about half way there!

Will He Be Like His Big Brother?

2011-05-25T18:44:00.001-07:00

Last week we found out we are having another boy! Although I thought I wanted a girl...I am thrilled! But I can't help but wonder how much or little he will be like his big brother. We also learned that this baby does not have Down Syndrome or any other Trisomy. How much of Joey's personality is shaped by Down syndrome? Will this little boy be as silly as his big brother?

Yes that is my underwear...clean underwear...and it is one of his favorite things to play with these days.

How much will they look alike?

So many questions and it feels like we have sooooo long to find out the answers. Until then we will just enjoy Joey!

April 2011 Easter Party and Easter

2011-05-02T18:19:00.001-07:00

Despite the morning sickness and fatigue, April still managed to be quite a busy month for us. As we have finally gotten more settled in the new house, I decided to host a Music/Easter Egg Hunt Playdate for Joey and some of Joey's friends. Here are some of the pics (better late than never) and some from our Easter festivities.

Joey helping himself to the snacks to make sure that they are ok for his guests.

And I don't know if it was the small group, or the fact that he was tired, but Joey got really into the music this time and even sat right up front for most of the session.

Little Kassidy was quite facinated with Joey (he better get used to it with those eyes of his!)

He was not sure how to take it.

After the music we had lunch and hid easter eggs outside for the little ones. Joey caught on to the idea of picking up eggs quite quickly.

Here he has one in each hand

I cannot believe how much more like a kid (and less like a baby) he has become over the last few months.

An action shot...

Thanks to all of our friends who were able to make it out for the afternoon! we had so much fun sharing our new backyard with them for a little Easter fun.

Of course the night before Easter we had to color some eggs....I almost didn't do it this year because I was afraid Joey would just want to stick his hands in the dye and pull the cups over.

Of course he tried.

And then Easter morning he climbed out of our bed and made his way downstairs before Mommy could pull herself out of bed (not able to do that very quickly these days unless I want to puke). Ten minutes later when I got downstairs, he had found his easter basket and was playing with it so cutely!

The Easter Bunny also brought him a nerf sword...

And an battery operated tooth brush...

Showing off those pearly whites!

And it would not be Easter without a little chocolate...Joey got a few marshmellow bunnys. After eating one..he promptly handed me another to open for him!

And then Joey's cousins came over for Easter dinner. It was so cute how nicely he shared his toys with them!

So those were the main events in April! maybe this month I will be a little better with timely posting..probably not...but it is good to have goals...right?

Interpreting Joey

2011-04-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

So speech has been one of those areas that we have been most concerned about in terms of Joey's development. He has been making great strides in gross and fine motor skills but speech has been the area in which Joey has had the most delay.

He communicates with sign language, and has a vocabulary of 30-40 signs. He did not babble or talk much until recently. Now he says "da da"

"pa pa" (for my dad)

"gah" (go)

"buh buh" (bubbles), "ball"

"kitty," "blah" (for "blake" our baby sitter's son" and a few others. But like all Moms...I have been dying to hear him say Ma Ma...and this week he did! It took so long to interpret this because unbeknown to us, he was substituting a "b" sound for the "mm" sound. Instead of ma ma, he was calling me "ba ba." I thought he wanted a bottle (maybe I am a little slow) And looking at me like "Duh!" when I would keep saying "ma ma." He totally believed he was saying it. But this week he did it for real! I have been waiting to hear those words in that little voice for over two years now! I am sooooo proud of him.

(Here we are on the gondola going up to Heavenly on a recent trip to Tahoe.)

It is funny though how it all of a sudden clicks for us ... the meaning of the "words" he is using... For instance for months we thought Joey was saying "kitty" all of the time...and he does say "kitty" when he sees our cats or a picture of a kitty in a book...but what he was really saying when we thought he was randomly saying "kitty" (with no kitty in sight) was "Joey" but pronounced "gheey." Silly us... who knew! We just needed to learn to interpret Joey. He will now fill in the blank when we say "who does Da Da love" ...he points to himself and says "gheey" I will have to get a picture...it is too cute!

In other news we have finally moved! (hence the unintended blog pause of over a month here) It is soooo wonderful being out of that two bedroom condo and into a 5 bedroom house...

and it could not have happened at a more appropriate time because I am pregnant again! It is still early...only 6 weeks...but I am sick as a dog and my HCG levels were really good so we are cautiously optimistic that this one will take....Prayers for us please...and more to come soon!

Joey's 2 Year-old Photos

2011-02-28T15:52:00.000-08:00

We had local photographer, Michelle Marrone, take Joey's 2 year-old photos in Old Town Sacramento. It was a blast, and the pictures came out great. Here are a few (ok a lot) of my favorites.

Thanks again Michelle...we had a blast and we love the pictures!

Birthday Cake Done Right!

2011-02-25T19:59:00.001-08:00

Joey's second birthday was a blast. (I will try and post pictures of the party later) but for now...check him out showing us how to do birthday cake right.
This was at party number 1 with his friends at Funtastic.

And then on his actual birthday, we had to get him another cake.

And if you think he got into the cupcakes at his party...wait to you see what he did with this cake!

Warning...these get messy!

Yes...he wiped a handful down his face!

By the time he was done there was icing in the carpet...

Dripping down the wall...

But look at that face!

He was having so much fun!

The new header is just a teaser. We had some pictures taken in Old Sacramento for Joey's 2nd Birthday by Michelle Marrone. She is awesome! cannot wait to share more!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

2011-02-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today our bundle of joy surprised us...five weeks early...and changed our world forever! For twelve hours after he was born we had no idea he had Down syndrome. He was our first baby and we had no idea that he looked any different from any other newborn.

And even after we found out about the Ds the next morning...we accepted it pretty quickly...and now...much like in those 12 hours after he was born...when we are not going to doctors appointments and therapies... we rarely think about or even "see" his Ds. He is simply our beautiful baby boy!

It is amazing how much he has grown and changed in two years! We had a party for him on Sunday. Many of his friends were there. I will have to post more pics of the party later. But here he is wearing, I mean enjoying his cupcakes.

We love you little man and are so proud of all the strides you have made in two years! More to come on that later as well...but for now Happy 2nd Birthday Joey!

Tissue Anyone?

2011-01-23T09:31:00.001-08:00

We are sooooo proud of Joey's progress with walking before his second birthday! But along with the walking comes a whole new level of things Joey can get into. Lately he climbs the couch....and from there he can reach everything on the endtables and back of the couch (places I used to consider as "safe") where he can reach things like the box of tissues. He used to eat them...now he just takes them all out of the box and spreads them around.

The worst part is...

because it is so fun watching him do this...

I am more inclined to grab the camera then I am to stop him...

Nothing seems to make him happier than making a huge mess for us...

Wiped out (literally) from all that fun!

This was almost as fun as tearing apart toilet paper in the bathroom.

And now that he stands so well he is comfortable reaching for new places he couldn't reach when he needed his hands down lower to steady himself. Like reaching the counter in the kitchen.

Are there no safe places anymore?

Somebody's Starting to Walk!

2011-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Monkey Hat (and other news)

2011-01-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

Is this a cute hat or what!

One of the attorneys I work with, Serena, made Joey this adorable monkey hat for Christmas. As you can see from the pics he really likes it!

Serena is so talented! Thanks girlfriend!

I also thought I should address something I alluded to in my last post...Joey becoming a big brother someday. For those friends who only keep up with family news via the blog...we are actively trying to make Joey a big brother. I want so badly for him to have a sibling! However, this has proven to be a bit more difficult of an endeavor than I anticipated. There was the ectopic pregnancy in June and more recently... I had a miscarriage at about 8 weeks into a pregnancy this past December. I had not blogged about that pregnancy because...well your supposed to wait until after the first trimester in case you miscarry...Right?

Well I don't agree with that old social norm anymore. If you keep early pregnancy to yourself then you end up suffering alone when there are difficulties with it...and I need the support of my family and friends in this endeavor!

So in the future I want to be more forthcoming with such news...even if it does not work out.

So yes...our plans are to make Joey a big brother this year!

and we will keep working on teaching him how to be gentle with his baby doll!

Promised Pictures From The Holidays

2011-01-13T16:14:00.001-08:00

At last...here are some of the pictures from Christmas 2010 that I have been meaning to post. If only I were not soooo tired all of the time. Anyway... As you can see from the numerous pictures below, we had a wonderful time with my family down in San Diego.

But before I get to those I wanted to share a few more pictures and talk about Joey's visit with Santa. As I mentioned before, Joey was not the slightest bit intimidated by Santa...in fact he was not bothered a it at all.

Behind us (in the 40 minute line we waited in) there was a family with a 7 year-old boy who I am pretty sure had Ds too...but I was not 100% certain so I did not raise the subject in the short conversation I had with his mother. He was a beautiful boy and I tried to engage him in conversation when I was trying to decide whether he had Ds or not. He was fairly quiet and was (sadly) very hard to understand when he spoke...but he was so sweet and loving with his mother and 11 year-old sister...and when he smiled he had the beautiful almond shaped eyes that I see when Joey smiles (and which I love so much about Joey when he smiles). I wanted to say something but was afraid of being wrong and offending her. Now that I think about it there were so many ways I could have brought it up but I totally chickened out. Oh well...next time I will know what to say and do because I have played the situation out in my head a thousand times since.

When we got down to San Diego Joey was fascinated with the Christmas tree. We did not get one this year because we are still in the two bedroom condo and there simply was not a place we could put it while maintaining some separation from Joey's play areas (and I did not want to be yelling "no" at him all the time).

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house with my two sisters, my sister's family and my aunt and cousin. Joey looks like such a big boy here!

Here we are about to have Christmas Eve dinner, just hanging out with my Dad (pa pa).

Opening gifts on Christmas Eve. As you can see Joey got into the gift opening...although I think he enjoyed the paper, bows and sitting on the boxes more than the gifts themselves.

And here Joey is getting to see his kitchen set from Grandma and Pa Pa on Christmas morning.

Of course he got a few accessories (such as stainless steel pots and pans and fruits and veggies...lots of pieces to spread all over the house). Funny how he knows exactly what to do with the food and the bowls, spoons and cups.

Our little family on Christmas morning.

Christmas day we went over to my sisters, Auntie Cara's house. Joey was being silly while playing with his cousin Ellie.

And he loved sitting in this little chair...we got some animated faces from him in the chair.

Silly Joey...

On the drive home (all 500 miles of it) Joey was playing nicely (sort of) with his baby doll. The doll was a Christmas present from my Aunt Jonni. We are hoping to teach him how to be gentle with a baby...as you can see it is going to take some work.

He also enjoys poking its eyes....we have a lot of work to do before Joey becomes a big brother someday.
Once we got home, Joey still enjoyed playing with his kitchen....

Babysitter Update

2010-12-31T10:06:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about 2010 was some of the people we met. Not only the Sisters we had the pleasure of meeting through the Ds sisterhood and their beautiful babies, but also our new babysitter. When Jen told us she was adopting Sofia early this year and we realized that we were going to have to find a new babysitter for Joey, we were terrified that we would not be able to find someone that loved, and took as good of care of Joey while we work, as Jen did. Fortunately, our fears were unfounded.

Shannon has been watching Joey since April of 2010 and (although we miss Jen), we are very fortunate to have connected with Shannon and her family. Joey seems very happy there. Check him out with his new buddies, Shannon's son Blake and Gia (one of the little girls Shannon also watches).

We know that Shannon and her family will be a part of our family for years to come. Shannon's son Blake is only a few weeks younger than Joey and Gia is about a year old.

As you can see from the pictures, Joey enjoys spending four days a week at Shannon's, playing with Blake and Gia...

and the bunnies!

And although I would love to be there with him...knowing Joey has always been well cared for and happy (both with Jen and now with Shannon) while we work makes being away from him so many hours a week (somewhat) bearable.

Happy New Year to everyone and I promise to post more Christmas pics and a 2010 year in review real soon!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T10:20:00.001-08:00

We went down to San Diego for Christmas. It was an all around really nice Christmas. Here are a few of the pictures....I will add more later this week.

Here Joey and I are on Christmas Eve.

With Tony...

Here Joey is Christmas morning with his new kitchen set. Thanks Grandma and Pa Pa...it was a huge hit and I am excited to get it home. I hope this becomes his new obsession (instead of emptying my kitchen cabinets!).

We hope everyone else had a nice Christmas as well!

Santa Clause

2010-12-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here is the official picture with Santa Clause. I was shocked he did not scream!

Thankful

2010-11-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we have a lot to be thankful for. Our health, family, friends. But most of all I am thankful for Joey. And I am thankful that he is making the strides that he is. Check him out

Yep he is one step closer to walking on his own!

Tahoe & Other (older) Stuff

2010-11-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we met my parents up at Lake Tahoe. We had a really fun weekend.

Joey and his Daddy!

Me, Mom, Dad and Joey.

The whole family out at Emerald Bay.

Joey playing with a slinky in the room.

My mom finally gave me a cd that had some pictures from trips to San Diego and Vegas earlier this year.

Here are some of my favorite photos from her camera (yes they are a bit of a flashback)
Here is a pick from Easter morning (Easter 2010)

Checking out the contents of his basket on Easter morning.

Joey with the Easter Bunny.

And not sure what to do with Grandma's ferrets.

I just love his face in this one.

These are from our trip to San Diego in August.

Coming next time....pictures (or video) of Joey litterally one step closer to walking! We are soooo proud of his progress!

Little Monkey (Halloween 2010)

2010-11-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Holidays get better and better as Joey gets older. This Halloween was no exception. Whereas last year he just sort of was there.... this year he was an active participant in the festivities! On Saturday we got to carve pumpkins.

Joey was concentrating hard on those gooey seeds...trying to build up the courage to touch them.

There he goes. Getting braver!

Ready to dive into Daddy's big pumpkin.

The finished products. The little one on the left is the one I carved inspired by Joey...the big one is the scary pumpkin by Tony.

After an awesome Halloween playdate Sunday morning (pictures to come later), Joey got to go trick-or-treating.
But not before we took lots of pictures. Here is our little monkey.

I am finding more difficult these days to get a picture of him actually looking at the camera because he is so busy.

And unfortunately he would not make the monkey sounds (and associated adorable face) that we have been practicing for weeks.

Oh well...he was still adorable.

Trick or treating with Daddy.

Why a monkey you ask?

I got the idea from Joey's choice of ambulation these days... and he did not disappoint. Here he is chasing the other kids up the driveway on his hands and feet...just like a monkey!

Could he be any cuter? He insisted on going up to the door on his own!

He was so determined. After about 25 minutes however, we were tired and Joey wanted to check out his candy.

At last he got to sample it!

Cannot wait until next year! By then he ought to be running up to the door on two feet!

Step Up For Down Syndrome 2010

2010-10-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

As Down Syndrome Awareness Month wraps up, I am happy to have a moment to post pictures of the Step Up For Down Syndrome walk we participated in earlier this month. It was a terrible day weather wise...but nonetheless a blast because we were amongst our growing DS family. This year, instead of forming our own team, Tony, Joey and I joined the DS Mama Sisterhood team. Unfortunately it was too hectic to get a picture of the entire group (or even the kiddos together) this year. Anyway here are the pictures I was able to get. Between the rain, a baby who no longer stays on the blanket and trying to socialize with everyone, however, I did not get too many photos.

Joey and Daddy.

Joey and Mama.

Joey all ready for the walk.

Here are some of Joey's friends that were at the walk.

Adorable little Delilah.

Cute little Sofia enjoying her first DS walk.

Beautiful Cassidy.

Joey enjoying a chocolate chip cookie after the walk.

And at last, there is Joey hanging out with Sheridan on the rainbow blanket Joey and his friends were all pictured on last year.

Anyway...wish we could have gotten a picture with all the sisters. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Joey Steps Up His Gross Motor Game

2010-10-21T17:25:00.001-07:00

Joey has been stepping up his gross motor skill game lately. He is now standing up in the middle of the room with no assistance. And he is pleased with himself when he does!

He literally went from using my leg or the wall one day...

Ignore the huge strawberry stain he is sporting in this photo. He received a change of clothing a short while later.

to getting up without it in the middle of the room the next. It was awesome.

Here's to Joey!

He is really making such great strides these days. We are so proud of him and we know he will be walking in no time at all. And I promise...next post will be the Step Up For Down Syndrome walk photos.

My Punkin in the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T13:18:00.001-07:00

We took Joey to Fog Willow pumpkin farm on Saturday so he could pick out a pumpkin for Halloween. It was a beautiful day and I think he had a blast.

Joey finally found his Joey sized pumpkin

And here is the sleepy baby in the car when we were all done. Love those sleepy eyes!

I have so much catching up to do. Including pictures from todays Step Up For Down Syndrome (Sacramento's version of the Buddy Walk) that we participated in this morning. I will try to post more later this week.

Ladies Man

2010-10-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here Joey is last Saturday at Gracie's 2nd birthday pancake party with some of the ladies.

From left to right we have Charity, Faith, Gabby, Joey in the middle, Gracie and Mikaya. We love all of these beautiful girls (all of whom are sporting an extra chromosome) and I just love Joey's excitement of being in the middle of them!

Wordless Wednesday (Sheridan's Birthday Party 8/21/10)

2010-09-29T08:19:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the beautiful pictures Lisa! cannot believe how grown up our little ones look compared to around this time last year!

Just for fun...check out Joey and Sheridan last September!

What a difference! even with respect to Sheridan's tolerance of Joey! Notice how close he got to him in the pictures above!

Folsom Lake (September 11, 2010)

2010-09-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while... and I have a lot of cathching up to do. But we are ok...nothing more severe than a cold anyway... just busy. On Saturday September 11, 2010 we took Joey out for his first boat trip on Folsom lake. It was a beautiful day and I think Joey really enjoyed the experience. Here Joey is asking if he can drive before we got him bundled in the little life vest I spent all morning hunting for.

There we go that looks a little safer!

Up on the front of the boat with Uncle Darin.

And getting a little lovin from Mamma.

Silly Uncle Darin!

We had a blast out on the lake. Thanks Auntie Melody for bringing us out on your boat!

Let Him Climb

2010-09-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

Doctors orders...climbing is good. According to Joey's pediatric neurologist, it is good for building trunk strength, balance and coordination. And so...when safe (i.e. we are there to catch him so he does not get hurt), we let him climb. And climb he does!

At first it was his toys...

Onto the coffee table..

Into the Dryer...

Poor Leo is no longer safe on the couch!

Look at him go after the poor kitty!

Sorry Leo!

And thank goodness for Leo--Joey moves on to the next thing quickly..

And here he is after his haircut on Saturday-- climbing his stroller like it was nothin'

Joey In The Box

2010-08-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

Joey is into boxes these days.

The stuffed animal box, the toy box, the laundry basket (ok that's not a box but, it is something he can climb in and tip over)

He likes to climb in.

He likes to tip them over.

When filled with stuffed animals, they make a great place to enjoy a bottle.

Most of all, however, I think he enjoys spreading the contents of boxes, laundry baskets, toy boxes all over the house.

His second favorite activity is climbing. He used a pillow I left on the floor the other day to climb up the couch and from there onto the end tables.

There is no turning your back on this little dude anymore!

Weekend at Grandma and Pa Pa's House

2010-08-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics I promised from last weekend at my parents house in San Diego. We were there for Joey's 18 month birthday. What strides he has made from our trip this same time last year.

Joey going for a swim in Grandma's kiddie pool in the front yard when we got there on Thursday.

He got a big kick out of swimming in the pool. It was just the right depth of water for him and it was warm from being out in the sun in the driveway.

Things were a lot better with my Dad (Pa Pa) as well. Joey took several naps with Pa Pa in his chair and even reached for him! I was so happy that he did not push my daddy away like he did when we saw my parents in June.

Of course Joey was much more fun for his cousin Walker to play with this time.

Joey could not decide whether he wanted the drums or the remote more so he held onto both.

And he watched cartoons with Cousins Walker and Ellie...

Here Joey is taking a spin on his cousin Ellie's rocking horse.

And then there were the stairs... Joey was obsessed!

Since we could not keep him off of them...

We figured we ought to show him the safe way to get down... feet first on his belly.

But he did not like being shown that...all he wanted to do was keep climbing up!

And then Grandma pulled out the plastic drum set. It was a huge hit!
I think we have a natural on our hands... that spells big trouble for mom and dad's tranquility someday!

Joey proceeded to carry the drumsticks everywhere he went all weekend.

Here he is perfecting what I call his monkey walk or bear crawl. (still has the drumstick!) It is so dang cute!

It would not be a trip to San Diego without a visit to the buffet at Harrahs. As usual...it was a big hit with Joey. Joey would not even hit Grandpa's hand away depite Grandpa's best efforts to egg him on to show Auntie Cassie how funny it was when Joey pushed him away over Father's Day weekend.

Here he is trying Jello for the first time.

And then Grandma (much to my dismay) tried to give him cotton candy. At first he seemed interested....

But (thankfully) I think it scared him because he cried when she got too close with it.

And I had to calm him down with a chocolate chip cookie.

All is good again!

Joey also got his first go at playing the piano. His cousin Walker showed him how.

And like the natural musician that he is...he took to it on his own.

Enjoying playing on Grandpa's lap and laughing at Grandpa's silly songs and games..

We got home on Sunday. We were supposed to do Joey's sedated ABR and upper edoscopy on Tuesday but the doctors office never called so I thought they had been unable to coordinate the two (and I refused to let them put him under anesthesia twice and insisted they be scheduled together). But anyway I got a call from the hospital Tuesday afternoon reminding us that we were scheduled for both tests Wednesday. No one had called us to tell us about that... but we decided to go ahead and get it over with anyway. (we already had taken off work for Joey's 18 month wellbaby check up that morning.)

Joey's wellbaby appointment went well. The doctor said he looks great. He is weighing in at 22.7 pounds (75th percentile on the boys DS charts) and 30 inches (65th percentile on the Ds chart).

Despite my protests over an afternoon appointment and having to starve the baby all day, they scheduled Joey's ABR and endoscopy for 3:00 in the afternoon anyway. Joey was such a trooper. We checked into the hospital at around 1:00 and because the anesthesiologist was stuck in an emergency surgery they did not get started with Joey until 3:30. Joey was amazing. He did not cry once! Sure he pulled a few things off their shelf over the crib and tangled all the lead wires up and threw all the toys they gave him on the ground...but he did not get upset over being hungry and was on the whole very patient. I was so proud of him.

He did not even cry when they put in the IV. Probably was better because we insisted on being with him until he fell asleep. Unlike last time when I chickened out on asserting myself, I insisted on being there this time. Sure it caused a bit of a stir and I was warned that they do not usually allow parents to come back into the procedure area but... I stood my ground and told them they were not going to rip him from my arms crying this time!

Because Joey did so well... I stopped and got him his own set of drum sticks and a little Drum and tamborine. By 6:00 that evening he was back to normal.

Here he is showing off his newest mode of transportation...the bear walk on all fours. It is sooooo cute and he is sooooo fast. I will try and post a video soon.

I am so very proud of Joey. He is doing so well. At 18 months he is pulling to stand on everything. He cruises holding on to the furniture or whatever else he can and travels very quickly on all fours. He signs to communicate when he wants more, milk and he signs all done. He says Da Da and has been a lot more chatty with the babbling. I love this little man! Oh and I almost forgot...we finally got a second tooth! and three others about to bust through.

Beach Bum Joey

2010-08-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

We flew to San Diego last Thursday to visit Joey's Grandma, Grandpa and aunties (my family). While there Joey turned 18 months old. I will post an update on Joey at 18 months later. But here are some pics of him at the beach while we were there.

Joey also had an ABR under sedation and an upper endoscopy and his 18 month well baby checkup done yesterday (we have been busy). More on that later as well...the short of it, however, is that his hearing as perfect and his stomach and esophogus look good... we are waiting for pathology on his small intestine and celiac testing. I am soooo proud of Joey...he did amazingly with everything (as always) I will share more later.

Helping (or Not) With the Laundry

2010-08-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Busy

2010-07-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

Joey has been so busy these days (and we have been so busy trying to keep him out of trouble) that there has not been much time to keep up with the blog. Any time I sit down at the computer he is off to the races, pulling himself up on whatever he can and trying to pull down anything he can reach! I love it! but it is exhausting.

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

I guess I left off on the Fourth of July. Joey was here last year but too young to partake in the celebration. Not this year. Here he is with his little flag.

And ready to see Daddy and the neighbors set off some fireworks. (from a safe distance of course)

And as much as he would have liked to do it himself... he is too young this year!

And towards the end of our little fireworks show...he passed out...through the noise and all!

We have been spending a ton of time at the pool. Even with 50 sunscreen on...Joey is managing to get a little color. He is actually starting to look more like the little Italian/Portuguese baby that he is.

Here he is being silly in the bath tub.

Gotta love that hair. (It is getting cut this weekend)

Big smiles!

And telling us he is ready for his milk at bed time.

Joey has been signing quite a bit. He now regularly signs (his own versions) of milk, more, all done and eat pretty regularly. He is also waiving hi and bye to people (often strangers) and when you ask him where his head is, he grabs it with both hands! (I will try and get a picture) SOOOOOO cute! He is also starting to crawl some on his hands and knees and doing what I call the monkey walk on his hands and feet! I am so very proud of this little man!

The Real Reason We Got No Sleep In Vegas

2010-07-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

and no it was not because we were up gambling in the casino all night. That would be a little hard to do with Joey. But we did take turns going down for about an hour at a time. But at about 1:30 in the morning when we were ready to go to sleep, Joey was not.

It was pitch black in the room but he was sitting up in the portable crib next to the bed. Every time I said "night night Joey" he started laughing hysterically. So I did what any responsible parent does.... and took out the camera. These were taken in the dark with the flash on...amazing how they came out since I could not see where I was shooting.

This is the last of the photos I really wanted to post from our trip to Las Vegas on Father's Day weekend.

Wordless Wednesday (At The Pool In Vegas)

2010-06-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Feeding Disorder...Really?

2010-06-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

If you have ever seen this baby eat you know how ridiculous that sounds. However, Joey was just diagnosed with a mild to moderate dysphagia (something I have suspected since he was about two months old). But to look at him eat... you would never know it. Here are the pics from the buffets in Las Vegas !
I needed to keep him busy with something so I could eat my dinner too... Hence, Joey's first chocolate chip cookie.

Here he is sampling a waffle at breakfast.

And the whole roasted sweet potato I was cutting up for him on the edge of my plate... He stole it when I wasn't looking.

And when we finally cut him off he gave us this look like... "what?.... I didn't eat that much...just look at the ground.." and you should have seen it! (big tips to the waiter/waitresses too!) Note the spinach ravioli on the side of his face. It was one of his favorites at the buffet at Paris.

I hate to say it but I love watching this baby eat... the way he picks up food and puts it in his mouth with such precision is so adorable to me.

With respect to the feeding issues... we have a follow-up next week to discuss the Speech Pathologist and Radiologist's report from the swallow study. We were referred for this study back in October. After months of phone calls trying to get an appointment and being told that there was a six month waiting list; being sent to the hospital where they almost conducted the wrong test; being told that they had no authorization from our insurance; losing Joey's referral (later to say it could not be found because it was in the STAT file); then finally, almost two months after the initial evaluation, we got the appointment for the modified barium swallow study. The study was done on May 28, 2010 and although we knew right away that he was silently aspirating liquids, I did not get the report from the Speech Pathologist until this week (after calling twice). Two more phone calls later and we have a follow-up scheduled for next week to discuss a treatment/feeding plan. For now, we will keep thickening all his liquids and pray he does not end up with pneumonia.

Father's Day (Surprise Trip To Vegas)

2010-06-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday my Mom told me that she and my Dad would be going to Las Vegas that weekend. Since it was Father's Day weekend, I decided to surprise Tony and my Dad and booked us a flight. I was especially longing to see my family after my whole ordeal and health scare last week. When we got there on Friday we my good friend from law school pick us up and we got to have dinner with her, her husband and their nine month old baby. It was such a treat to get to see them. I miss her dearly and wish we lived closer together.

My parents arrived late Friday night and I wish I could say that Joey was happy to see them....but he was not. He is going through a bit of a clingy phase and is apprehensive of just about anyone he does not see on a daily basis (and sometimes he even pushes his babysitter Shannon away after spending the weekend with Tony and I.) But it totally broke my heart to see Joey push, and even hit my Dad's hand away. Here he is at breakfast reluctantly sitting on my Dad's lap.

And showing his displeasure when my Dad reached out to touch him.

Towards the end of the weekend he eventually warmed up to them a bit.
But more with my Mom ("Dramma") ...

Than he did with his Pa Pa, my Dad.

Eventually he allowed Pa Pa to love on him a little if someone else was holding him. Here are my three favorite guys.

Joey enjoyed being with his Da Da the most.

And the buffets ...(more to come on Joey's enjoying the buffets in Vegas later) Here is a preview of him trying a pancake at Planet Hollywood's breakfast buffet.

And here we are at Planet Hollywood on Sunday morning.

It was so great to be able to spend Father's Day with my Daddy and for Tony to be able to spend Father's Day with his Da Da. Especially since Tony usually works on Sundays.

Joey just loved the pool at the Rio. It had a beach, sand and all, that gradually got deeper. Perfect for a baby to play in.

He had so much fun in there.

Look at that face! I cannot wait to take him to a real beach again!

Ahhh pure bliss!

After my parents left to go home on Sunday, Tony, Joey and I took a shuttle to the strip. At the Bellagio we stumbled on a beautiful botanical garden display of "An Ant's Life." It was simply breathtaking.

Joey having a blast.

Here he is with Tony checking out an aquarium in the Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace.

And chewing on his hands.

We had a great time. With the exception of his interactions with my Dad, Joey was so charming with complete strangers all weekend. He smiled and waved at people in the airport. Made friends with kids in seats in front of us and behind us on the plane. We even had a lady come up to us when we landed in Vegas who was a swim instructor and offered to give Joey swimming lessons! Despite all the fun, we were happy to get home on Monday (mostly because we were soooo tired...I will explain in a later post.)

YAY! Home at last! Happy Father's Day again to my Dad and Tony, and to all the Dad's out there!

Wordless Wednesday (It's Summer!)

2010-06-16T15:32:00.001-07:00

And someone is no longer sitting in mamma's arms in the pool. He wants to be independent and explore his surroundings.

One Heck of A Week

2010-06-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

It has been one heck of a week over here. I debated whether or not to post the gory details of what happened. However, my experience this week may be helpful to one of my friends or family at some point in the future so here goes...

It all started last Sunday with the positive pregnancy test. No.... we had not been trying to get pregnant but over the course of the last weekend I was experiencing that all too familiar nausea that I knew from past experience means only one thing for me...so Sunday afternoon I took a test and sure enough... I was pregnant. I had no idea exactly how far along (my monthly cycle has not been normal since giving birth to Joey last year) so Monday morning I called my doctor and asked if I could come in for an ultrasound to date the pregnancy. I was concerned over the fact that I had become pregnant while on birth control and while taking other medications which I did not necessarily want to be taking while pregnant. But I was met with immediate resistance. Why the OBGYN is so reluctant to perform an ultrasound (when they have several of them in their office) I have no idea.... but I was told that they would not do an ultrasound and would not see me until at least 8 weeks after my last period. Well... after taking a closer look at my chart (and presumably seeing that I had difficulties with my last pregnancy and a history of miscarriages) they called me back within the hour and scheduled a "pre OB" appointment at what would have been six weeks since what I thought might have been my last period.

While I was not completely satisfied with this and continued to have a nagging feeling that I needed to have an ultrasound sooner, I reluctantly made an appointment for June 18 for a "pre OB" appointment with a nurse practitioner in my OB's office.

You see we had not been trying to get pregnant just yet. I had been on birth control pills ever since giving birth to Joey. At first they gave me a progestin only pill that would not interfere with breast feeding. I do not recall my doctor saying anything to me at the time she prescribed the pill, about needing to switch pills immediately when I stopped breastfeeding. I am pretty sure I would have remembered that. So when I stopped breastfeeding last October, I continued to take the Progestin only pills. It was not until my yearly exam on May 6 (yes a few weeks ago) that my doctor asked whether I was still breastfeeding. When I told her I was not, she switched me over to Seasonique, the pills I had been taking before we decided to have Joey. She told me to go ahead and finish the pack of pills I was taking and when I was done with those I could go ahead and start the new pills. Well three weeks later here I was nauseated and staring at a positive pregnancy test. Anyone who knows me knows that I have had baby fever for a while now. So while this was a bit sooner than we had planned, we quickly got excited about the prospect of having a sibling for Joey.

On Tuesday morning, however, I began spotting a little. While I knew that some spotting could be normal during the first trimester of pregnancy, it also made me nervous because I have had miscarriages in the past. Despite the spotting I continued to get ready for a trial I had been preparing to participate in at work. Tuesday afternoon I was in court arguing jury instructions for our case and I began experiencing some cramping. I knew this was not a good sign and accepted the fact that I might be having a miscarriage. That evening after court I went back to the office and told the managing partner (with whom I was preparing for trial the next day) that I thought I might be having a miscarriage and did not know whether or not I would be able to make it to court Wednesday morning. Overnight, however, the cramping and the spotting stopped. As a result, I decided to go ahead and go to court Wednesday morning.

On the way there the cramping returned with a vengeance. So I called the OBGYN's office again and asked if I could get an appointment for that afternoon. I told them I may be having a miscarriage but either way, I just needed to know. Again, I was met with resistance. They told me there was nothing that could be done and I should go home, lay down and put my feet up. Less than 10 minutes later they called me back and told me that someone could see me Thursday morning. I reluctantly made the appointment and continued to court in Woodland. About an hour into the proceedings the pain became so unbearable that I began to sweat. At that point, I leaned over and told the partner I was with that I had to go, and I drove home. The drive home was scary. The pain was starting to feel like labor pain and I felt a little dizzy. When I got home I laid on the couch for a while and then called the advice nurse again. I also called Tony and told him I needed him to come home from work because I thought I might need to go to the hospital and I did not think I could drive.

The advice nurse told me that I was probably just having a miscarriage and there was nothing they could do for me. I was advised to lay down and take some Tylenol. I protested and asked if someone could please see me today. The pain now was worse than what I remembered labor pain had been like. Although I was still spotting a little, there was still no bleeding. I had had a miscarriage before and this pain was way beyond what I had experienced previously. I informed her I was very concerned that something was wrong. A short while later the nurse called me back and said the nurse practitioner was willing to squeeze me in at 2:00 (in two and a half hours!).

When Tony and I got to the doctor's office and I explained that I had been taking progestin only pills but had stopped breast feeding 9 months ago, the nurse practitioner said "ooohh, you could be farther along than you think). According to her I should have switched pills immediately when I stopped breast feeding. Again, that would have been good to know. So she said lets take a look and pulled the ultrasound machine over. The first thing she noted was that my uterus did not look pregnant. She then pointed out that I had a large amount of fluid around my uterus and then she left to get a doctor because she was not sure exactly what we were seeing.

When the doctor came in, he took one look and said the only place I was going this evening was to surgery. He pointed out what looked like a donut in one of my fallopian tubes and said I had an ectopic pregnancy and it had burst my fallopian tube. The fluid around my uterus was blood. Basically, if I had waited a couple of more hours, my blood pressure would have dropped and I would have gone into shock. So it was a good thing I did not follow the advice nurse's "advice" of just taking some Tylenol and taking a nap on the couch.

What happened after that is somewhat of a blur. The doctor called over to the hospital and got a surgeon and O.R. lined up. Tony and I were sent over to the hospital and told to check into the ER. When we walked in the door they said "are you the girl with the ectopic pregnancy?" When I indicated I was, they whisked me into a room and within ten minutes had very large IV's in both arms. Within the hour I was in surgery. It was scary. But I was lucky. Although there was a pint of blood in my abdomen, the surgeon was able to remove the ectopic pregnancy and fix my ruptured fallopian tube. I am sporting three new scars on my belly as well...one around my belly button, one on the side where the fallopian tube burst and another scar just under the c-section scar. Good thing I was not planning on wearing a bikini any time soon! After I awoke from surgery (and much to our surprise) they sent me home with a bunch of pain medication. I have been ordered to take off work until the 21st of June. And I am definitely recovering. Sure we are sad that the pregnancy could not be saved, but thank God I still have all the parts and we will be able to try again soon.

The moral of the story here for all my friends and those who might read this blog is this... remember you know your body better than anyone else. The advice nurse's "advice" is not gospel and may not even be correct. If you know something is wrong by all means question them and be persistent. It scares me to think what might of happened if I had gone home and gone to sleep and ignored the pain.

As if all of that was not bad enough, Joey also got sick this week. After finishing a course of antibiotics for a sinus infection two weeks ago, his sinus infection had come back. He has had a fever since Friday of about 102 and has been miserable. We took him to the doctor Friday morning and were given another course of antibiotics, but this morning he still had the fever, so off to urgent care we went. He is now on a three day course of injectable antibiotics which we will take him each morning for the next three days to get. Poor baby. and poor Tony who has been taking care of both of us. Did I mention I am not supposed to lift more than 20 pounds for the next two weeks.

We look forward to getting back to normal. Because things have been so crazy around here I did not have a chance to post any of the pictures from last weekend when all was a little less crazy. So here they are:

Joey's first trip to the zoo was last Friday for the "dreamnight at the zoo" an event for families with children with special needs. Here he is feeding the giraffe

and eating some ice cream...

and signing more

As you can see, he is a huge fan.

Joey also had his first ride on the carousel

and then we ran into a few friends. Here Joey is with Delila Rose

And Jen

And then on Saturday he had his first swim of the summer in the pool at our condo. Here he is ready to go (and excited about it!)

Joey loves the pool!

Check out that face!

I don't know...ya think he is happy?

Yes the past week was one heck of a week. But this baby...that face...just makes everything a little easier to deal with. Thank you to all my friends and family for the outpouring of support, prayers and love the last week.

Wordless Wednesday (Standing in the Tub)

2010-06-02T18:56:00.001-07:00

Thyroid Hormone Resistance And Aspiration (Oh MY!)

2010-05-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy few weeks. May 26 was Our Bundle of Joey's one year bloggiversary (it was also my 6th anniversary as a lawyer but these things have been lost on me these days as I have been consumed with Joey). I had hoped to have 100 posts by then and to do something special for the 100th bloggiversary post. God had different plans for us this last two weeks.

Joey came down with a nasty sinus infection last week. By Sunday I could tell it was a full blown infection so I took him to urgent care. We had been to the lab earlier that week to have his blood redrawn after several abnormal white blood cell counts had been observed in his one year well baby check up labs. We also had to have blood drawn for the more thorough thyroid panel that was ordered by the pediatric endocrinologist when we first saw him back in March after Joey's initial thyroid screening had come back slightly abnormal.

So on Sunday while I was at urgent care with Joey, the doctor pulled up his labs from earlier that week. Mind you we had not yet gotten any phone calls from the lab, or the doctor regarding the results of these latest tests. I was watching over her shoulder as she opened the computer screen and saw that most of the tests that had been ordered were appearing on the screen in red and to the right of them it read "ABNORMAL."

The white blood cell count had finally (despite the sinus infection) come back as normal. However, mosts of the tests ordered by the endocrinologist were far from it. The doctor did not tell me what they were or what they meant. She simply asked me if I had a follow up scheduled with the endocrinologist. When I told her we had an appointment for June 15, she said she would not wait and that I should call their office on Monday, Tuesday at the latest. So I did.

On Monday I called and informed the endocrinologists office that we had had the blood work they ordered done and the pediatrician had told me to call them immediately to see if they wanted to see Joey before June 15. They indicated that they had not yet seen the results of his bloodwork, but would call me back. Tuesday morning I got a call back and Dr. Prakasam (who I was told does not ordinarily work on Wednesdays) wanted to see Joey on Wednesday. (it had taken several months to get an appointment with this doctor previously, so now I was alarmed that he was wanting (and able) to see Joey on such short notice. After we got there the Doctor came in and immediately picked Joey up and held him for a few minutes while he talked to us. I now know that although he was just holding him, he was conducting an exam.

He started by explaining to us the difference between hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism and how the pituitary gland releases a hormone called TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) and that hormone tells the thyroid gland to release thyroxine (T4). The T4 hormone is then converted to triiodotyronine (T3) where it is utilized by the body, mainly the brain and liver. If the TSH reading comes back low and the T4 hormone levels come back high then one has Hyperthyroidism. Conversly, if the TSH is high and the T4 is low then one has Hypothyroidism. He further explained that thyroid issues are fairly common for people with Down syndrome and that 98% of the time the issue is hypothyroidism.

Then he turned to Joey's thyroid function results. Joey had normal TSH levels and only a slightly elevated T3. The problem was with the T4. They did a test called a Free T4. Normal Free T4 levels are between .8 and 1.8. The max level the lab can measure is 6.5. Joey's Free T4 came back >6.5 meaning it was off their charts.

With that high of a Free T4 reading the doctor explained that technically, Joey is hyperthyroid. However, (by holding him) he could tell that he does not exhibit any symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Such symptoms include nervousness, weight loss, frequent bowl movements, tachycardia (increased heart rate), elevated body temperature, hyperactivity, dry brittle hair and hair loss, dry skin and insomnia. While some of these things have been present in Joey at times (the elevated body temp, fast heart rate, hyperactivity, frequent bowl movements) he does not otherwise appear to have Hyperthyroidism (which the doctor assures me is obvious).

So where does that leave us? Good question. I am not sure and neither is the doctor. He told us he needed to do some research and needed to order some more tests (but first he needs to figure out what the tests are that he needs to order). He said he suspects Joey has Thyroid Hormone Resistance, an extremely rare disorder. In the meantime, while we wait for him to research and order further tests, we are to be on the lookout for symptoms of a Thyroid Storm and were told to go the emergency room should Joey start exhibiting any of these symptoms: Unexplained high fever, profuse sweating, tachycardia, respiratory distress, agitation.... frightening...very frightening!

Next, Joey had his swallow study. Finally. Eight months after the STAT referral to the speech pathologist and request for a swallow study by the pediatrician. And it confirmed (what I have been telling the doctors since Joey was born) that he is indeed silently aspirating liquids. Now what you ask? Again, I have no idea! the Speech pathologist is going to review the tapes from the swallow study more thoroughly and issue a report and request for authorization to insurance to begin treating Joey (how? I don't know). She said that once she determines which consistencies and substances were giving him the most difficulty, we can come up with a plan for modifying the way we feed him and what we feed him so as to minimize the aspiration.

It is a good thing we have been prophylacticly giving him breathing treatments of steroids and treating his reflux with prevacid as these two measures have likely, according to the doctor, been the only reason he has not gotten chemical pneumonia from the aspiration. Again we were told to be on the lookout for various signs of pneumonia and to get Joey to the hospital immediately if we notice any of those symptoms.

So anyway we have been (obviously) very busy (and not in a good way). On top of it all I have a trial set to start in an employment disability discrimination case on June 8 and a lot of work to do to get ready for it which is why I am doing this post from my office this morning (and explains why there are no cute pictures to include) they are all at home. If anyone has any experience or information with respect to either of these two issues I would appreciate it.

Wordless Wednesday (Cuteness!)

2010-05-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Being A Mom

2010-05-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

I was not one of those little girls who dreamt of the day I would have children of my own. In fact, when I was in college, throughout law school, and even after Tony and I started dating, I did not think I wanted children. I still remember the conversations Tony and I used to have about how nice it would be to have a duel income and no kids...the things we would buy...the places we would go. And then shortly after we go married I began to think about the future. Sure I love Tony and a future of growing old with him sounded nice. But I felt like there had to be more to life. The holidays had become boring. And what else are you going to do when you get older if there are no grandkids... so we decided to have a baby. I am so glad we did.

I had no idea how much richer life could be. I had no idea my life was missing so much until Joey came along. This past year I have learned that there is nothing greater in this world than being a mom. Sure it is a ton of hard work. But the hardest part of all is having to work and being away from my baby all day. My heart starts to ache towards the end of the work day when I look at Joey's picture on my desk. However, all the hard work is worth it when I walk in the door at night, and Joey sees me, and smiles.

I thank God that it was not too late and I did not miss the opportunity to be a mom! I love it! and I especially love being Joey's Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all of the wonderful Moms out there!

Standing Up!

2010-05-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

Joey has had a gross motor explosion the past few weeks. First with sitting up independently which he first did on April 7, 2010...
and now...

He is Standing Up!

and climbing anything and everything he can!

He stands by first going to his knees like this...

We put a cusion from the couch on the floor to encourage him to get on his knees and alternate bearing weight on his arms while playing with a toy...

he now uses the cusions to climb to the arm of the couch! and sometimes to sit (which he does now all the time on his own!)

We of course try to discourage the climbing when we are not sitting there with him...but every time we turn around he is back up there again.

Here he is busted on the couch again. Gotta love those eyes!

poor guy is teething so badly but the only thing he wants to chew on are his hands.

Here Joey is having a great time at his friend Riley's 2nd Birthday party at Funtastic here in Natomas. He had such a blast climbing all of the mats they had.

And at last...after Joey fell asleep this evening I was able to get a picture of his little tooth peaking out on the bottom gums.

Sweet angel! we are so proud of him!

Three Years Ago Today...

2010-04-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

We were on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera and I married my best friend. It was a perfect day. We were on the second day of the cruise half way between Los Angeles and Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

We were married by the Captain of the Diamond Princess and afterwards we got a tour of the bridge were they control the ship. Here we are in the Captain's chair.

I know I made the best decision of my life when I married Tony....He is a kind, compassionate and caring man and the best father to our son.

Joey loves his daddy soooo much.

I would marry Tony all over again. I cannot wait to grow old together and to have another baby with him in the future!

Happy 3rd Aniversary Tony. I love you with all my heart and my love for you continues to grow with each day I see you and our son together. I know that after surviving this last year, which has been so difficult, yet so full of joy, we can do anything together!

Joey Did It!

2010-04-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Joey finally did it! On April 7, 2010, he sat up all by himself for the first time. And he did it in grand fashion! We were at the Occupational therapists office being evaluated for occupational therapy. The therapist was going through the list of gross motor skills and fine motor skills and making notes at which skills Joey has, or has yet to acheive. I was explaining to him that no Joey has not yet sit up, without leaning on at least a hand, on his own. Joey was on a floor mat in front of us, being run through various tests like a lab rat. As the therapist was crossing out the section of his form that listed various activities from the sitting position, Joey all of a sudden pushed himself backwards and into a sit position and then sat all the way up and clapped his hands. It was as if he was saying "liar" look at me! He sat so very straight and clapped like he was so proud of himself. I almost cried. I was so proud of him and stoked! We have been waiting for this day for a long time! We were finally able to break out the "I Did It" tee shirt we ordered from Jen. I ordered one back in August when she first came up with the campaign but was saving it for this very milestone.
Check Joey out sporting his "i did it" shirt.

And a few days later sitting up again!

We are so proud of you baby Joey!

Finally! At Almost 15 Months..A Tooth!

2010-04-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

After a very long and sleepless night last night....Joey finally broke his first tooth on the bottom in the front! there is not enough of it showing for a picture, but we are nonetheless so happy that the pain he has been in this last week (and all of the sleep that we lost) was not entirely in vain!

I have decided that teething sucks! It is a very cruel rite of passage for our poor little babies. We have all lost so much sleep this last few weeks. Joey who has always slept through the night, and rarely cries, has been waking up several times, in pain, and crying. He also resists going to sleep no matter how tired he is. Here are some pics I got of him last Sunday when I was trying to put him down for a nap.

Yep...no matter how tired he is (which you can tell by his eyes) he is still all smiles! And based on those little hands up on the side of the crib...you can tell it is time to lower the matress before he realizes he can pull himself up on it! SIGH! my little man is growing up!

Wordless Wednesday (Busted in The Cat Bowl)

2010-04-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Open Gym

2010-04-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

A local gymnastic's gym holds an open gym for children with special needs. Jen has taken Joey and Joaquin a few times. I met them and a few of our other friends there a few weeks ago. Joey just loves it and was so cute to watch...

There were lots of mats and barriers on the ground for him to climb over. He just loves climbing over anything he can these days!

And a big trampoline.

Here he is with his friend Maddie on the trampoline...

And Jonna and Gracie

And back to climbing over the mats some more.

Hanging with his buddy Joaquin.

I love watching them interact. It is so cute!

Joey has such upper body strength from the way he crawls... look at his push ups!

When I left to go back to work he was playing with the hoola hoops and lifting it off the ground!

He was one tired baby that evening. We cannot wait to meet our pals there again. It was so much fun!

Easter 2010 (And The Weeks Before)

2010-04-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

We went to San Diego the Thursday before Easter. The week before that and this last week have been crazy busy. And it is not all works fault this time (although I did have a reply brief to a summary judgment motion due just before I left and the hearing on the motion last week when I got back. Also Jen is going to the Ukraine as part of the process for adopting Sofia. We are sad and are going to miss her and the entire Sanchez family tremendously while they are gone. As a result I have been trying to find someone to provide daycare for Joey while they make the necessary journey to the Ukraine to finalize their adoption of Sofia. Also while they take the time to bond with her and adjust to life as a family of 6 (with two babies with Ds).

Joey and I walked to the park the week before Easter and met with the lady who will be watching Joey for however long Jen needs. We love Jen and thank the Sanchez family for being a second family to Joey while we work. It is so hard working full time and having a baby. It has been so much easier, however, because we have had someone we trust to watch our baby. It will be some adjustment for Joey and for us working out new therapy schedules but we think the new family that is going to be providing daycare for Joey is going to work out beautifully. They seem like wonderful people and we cannot wait to get to know them.

Here Joey is on the swings at the park while I got to know Shannon. Joey loves the swings. Just look at that face...Pure Joy.

Before we left for San Diego we took Joey for his first (official) haircut. Ok...so it was not a full haircut... only the bangs. I could not bear to cut those beautiful curls (nor could Lainie, Tony's long time hairstylist who cut Joey's hair for us after giving Tony a trim). I had trimmed Joey's bangs a few weeks ago when he was sick. His nose had been running and the bangs in his eyes and face were not helping matters. I did such a horrible job though and I now needed a professional to fix it. Note to self, giving someone else a haircut is harder than it looks. Any how, Tony went first...

and then it was Joey's turn

Looking like such a big boy in the cape.

Sure there was some flailing...

And quite a few "I'm not sure about this" faces.

But Lainie was able to get the job done with no crying and no injuries!

All finished...thanks Lainie!

Before we left Joey's auntie Jo brought him his first Easter basket of the year! It was so cute... Thanks Jo!

Of course we had to pull out the ol bunny ears for an Easter phot op.

And Joey got to help dye Easter eggs for the first time.

On Easter morning we got dressed up and went to church with my friend from junior high who moved back to Escondido.

Joey looked so cute in his little vest. I am glad it was cold enough out. Here he is with his Pa Pa.

And checking out the Easter basket Grandma, I mean the Easter Bunny brought for him. The Easter Bunny was so smart, he filled the plastic eggs with things to make noise and glued them shut.

Here Joey is giving them a good shake.

While in San Diego Joey discovered his shadow.

Hi shadow...

How you doing

Huh...not sure what to think of this shadow..

Alright... he decides it is funny!

Taking a much needed nap on his Pa Pa.

Joey and Grandma!

Opening a present from Auntie Cara.

Last year at this time Joey was in the hospital with bronchiolitis. In fact it was exactly one year ago today that he was released. I begged for him to be released in time to spend his first Easter at home instead of in the hospital. Thankfully, it happened. Here he was with the bunny ears his grandma had gotten him.

And here he was a the day before we left for San Diego and we pulled out the ears again. Clearly he does not think they are as cute as we do!

Gotta love that little face! I cannot believe how much he has changed in one year. I love this little guy!

Wordless Wednesday (Eggroll)

2010-03-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

Obsessed!

2010-03-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

As mentioned before... Joey has become obsessed with, among other things, our wine rack. Sure we are working on training him that the wine is not his. We pick him up, take him over to his toys and tell him that these are Joey's things instead. It may take a while. Here he his over the course of a few days last week testing us.

I know that Tempranillo is good...it's just not yours little turkey!

An Afghan For Joey

2010-03-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Joey got an Afghan of his own this week. It was lovingly made by CJ. As in the CJ who created the T21 Traveling Afghan. We are so honored to have been a part of that project and Joey will always treasure his very own afghan.

He was very excited when we told him we had a very special present for him.

He pulled it right out of the box.

And checked it out.

Here he decides that he loves it.

I could not get over all of the smiles!

He seems to know how very special this gift is.

Thank you CJ for the beautiful afghan and for all the hard work you do for children with Down syndrome. Joey loves his very own afghan!

Joey Versus the Rug.

2010-03-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

These days Joey's favorite toy is anything that isn't a baby toy. The remote control, a cell phone, the cord of the vacuum cleaner, a magazine...you get the picture. He is getting around doing the belly crawl and man is he fast. The second I turn around to do something he is our of there and heading towards anything but his toys. These last few days he has been obsessed with the rug on the floor by our front door and my wine rack. I will post the pictures of Joey versus a 2005 Tempranillo next time. Here he is tackling the rug.

and finally...pinned!

Today is World Down Syndrome Day. But for Joey we never would have paid any attention to it. He has opened up our eyes to so many new things. Thank you Joey, and to all of our little friends with a little something extra in the chromosome department, for teaching us to appreciate different and wonderful things life sometimes offers, like Down Syndrome. You are a blessing and we love you and all of the wonderful people in the Down syndrome community we have met this last year!

Joey's First Birthday Party With His Friends

2010-03-10T18:49:00.001-08:00

Finally here are some pictures from Joey's first birthday party with his friends on February 20, 2010. This was the third and final birthday party he had. Most of his good friends were there.

Along with a couple of music therapists from Music to Grow on. It was a blast. Joey is getting into the group music sessions these days. It is so cute.

And then there was the third try with a birthday cake.

This time he got really into it.

And so did I. You should have seen me when he was finished with me.

Thank you everyone who came for making Joey's first birthday party with his buddys a memorable one. I will try to be better with posting. Things have been sooooo crazy busy around here!

Almost Wordless Wednesday (Auntie Jo)

2010-03-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Jo was one of the first people to come visit Joey in the hospital when he was born. We really appreciate all the love and support we have gotten from Jo over the past year. She has become like a Sacramento Auntie to Joey. Thank you for everything Jo.

Yay Joey!

2010-02-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

Look what Joey started doing this week... I am so proud of him. He also will slap your hand if you put it in front of him and say "give me five." We love this little boy so much... he is just too cute!

Wordless Wednesday (Penny's Slideshow of Joey)

2010-02-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday (Birthday Boy)

2010-02-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

These were from his actual Birthday (and one from the day before). His party is Saturday so more great pics to follow I am sure!

Joey's Photo Shoot

2010-02-12T21:11:00.001-08:00

Joey had a photo shoot on Tuesday with local photographer Penny Silva for a special project being put together by the Sacramento DSIA. (more about that later) The pictures are gorgeous! Penny is truly amazing and we had so much fun spending time with her. Thank you so much Penny for the beautiful pictures and thank you to the DSIA. We are honored to be a part of this special project and appreciated the opportunity to work with Penny. Check out some of the pictures Penny took here.

A Letter To Joey On His First Birthday

2010-02-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday my little Joey!

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since you came into our lives . I still get choked up when I think about your birth and the first time your little eyes met mine. I was not sure that I had the "maternal instinct" in me but from that moment on I was so in love with you that any doubts I had quickly dissipated.

The morning after you were born your doctor told us that you had Down syndrome. You also had a blocked intestine and you could not keep down any milk. You had surgery when you were four days old. It was a difficult start for us all, but I think that we are all stronger as human beings and as a family because of it. We also had a difficult time when we first found out you had Down syndrome. We are at peace with it now. While you are a baby first, the Ds is part of you and we love you just as you are. I just wish I had known then, everything that I know now. It breaks my heart that there was any sadness in connection with your first few days in the world. I hate that the tears I cried were anything but tears of joy but we were scared and sad that you were so sick. That is in the past now and the joy you have brought us this year is immeasurable. I never knew my life had been missing something until you came along. Nothing brightens my day like the thought of you, the sight of you and your little smile!

When you were two months old you were hospitalized with bronchiolitis. Your daddy and I were very scared. Especially when they put a tube down into your lungs and had a machine breathing for you. Your Grandma came and rocked you all night when you came off the machine and were having withdrawals from the morphine. This is what you looked like in the hospital.

You were in the hospital for just over two weeks. We insisted that they let us take you home for your first Easter, so they gave us an oxygen tank and a machine that kept track of your oxygen. You got through it. You are a strong, strong boy and you fought through this like you will any other challenge in life. I admire your strength. You were such a brave boy though it all. Here you were on Easter weekend with your little oxygen tubes but sooooo happy to be home.

You are a little angel. The best baby a Mom and Dad could have asked for. The first night we brought you home from the hospital (February 25, 2009), instead of crying when you were hungry in the middle of the night, we heard you making little sucking sounds. To this day, when you are hungry, that is what you do. It is the cutest face. I call it your "sucky face." In fact, you rarely cry. You have developed other ways of communicating with us though. One of them is the sucky face. The other is blowing raspberries. You especially do this now when you are frustrated or, in the middle of the night when you need a diaper change. The raspberry is also the first sound you make when you start to wake up in the morning, even before you open your eyes sometimes. You look so precious when you are sleeping. You have always been a good sleeper and began sleeping through the night when you were only four months old. Momma and Daddy appreciated it sooooo much.

You have greatly impressed me when it comes to eating. We were really concerned at first that you were going to have difficulty in this department, especially during the first week after your surgery while you wee still in the NICU. It was a very difficult time. It broke my heart having to go home each night to sleep without you. But I always was back by 7:00 am to feed you breakfast. The nurses wanted to feed you through a tube in your nose but I would not let them. Your Daddy and I made sure we were there for most of your feedings each day so that we could feed you ourselves. I would hold you and feed you while Daddy tickled your feet and wiped your face and hands with a cool washcloth to keep you awake long enough to eat. We knew you could do it and were very proud of you when you would finish those tiny 2 ounce bottles they would give us to feed you my breast milk. Here you are the day we got you home from the hospital showing everyone what a good little eater you had become.

You never took to breastfeeding but that was ok. I pumped milk for you and you were almost exclusively on breastmilk for 6 months. Then you started eating baby oatmeal. I pumped until approximately September 30, 2009 and because there was so much of it, you continued to have breastmilk until November 17, 2009 when all the milk I had frozen for you ran out. Here you are drinking your last bottle of breastmilk. It was a bittersweet moment for Momma.

Then you drank formula like a champ and continued to try new foods. Your favorites have always been sweet potatoes, squash, apples, banana's and yogurt. You love oatmeal in the morning with fresh banana mashed up in it. You also love to tear apart waffles, eat pizza crust and any other thing we put on your tray. We hope you are always so easy to feed.

You love all kinds of music and you love it when we sing to you. Your favorite song was initially "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" but then we came up with our own version of "You are My Sunshine" that goes something like this:

You are my Joey, My little sunshine
You make me happy, when I've had a bad day
I know you know punkin'
How much Momma loves you
Please don't take my Joey away!

You have the greatest group of little friends. It will be so much fun watching you grow up together. Here you guys are at the Ds walk this past October.

We are so proud of how far you have come this year. You are amazing and you are doing amazing things. You have the strongest little arms and legs and although you are not sitting much, you are moving very fast across the floor with mostly your arms. It is so cute how you get up on all fours and rock before you throw yourself forward. We are going to have so much trouble keeping up with you in the months to come.

I knew I would love you but had no idea just how very much. You give me purpose in life and I am a better person (perhaps even way better) because of you. Happy Birthday my little Joey! Your Momma and Daddy love you with all their hearts and we look forward to watching you grow over the years!

Funny Face

2010-02-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

Joey's been making the funniest faces. They are hard to catch on film because he drops the face the second you raise a camera. But I managed to catch a few.

God this baby warms my heart! I just love that little face no matter how he contorts it. He is such a silly boy sometimes.

Wordless Wednesday (# 2- Joey On The Drum)

2010-02-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

I know I already posted one of these today but I saw this picture from Joaquin's birthday party yesterday, on Facebook after I posted the snow pictures. It was posted by Jen (thanks Jen!). In addition to the snow picture below, which was taken by my Mom, it is one of my favorites. It is funny how the best pictures of Joey are the ones taken by other people. Either my camera stinks or I just don't have any photography skills. I really should take a class because I have no idea what most of the buttons or settings on my camera before

Wordless Wednesday (Snow!)

2010-02-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

A Year Ago This Past Weekend...

2010-02-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

It was a year ago this past weekend that we drove down to San Diego for my baby shower.

At the time we thought there would be another month before baby Joey would make his debut... He had different plans... but anyway that was the last time that we actually made the 9 hour drive to San Diego... that is until this past weekend when we drove down to celebrate Joey's first birthday (a week early) with my family. We have flown down to San Diego several times with Joey but this was his first drive down there.

Here Joey is all buckled up for the long drive down. We left Sacramento at about 8 pm Thursday night with the hopes that Joey would sleep the whole way down.

Although he perked up when we first put him in the car... he only lasted for about fifteen minutes before he was down for the count.

Like the little angel that he is, he slept the whole way there (which he did not do for the ride home).

While in San Diego Joey had his first taste of McDonald's Chicken nuggets (at Grandma's insistence). And of course he loved them!

Look at him opening up wide and leaning in for them!

And of course there was a birthday cake... the first of what will likely be several first birthday cakes. I was a bit disappointed that he did not dive right in. Oh well, maybe the next one.

Kickin back and having a little fun.

A year ago when we made the drive back up to Sacramento (after the shower) my car was loaded with baby necessities and Joey's bassinette. This trip we brought the bassinette back to my mom (as we will not likely be the ones to need it again next) and when we returned to Sacramento the car was loaded (and I mean loaded) with toys for Joey. My living room now looks like Toysrus exploded in there!

Here he is with some of the cool new toys he got for his birthday from my family. He got a cool ride on and push toy.

And an activity table that he can practice standing to play with.

And the silly town that encourages him to sit and play with (although here he was too tired and opted to play with it on his tummy).

Cannot believe it has almost been one year and that we have survived!

On The Move...

2010-01-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

So he's not quite crawling...but look at him go!

He is half dressed because he had rolled away from me when I was trying to get him undressed for his bath...little turkey!

If I could go back in time to when I received Joey's Diagnosis

2010-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

The question was recently posed to me...If I could go back in time to when I received Joey's diagnosis what would I tell myself? I had never really thought about that before. Anyway, I thought I would share my answer...maybe someone who is about to have a baby with Ds will see it and will be encouraged by it.

Me then (three weeks before I went into labor)...

If I could go back in time to when I received Joey's diagnosis I would tell myself first and foremost that everything is going to be ok. Do not to try and worry about his future, developmental milestones or anything other than getting to know and love this baby. I just remember my mind racing and jumping to various things and trying to worry about everything at once. If I could go back in time I would tell myself to stop, and just take him in. Look at his little fingers, his little toes, those eyes looking into my eyes and searching my soul and stop trying to worry about next week, next month, next year—you would not do that with any other baby. I would tell myself just focus on the fact that he is a baby first, your baby, and although he may have some health issues, he is just like other babies in every other way. He eats, sleeps, cries (ok, not Joey), poops and needs your love.

I would also tell myself not to worry about other what friends and family might think about him and not to worry that they will not love him as much because of the Down syndrome. Such concerns are so unfounded. Your family and friends will love him just the same as they would have if he had not had Down syndrome. In fact the family, friends and acquaintances that matter will rise to the occasion. They will want to learn about Down syndrome and may even take even more interest in him than they would have otherwise. We will make new friends, friends we know that will be with us for life, who share the common bond of having a baby with Ds. These friends understand our fears and concerns and they will be there for us to give us the emotional support and wisdom we need to raise this baby. Lastly I would assure myself that God would not have given us Joey if we could not handle it. We were chosen for this baby because we can and will be good parents to him. I would remind myself that as with any other challenge in life, you will find the strength you need to deal with anything that comes your way. And again everything IS going to be ok.

The night Joey was born...

A week later...

Still cannot believe it has almost been a year! I feel like we have learned so much this year.

Almost Wordless Wednesday (Joey's favorite time of day)

2010-01-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Yep... it is bathtime. And thanks to grandma showing Joey at Christmas that he can roll over onto his belly in the tub, we cannot keep him on his back for even a second. Check this silly boy out!

Eleven Months Ago Today...

2010-01-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

our baby Joey made his enterance into the world. I am in shock over the fact that we are one month shy of his first birthday. I am slowly forgetting what life was like without Joey and I cannot imagine it. Eleven months ago life certainly did not have as much meaning or purpose.

At eleven months age Joey is still working hard at trying to crawl. He gets up on all fours and rocks and throws himself forward or he inches forward like a little worm. He also likes to do push ups and the downward dog yoga pose. In fact he almost goes into a side sitting position from the downward dog position. He is also gaining better trunk control and I am hopeful that he will be able to sit better independently by his first birthday.

Joey's greatest accomplishments are in the are of eating. Like his mommy and daddy he has a real passion for eating. He loves trying new foods of all consistencies and textures. We recently tried a jar of turkey, rice and vegetable stage 3 baby foods and he did wonderfully. He also tries very hard to self feed. I just love watching him tear apart frozen waffles and frozen mini pancakes, breadsticks and pizza crust. He can sometimes pick up small pieces of cereal and he almost gets it into his mouth. He is certainly motivated to be feeding himself.

Here he is trying a french fry. (I know bad mommy)

The area of development which I believe is going to be most difficult for Joey is speech. He babbles more and more all the time but is still not that "talkative." He is presently going to oral motor therapy once a month. While I am not sure it does anything for him at this point in time, we will stick with it because we want to make sure we are doing everything possible for Joey to assist him in this area of development.

It seems like Joey is constantly being evaluated. It is difficult to see evaluations of Joey placing him at developmental ages lower than he is. I know that it "is what it is." We are doing everything we can for him, and he will do everything he needs to be doing eventually. Although I know this... it does not make it any easier.

I think the hardest of these "evaluations" was the report I recently received from Joey's MRI that was done at the end of October to rule out a tumor as the cause for his nystagmus. The opthamologist handed it to me in an envelope at the end of our appointment last week so I did not get to review it until we got home and I did not get to ask her any questions. The report indicates that "demylelination pattern may be slightly less than expected for a chronologic age of eight months, more similar to a six month chronologic age, based on the appearance fo the anterior limbs of the internal capsules." What the heck does that mean? I googled some of the phrases but was unable to find any helpful information. What I am guessing, and I could be wrong, is that this is why he has developmental delay. Is this issue with chronological age of the brain something that is typical with Down syndrome? The report also states "Of note, the maxillary sinuses appear opacified." Again, what the heck does that mean? Once again a google search was of no assistance. I have so many questions I am, for once, anxious for the visit to the doctor so I can get some more information on this. If anyone knows anything about this I would appreciate the information.

Christmas Cookie Party With The SacTown Babies

2010-01-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Jen had a Christmas Cookie and Coffee party at her house with the SacTown Babies and Mommas with whom we have become good friends over the past year. Here are some of the photo highlights from the party. It was an absolute blast and I hope there are many more get togethers like this in the new year.

Joaquin greeted Joey with a big smooch.

Joaquin checking out Maddi who joined us all the way from Washington.

It was nice getting to meet Maddi and her mom. Joey likes the ladies!

Joey, Joaquin and Maddi getting aquainted.

Our really good friend and neighbor Darin came along to play Santa for the kiddos. Thanks so much Darin! The kids really liked getting to meet Santa (some of them for the first time). I don't think they were old enough to be scared of him! Next year I expect there will be a little more "stranger danger" at being handed over to Santa. Looking good Santa!

Joaquin saying hi to Santa.

Joey went to Santa no problem. I wonder if he recognized Darin who we hang out with all the time and who Joey loves.

Joey is thinking just let me get my hands on that beard!

Santa with then 5 day old Delilah and new mommy Amy.

We were so happy that Amy was able to bring Delilah out to meet her new friends! Little Delilah is so beautiful and we cannot wait to watch her grow up and get to know her better.

Maddi with Santa Clause.

Joey loved Santa!

Joey and John Michael hanging out under the tree.

The whole group gathered around the tree for a photo op. From left to right we have Joaquin, Maddi, Sheridan, Cody, Gracie, Gabby, Eva, John Michael and Joey.

Joey playing with the ladies Gabby and Gracie.

Miss Gabby looking oh so pretty in her Christmas dress.

Gracie and Maddi with Joaquin who was looking very handsome.

Cody showing everyone his dance moves.

Beautiful Gracie

A beautiful picture of Joey that I got from Facebook... not sure who took it but I love his eyes in this picture.

Unfortunately the batteries in my camera died so this is all I got. We did a gift exchange and Joey got a set of Goosie flash cards (from Lisa and Sheridan) with pictures of all his friends on them. It was such a cute gift and we love them! Thanks so much Lisa!

It is always so much fun getting together with this awesome group of Mommas and Babies. This group has provided Joey and I with so much support this past year and we do not know what we would do without you. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Joey and I cannot wait to see everyone again in the new year!

Joey's First Christmas

2009-12-27T10:50:00.001-08:00

We spent Joey's first Christmas in Lake Tahoe. My parents and sister Cara and her family came up from San Diego and my sister Cassie flew in from Salt Lake City, Utah and we went up on Tuesday night. Although it did not snow while we were there, Joey got to experience the snow for the first time when we went up the gondola to Heavenly so my niece and nephew could sled. It was a blast! Joey did really well (except for sleeping through the night). He did not like the hotel's metal portable crib. It was a lot smaller and harder than he is used to and every time he rolled into the hard metal sides he woke up whimpering (never usually a full cry). So we did not get much sleep. But we sure had fun.

I only have pics from a few of the days. I will post more when I get the rest of them from my Mom.

Here are Joey and Tony getting ready for pizza for lunch on Christmas eve before we went up to Heavenly.

Joey with one of his favorites...Pizza crust.

Going up the gondola to Heavenly.

It was breathtaking up there! Joey slept the whole way up but was awake and looking around the way back down.

Here Joey and I are with my mom, sisters (Cara and Cassie) and niece (Ellie).

All bundled up for the snow.

We got Joey a pair of sunglasses because the sun was so bright in the snow and the reflection hurt your eyes. We tried the best we could to keep them on.

I cannot wait to get the pictures from my mom of Joey when we put him down in the snow. He just started laughing. It was so cute!

There we go.

The whole family.

Christmas morning. Good friends of the family, The Ghilardi family who also came to Tahoe from San Diego, brought us a Christmas tree. And of course Santa came and brought Joey a big stocking full of presents.

Joey watching his cousins open their presents.

Joey and his Daddy on Christmas morning.

The santa hat was a little small but still oh so cute!

All bundled up again for walking to the movies. Joey's first movie theater experience. We saw Disney's a Christmas Carol. I enjoyed it. My sister and niece and nephew not so much, Joey did pretty good. There were a few prolonged rasberries and he was getting a little restless toward the end but there was no major fussing. Thanks grandma for h0lding him through most of the movie.

Look at that cute little face. I love babies in hats.

All dressed up for Christmas dinner. We went to the Stage Room at Harveys. It was really good.

Joey was tired and slept through half of dinner.

Here he is with his Pa Pa.

The whole family posing for a picture in the lobby at Harrahs. Joey had just woken up and was enjoying a bottle.

Our first Christmas as a family.

Joey's Christmas night bath. Grandma let his roll onto his tummy in the tub and he had a blast splashing in the water on his tummy.

Joey with his Christmas presents when we got home from Tahoe yesterday.

I hope everyone had as wonderful of a Christmas as we did. I will be posting more pictures from Tahoe when I get them and pictures from the fun cookie party at Jen's house last weekend hopefully later this week.

Wordless Wednesday (More New Foods-Celery)

2009-12-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday (Leggo My Eggo)

2009-12-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Yes its another waffle picture.

Joey vs. The Waffle

2009-12-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Joey won!

Joey's Nine Month/Christmas Portraits

2009-11-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

Our little pumpkin in his Christmas jammies..

Doing the superman pose.

And showing off his talent up on all fours.

Daddy put on Santa sleeves and gloves for a few poses. Joey kept trying to eat the gloves but eventually we got a few pics.

This is the only pose Joey wanted to be in.

Our little goofball.

Joey was having no part of being on the couch! This was the closest we got to a picture on any prop other than the floor.

And last but not least, my favorite.

We got a smile...YAY!

Sweet Potatoes!

2009-11-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

Joey has been eating sweet potatoes for months now. However, he has only had the puree, bland, nothing added. Yesterday he tried the real deal (yes, complete with butter, brown sugar and marshmellows!) After several bites of the sweet potatoes right off my fork, I tried to slip in a bite of mashed potatoes with a little gravy on them. He instantly started gagging and spit them out. It was pretty funny. I think we may be in trouble now! He sure did love those sweet potatoes. He had this look on his face like "why have you been keeping these from me?" It was too cute!

Ordinarily we would have spent Thanksgiving with my family in San Diego, but my Dad needed time to recover from his surgery. So at the last minute we decided to stay here and spend the day with Tony's family. Thank you to Tony's cousin Kim and her husband Bruce for having us over and thanks to the entire Scribner family for sharing their Thanksgiving with us. We love you guys and we had a wonderful time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:32:00.001-08:00

We are thankful for so many things this Thanksgiving! Just a few of the things that we are extremely thankful for:

That we have a happy and, for the most part, healthy baby;
that this past year, because of Joey's Ds we have met some of the most wonderful families and made some friendships that we know will last a lifetime;
That we have such wonderful family and friends who have stuck by us over the years and who have been so supportive of us this year in particular;
That my Dad's surgery went well and he is at home recovering;
that we are both gainfully employed, despite the tough economy, and working for such great people (even if I am at work this morning);
Jen and the entire Sanchez family who have made my return to work possible and who have welcomed Joey into their home and loved him like a member of their family;
That Tony and I have each other, a great marriage, and are adapting well to our role as parents;

Here are a few quick pics from my phone (sorry I have not had time to download any others from our camera.

Our happy baby.

Joey is all ready for winter

Enjoying his first waffle!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Sarah Pailin on 20/20

2009-11-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

I just read Jen's post on Sarah Pailin on Oprah. While I did not see that one, I did see her last night being interviewed on 20/20 by Barbara Walters. I was surprised how much of the segment was about Trig and learning about the Ds when she was pregnant. Although Barbara used some improprt terminology, such as "Down baby," which is not preferred, overall I thought it was a good positive interview. I am glad they brought to light the statistics on abortion rates among women who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Ds. Maybe this will jump start some more discourse on the subject and generate some outrage (as it should). I think it is unfortunate that the tag line they chose on the video clip was somthing to the effect of "Sarah considered abortion when she learned...." That is not what I got from her interview. What she really said was that abortion was not an option for her. I also breathed a major sigh of relief when I saw that Trig Pailin was shown as a happy, overall, healthy baby. He is very very cute too!!! The Pailin family was shown treating him very lovingly and like a typical baby. I hope that opens some eyes out there for people who have misconceptions about children with Ds.

I have to admit, that despite her flaws, I have always been a huge fan of Sarah Pailin. I think that she has been treated incredibly unfairly and horribly by the media. This interview just made me connect with her even more. Here is a link to where you can find the segment. Sorry I could not link all the way to the story. You have to scroll down on the right and find it.

Anyway, we took Joey to the Stanford Down syndrome clinic for an appointment on Friday.... More to come on that hopefully tomorrow.

Joey's Pa Pa

2009-11-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

My father, Joey's Pa Pa and namesake, was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. He just had a bone scan and we are happy to report that it came out normal. So I don't think it has spread. But he still has to have surgery and we are all a little scared. I love my father and I absolutely love watching him and Joey interact. Here they were on October 31, 2009 hanging out together.

We are praying that he has a speedy recovery and as easy of a time as possible getting through this. We love you dad!

Joey is 9 Months Old

2009-11-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

Joey was nine months old yesterday. I cannot believe how fast time flys by when you have a baby! At nine months old he is, among other things:

Rolling all over the place
crawling backwards a little bit
Drinking water from a cup with a straw
leaping from his belly to being up on his hands and knees
rocking back and forth on his hands and knees
eating baby food or baby cereal twice a day
laughing when you lift him into the air
splashing like crazy in the bath tub
blowing tons of raspberries
babbling some (not a ton) but he has his moments when he babbles like crazy
sleeping through the night (still)
gives kisses (well he opens his mouth a little and pauses his raspberries for you to kiss him)

He is amazing and we are so very proud of all his accomplishments. Although we are saving his "i did it" shirt for when he sits on his own.

At Joey's nine month well baby check up this morning he was weighing in at 18 pounds 5 ounces and measuring 27 1/2 inches tall. He is in the 75th percentile on the Ds charts for boys. The doctor said his growth is perfect and he is doing pretty well. Joey started the RSV shots (Synagis) which he will have to do once a month until April. And... I almost forgot to report.. the results of the MRI were normal... THANK GOD! no tumor! We love this baby so much!

Here are some more pics from our recent trip down to San Diego. Here Joey is enjoying some play time with his Cousin Ellie.

Carving pumpkins on Halloween

Hanging out with his Auntie Cara and his Cousin Walker

Laughing at Uncle Mac with Auntie Cara

Playing with Grandma and Pa Pa

Getting a bath in Grandma's kitchen sink

Joey loves his Pa Pa

Laughing at Pa Pa

Going shopping at Nordstrom with Grandma for Joey's first pair of shoes

Halloween 2009 (better late than never)

2009-11-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

We spent Joey's first Halloween in San Diego so that Joey could go trick-or-treating with his cousins Walker and Ellie.

Here Joey is helping carve his first pumpkin.

He dressed up as a bear. It was so hot in San Diego that we had to go without the leggings. Look at Joey checking out his big soft belly...

All ready to go...

As were Spider man and our little ballerina

Joey rode around in the stroller and clung to his candy bag like a real trooper.

Here he is checking out his loot.

We let him pick out a piece to taste.

Yummy!

Wordless Wednesday (Swinging)

2009-10-28T21:11:00.000-07:00