Journey With Joey--Stepping Up For Down Syndrome Walk

Yesterday was the Sacramento Down Syndome Information Alliance's version of the Buddy Walk. The event was called Stepping Up For Down Syndrome and was a fundraiser for the DSIA. It was an absolutely gorgeous day--purfect for our first Walk and Joey had a great time.

Several of our friends came out to support us. Thank you Jo, Carrie, Megan, Conan, Mairi, Russel, Cameron, Robert and Holly (who joined us later). Unfortunately I do not have the picture of our team before the walk. I will post it when I get it from Jo. Ridiculous number of pictures to follow here.

Here Joey and I are with Megan and Conan... The boys are shaking chiquitas with the music therapy folks who where playing on stage.


Joey with Joaquin and Conan.


Mairi with Robert and Cameron. Cameron was a huge help during the walk. She held her little flag up to keep the sun out of Joey's eyes.



Joey and his buddy Joaquin.

Joey loves Joaquin. They are so cute together.

It was such a nice day I had to change Joey into something cooler for the walk. Here he is in his stroller ready to go!

He had a great time and the best seat in the house for the walk.

Joey was quite the ladies man. Here he is checking out Gracie... she is quite the cutie!

Joey has not seen many little girls. He is usually around boys. So he decides to move in a little closer and check her out.

And then he scared her when he tried to grab her face... oops! He'll learn.


Then Joey got to know Gabby.

She is so darn cute.

goin in for a kiss?

Who's next?

Joey, Grace, Joaquin and Gabby with their moms.

And last but not least the beautiful group of Sacramento babies. They all managed to stay still for a little bit while we snapped a hundred pictures.

They are so precious!

Gracie, Joaquin, Joey, Gabby and Sheridan all staying on the same blanket for quite a long time.


It was so much fun watching them check each other out.

Sheridan was making sure Joey did not get too close.

Joey nudging Gabby with his feet to get her attention.

Sheridan... who did really well...still keeping a watchful eye on Joey

Joey hugging Gabby's arm with his chubby little legs...so cute.

John Michael joins in the fun.

What a great day it was. Thanks again to those who joined us and to everyone else who helped team Journey with Joey meet our fundraising goal.

Joey had his MRI today. I will post somthing about it later this week. But in all... he did really well. He was so brave (braver than his mommy in fact) and I am so proud of him!

Are You Ready to Step Up for Down Syndrome?

Joey is... he is excited about the Walk tomorrow. We would like to thank all of our family and friend who have helped us reach our fundraising goal. Sorry I have not had time to post much substance on the blog lately. I have been absolutely swamped at work and as a result, exhausted when I get home. Joey's MRI was moved to Monday. We are nervous about it but at the same time anxious to get it over with and glad that the doctor is going to be opening up his clogged tear ducts. Anything to eliminate the moring torture session, which is what I call having to clean Joey's eyes out in the morning--he hates it! Anyway, we look forward to seeing everyone at the walk on Sunday and if I don't have time to post again before Monday morning...wish us luck and pray for Joey!

Wordless Wednesday (Joey's First Bagel)

Halloween Sneak Peak

This probably gives away too much but it was too cute not to share.

Wordless Wednesday (Teaching Joey Loyalty)

Baby Dedication (September 26, 2009)

We participated in a Baby Dedication ceremony at church a couple weeks ago. Four babies were dedicated that day. It was a really nice ceremony and Joey did a great job. I was so glad that he didn't break into raspberries in the middle of it like he usually does in church. Here are some pics courtesy of our friend Jo who came along and was kind enough to take pictures for us.

Pastor Doug saying a prayer for Joey.

Our little angel.

Joey is usually such a good baby in church. He especially loves the music.

Joey enjoyed a rare Sunday with his Daddy.

I just love the stained glass cross. It really is a beautiful little church.

Here we are with Megan and Conan who also participated in the Baby Dedication ceremony.

Joey and I have really enjoyed going to Riverlife Church on Sundays while Tony works. It has been a really uplifting thing for me and we have met so many really great people there. We have especially enjoyed getting to know Megan, Scott and Conan better and we look forward to seeing them every Sunday. We are also thrilled that Jo has been joining us as she has always been such a good friend of mine. I enjoy her company and appreciate the help with Joey and all his stuff.

I have gotten really behind on posting. A couple of highlights: Joey just turned 8 months old; We are excited to be participating in our first Step Up For Down Syndrome walk on Sunday October 25, 2009 (follow the link in the sidebar for more information on how to help team Journey With Joey); Joey has had a cough and cold for about three weeks now (poor baby) I feel so sorry for him and I swear you might as well be stabbing me everytime he goes into one of his coughing fits. It is just aweful to listen too and I feel so helpless.

Wordless Wednesday (Honeybear)

Nystagmus

Joey has a Nystagmus. We noticed it a few months ago and got a referral to a pediatric opthamologist (apparently the only one in Sacramento) in August. Our appointment was not supposed to be until November 2, but they called us yesterday when they had a cancellation so I took him to see her yesterday.

She told us that a congential Nystagmus usually begins between 3-4 months of age. Joey's, however, began later. Since Joey's onset is not textbook she wants to do an MRI (which has to be done under general anesthesia) to rule out any other potential causes such as a brain tumor. I am very scared and upset over having to go back to the hospital.

The MRI is scheduled for October 22. While Joey is under anesthesia, the doctor is also going to insert a probe into his clogged tearducts. Hopefully this will clear up the chronic eye infections that he gets every couple weeks.

The doctor assures me that a brain tumor is really rare, especially where, as with Joey, there are no other signs of intracranial pressure. I am still really scared though and am not ready to see my baby in a hospital bed, with an IV again and having to be put under anesthesia. I just hope they don't have to intubate him too. Please pray for him.

NICU Reunion

A few weeks ago we attended Joey's NICU reunion at Sutter Memorial Hospital. It was great seeing some of his former roommates and some of the wonderful nurses who took care of him while he was in there. Needless to say they were impressed by his progress (demonstrated by his healthy weight and rolls)! Here are some pics:

Joey and Marie (the social worker in the NICU who was so kind to us)


Joey checking out the miniature horse in the petting zoo

Joey and some of his nurses... this is Tracey, the nurse who admitted him to the NICU

And another one of his nurses who I remember, but whose name I don't recall

We finally got the Explanation of Benefits from our insurance company for Joey's NICU stay... can anyone guess how much 15 days in the NICU costs?????? $171,000 and I'm not even sure if that included his surgery. It will be interesting to see how that compares to the 15 day stay we had in the PICU. ... I'm sure we will be getting that one shortly. Thank God for insurance!

Waterbaby!

I don't know if it is his weekly water therapy, or what, but Joey has become such the little waterbaby. Here he is on Saturday in the pool with his Daddy.

Making Friends?

Well, sort of.

Lisa, Sheridan's mom was kind enough to provide me with pictures of a recent encounter between Sheridan and Joey at Jen's house. The following was also narrated by Lisa.

Here's Sheridan checking Joey out...



Sheridan gets very curious and interested in Joey. He leans in to check him out and make friends...



Then Joey raises his head and smiles...


What a SCARY Joey ;-)




Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I laughed throughout the day today everytime I was able to sneak a peak at these pictures with Lisa's narration.


It is kind of weird that my 7 month old baby has a whole life four days a week that I am not involved in due to the fact that I have to work full time. I am very grateful and appreciative that he seems to love where he is and that he gets to have so much fun at Jen's, not only moments like the one depicted below, but on a daily basis with Joaquin, Diego and Mateo. Thank you so much for taking such great care of my baby Jen. We love you guys.

Wordless Wednesday (more smiles from the Jumperoo)

Are you ready for some football?

Joey is..... Go Raiders!

Wordless Wednesday (Joey and the Afghan continued)

Joey and His Daddy

Joey and his daddy Tony are so darn cute together. It melts my heart seeing them play together and it is daily affirmation that I married the right guy and was blessed to have been able to have a child with him. Check them out....

sorry could not get the video to upload so click here

Tony's 41st birthday was Sunday. Happy 41st Birthday Tony! I love both you and Joey with all my heart.

Almost Wordless Wednesday (Jumperoo toys)

This was the first time Joey discovered how the toys on his jumperoo work! Look at him go...

Happy Seven Month Birthday Joey!

Joey is seven months old today. How did seven months slip by so fast. Joey is doing some amazing things these days and is getting so big. He now rolls over from front to back and from back to front with ease. He does the tripod sit and is working hard at being able to sit without his hands down. Although not a whole lot, he does babble and try to talk to us. He smiles and laughs out loud. He is trying new foods. So far he has had carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, squash, baby oatmeal, pears and peaches. Most of it ends up on his bib and on his face (he has had some interesting facials) but he is trying and we will get there soon! He loves his baths and swimming in the pool. You should see him splash with his hands and kick his little feet. It is sooooooo cute. We love this baby more than we ever could have imagined and are so very proud of how far he has come in seven short months.

Happy Seven Month Birthday Joey!

Wordless Wednesday (bedtime stories)

New Name

Ok... I've done it. At the suggestion of a few of the other moms I have decided to change the name of Joey's Blog from "Our Bundle of Joy" (taken rather uncreatively from the tag Joey was wearing on his behind in his birth announcement below) to "Our Bundle of Joey" (which was the web address I chose because "our bundle of joy" was unavailable) Thank you for the suggestion. This new name, now matches the URL and is a cute play on words that makes for a great title. So we are now Our Bundle of Joey! I like the new name much better.

Looking at the announcement again makes me realize how much this baby has grown. WOW! At his 6 month check up a few weeks ago Joey weighed in at 17 pounds and was over 25 inches long. It is amazing how much they grow in so little time.