This week Lucy and I are on spring break. Over this past weekend Lucy and Simon spent some time with Nana and Papa while Kevin and I went to DC. I had never been and we had such a good time. We're so lucky that Ian is such a good baby. He did so well on our trip. A special thanks to Amber for letting us crash at her place. Lucy and Simon had a great time being spoiled! Simon is still talking about the trains.
Today we went to the zoo. It was the first time we were able to let the kids walk around and not be bound to the stroller. Lucy has finally learned about consequences so she will listen much better than she used to. I was amazed at how well Lucy did walking. Her arthritis is doing so much better. The gorillas are always a favorite. A bonus was that we got to see the zoo keepers feeding the tiger.
Elliot's Nest is one of my favorite blogs. Lucy is about the same age as Aidan and we get to see his parents at many of the DSACO events that we go to. I read her blog today and wanted to shout Amen! I was trying to think about how I could rewrite it over here. I decided just to copy it.
From Elliot's Nest by Jennifer Elliot
Huffington Post
I was reading a story on the Huffington Post about Obama's joke with Jay Leno about the Special Olympics. There was a poll at the bottom, so I voted and was surprised by the results...
Obama’s joke about the Special Olympics was…
Just a light-hearted, self-deprecating comment. Get over it people. 27.54%
Maybe a dumb thing to say, but he didn’t mean it in a mean-spirited way, and it is pretty funny. 26.04%
A tasteless comment that he should not have said, period. 24.92%
Why are we even talking about this? 21.5%
I guess I'm surprised that almost 50% of people don't think this is a big deal at all. Does that mean that almost half of our country thinks it's perfectly fine for the President to ridicule people with disabilities? Perhaps that's not too surprising in a country where 90% of babies with Down syndrome are aborted, but I guess I just wish for more for our country, more for Aidan, more for children with disabilities. I hope for a day when Aidan has the same opportunities as everyone else, not just by law, but in people's hearts as well.

Well said.

Field Trip

Dear Friends,

Today I went with my preschool class on a field trip to the post office and to see a train. We have been learning a lot about trains in school. At the post office I got to see what happens "back stage" and mailed a post card I made.The best part of the day was getting to see the train. It is parked in Gambier on the Koksoing Gap Trail. The train is fully restored and we even got to get inside the caboose. It was so much fun. Another fun part of the day was riding the school bus!

Love,
Lucy

Spread the Word to End the Word

I saw this on the Elliot's blog and wanted to share. I'm buying the t-shirt. It's worth four minutes.

Mommy the Zoo Keeper

Everyone has those toddler talk stories. You know those ones when the family is in the car and the toddler in the back seat says something totally silly. Those things they might say as you are putting them down to bed that make you forget about the mess they made and just ease the stress you have. Times when they are trying to make sence of their world with the vocabulary that they have. Lucy is doing amazing things but I've longed for some of those moments. I remember waiting for her to say "Mommy." I took a litte longer but it came.

Today I talked with her speech therapist and am glad to report that those comments could be right around the corner. During speech she was playing with a plastic hippo and the zoo keeper, who she called Mommy. Mommy fell off the hippo and her therapist told her to tell Mommy to get back on. Lucy came back with a 5 word sentence. A five word sentence! (a rough measurment is one word per year 3 years = three word phrase) Lucy said, "Get on please hippo Mommy." A little out of order- but I do believe that's the cute toddler phrase I've been waiting for.

Locker Soccer

Saturday we were able to attend the 3-5 playgroup. We were so excited to finally be able to go.It had been a while since we have been able to make it. We went to an indoor soccer place in Powell called Locker Soccer. It was great. The kids got to play inside a walled in area that had some fake grass so it was kind of soft. They ran around and kicked soccer balls. It was so nice to see some families we hadn't seen in awhile.
They had some organized games planned. When ever the "coach" would call them over Lucy would head right over and sit in the circle. He had them run back and forth from wall to wall. She was able to stay right in the middle of the pack. So often she's heading up the rear. Then he had them stretch. I wish I would've caught it on video. She followed right along. During the actual "games" she just ran around. It was so much fun! I got some pictures but nothing special. It's difficult chasing after two kids holding one and remembering to capture the moment. I guess it was one of the times we just enjoyed the moment. Simon had a great time too. With only a car nap he wanted to follow his own agenda.
Days like these make me wish we lived closer to Columbus. I wish Lucy (and us) could have a chance to interact with our DSACO friends more often. There are also opportunities there that or little town just can't provide.