Step Up for Down Syndrome Kansas City Style!

Addy and I went to Kansas City last night so we could participate in the KC Step Up today. We had an easy trip up there. Our new van has a TV in it that Addy didn't know about. Thank goodness her preschool teacher had some Sesame Street VHS tapes! (We will be changing it to a DVD player soon :) She loved having that to entertain her but got tired of them after about an hour so we put on Dr. Jean and sang away!

We got to our hotel kinda late so I got Addy into her jammies and fed her real quick. I must have fed her too quickly because she almost immediately decided to upchuck most of it :( I was afraid she was coming down with something, she's had funny stools and has been acting like she was going to vomit on Thursday so I was freaking out inside! Fortunately she was fine all night with no issues at all! I fed her breakfast nice and slow and she did fine!

We got over to Step Up and they had so many cool things for the kids to do! Jake would have LOVED it! They had a rockwall and a bungee jump thingy (nice vocabulary huh?), and both boys would have enjoyed the Video Game bus! Addy like Radio Disney and was dancing around a bit! We had so much fun hanging out with Pudge and Biggie (LC and Jace in case you didn't know!) and Dariya. Poor little Alayna has been in the hospital with a nasty respiratory virus. Fortunately she got out today! We missed her and her mommy Rochelle so much! However, hanging out with their Daddy, Jason isn't a bad deal, what a gem he is! Addy and I are both pretty fond of that wonderful British accent as well :) Addy was amazed that she was bigger than other kids! She definitely needs a little brother or sister! Who's in for a major fundraiser???

Here are some pix of all of the cuteness, can't wait to see more! I know Courtney got lots of good pix, Addy was being a ham for her!

Hi LC! Long time no see!!

I seriously would get NOTHING done if I lived in a house with these two!! They are so stinkin cute! So busy too! Addy is a cakewalk!

She was fascinated with the clowns, she loved them! Here's what she was pointing at:

Addy and Courtney :)

Addy and Jace :) They weren't sure what to think of one another!

LC and Addy hugged and hugged! LC kept telling Addy some amazing stories too, so funny!

Addy and Dariya! She was blowing kisses :)

See her stories were hilarious!

Addy decided that Jace and LC were having too much fun walking around so she decided to take a stroll! LC was hot on her heels :)

And she bypasses the big girl!

Time to go home, so sleepy!

21 Things about Addy :)

1. SHE IS WALKING!!! (that's a big one!)
2. She absolutely LOVES music.
3. She is "eating" about a jar of baby food per day.
4. She sings a mean Prairie Dawn.
5. She's BOSSY, just ask her and you'll hear "I bossy".
6. She's stubborn.
7. She is still one of the gassiest kids I've ever met!
8. She is so smart! She knows all of her colors, rote counts to beyond 20 and has improved her 1-1 correspondence to at least 12, knows her uppercase alphabet letters, follows two step directions, and follows classroom rules when she chooses too :)
9. Randomly breaks out in singing the ABCs.
10. LOVES to hold your hand by your thumb and rub your palm across hers. She'll do it for hours if we'd let her :)
11. Weighs 27 pounds and is 35 inches tall.
12. Just turned FIVE YEARS OLD!
13. Doesn't want to have anything to do with fine motor activities.
14. Is completely addicted to Sesame Street and Signing Time.
15. Loves to go in the car and is an excellent traveler!
16. Thoroughly enjoys reading books.
17. Learned how to drink out of a straw!
18. Still thinks Jake hung the moon! However her favorite phrase is "Jaaaaake stooooop!"
19. Calls our dog, Bella, Beya Beya Beya.
20. Loves school and being with friends.
21. Is LOVED so much by so many people. She is the most special little thing, each and every chromosome makes her such a unique, beautiful little girl and we couldn't be more blessed to be her family!

Birthday Bash!

We had Addy's birthday this afternoon and had a blast! Several of her friends from school came to celebrate with her, so very sweet! Addy got so many wonderful gifts, she's a lucky little girl! I'll get pics of her with her loot tomorrow, our birthday party girl turned into one big cranky girl on the way home! Way too tired!

We went to Build A Bear and each child got to make one of their choice. They had a special on the cutest little owl and that's the one Addy chose, it is darling!

Playing Simon Says with our bears :)

Even Jarika came to visit!!! Addy's blowing her a kiss lol

Addy really only enjoyed playing with the ribbons! She didn't take part of any of the other activities!

Aren't group pix hysterical!

Addy managed to grab the cake before we could get pix, lol. Too bad she wouldn't eat it! It was amazing! Strawberry cake with banana cream filling with chocolate icing, oh my word! Beyond delicious! If you're local, visit here and 10% of the proceeds go to the Down Syndrome Group of the Ozarks!

Addy loves opening presents. She can throw all the paper and someone else picks it up!

Addy was signing "Happy Birthday" while we sang :)

I'm working on Addy's video montage which I'll post on Addy's actual birthday on Tuesday :)
Yesterday Jarika worked the Missouri Southern State University's football game :) Isn't she a cute little student trainer! :)

Fire Trucks and Music Therapy

The firefighters came for a visit today :) Addy's class were so well behaved while they spoke! Not one of them was afraid of Sparky the Fire Dog either! Pretty impressive huh?!?!

Addy even tried a little bit of the snack today, fire trucks :)

Tonight Addy got to participate in her first Music Therapy session! She had so much fun! There were about six kids in the group. They got to play with shakers, chimes and drums tonight. Addy had a difficult time staying in her space (shocker) and actually hanging onto her chime. She didn't want to hold it and kept throwing it. We're going to have to work on that! Can't wait till next week, she just lit right up and had a blast!

I Love Down Syndrome!

It is really quite sickening how crazy I am about people with DS! Well before Addy ever entered our lives I was drawn to people with DS. I was always so excited when we got a referral for a new student that had DS. My boss would joke that they needed to be hidden from me because I would snatch them!

Since it is DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH, I'm just going to talk about what I love about Down syndrome. First off, the physical characteristics. Those beautiful almond shaped eyes, the crooked little pinkies, the gap between the toes, their short stature, and their amazing smiles! I am always impressed with their low muscle tone and flexibility, watching Addy in her "taco" position cracks me up!

I love their souls, I know there's the ole wives tale that children with DS are always happy, those of us that live it know that that is not true. However, they are honest to goodness, good, honest, loving, and giving little beings! I don't think I really have ever witness people I know with DS that have people they don't like. I'm sure that happens often, I've just never seen it!

We are so blessed that our dream of Addy came true. There were days that I had almost given up on our dream, so glad I didn't have to! May 17, 2007 will forever be a memory for me, that's the day Robin Steele called to let me know that a 6 month old baby girl from up north was available for adoption. That was my girl!

My precious little one is turning 5 in 6 days!!! I'm working on a montage of her first five years and all her amazing little gifts she brings us everyday! We're having a party at Build a Bear for her, should be a lot of fun, I wish all of our bloggy friends could join us :( Sometimes I think we should do fundraisers for all of us to have annual meetings!

Never seen

I had never seen this precious picture of my baby girl until today. What a precious beauty she was just a few days old :) I cannot thank her birth parents enough for sharing some wonderful pix with us. I will be putting some into a montage for Addy's 5th birthday coming extremely soon!

Fall Friday Nights

We enjoy going to our school's football game on Friday nights :) Addy works the crowd and claps with the cheerleaders and the band. She always says "touchdown" with her little hands waving in the air. It's so much fun.

Last night I took some pix of another favorite girl of ours :)

I can't wait to see Addy out there playing with the band, dancing, tossing flags or whatever she chooses to do :)