31 for 21: Day Three of Five: Seven Things

I've noticed other bloggers posting 21 things about their child with Down syndrome.  I think that is a great idea!  I'm going to break mine up into three posts, since I am not keeping up with my daily posting goal for October.  

Seven things to know about Ben:

(1) He's a music lover.  He started with Signing Time, then fell in love with Laurie Berkner, then it was Elmo and the Sesame Street celebrity songs on youtube.  For a while, Mother Goose Club intrigued him, and now ... he likes the music from Frozen.  If I have a chance, I'll try to video his interpretation of "Let It Go."  He doesn't really sing at all, but he knows all of Elsa's moves.  You can't help but smile.

(2) Ben has over 200 signs.  He's been slow to speak, so sign language has been a great help!  

(3) He is Mr. Independent.  I appreciate that Ben wants to do things himself (get dressed, walk up/down stairs, take the bottle of juice out of the fridge), but it also makes me a wee bit crazy.  I'm learning patience.

(4) Favorite food: pizza.

(5) Ben is fascinated by doors.  He LOVES the automatic opening doors at our church.  Every time we are in the lobby, he has to go in and out of the automatic doors.  He walks out, then moves to the right to stand next to the building while the doors close.  Once they close, he steps up so that they'll open again, and then he strides in again.  But he's not particular - he likes regular doors, too.  Emmett and I used to joke that if we could only find a toy (kind of like this one) that was just a door to go in and out of, Ben would play with it all day long.

(6) Ben's got a little Russell Westbrook in him.  If we're outside playing basketball, Emmett will pick him up so Ben can throw the ball in the tall hoop.  Once Ben's on the ground again, he has a whole taunting/celebration act that he does - lots of arm waving and yelling.  We're perplexed, because our house is tuned into Spurs basketball, and we know that Duncan and Leonard don't go on like that.

(7) Ben has been saying more words.  His first and most reliable word is "up!" accompanied by a finger pointing in the same direction.  Otherwise, he says "bubble," "mama," "dada," "papa," and just this week busted out "blue."  Preschool has had a huge impact on his verbalization.

This is a photo from last summer.  He looked so little then.  

31 for 21: A Busy Week

One of the best things about participating in the 31 for 21 blog hop is that you don't *have* to talk about Down syndrome, you can talk about anything.  You're just supposed to try to blog every day.

I've been talking about Down syndrome to people in real life all week long!  We're gearing up for our second annual Step Up for Down Syndrome walk, and I have been consumed by the details - Tshirt distribution, last minute vendor additions, layout for the walk pavilion, meetings with city officials.  I have a persistent uneasy feeling that I've forgotten something.

In the meantime, I also spoke to my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group about Down syndrome awareness month, and I spent today at a conference booth talking to medical professionals who do perinatal care.  The moms in MOPS were incredible - the last five years in that group have been some of my most challenging and rewarding as a mom.  It was a real privilege to present for them.

I keep telling people that it's a wonder that I can speak in complete sentences.  My brain is fried!

Evan, Corrie and Ben have been incredibly patient with me.  I have dragged them from one end of town to the other while I'm running errands and making phone calls, and I'll keep carting them around for the next week.  McDonalds and Chick Fil A are getting a lot of business from the Tomai family.

We did manage one family fun night last week.  Here we are:

 

31 for 21: Day One!

I have many plans for this October, and one of my plans is to post every day in recognition of Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  Since it's already after midnight on the first day, I'm clearly not getting off to the best start.

So ... meet Ben!

Ben and I enjoy taking selfies together.  I finally got an iphone, and now I'm going crazy with the selfies.  I try to control my posting on facebook, but I may indulge on the blog this month.

 

He's such a cutie!