Picaso

I am not brave enough to let him loose with real paint just yet but he LOVED painting with water!

We have had a fantastic week here, Owen has been an absolute joy ! Playdough, painting, gardening, and stair climbing (up and down) fill in our days very nicely.

sometimes I'm afraid

We have just been away camping. It was a great trip except for Owen's yelling, groaning and grizzling. I know he is loud at home but out in the bush it just seemed so much louder and with other people camping close by, I was really conscious of just how loud he is. I thought I could sense the other people looking our way, wondering what was "wrong" with our baby, or wishing we could make him be quiet, it was one of those times when I felt poignantly aware of his disability. I felt like yelling out to them - He's got Down Syndrome, OK!

I don't know if other kids with DS are like this or not, but Owen seems to get yell/groan alot - its his outlet for tension - like if the dog comes too close, or he doesn't want that piece of cheese, or he has had enough kisses for the day and I think with all the different sensory input in the bush he was more noisy than usual. I found myself at one point looking over at him sitting on the grass in front of the tents yelling and groaning and I thought - , is he going to be doing this when he is 9, 18, 30, 60 ??? it made me cringe and I felt deeply, deeply sad and afraid, afraid of his disability, afraid for the effect on my other boys and afraid for what my life may look like.

Owen was fine if I carried him round on my hip or in the baby carrier and he LOVED all the butterflies and the waterfalls and he was great in the baby backpack on our long hikes, so that was a saving grace and I hope that once he learns to talk and can communicate and we can reason with him that the yelling, groaning and grizzling will become a distant memory, another thing that I worried over unnecessarily.

return to arms

Owen hasn't given up on me, no not at all. Today is the 4th day of his return to nursing !
He refused to nurse for over 5 weeks. I know there isnt a whole lot of milk there so I am calling them "cuddles" for now and the change in him is noticable. Owen seems happier emotionally now he is nursing again and who wouldn't be with 2 or 3 long (20 minute) "cuddles" a day, it is so delicious to hold him in my arms and snuggle again.

required equipment: ear muffs

If your only 3 years old and and don't want to share your toys, or your lunch or the bathroom with your pesky little brother, what do you do ?

You squeal, scream and/or cry like you are being mauled by a bear (well that's what Cy has been doing this week),

and what does Owen do ?

well like any annoying little brother he copy's, raising the decibel level to extraordinary, making me wince and making Cy cry and scream even louder.

I try quietly and in a very orderly and adult way to umpire this situation to sort out what is wrong, to remind Cy that Owen is copying him, to use our normal voices, to come to mummy if there is a problem rather than screaming BUT I have to admit these boys are wearing me down and I fear I may join the fray ! I have started rolling my eyes at them when they start their screaming matches and that is a sure sign that I am beginning to crack.

what makes a good motivator?

Who knew that a jar of Arnica could be a great motivator? Owen's first cruise!

He has also progressed from a four point crawl to bear crawl over the past week - he only 4 points when he wants to go somewhere FAST. I am so excited to see this new stage the possibilities it opens up for him - he also climbed onto the couch for the first time this morning - climbing and cruising all in one day !