My Date

Today Kennedy had a rough day. It is so easy for her to get lost in the commotion each day of taking Jake to Meridian and feeding/changing/holding Leah. I knew she was at the breaking point when she started crying when I told her I couldn't hold her pencil and use it as a music-leading baton while she sang because I had to feed Leah (yet again). I told her to come to Leah's room and asked her if she needed a mom & Kennedy date. Her face lit up as she said "yes!" and we were off. I took her to the Disney 3-D version of Up. It was a really cute show and she liked it for the most part. By the second hour though she was ready to go home and kept saying she missed Leah and Jake. I figured she was just scared of the scary parts of the movie, and this was confirmed when she even resorted to saying, "mom, I'm really getting sleepy. I'm ready to crawl into bed." I don't think she's ever uttered those words before in her short life! So I had her sit on my lap as we finished watching the movie (hey, I had to get my $23.00 worth out of the show-I wasn't leaving until I saw the end). I convinced her that they would save the day in the end and it always turns out good, so she hung in there with me. Of course after the movie she said she loved it and it was the best date ever. I agree. I loved holding my oldest girl that long without her complaining and wanting to get up. I don't get to do that often anymore, so I relished it while I could. Afterward we made a trip to Target to pick up a few things (Kennedy loves target). Kennedy always comes up with some kind of game to play while we're driving. Tonight it was the "find-the-store-to-match-the-sign" game. If you saw a sign on the side of the road advertising a store, you had to look for that store. It's great reading practice for her. The other night she read an Amelia Bedilia book to me-I was amazed! She is an awesome reader. Tonight she asked me how to spell the word "giant" and when I told her she said, "oh, so it has the word "ant" in it then." She has all these great reading strategies that I used to teach to my third graders! Watching her learn to read and seeing the joy she gets out of it has been one of the most fun things of motherhood so far. It ranks right up there with their first smiles and first "I love you's", which, by the way, Jake has learned to say. He concentrates really hard and says slowly, "I.....lub....you" It is the absolute best. I love being a mom. Leah is still loving chewing on her hands like they were made of sugar. Today she even started growling while she was doing it. It made her laugh when I growled back at her. I love this stage, when they have a serious look on their face, but as soon as they catch your eye they break into a big grin! It is another best feeling in the world kind of thing. I still can't believe I have three kids, but it is awesome because I get more chances each day for these great moments (mixed in with a little-or a lot-of chaos, running around, tantrums, whining, etc. etc., of course).

My Prince

So the other day while Kennedy was at school and Leah was sleeping soundly, Jake comes to me while I'm laying on the couch and puts a dishtowel on my head. I'm thinking he's just trying to be funny, but then he keeps tugging on my hand trying to get me up and saying "pence, pence". I don't recognize this new word, and when I ask him to sign it he can't. So I get up and he takes both of my hands and bends side to side, starting to dance this different dance. I say to him, "oh, you wanted to dance?" and he just gives me this look like, "you don't get it, mom." Finally, he stops dancing with me and points to himself and says, "me, pence!" Finally I get it. He's dancing with me because he's my prince! And the dishtowel is my pretty hat. Kennedy will sometimes ask him to be the prince at the ball with her (I've even overheard her saying she wishes she could marry him, which I love.) I just thought it was so cute that Jake wanted to be my prince at the ball! So we continued dancing the special slow dance, the prince and princess. That is, until he saw his truck and promptly dumped the princess to go drive! Oh well. He's still my prince.

Little (big) Jake

I am starting to realize just how small Jake really is (physically). Leah has already outgrown her 0-3 month clothes, which I guess is right on time but seems so fast to me! Jake is wearing some shorts from two summers ago. He just barely switched to size 4 diapers and today I was trying to decide if I should buy size 3 for Leah because her diapers are getting tighter every day. Jake just got out of size 3's about a month ago! And when I measured him on the wall in the same place I measured Kennedy when she turned three, Jake was a full 6 inchs shorter! I feel like Leah is growing right before my eyes. Before I had Jake, I never would have wished to have a child with Down Syndrome, but having Jake stay so small so long has been one of the perks! I got to have my baby stay my baby for so long. He is still such a cuddler and has the best little body to hold-he just melts into you. However, I have to say that just because Jake is small physically definitely doesn't mean he has a small personality. That little boy has more personality and friendliness and just downright man in him that most kids twice his age! He walks around the room like he owns it, and when he leaves preschool each day he throws a great big kiss to all "his people". I think he thinks he's a rock star, and I'm never going to tell him otherwise. Love you little man.

Life is good

Fridays are like our Saturdays. It's the only day of the work week that we don't have to go to preschool, Jake's therapy, or work. I relish each Friday. My favorite part of the day is watching Kennedy and Jake play together. They are hilarious. Today I was standing in the kitchen, about five minutes after getting them dressed for the day. The next thing I know, Kennedy comes running out completely naked, quickly followed by Jake sporting nothing but a smile. Lots of giggles at my reaction to them. Of course they had to do a dance and song routine while in the buff. Kennedy ended it by sighing and saying, "I wish I could just be naked all the time." Isn't childhood great?

Where have we been?

I joined the world of Facebook (for good or bad, I don't know yet) so I haven't been blogging at all, but I decided I still want to keep this blog up to date so the kids and I can look back at things. They love to look at pictures of themselves and hear what I've written.

Kennedy's last week of preschool is next week, then it's off to Kindergarten in the fall! We went to the Kindergarten registration a month or so ago at the school; when we walked into the school and especially the kindergarten classroom, Kennedy's eyes lit up like a kid in the candy store! She is so excited to go to school and even more excited to ride the bus! I am excited for her to have her own grade school adventures, but at the same time I feel the need to protect her from the cruel world! It's hard to let go, even a little, and let her experience the "real world." Luckily for me, though, she's a pretty confident girl so she's going to do just fine. She's taken off with her reading and can read pretty much any kid book you give her. The other night she read me Guess How Much I Love You and I was blown away! She has picked up on reading like it was second nature to her. It is so fun to watch her read and understand things.

Jake has been going to his preschool/therapy place for a few months now and is doing great! He really likes his teachers and has made a LOT of progress both with his motor skills and speech. He is a big talker now; sometimes you can't get a word in edgewise! He's really patient with us when we don't understand him-he'll often sign the word while he says it so we can "get it." He also says "love you, mom" now, which is of course, the best!

Leah is growing like a weed. She can roll over but always gets her arm stuck under her. She is such a happy, smiley baby, especially for Kennedy. She loves to stretch in the morning when I'm changing her diaper. She has the shortest, chubbiest legs of all my kids. Everyone is saying she looks a lot like Jake, which I can see more and more each day. She is so tolerant of all the running around we do-from taking Kennedy to preschool, Jake to therapy, and mom to work. She takes it all in stride and usually has a big nap when we finally return home each day around 4:00. Even though I knew it would happen, it has always amazed me at how a new little person just fits into the family like they were always here. I can't imagine life without her now.

Jake loves to sing

Jake is really enjoying singing songs lately. Lullaby is his favorite.