Ability Tuesday

I found this idea on another blog I came across through the down syndrome community and I thought it was a good idea. I am all for celebrating abilities rather than disabilities and it is nice for me to have a reminder that it's a different playing field for Bree. When I start to get caught up in the things she still isn't doing, or I start to feel sad that younger kids around her are doing more than her, I only have to stop for a moment and look at the little achievements she is making each day and it all changes. In her world these little achievements are BIG achievements! So for ablility Tuesday I am going to celebrate just a few of her abilities.

She is trying so hard to make her legs figure out this walking thing, she is picking up on new signs, she is becoming more independant,

she has figured out how to climb up onto chairs on her own-which then leads to climbing onto the kitchen table....

and the computer.....

She is participating more in creative play like rocking her baby and wrapping her in blankets,
She says the sound a cow makes,,

She loves routine and knows hers very well. If you head up the stairs at nighttime with her she immediately signs "bath" and then when you take her out of the bath she starts signing "milk".

Above all, Bree has the incredible ability to light up the room with her smile and to soften any heart with one of her hugs!

Bree's extra chromosome does not mean she isn't smart, it just means she needs different, maybe more creative approaches to learning and one of my goals this new year is to be better at finding out what some of those are for her. "Maybe the challenge is not only in what she is able to learn, but in finding the tools that will unlock the abilities that lie within a brain that is wired a bit differently." (quoted from this blog)

Every new "ability" we discover is a blessing and I am grateful for each one!