Down Syndrome Day at Lagoon

We finally made it to the Down syndrome day at Lagoon this yearThe first stop was the bumper cars
Mia seemed excited and smiley...until the cars started moving...she freaked out and the guy had to stop the ride and get her out.


Next we tried the little boats...harmless I thought....


As soon as she started moving she freaked out again! Bree was so sweet trying to help her

She slowed down the tears for the last time around the little loop but when we got off she climbed in the stroller and didn't want on another ride for quite a while.
Bree on the other hand was all for adventure. She went on everything she could
We went with some of our cousins and Bree loved going on the rides with them





When Kyra got back from the big rides we had her go on the planes with Mia and fromt hat ride on Mia was fine....I guess she just needed to know Kyra was there for her



Bree even went on the rollercoaster and watching her face was priceless! I of course couldn't go on anything so I got to watch

We met at the terrace with the other DS families and ate dinner.
We almost got Bree, Mia and Morgan to all cooperate for a picture at the same time!
Mia loves uncle Chris and was thrilled to go on rides with him
Bree and dad



that is a dangerous sight!

I didn't get a lot of pictures of Kyra because they spent most of their time in the "big rides" which they loved!



Adrie and Ava

Sisters:This picture captures my little ones so well right now. Bree is becoming Mia's little mentor. Although Bree is technically a month younger than Mia, Bree acts a lot older and is taking on the big sister role to Mia. It is so sweet to see the way their relationship is developing and to hear them laughing and playing together. Bree is always watching out for Mia lately asking where she is and helping her learn new things. Bree even takes Mia's hands to teach her a new sign for a new word....it is so sweet! Mia is really looking up to Bree right now and I am loving watching their personalities as they learn to love and watch out for eachother!

Back to School 2011

I can't believe it is back to school time! The summer went by super fast this year....I guess it doesn't help being gone for almost the whole first month though!Kyra started 4th grade this year

My Adrie lou bell started 1st grade....
1st grade is always the hardest for me because they are suddenly gone all day and it makes me sad!

These two girls are HUGE helpers with Bree and Mia and they are honestly the best big sisters to them. They never complain about helping with them and have treated them with love and respect from day one! So I am feeling quite lost without them around to help me. They took good care of the girls all summer while I laid around feeling awful!





The littles saying goodbye to their big sisters
Adrie and her friend Mercedes
Dad got to come with us to the school this year and the girls loved having him there too.

Adrie and Mrs. Young

Kyra and Mrs. Bradley

After we took them to school we went to the park with some friends before it got too hot



It was super windy which doesn't mix well with Bree, her hair, and eating...
the picture doesn,t do it justice but since Bree has no problem eating food while her hair is in her mouth, she came back from the playground with about 10 chewed up fruit snacks tangled in her hair. We had to paste her hair with peanut butter and wash it a few times before it came out.
They survived the first day of school
usually I make homemade cookies the first day of school but then I saw these at the store and decided that was a better option with my current sick state. They were really cute and the kids loved them....and they were easy! So win win!
We got out the back to school chairbackers

and set the table for the traditional back to school dinner. We eat on the school lunch trays and have "school lunch" foods

We introduce our family theme...this year it is "Try a little harder to be a little better"


All in all a successful 1st day of school. The only sad momma part was when Adrie told me she didn't play with anyone at recess, she just stood around by herself. Last year she played with Kyra and all her friends but this year they are on different playgrounds so poor Adrie was lost. A few days before school started I asked her if she was excited to have 3 recesses in 1st grade and she said "no, I would rather just do math"....I guess she was nervous about who she was going to play with. It just breaks a momma's heart to hear your child was all alone and feeling lost at school and you couldn't do anything about it. I am sure it will get better but it made me sad to hear.