31 For 21: Day 26...Another Small Step?

My proud boy!

For months, Andrew has been interested in the potty.  He loves to flush the potty and when he does, he looks into the bowl, waves and says, "bye!"  It's really cute, until he continues to flush...and flush and flush.  He also has his own "little" potty.  He likes to sit on it, but so far, that's about all he's done on it.  I also haven't been pushing him or formally training him to use the potty.  This is mostly because I haven't had enough time to spend with him to dedicate to this task.  I'm not good at following schedules or routine, something that Andrew desperately needs.  I was going to wait until Christmas break to really start the potty training.  I thought that by having almost 2 weeks without any school or other interruptions, we could make some progress.  My brother and sister will be here for 2 weeks with their families, so I already know that I have to have everything ready for the holidays before they arrive the weekend before Christmas.  That was the plan...

For the past week or so, Andrew has been saying, "Potty, potty" constantly, mostly when I think that he's trying to stall.  Mostly right before bed, he will start with this rather new word.  I have been trying to be consistent and I do put him on the potty where he will just sit there and demand that I read him a book.  No pee-pee in the potty though.  So for the past 2 nights, I have ignored his request for the potty because I've been tired and just wanted to get him to bed.  Today, he started his potty request sometime after dinner.  Since I was planning to give the kids a bath, I took them into the bathroom and got him ready for the bath.  I noticed that Andrew's diaper was dry even though I changed it right before dinner and it should have been wet.  He sat down on the potty and after a minute or so, he started peeing in the potty!  He seemed very concerned and almost upset and uncertain about it.  I kept encouraging and praising him for peeing in the potty and quickly got the jar of change from the cabinet--the reward that we keep promising the kids if they peed in the potty.  I held out the jar to him and he took a big handful of change out of it.  He stood up and I turned him around so he could look in the potty and see what was there.  I kept up the praise as I followed him into his room so he could put his handful of change into his bank.  He carefully put each coin into the bank and his face lit up when he shook it to see how much was in there.

While, I'm not all that confident that something connected in Andrew tonight when he finally used the potty, but I did learn two things---I need to start to follow a routine for the potty for Andrew and I need to actually take Andrew to the potty when he asks.  I can't wait to send Andrew to school tomorrow with the note in his backpack telling of Andrew's success tonight.  I also want to ask if Andrew asks to use the potty at school or if it's just at home.

I'm interested to hear from my friends here...How old were your kids with Ds potty trained?  How old were your typical kids potty trained?  And please let me know if they are a girl or boy.  I am also struggling with Hailey and the potty, but she still is young.  She just turned 2 in August and while she was interested in the potty for a short time, she seems to be fighting even sitting on the potty anymore...that is, except when Andrew wants to sit on the potty.  When that happens, she would do anything to get to the potty before he does!  So, I'm just wondering when typical girls were trained!  Thanks for any interesting stories or tips. 

31 For 21: Day 23...The Buddy Walk Numbers

2010 Andrew's All Stars

I know I already mentioned the Buddy Walk that was held at Hammonasset State Park in Madison last Saturday, but I have an update.  Our team, Andrew's All Stars raised $1825.00 this year!  It was less than last year, but I have been so crazy with everything else, that I didn't send out our donation request letters until the week before the walk.  And I only had time to email them out so only people that are on my email list got the letter plus Facebook friends and readers of this blog.

I feel really terrible that I slacked off on raising money this year.  I know that I have been doing a lot of work for the CDSC this year, but I always want to do more, and I expect more from myself.  The Buddy Walk is our major, and I mean MAJOR source of funding for the year.  Without the success of the Buddy Walk, we would not be able to do many of the things that we do to support our families.  Our annual convention this month is one of them.  I will be presenting a session at the convention this year, titled "New Parent Discussion Panel."  It's designed for new and expectant parents.  I will be presenting with Cheryl McAuliffe, the chair of the Holland Committee, which is our new parent support team.  We provide a first line of contact for new and expectant parents and send them a packet of current information about Ds, and also includes a handmade baby blanket (I also knit some of these!).  I hope to be able to provide support to new parents during this session and find out how they need that support and how the CDSC can help them.  I wish this sort of session was available to me when I first had Andrew; I think it would have been helpful to know more about what programs were available and what the CDSC does.

But back to the Buddy Walk...I have read unofficial numbers so far, but no final totals yet.  I have read that over 2500 people attended the walk and we have raised over $100,000!  That is already more than last year.  I am so thankful and amazed by the amount of support that our community of friends and family provide every year, both with their donations and their support at the walk.  I think I cry every year when I see how much support and programs we can provide to our families. 

So, a big THANK YOU to or family and friends who not only supported us last week with your donations, but also to those who walked with us on that cold and windy day...my mother-in-law Stephanie, my aunts Melanie and Geri, my uncles Ed and Steve, and my cousin Carly and her friend Jose.  We are so thankful for your support!  Oh yeah, if you've been meaning to make your donation, but forgot about it, there is still time at www.ctdownsyndrome.org.

Here is our list of supporters this year (in no particular order):
Patricia Boyle
The Bassette Family
Mike's Truck & Trailer Repair (Mike & John Maselli)
The Sim Family
Geri & Steve Nelson
Stephanie Yahara
Pamela Mola
The Reeves Family
Carol & Charles Cattanach
Allison Herold
Sarah Roy
Robyn Bacon

31 For 21: Day 22...This one's for you, Bonnie!

Bonnie!

In case you were counting...I missed a number.  That would be Day 21...yesterday.  I fell asleep on the couch watching CSI and The Mentalist.  I have been exhausted due to staying up late at night with the television and then being woken up early by my almost 4 year old alarm clock...yes that would be Andrew!  So tomorrow, I will post twice to make up for it and fulfill my promise of 31 posts this month!  Onward...

My mom and I have a small staff that works for us, mostly in the summer, but now that we have farmers' markets all winter, some staff stays on for the year.  Everyone loves to see the kids when they are there and they have all grown attached to Andrew and Hailey.  Since Hailey is the more outgoing of the two, although that isn't really saying much since Andrew is SO shy, she was eager to learn everyone's names this summer.  Everyday, Hailey would run to the kitchen door to see who had arrived.  "Pam!"  "Hollis!"  "Bonnie!"  And her favorite, "Emma!" who was her babysitter a few mornings a week.  Hailey learned their names quickly and called to them whenever she saw them.  Andrew, however, would run to the kitchen and then flew back to the living room as soon as he saw anyone.  They would follow him and attempt to get a hug, a "hi" or a high five.  Nine times out of ten they left disappointed.  It took most of the summer for Hollis to get Andrew to say her name.  High fives came easier though and I think Andrew misses her now that she's back at college.

This fall, my mom and I realized that we needed more help.  The markets were still busy and we couldn't keep up with all the pot pies and dessert pies we needed to make each week.  We called Bonnie, who sometimes worked for us, but mostly for prep work and service for large catering jobs.  She agreed to help us out one day a week, on Tuesdays when my mom was babysitting the kids.  Andrew seemed to like Bonnie.  He wouldn't duck and run away as quickly when she was there.  She would also do endless "potatoes" with him.  Potatoes is something my mom made up...it's just like a fist bump...two people tapping this fists against each other while saying, "POTATOES!"  Andrew loved to do that with us, but not so much with other people.  But Bonnie could always get Potatoes from Andrew.  He also learned to say her name pretty quickly, in fact, "Bonnie" was the first of our employee's names that we ever heard him say.  I don't even think it's been a month that he learned it, but he says it very enthusiastically, even when she is not working.  "Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie!"  He says it over and over.  If you're not listening carefully, you may even think he's saying, "bunny."

Whenever Bonnie sees Andrew, she always asks him what he did at school that day.  He answer is always the same, no matter who asks him..."Paint!"  He LOVES to paint.  At his private nursery school, they always have the easel with the painting supplies setup and he brings home at least 2 masterpieces everyday.  Not knowing what to do with all of them, I have been stacking them up once they are dry and I am going to wrap Christmas presents with them.  I'm "going green" and recycling the paper and then everyone will get special wrapping paper this year.  Last week, Bonnie asked Andrew for one of his paintings.  See, they had a conversation about Andrew being famous one day.  Bonnie asked him what he was going to do when he grew up, and of course, he said "Paint!"  So, we promised that she could have his next masterpiece so she could have one of his early works.  Watch out world!  Those Christmas wrappings will be worth a bundle of money someday...don't throw them away!

So, Bonnie!  This one's for you...he painted it on Thursday just for you.  He told me so.  I asked him what we were going to do with this painting, and he said, "Bonnie!"  Love that boy...he always keeps his promises!

Bonnie's Masterpiece

by Andrew Yahara



31 For 21: Day 15...Buddy Walk Tomorrow!

Me and Andrew at last year's Buddy Walk.

We're busy today getting ready for our farmers' markets this weekend (as usual), PLUS I'm getting ready for our Buddy Walk tomorrow afternoon!  It's going to be windy and cold on the beach tomorrow.  No matter what the weather, it will still be a FUN day!  I always enjoy seeing friends that we haven't seen in awhile and have them walk for us to help raise money and awareness for Down syndrome.  I really appreciate that my aunt, uncle, cousin and mother-in-law have walked with us every year since Andrew was born.  This will be our 4th Buddy Walk!  Last year, I actually made team t-shirts for us and I made a few more tonight for anyone else who joins us.

I am looking forward to a FUN and chilly day at Hammonasset State Park in Madison.  The registration begins at 11am with Opening Ceremonies at 12:45pm with emcee Sonia Baghdady from WTNH Channel 8 television.  The 1 mile walk begins at 1pm along the board walk.  It is so beautiful to be towards the end of the procession and see the long line of people walking in front of us.  It really is amazing to see how many people have a friend or family member with Ds and how many of them come out to support us.  Plus Chris' boos said that he will double his donation if we can get Sonia to wear a "Mike's Truck & Trailer Repair" t-shirt and have her picture taken in it.  Hopefully that will happen and we can get the extra donation!  Pictures will come tomorrow...as long as I remember to bring the camera...and fresh batteries!

Everyone have a GREAT weekend!  More inspiration and stories to come next week!

YAY! I did it!

Well, I'm finally here...my own blog. Now what? I hardly know where to start here. My husband, Chris, and I have two children--- "Our Wiggle Bugs!" Our first Wiggle Bug, Andrew, is almost 3 years old already and our second Wiggle Bug, Hailey, is almost 15 months old. You'll find by following me and my family, that I am ALL about my family. I am a MOM first. I enjoy spending time with them and doing whatever I can for them to make them happy.

I started this blog to mostly share my experiences as a mom. It is important to know that my son has Down Syndrome. Instead of 46 chromosomes, Andrew has has 47 (that's an extra 21st chromosome). I call him "Chromosomally Enhanced". It is going to take longer for him to learn things, but he will learn. It's taking longer for him to talk due to his low muscle tone, a common characteristic. But he is my son, and I love him more than anything, the same as I love my daughter.

Well, that's where we start for now. Soon, I'll get this really going and share my life as I began my journey into motherhood with the story of Andrew's birth.

Love to all!
Kim :)