Musical Fun

Since winter is right around the corner we decided to try out a music class and see if this is something we would like to begin taking Lucas to and even more so, make sure Lucas would enjoy this.  I think the verdict is in and he enjoyed the entire class. He even got in a little playtime before the class began and was super happy to have daddy participate in the class too.  I think we have a little musician on our hands.

"I think I should take my socks off before trying to climb this colorful mountain"

"Hmmm, maybe someone will come help me up this thing"

"Shake, shake, shake the maracas!"

Lucas and daddy doing a little dancing and singing!

Life at The Lily Garden

During the day when mom and dad are hard at work Lucas enjoys the day at daycare having fun with his friends and all the teachers in the infant room. It's pretty neat to hear about all the fun stuff they have planned for the kiddos and to know they actually follow a curriculum to promote and develop learning.  Today when I went I got to see the end result of Lucas' painting with a lemon, tasting a lemon and read the October baby bulletin that said we would be baby of the month. Way to go Lucas!

"Yum, lemons taste good!"

Painting with a lemon

Believe in Miracles

Today I was feeling a bit nostalgic as I came across some old photos of Lucas from when he had an extended stay in the NICU before he was able to come home.  When I look at these photos they seem more like yesterday rather than something that happened over a year ago.  It was during this time when I really understood what was meant when people told me, "Believe in Miracles" because we have one in Lucas that we thank God for every day.  I feel so lucky to have been trusted enough to be Lucas' mommy!  These photos will always be special to me and remind me of a time that was trying but yet amazing, that was tiring but very much worth it.  A time that will be forever engraved in my heart.  It is amazing how far we have come....and we will continue to believe!

Lucas only 24 hours old

Family photo in the NICU when we were finally able to go home after a week and a half

Mama and her little miracle

Lucas at 5 days old still needing his feeding tube

Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you.

                      -Jon Bon Jovi

Looking good

So even though we had a busy weekend we decided it was important to go support a fundraiser for a Gigi's Playhouse that is trying to get started in the south suburbs of Chicago. It was fun seeing so many people, eating some frozen custard and getting dressed up for the occasion.  We even got to get some photos down by the folks at Changing the Face of Beauty where Lucas is part of the modeling gallery. They were taking photos for a World Down Syndrome Day video that is in collaboration with IDSC so it was pretty awesome experience for our family.

Here is Lucas right before we headed out today and he is looking quite handsome if I don't say so myself! (just ignore the red eye!)

1st Visit to the Zoo

Mom has been slacking a little on getting photos up from Lucas' 1st visit to the zoo but I finally found a few extra minutes in the day to post them.  We took Lucas to Brookfield Zoo last Saturday and invited his cousin and aunt to join us.  (Christina, Isa and Leonel for those of you who know them)  As is often the case when we get to hang out with them it was a great time and beautiful weather.  We even got to check out the dolphin show which Lucas really liked since there was a lot of excitement, music and clapping.  All things he loves! We can't wait to take him back again!

Waiting patiently for the dolphin show to begin!

Getting some love from daddy!

The stars of the show

Lucas is a fan

Lucas with daddy and mommy after the show

Cousins!

Checking out the rainfall and monkeys

Daddy showing Lucas around the monkey house

Lucas and his #1 girl

WHAT??

"Ok, I am ready to move on mom!"

Visting the giraffes

Two handsome men!

We loved these guys!

Lots of arms and leg work

Yesterday we went to our OT session to see what Emily had in store for us and as usual she had a packed hour of activities that made Lucas whine and whimper off and on while he did things he didn't want to.  Even though Lucas tried his best to get out of doing some of the planned exercises Emily took no prisoners. Lucas endured 60 minutes of hard work! It paid off because Lucas really started taking off with arm work and putting pressure on his legs. You can say that we are moving in the right direction to begin (maybe) crawling or even sitting to stand in the coming months.

Putting pressure on arms and grabbing for cause/effect toys

Expanding range of motion and coming back to sitting position. (not his favorite)

Feet positioning to help with sitting to stand

Lifting up and standing up with assistance

Standing tall with a little help

Drinking with Two Hands

So I am trying to get caught up on everything that has been going on with us so I will start with this milestone we hit late last week.  Lucas began to drink from his cup with two hands! To some that may sound like something quite simplistic but to us it was HUGE. For much of Lucas' life use or arms to lift his body or hold on to things has been a bit of a task for us and one we have spent lots of time working on.  Since Lucas is now one I wanted to begin challenging him a bit more with the whole idea of self-feeding. When the little man put both hands on his cup and angled it into his mouth I felt like screaming with excitement.  Luckily I didn't do that since it would have scared him and made him cry. (Shame on mommy for almost doing that!)  We are continuing to work on all aspects of self-feeding and moving towards our milestones...one day at a time.

Drinking all by myself!

Setting the cup down

"I am so proud of myself."

The Little Artist Strikes Again

So it's been a little bit since we showcased any of Lucas' artistic pieces so we decided today is as good a time as ever to showcase a couple of new pieces of art.  Lucas loves to use his hands and paint different projects at daycare and usually does a nice job of making sure it gets on his clothes! Thank goodness it is water soluble and comes out easy!  I will say the Lucas' daycare does a great job on tapping into the one's artistic sides and makes sure to display all their work for everyone to see.

Lucas' lemon since the color of the month at school is yellow!

Lucas decided black was a nice color for his baseball! Way to go little man!

Opening birthday gifts...little by little

As to not overwhelm myself and Lucas, but mainly myself, we are just starting to take out our new toys to play with and other gifts little by little. Lucas has been having fun with lots of fun with each and every one of them and will continue to do so for some! Lucas was very blessed to get so so many goodies from everyone!

Stylin' in the Radio Flyer

Rolling through the streets of GE

A gift from Isa but mommy put it on the wrong end!

New outfit from Tia Jennifer

Birthday gift explosion

The new bib! Thanks Uncle Leo I am ready to ride!

Loves to drum!! Our own little drummer boy.

Feature Photo on Circle 21

So after a weekend of celebrating we got another treat today bu having Lucas be featured on Circle 21's Facebook page. It was especially cute to see all the "likes" and wonderful comment left. How cool! Thanks for making our day Circle 21! It's hard to see but the quote says "Every child is gifted.  They just unwrap their packages at different times."