Music lover

One of the biggest motivators for Lucas is the sound of music. Whether it's someone singing his favorite song "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or some a dance tune Lucas is starts to shake his body from side to side or begins clapping his hands to the beat.  We took Lucas last weekend to a music class and he settled right in as if he had been attending the class for months. I think there are some musical instruments in his future for sure!

Baby Mozart

Lucas and mommy on beat!

Working out at physical therapy

Yesterday Lucas didn't know what was in store for him as we got back to work with his physical therapist.  With Lucas being stronger and more mobile and motivated to extend his movements we capitalized on this with work on a baby treadmill and some exercises in his spio vest and hip helpers.  After all this working out I had one tired and sleepy baby by the time I got home.  I think Lucas is ready for more of this next week! Way to go!

At this point we are aiming for Lucas to be on the treadmill for 6-8 minutes.  While he at times has been skeptical about movement of the treadmill with a little help in moving his legs and feet he eases into it and by the end of the session is more comfortable with helping move his own legs and feet. (Let's not mention mom is in front of Lucas doing a lot of silly faces and singing of songs!) 

The use of treadmills in children born with Down syndrome has been receiving a lot more attention and research which indicates positive strides in growth and development.  It not only may help some children begin to walk sooner but also helps with mobility that helps children explore their environment.  As a parent with a special needs child I will always look for advancements that may help Lucas and others.  This is surely an exciting time for us as we watch Lucas keep moving forward in his development.

"Uh, what is this mom?"

"Ok, now I get it!"

One leg at a time!

"I am ready for my tryout with the Chicago Bulls"

Arms getting stronger - easy does it!

Pushing up!

Colorful beads, a wonderful motivator for Lucas!

Fun Photo Friday

Just because I love snapping photos of Lucas I wanted to post this one today since it totally melts my heart!  We arrived and daycare and he just wanted to sit in his chair and play with his shoes while bundled up.  Love this little guy so much!

Painting

Today Lucas had Developmental Therapy (DT) and one of the activities he did was some finger painting.  This is the second week in a row where he has brought home his art work and this time he actually used a ball to paint while last week he used his fingers.  Painting is something that he really enjoys and is getting quite good at.  Lucas is quite the little artist!

These activities are especially beneficial for Lucas and are a great activity that develops his fine motor skills.  This also allows him to have "messy play" that provides additional sensory experiences for him.  When he uses a ball or anything other than his own fingers to paint it also allows him to experience different textures while having fun painting.

 

Oops the photo is upside down!

 
 

Raising Awareness

Since Lucas has been born he has brightened our world in every way possible, just as any baby does, to parents as well as friends and family.  In addition, the fact that Lucas was born with an extra chromosome has opened our eyes to Down syndrome and allowed us to not only be educated but also brought so many wonderful people into our lives.  Recently along this journey we became active in a photo campaign with the organization Saving Down syndrome who's mission is to ensure that antenatal screening exists only to provide unborn children with Down Syndrome and their parents with life-affirming, unbiased care through education, support and understanding.

Due to the fact that there are so many half truths out there and mounds of misinformation given to expectant parents of a baby that will be born with DS we decided to join in their efforts.  This organization is based out of New Zealand where many governmental policy changes still are needed to affirm this organizations mission.

We did have a prenatal test that allowed Carlos and myself to know in advance that our baby would have a little "extra something" but we also had wonderful medical staff, family and friends that provided unbiased information and communication to help us through the process.  This is critical and needed for parents that find themselves in the same shoes as Carlos and myself.  If our experience had been different I am not sure how things might have turned out but we are ever so thankful that Lucas was brought to us.  He is our world!  And just like the campaign says, "Down Syndrome: so what?" because our son should be and will be treated just like everyone else!

  

Learning words

Part of the beauty of having a child is playing and helping them learn new things and in the process you would be surprised with all the learning you are doing along the way.  This past weekend we enjoyed a physical therapy class at Gigi's Playhouse and then spent the rest of the weekend having fun at home. While I was trying to teach Lucas how to have fun with bubbles it reminded me how much I stink at blowing them but Lucas next let on about how bad I was.  Instead he loved looking around at all the bubbles and lunged forward to pop ones that landed on the floor in front of him. It was amazing him zone on a bubble and use his little fingers to pop them.  I am not sure who was more excited - him or me?  So as you can see our first word of the weekend was B-U-B-B-L-E!!!

Which one should I get?

Oh man, she is blowing these all for me!! My mommy rocks!

"Got it!! I got it!!"

We also got to spend some time this weekend working with our new touch and feel flash cards. We always try to work with Lucas on the same types of activities that he does in the daycare and with his therapists.  His DT (developmental therapists) has been using these flash cards with Lucas so of course mom had to rush out and get these for our little man.  As you can see we had fun learning.  Language, word recognition along with visual aids are so helpful for all children and we make sure to work with Lucas as much as we can to assist his verbalization of sound.  As I said before you are amazed at how much you learn from your children! Lucas sure teaches me patience, compassion and to be the best educator I can be.  Surely my inner teacher is emerging!!

Ohhhhh, that is nice and furry!

That's a ball mom....I got tons of those!!

Uploads for the new year - Part 2

Little did I know that tonight we would have a tiny dancer on our hands but due to Lucas' love for music I should have figured he would come up with some smooth moves soon enough. That's my son for sure!  Enjoy the videos.

Video uploads for the new year

I found these little videos in my email and figured now is as good a time to load them and start our new year right!  It's always fun to watch Lucas in action.  He is such a ham for the camera.

The first video is Lucas enjoying a new Christmas toy while the second one is his love for Row, Row, Row Your Boat! This kids laughter is purely amazing!