Matthew is THREE today!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Matthew!!!

 

We had such a great day of celebrating with Matthew!

We had cake, ice cream, presents and LOTS of love to go around with mommy, daddy and LOTS of brothers and sisters!

Matthew enjoyed opening his presents but was not too sure about eating the cake.

He tried ONE bite...

...and he was DONE with the cake!

 

That's okay!  We ate the cake with gusto in honor of Matthew!! 

Justin could not wait to 'sneak up' on the cake and get his hands on it!

Below is the only picture of Jeff we have with Matthew from today ...see the reflection and camera flash in the window.  Jeff is usually the one taking all the pictures so we have to remember to snap a few of him as well.  Jeff loved on Matthew and wished him a happy birthday today, we just didn't think to capture it on film. We're thankful to have this picture though!

Happy, Happy Birthday Matthew!  

We love you sooooooo very much!!

Catching up post

It's been quite awhile since I have posted because we are all just getting over being sick.  Not terribly sick, just allergies/gunky noses/coughing type of sick.  Sick or not, we have been one busy family....

Our local Buddy Walk was last Saturday.  The day was cool and overcast but then cleared up to make for perfect walking weather!

Buddy Walk 2011

 We had a GREAT turnout!

Rachel and Faith handing out Reece's Rainbow fliers!

We hosted the Reece's Rainbow table again this year.

Holly walking in the Buddy Walk with Sarah and Sydney!

Jason walking with Justin in the Buddy Walk!

Sarah meeting big brother Wesley for the very first time!!!

  
Sydney meeting Wesley for the very first time!!!

Volleyball!

Rachel's volleyball season is going really, really well!!!

Bleachers are not stroller friendly so we usually sit on the sidelines to watch the games.

Best view in the house!

Household fun!

The newly emptied-out bottom two shelves of our bookcase has become quite the hot-spot for playing these days.

 

Holly taking a walk with Sydney.  Perfectly in step!!

Holly showing Sarah some weeds wild flowers!

Jason entertaining the little ones

YUMMY!

Three types of Down syndrome

Did you know that people who have Down syndrome have the same exact healthy chromosomes as everyone else!?!  Why yes, yes, they do!  They simply have one extra #21, so three copies of 21 instead of two.  People without Ds have 23 pairs of chromosomes while people with Ds have 23 pairs, plus one extra  #21.   

There are three types of Down syndrome:

1. Full or Complete Trisomy 21
2. Mosaic Down syndrome
3. Translocation Down syndrome

90% of  people with Ds have the extra #21 in every cell in their body...called Full or Complete Trisomy 21.  About 5% of people with Ds have the extra #21 only in certain cells...called Mosaic Ds.  About 5% of people with Ds have part of the extra #21 connected to another chromosome...called Translocation Ds.


So there you have it in a nut shell.  The three different types of Down syndrome.

"31 for 21"....I'm up for a challenge

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month and every year for the past 5 years, there has been a "31 for 21 Challenge" that was started by an amazing momma, Tricia, who also has a daughter with Ds.  The point of the challenge is to blog every-single-day for 31 straight days to raise awareness about Down syndrome.


I'm up for a challenge.


So, I'll try.  To blog every day.  With 10 kids, 5 of whom are 5 and under, still in diapers, all 5 littles have Ds....ummmmm, we'll see if I can blog every-single-day.  I'll try.

Happy Down syndrome month!!! 

Kids in the fireplace! Good thing it's summer!!

NOPE!  Believe it or not, I do not know everything when it comes to raising kids.   Yes, I have 10 kids and 25 years of parenting experience but Sarah and Sydney pulled a new one on me today.

They got into the fireplace!

So I did what any good mom would do.....I grabbed the camera! LOL!

 I stepped out of the living room for literally less than one minute and came back to discover my daughters having a blast in the fireplace.

It's summer and our fireplace has long been unused.  Don't worry, I would NEVER step out of the living room for any amount of time if there had been a fire going!!

I guess it's time to get out the 'ol fireplace safety glass thingy before winter sets in.  Or maybe, we'll just forgo all fires year!   Yes, we'll do just that.

So let this be an early warning and good lesson to all you with mobile toddlers out there.....get those fireplaces secured NOW before winter sets in and you start that first fire!

Photo Friday

Sometimes words just get in the way.

Enjoy the pics!

Sydney not quite sure if she likes her first bath at home or not

Okay, maybe this is not so bad!

Okay, so maybe this is FUN!

Big sis Holly giving tips to Rachel's volleyball team

Rachel ~ AWESOME volleyball player!

Over the net!

Our Four Reece's Rainbow miracles!!

Eating yummy Manicotti and green beans

All FULL!

Sarah and Michael playing on the newly emptied out bottom shelf of our bookcase

Sydney!

SISTERS!!!

Silly siblings!

The youngest 5 of our kids!