3/21: A Day To Celebrate

Nine months ago, I held my baby girl for the first time. And, as I cradled her in my arms, I knew she was the sweetest gift I could ever ask for.

Nine months ago, I cried as the doctors told me she there were some complications with her heart and she'd need to stay in the NICU indefinitely. My eyes were red and puffy for the next week as the doctors hooked her up to more and more monitors and tubes. All I wanted was to take my sweet little girl home!

Nine months ago, I cried even harder as the doctors informed us that our little Leah was diagnosed with Trisomy 21. My already exhausted emotions were stretched even further than I thought possible. I was sad that I'd lost the baby I was expecting. I was angry at myself for crying about the little girl I'd thought I'd lost when my sweet little Leah just wanted to be loved. I was afraid that I wouldn't know how to take care of her needs. And I was worried that I wouldn't be able to protect her from the harsh, cold world of judgement and misunderstanding when it comes to people with special needs.

Nine months ago, I brought my sweet princess home from the hospital a week after she was born and I knew that, no matter what obstacles came our way, I would always love my little Leah. And that's all that mattered.

Today, barely nine months later, I couldn't imagine life without this adorable little girl! My little Leah is such an inspiration to me. She's had to deal with two week-long hospital stays, heart surgery, numerous rough shots and tests, doctors prodding and poking her at least once a month, oxygen tubes (for a month after she was born and for another month after her surgery, nasty formula and medicine, and parents who have no idea what we're doing half the time. Yet, she is the happiest, low-key baby I've ever met.


Today, I know that we all have a lot of work ahead of us in helping her grow and develop. We have to spend a lot of time helping her achieve even the smallest of milestones. But she makes it all worth it. Hearing her laugh is often the highlight of my day. Seeing her accomplish something we've been working on for weeks, or even months, just makes the accomplishment so much sweeter.  I definitely appreciate more of the small things I took for granted before—all thanks to my little Leah.

Today, I am grateful to express my love and appreciation for my sweet little princess and all of the other beautiful children with Down syndrome. You are the sweetest gift anyone could ever hope for. You make the world a better place just by being in it. You are perfect.

Today is World Down Syndrome Day because people with Down Syndrome have 3 chromosome 21s: 3/21. Please take some time to celebrate these precious spirits from our Heavenly Father.

It's time

 This year has already proved to be a busy, yet productive, year. We started off by closing on a house and moving in. We're still living in boxes now (so that's why there's no pictures yet) but we're making progress every day. I started working from home. David started a lot of new video projects at work. We bought David a new toy (see the picture below).

And that's just what David and I have been up to.

Our little Leah has been just as busy. She has learned how to blow raspberries and blows them at everyone, getting spit all over everyone as well. David has found her ticklish spots and loves making Leah giggle. Leah hated moving because she didn't like not being the focus of our attention all the time and she woke up crying in her crib a few times when she wasn't sure where we were. But Leah loves our new home. The day we got the keys to our home, Leah made herself at home by rolling all over the living room floor. (Our apartment had old, uncomfortable, carpet so we didn't let her play on it very much.) But this new carpet has really helped Leah take off on her rolling. We've even left her playing on the carpet a few times and come back to find her sound asleep. It's adorable. Also, Leah has been experiencing new foods. She still tries to spit it out and gives me the funniest expressions when I feed her food but she's starting to put up with the new food a little better.

And here's her newest trick. We've been working helping Leah sit up on her own. She's done really well on our laps where we could adjust our legs to help her balance better but hasn't been able to sit on the floor. I think her bum is just too skinny to give her much support but we sat down today and she sat by herself really well. I was so excited! My little princess is growing up.

And this week, we're going to get Leah's heart fixed. It's scary and exciting at the same time. We've eagerly awaited this week and dreaded it at the same time. Our little princess has no idea what's ahead for her this week and it's probably better that way. Her parents will be worrying enough for all of us. But we know she'll be in good hands and we're excited to see how well she does afterwards. In the meantime, please keep our little Leah in your prayers and hopefully she'll recover quickly and come back home to us. Until then, here's some fun pictures we took this weekend:

Leah surprised us on Sunday by sitting up on her own for almost a minute! I had to keep her distracted with her butterfly toy, otherwise she'd fall down quickly.

I promised David that as soon as we got a house I'd let him get a piano. We bought one this week and he's practically been playing it ever since.