I Can Kick, Stretch, and Kick! I'm 9 Months Old!

This post is going to be all Ellie, all the time. I just wanted to post an update on how she's doing, what's been going on around here lately and of course lots and lots of pictures.

She turned 9 months old on the 4th of October. It has been the fastest yet craziest 9 months of my entire life! She had her picture in the newspaper, started saying "dada" and "hi", participated in her first Buddy Walk, punished me for going on a business trip (see videos below!) and had her 9 month check-up with her Pediatrician.

First, I have to share this funny photo of her doing toe-touches in her sleep. She loves to do this! I am thinking we have a future ballerina or gymnast on our hands! "I can kick, stretch, and kick... I'm 9 months old!" 

Doing her high kicks.

Secondly, the DSNO asked if I could send them a photo of Ellie, they wanted the one of her crying with her big brother Will.  It was going to be for an "ad" but in my mind I just figured it was some sort of internal email or something for the Down Syndrome Network. I received an email from my co-worker that said "is that Will or Luke in the picture with Ellie in the paper?!?" She emailed me a photo of the ad in the Portland Tribune. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen! I got a copy so that I could keep one for her baby book. Ugh darn it that just reminded me that I still haven't written anything in there yet. This blog will have to do!

Look at that face!

Leaving the kids for the first time during my work trip was hard because I was so worried about how they would do without me at home, and I also worried about how Jesse would handle everything by himself. Well Will and Luke did great with daddy, and they had a lot of fun "guy time". Jess was a rock star Mr. Mom, all the mom's at soccer were impressed with his skills of juggling the 3 kids at practice. I wasn't really worried about Ellie, I told myself "she's 8 months old, she won't even know I left!" Boy oh boy was I wrong. I underestimated her big time. She was so upset with me. It makes me feel like I can never leave her again! She couldn't even look at me without her bottom lip sticking out a mile. Check out the video here:

Ellie Mad at Mommy

It took her a few hours before she would smile at me again. Later that day she was jumping in her jumperoo and being her cute self, and I got her on video saying "hi", see if you can hear it! I felt like she grew up so much in the 8 days I was away! And please excuse the house, we are under construction :-/

Ellie Says Hi

Then she said "dada" on video, I couldn't believe it! Our little girl is growing up and meeting milestones. We are so proud of her.

Ellie Says Dada

Here are a few more of her milestones she's been reaching:

Holding her own bottle, she can only do it for a little bit but it's a start.

Sitting up unassisted and getting stronger every day. 

We walked in our first Buddy Walk, it was so much fun. When we arrived at the park, the first thing I noticed was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/It's a Wonderful World" was playing over the speakers. I had instant tears (and goosebumps) as did my mom, mom-in-law and sis-in-law. This song reminds our family of mine and Jesse's wedding. If you know me, I'm always looking for "signs" and hearing this upon arrival was a good and happy one.

The date of the walk was postponed a week due to horrible Oregon rain, and the new date couldn't have been more perfect weather-wise. 10 or so of our walkers couldn't make it but we still had such a blast. I got to see a lot of my new friends from the Ds community and introduce them to our family and friends. Seeing our two worlds come together felt right, like puzzle pieces falling into place.  There was magic in the air that day, and I felt especially grateful for our support network. 

I had set a goal of $1,000 for our fund raising, thinking it was lofty, and was blown away that we ended up raising $2,900! My employer (Columbia Sportswear) matched employee's donations and it put us over the top. I was absolutely amazed by the love and support that poured out. Our hearts are so full.

Team Ells Bells!

Family picture :)

New but lifelong friends.

Famous Iris, Ellie's mentor!

Love this one of Grandma and Ellie

Ellie also had her 9 month doctor's appointment. Every time I take her in I brace myself... will there be something wrong? Why oh why do I do that to myself? The lady at the front desk gave me a "9 month milestones" questionnaire. I felt my heart sink. I wanted to say "is this for typical babies, or babies with Down syndrome?" Then I realized I was doing "it" again! Stopppp worrryyyinnnnnggg and stoppp doing THAT! I sat down and filled in the questions, and to my surprise Ellie is doing great. There weren't any questions about crawling (no she hasn't mastered that one yet!) but lots of questions about playing with her toys, saying "dada or lala" etc. And she's doing all of these things! Dr. Craft was awesome as always, he's so sweet with her and genuinely cares about her. He also told me that babies that are breech (and female) tend to have issues with hip dysplasia. She had an x-ray just to make sure all is well, and so far so good.

Those hips don't lie! :)

Oh and she continues to be a long string bean, I can't believe how tall she is. These percentiles are on the "typical" baby chart. I think she is as tall as the boys were at this age!!

Height: 29.5" (96th percentile!) 
Weight: 16lbs 6oz (10th percentile!) 
Overall doing amazing. I'm so so proud of you baby girl. Keep up the good work and happy 9 months!!!

Wearing my dad's boatin' hat!

You like my Halloween costume?

When choosing the song for this post, I asked my husband to come up with one... "what sums up this post, about life in general, and our awesome family and friends?" He wanted me to use "Family Tradition" and I thought it fit great. This is a song we put on our wedding CD that we handed out to our wedding guests (another wedding reference)! OK honey- that'll work!

Family Tradition - Hank Williams Jr.

They Are All So Happy

I have an announcement. Ellie, my sweet precious Ellie, is NOT always happy. She just isn't. In the 7 months that she's been on this earth, she has been everything. Happy, sad, frustrated, excited, curious, mad, stubborn, the list could go on. Name an emotion and she's probably experienced it. 

Pre-meltdown phase

Let the drama begin!

Will looks around like someone is going to help him!

Seriously mom, HELP ME! (says Will)

When I tell people my daughter has Down syndrome I almost always hear "oh, they are all so happy", or "they are all so sweet". I am trying to figure this phenomenon out because so far, Ellie is a lot like her big brothers. She spits up like them (rrr!), she giggles like them, she smirks like them, she cries like them. When people refer to her as "they" it feels like she's part of a whole different species, do you get what I'm saying?

There is a preconceived notion, myth, or stereotype about people with Down syndrome that "they" are always happy, or "they" are always sweet. Well Ellie wants me to tell you this.. "she" is just herself. It's just like saying "all gingers have no souls" when we know the truth, only some gingers have no souls. Hehe. 

So that is my PSA for the day. People with Down syndrome are each unique individuals just like you and I. They laugh, they cry, and sometimes, damn it, they have throw-down diva fits like it's their job!! 

My song of choice for this blog post is "You are so Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. I love this song, and it makes me think of our Ellie girl. BUT I also love that my dad once arrested Joe Cocker in Cali back in the early 70's. Famous family story right there! 

You Are So Beautiful - Joe Cocker

This is Life Changing

Jesse and I said this to each other more than once after Ellie was born. "This is life changing." We were talking about Ellie's Down syndrome. The fear of the unknowns for her and what our life was going to end up looking like. Well we were right, having Ellie is totally life changing.  But in a way we never could have dreamed. This sweet baby has changed our world for the better.  I can't even express the joy I feel about this little girl. Every person who encounters her can feel it too. She puts a spell on everyone she meets with those amazing blue eyes with sparkles of white. 

April and May have been really busy around here. I'm back at work full-time. My wonderful, caring, loving and BRAVE mother-in-law is watching the kids for us 4 days a week. We are so grateful! We also went boating for the first time, were given a baby shower for Ellie, she had her 4 month check-up and her first ever acting debut!


When we realized Ellie was "extra floppy" with her neck strength, Jesse decided we should probably sell our boat.  This was back in February. The thought of it made me really sad because this was something we love to do as a family.  It's relaxing and takes us away from the world. I told him if that's what he thought was best, then maybe we should. She probably wouldn't be able to go out for another year anyhow.  Well he never sold it, and in May the weather was perfect for a boating trip.  We decided to test it out  and see how she would do. Well she loved it. She loved the scenery, the wind in her face and the gentle bumping of the boat along the water.  I looked at Jesse and I could feel a lump forming in my throat. This was big for us.  That day on our boat signified a lot about how much our life had changed, but how it was just as I had imagined it being before Down syndrome became a daily topic of conversation. We ended up taking the boat out three times that week.

Carry On - Fun.

Ellie's 4 month appointment went awesome.  She's a long string bean! She is weighing in at 12-1/2 pounds (only 20th percentile on a typical baby chart) and 26.5" long (off the charts on both the Ds chart and the typical baby chart!)  I felt really good and proud of our girl after I left that appointment. Her doctor was so impressed with her neck strength and her growth. He said "whatever you are doing, keep doing it!" So that's what I plan on doing! I have researched (way too much) and am taking supplements that she's getting through my milk. Who knows if it's helping, but it's worth a shot!  In two months we have her big 6 month appointment at the Down syndrome clinic at OHSU.  There they will check her hearing and she'll meet with a Neurologist, Occupational therapist, Physical therapist, and Speech pathologist. It's a half day long, and I'm feeling a little anxious about it.

In April my amazing mother-in-law and sis-in-law had a beautiful tea party (baby shower) in Ellie's honor. It was so much fun and I feel so grateful to have such amazing family and friends. It was nice to catch up with everyone.  I loved watching everyone snuggle our girl.  

Dani and Julie also made a book of wishes for Ellie. It's so heartfelt and beautiful. I'm going to save this for her forever! I wanted to share a few of the entries.

From Ellie's Great Grammy

From Uncle Noel, one of Ellie's biggest fans :)

From cousin Kellen, age 7

From Ellie's amazing Grammee

From my mom, Grandma Barbara

My mom's wishes were quite long but one sentence that stood out was "A big wish that I have for you and your life is that you are as happy as you make all the people that know you". I love that. 

Grandmee and Grandma lovin!

Lastly, the Down Syndrome Network of Oregon was looking for a newborn for a video they were shooting. When I found out what the video was for I was really excited. It is going to be used for the medical community as an educational tool on how to appropriately inform parents when their baby is diagnosed with Down syndrome. Jesse and I felt this was a very important message to be a part of! Our own personal experience was not necessarily a positive one.  

Here is Ellie's acting debut, we are so proud of her! She was only 3 weeks old when it was filmed. When Luke watched it he said "mommy, you look really different!" It cracked me up. :)

I CAN

We are so grateful for how our life has changed. We keep hearing over and over how lucky Ellie is to have been born into our big crazy family and our close knit circle of friends. But I think we are the lucky ones.  Thanks for changing our life for the better sweet baby girl!

The Luckiest - Ben Folds

"By This Time Next Year"

If you are reading this I have to warn you, I take a lot of pictures.  Too many, really.  So this blog is going to be filled to the rim with picture after picture.  My hope is to some day print this blog for Ellie so she can see what her life was like when she was little. I figure even if no one reads this, it'll at least serve as the most bad a%$ baby book ever! 

Did you know there is a site that prints blogs into book form?  I didn't until just recently! It's called Blurb.  I actually used this company 6 years ago to make a book for my mom and the quality is amazing. Interestingly enough, you can still preview the book.. as I discovered one day while I was bored and googling family member's names for fun! :-P

Just about four months ago it was Christmas.  Our hearts were full with anticipation over the upcoming birth of our last baby.  The excitement I felt was overwhelming, what will she look like? Will she have blonde hair or brown hair? I wonder if her eyes will be blue like mine, or if she will have beautiful green eyes like her big brother Will.  Maybe they will change into a stunning deep brown like her brother Luke's.  Or perhaps she will have hazel eyes with that special twinkle just like her daddy's. 

At every holiday I would always say to our family... "just think, by this time next year our little girl will be doing (name any milestone here)" And I remember how often I would say "by next Christmas I bet she's close to walking!" 

My Christmas Ellie Belly

Little did I know 4 months ago what was to come.  It was only 10 days after Christmas that our world was rocked with Ellie's birth.  OK, so she won't be walking by Christmas. That's alright. My mom bought her an adorable 0-3 month size dress for Easter before she was born and I said "there's no way she will fit into that size at 3 months old!" Jesse and I make big babies. Both of the boys were already squeezing into 6 month size at that age. Well the dress fit her perfectly and Ellie looked beautiful in it. So she's smaller than her bros were, that's alright too.

Ellie and I on Easter

It's funny how much emphasis we put on milestones without even realizing it. Speaking of milestones, she is still working her little bootie off to gain that head control.  She has bi-monthly physical therapy now.  She also still likes to get into her signature pretzel position that freaks everyone out (see the latest pic below!)

Ellie is sound asleep- I know, it's crazy!

I say she'll be an acrobat some day. ;-)  And she will hold her head up soon, it's just going to take her a little longer. That's alright!  Her PT evaluator reassured me that "she WILL do all of these things, crawling, walking, etc.. it just takes longer."  She has worked with kids with DS for 25 years and has not had one patient unable to do these things. This made me feel better about it.

Look at that head control! Proud of our girl.

To be honest I feel like I'm anticipating each milestone with a little bit of worry.. "will she ever do it?"  Jesse finally said "honey, BE PATIENT, sheesh!" because I keep worrying and waiting... especially for her smile. At her 2 month check-up with our home health nurse she was writing down everything Ellie WASN'T doing.  It was hard to hear.. "oh she's NOT smiling yet?"  Nope, but you know what? She is now! She smiles all the time. And sometimes her eyes go into a half moon shape and she smiles just with her eyes. It melts our hearts every time.  And daddy seems to get her to smile the most.  She has an amazing little grin. 

Cheese!!

Oh and she knows how to wave too! Check out the video here: Ellie Waving to Daddy

OK, OK.. I know babies don't wave until 6 or 7 months, it just happened that she had some arm movements that looked like she was waving and I caught it on video!! Ha!

Here are some photos from some of Ellie's firsts this month. Her first big family holiday, Easter, where she was snuggled the entire time.  We also went on her first beach trip to celebrate Grammee's birthday.  Where, surprise, surprise, she was snuggled the entire time as well.  This girl gets lots of lovin' everywhere she goes. 

And by this time next year, Ellie will still be melting hearts like a champ. I'm trying to throw my milestone expectations out the window and enjoy every moment with this amazing little girl.  She will be able to do everything, but it'll be on Ellie time.  And that's ALRIGHT! ;-)

End of the Line - Traveling Wilburys

Easter table setting at my amazing mama-in-laws. So pretty!

Ellie looks like a ballerina here!

Uncle Danny and Ellie

Grandma Barbara lovin'!

Sweet smiles for auntie DiDi

Getting love from her Auntie.

Easter egg hunting with the cousins!

Happy Easter!

Sweet faced baby girl at the beach

More cousin time!

Hanging with Papa 

Will being Will.

Ellie's cousin, I love this photo of her. 

Brrrr... Oregon beaches aren't very warm!

Hi mama!

My loves getting ready to go on the beach.

Luke fell in... it was a little scary... AND COLD!

Wherever Anna was.. Ellie was.

Cousin love!

Snuggle time with the birthday girl