Childhood Memories...

Ange and I at my aunt and uncle's wedding :)

As I was laying in bed last night, I was thinking about how our lives get into such a routine that maybe sometimes we forget to let loose. I was thinking about all of the fun things that I used to do as a child and wished that I could re-live some of those moments, just some!  I actually came up with a list. I'm wondering how your list compares to mine. I guess if we are around the same age, there may be some similarities.

1) Run through the sprinkler
2) Jump on a Pogo Ball in the courtyard
3) Run after the Dickie Dee man to get an ice cream....you know when he used to ride a bike  instead of driving around in a pimped out van!
4) Go door to door, and see if somebody could come out and play
5) Play house
6) Put the mattress on the stairs and slide down it over and over again for hours
7) Put my hair in pigtails
8) Wear stirrup pants
9) Leave the house in the morning and play with friends until the sun sets
10) Have a birthday party at McDonald's and tour the back and make an ice cream cone
11) Make a Slip n Slide, pour liquid soap on the plastic and turn the sprinkler on
12) Eat raw hot dogs
13) Call friends and chat and laugh and just be silly
14) Pin my jeans around my ankles
15) Go swimming at Acadia Pool
16) Go on road trips with the family and visit The Enchanted Forest
17) Walk to 7-11 and buy a slurpee
18) Skip rope and not die
19) Play Barbies and Transformers and make believe games
20) Go to Harvey's Restaurant with my grandparents
21) Go to the Ice Capades
22) Speak French in front of others because it made us look cool
23) Wear overalls
24) Lose my teeth again and have the Tooth Fairy leave a dollar bill
25) Go camping and wake up early to go fishing
26) Go to the local video store and spend an hour trying to pick out a VHS movie
27) Ride my bike all through Fish Creek
28) Jump and splash in puddles
29) Watch scary movies then be too scared to sleep
30) Listen to the Rodeo Song in secret and giggle with my sister
31) Have sleepovers with friends, eat junk food and giggle until the wee hours of the morning
32) Buy a Mondetta sweater
33) Buy a Chip n Pepper tie dye shirt and look cool - were they ever cool?
34) Send fan mail to NKOTB - make boxers and use fabric paint and send them to NKOTB :)
35) Listen to Cory Hart and pretend that he loves me
36) Play on the monkey bars and slide down the pole - keep your minds clean
37) Wear my Beaver Canoe sweater, crimp my hair and put on a jean jacket and blast Tiffany
38) Play on our Commodore 64 
39) Build a pillow fort
40) Play with my Cabbage Patch - the real one, with the yummy smell.
41) Listen to my Strawberry Shortcake album
42) Flip through old photo albums
43) Play hide and seek and get that feeling like you are going to pee your pants when you're hiding
44) Play hopscotch
45) Make ghost gum with your marshmallows
46) Go to the mall with friends and shop at HMV
47) Pretend to smoke Popeye cigarettes and feel naughty
48) Get new pajamas and be all excited for bed time
49) Eavesdrop on my parent's parties
50) Going through the Sears catalogue and circling and cutting out things we wanted

So many memories. :)

A little therapy!

A little Adele update. We went to ACH yesterday for a therapy appointment and it went really well. I was the only person in flip flops but I like to make a statement!
We met our genetics' counsellor, Karen for lunch. She has become one of our dearest friends and she keeps spoiling James and I and the girls. I think we will keep her around ;)
Adele is getting a lot stronger and she isn't as floppy. I don't think we will get going on solids just yet, I need for her to have better control of her neck. There's a window for feeding solids and as long as we don't wait too long, it should be fine.

Fell asleep on mommy. Best moment :)

I also made a phone call to Cause and Effect out here in the Foothills. Leslie, the director is absolutely amazing, kind and caring and you can tell that she loves what she does and makes it a priority to help out the families. I told her that I felt like Adele wasn't getting all of the services that she should be getting right now. I'm sure people laugh hysterically at me because she is only six months, but in my opinion, it's time to get going. I don't have unrealistic expectations, I just want Adele to reach her full potential. I am not a Physical Therapist or Occupational Therapist or Speech Therapist. If you show me, I can work with her at home but if I am left to figure things out, we could all be in trouble.
When we went for Adele's Respiratory appointment last month, the PT came in and said that Adele was a bit floppy and that it would be difficult to do some neck exercises. That was it. I wasn't shown any exercises, just told to work on her core. I thought that most babies with Ds are floppy and require PT, so shouldn't that be her field of expertise?
I find myself getting frustrated sometimes in that it is up to me to find the resources and scout out supports. I understand that as a parent, you need to do some leg work, but if you aren't familiar with Ds and the supports that are available in the community, it's difficult and very frustrating.
Anyways, Leslie from Cause and Effect will be coming out next week to meet with Adele and myself and go over some options. I feel like we are in a good place with what supports I am getting in place. It's so important to be proactive.

Our tag for the baskets minus the business label across Adele's face :)

Lastly, I haven't mentioned in the blog yet that Adele and I have set up a project to help new families who give birth to a special miracle. Our project is called Adele's Over the Rainbow Baskets.  Our goal is to start with 20 baskets filled with donations, plus I will include a package filled with resources that families can access after they go home from the hospital. I am in the process of collecting adorable and sweet baby items from friends and families. The response has been just fantastic. I am so fortunate to have such amazing people in my life.
Thank you to everybody who has donated. Your generosity it greatly appreciated.


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