Happy 14th Birthday to our amazing son! ...........

14 years ago yesterday, my life changed forever…….in more ways than one.
I was about to become a mother for the first time.

I always knew that I wanted kids, and was so happy to have found the perfect man to be the father of my children when I found Mark.

After dreaming all through childhood and my early adult years about how amazing it would be to be a mom, it was finally coming true! I was about to give birth! Our joy was contagious, and we just couldn’t wait to meet this baby!

And then, the unexpected happened ~ We were told that our son most likely would be born with Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome). In an instant, I no longer was going to have the “perfect” baby. I suddenly became a “Special Needs Mom”, something I never even considered when we decided to have kids, because that sort of thing only ever happens to “other” people.

Hearing that news devastated us. It was one of the worst days of our lives. I will NEVER forget the pain, fear and anguish we felt. I was so ignorant at the time, and was so worried about the future, and what all the so called “experts” told us that Ryan would never be able to achieve! Oh how wrong they were! I only wish I would have known back then what I do know now, that this kid ROCKS!

Our boy had some medical issues that required surgery and a stay in the NICU for 2 weeks after he was born. Being sent home without my baby still hurts my heart to this day. But I thank my lucky stars for my family who would drive me back and forth to the hospital to visit him daily during that time.

It’s been a roller coaster ride ever since, for sure! From the highest highs, to the lowest lows……it hasn’t always been easy, but it’s ALWAYS been worth it. The highs and good times have certainly outweighed any lows we have had!

This boy has taught us all more in his 14 years, than I have ever known in my entire life. Love, Acceptance, Patience, Kindness, Trust, Compassion, Ability, Bravery, Spontaneity, Loyalty, Cleverness, Determination, Enthusiasm, and Friendship (to name a few!) Ryan has never met a stranger, and everyone who has ever met him, has always left the experience as his friend! It’s truly an amazing thing to witness! I wish I could be more like him sometimes.

His having DS has also opened up our entire family to meeting the most amazing people on this planet, who will forever be lifelong friends! That extra chromosome just immediately bonds people as family. What a wonderful gift for us all, how lucky are we?!

So today, as I look back on the last 14 years, that began with sorrow and fear, I celebrate, and want to shout from the rooftops, that my son is AWESOME, HANDSOME, ATHLETIC, SMART, COOL and HILARIOUS! He amazes me daily, and I wish I would have known that was going to be the case from the start!

Happy 14th Birthday Ryan Patrick! Thanks for making me a mom, and a better person for knowing you! Our family is so blessed to have you in it and we could not be any prouder of you! We love you with all our hearts!

And now, a little stroll down memory lane ~ just for old times sake! :)
As you can see, he's more like any other "typical" boy than he is different!  He has always enjoyed, and participated in all kinds of sports and activities, and had a great time doing so.   Down Syndrome is just a small part of who he is, it does not define him, and it definately has not limited him!  :)
Please don't ever let fear stop you from believing in what your child will be able to accomplish!

Please ALWAYS R.S.V.P, no matter what! ..............

Last night Mackenzie & I joined Aunt Linda, Uncle Tim and Grammy for a Hibachi dinner out while Mark, Ryan and Kelsey were busy with other things. Because we didn’t have enough people to fill our own table, we were seated with strangers, a mom and her two daughters.

As luck would have it, one of her beautiful girls was rocking that extra chromosome! We immediately started to bond! Soul Sisters in the making! J We began talking about our experiences and were amazed at the similarities in our stories, until she got to the part where she had recently lost her husband! L I cannot even begin to IMAGINE doing this alone! What an amazing woman she is!

She then shared the story about how last week was her daughters 10^th birthday, so she planned a big party……invited all the “typical kids” from her daughters class, along with some friends with Down Syndrome her daughter has known since her early days at ACDS.

Turns out the only kids who showed up, the only people who even RSVP’d were the kids with DS. Seriously, WTF is wrong with people?! What makes these parents think it’s ok to just ignore an invitation? How DARE they blow this off after all the prep put into throwing this party. Imagine how YOUR kid would feel if no one responded to their party invitation and no one showed up to their party!

As I looked at her sweet girl while I was hearing this story, my heart broke, and then I just got really MAD! Some people just really need a bitchslap across the face sometimes! I’m still pissed off hours later as I write this post.

So, the reason I’m sharing this is to ask that you PLEASE, all of you parents of “typical kids” - teach your children well!  Please teach them respect, acceptance and appreciation! Please teach them that kids who may “seem different” may really be as fun (if not more) than their “regular friends”! I know my Ryan sure is! ;)

Whenever your child is invited to a party, no matter WHAT you think of the person doing the inviting, ALWAYS be considerate and respond either way. It's ok if your child doesn't want to go, just be sure to call the party host and let them know your kid will not be attending. People depend on RSVP's to know the amount of food to order, the amount of party favors to have on hand, etc.... alot goes into party planning, so even a no is ok! But please encourage your child to get to know that kid even if they think that kid is “weird”! The world would be a MUCH better place if we just gave everyone a fair shot!

I’m happy to say that my new friend Lisa and I exchanged numbers over that Hibachi table last night, and I invited her and her incredible girls to join us on Sunday, where we get together with other families who share a kid with 47 chromosomes among others. Parents, siblings, friends, whoever wants to join in, is welcome to our day full of basketball, bbq, playground, baseball, soccer, Frisbee, fun and games…….good food and great friends, where everyone counts and everyone enjoys each other!

 I wish the rest of the world could join in our non-judgemental Sunday Fun-days! I know this earth would be a lot better off! Peace out and God Bless America! J

From Our House To Yours.......

Just Like You - Down Syndrome.....

This is such a fabulous video!  Please watch it, and invite your children to watch it with you and then have a discussion with them about it afterwards.  I wish every child who has ever attended school with my Ryan could see this and finally be able to understand just what makes him seem a little different.........

And now that you've seen it, please share it with everyone you know, on your Facebook page, on Twitter, on your blogs, or wherever!!!  If only the whole world could watch this and LISTEN to what they say and actually comprehend - what a wonderful world it would be!

People with Down Syndrome, just like you and me!  :)

Exciting News......................

The photo I submitted for the 2012 NDSS Times Square Video has been selected!

Our photo was one of the 1,000 photos sent to NDSS for this year's contest and it will appear in this year's video with more than 200 other unique individuals with Down syndrome.


Please join us at the crossroads of the world! The National Down Syndrome Society invites you and your family and friends to kick off National Down Syndrome Awareness Month by attending the video presentation and participating in the New York City Buddy Walk® on September 22nd. More than 2,000 people will join together at this event to promote acceptance and inclusion of all people with Down syndrome.

The 2012 NDSS Times Square Video will play in the heart of New York City on the News Corporation Sony screen at One Times Square, located on Broadway between 42nd and 43rd Streets on Saturday, September 22, 2012. The presentation will begin at 10:00 am and the video will be re-played immediately following the first-run at approximately 10:20 am. We will gather to watch the video on and around Military Island pedestrian plaza at the intersection of Broadway and 43rd Street in Times Square. Immediately following the presentation, NDSS will provide transportation from Times Square to the New York City Buddy Walk site at The Great Hill in Central Park. Participants will be directed to the buses by NDSS staff.

OK - Sounds like another awesome party in the park ~  So who's going to be joining us?! :)

It's been real.......but I think its time to sign off!...

I just recently realized that I began this blog 5 years ago this month! 5 WHOLE YEARS ~ Wow,  that's a really long time!

I started this blog as a way to reach out to any new parents who may be scared to death to begin this unknown journey.....my hope being that seeing pictures of Ryan and our family in everyday action would alleviate any fears that  people would have of welcoming a child with Down Syndrome into their family;  that by seeing that they could and will have a full family life, just like every other family, DESPITE the "diagnosis" would help to "ease the pain" that is often felt at the start.

 I feel like (and I hope that!) I've done just that. That by sharing our family photos, stories, schoolwork, sports activities and even random things here have helped to better understand that life with a child with Down Syndrome is FAR from being an "end of life as we know it" type diagnosis. Trust me, it's only the beginning of an amazing journey ~ I PROMISE! :)

Ryan has not only enhanced our family with a better understanding of how to interact with people who may be or seem different than us, but he's also taught us to appreciate and accept anyone who is unlike anyone we've ever known before. We are SO THANKFUL that we were chosen to be his family! :) What a gift we've been given! And how lucky are we to have been given this treasure!?  We have been truly blessed!

But, as time goes on, and our family life gets busier, I've been finding it harder and harder to keep up here on the blog. We had an AMAZING April, filled with another awesome, annual trip to Florida and other fun, happy family occasions, but finding the time to upload the pictures and write about our adventures here is just too far and few between.

It's also been like a year since I've gotten any comments from anyone other than a friend here on any of my posts, so I don't quite think I'm reaching the masses any more like I used to hope to be doing.  So, for all of these reasons, I think I will be signing off and no longer posting on the blog.  

For those of you who know us personally, I will be happy to keep up on Facebook and email. For those who have lurked but never commented here, please, if you have any questions, comments, whatever, please reach out and email as I would love to "help" others who are navigating this path behind us. It hasn't always been easy, but it's ALWAYS been worth it. ALWAYS trust your instincts and go with what you feel in your heart to be the right thing for your child!!!

I think I will leave this blog up on the internet, continuing in my hope that by chance, some new Mom or Dad may stumble across it and find hope in the future after reading about or/seeing Ryan in action. (and who knows really?....I may change my mind tomorrow just so I can share Ryan's first Holy Communion, or his Spring Dance photos in a month! ;)

In any case, I leave you now with a great big THANK YOU for reading along and cheering us on every step of the way for these past 5 years!  Please feel free to leave comments on older posts if you wish to,  as I will hopefully still be getting notifications of any comments left here and will try to respond as best I can.    Wishing you all an amazing lifetime of love & happiness!


And just for old times sake, here's one of the first family photos I ever posted here from 2007!

And here we all are just last week!

MAN, how time FLIES when you're having fun! ;)   Be well, my friends! :)

In the beginning................

I first started writing this blog as a way to reach out to any new moms just starting out on this DS journey. From my experience almost 13 years ago, I know firsthand just how devastating getting that news that my baby has Down Syndrome really feels.

When we were told that Ryan did indeed have DS, I began searching the internet, just praying for any sign of hope that we would be able to have a "normal" life. But all I could find back then were outdated photos and parenting books about how bleak our life was going to be with this child. I was heartbroken. There were no blogs yet with words of encouragement. There were no pictures of happy kids and families. There was absolutely no evidence to show just how bright our future could and was going to be! If I only knew then what I do know now! (Luckily for me, I did come across an awesome message board full of amazing women who have all become soul sisters to me, but that's a whole 'nother post!)

As time went on, and we got to know our Ryan, I realized how wrong I was. His having Down Syndrome, while yes, was scary at times with the possible increased medical issues, was really not the tragic, end of the world news I had first thought.

So we laughed, we played, we smiled and above all else, we LOVED! Loved him, loved each other, and loved the life that we were given with this amazing boy! That's when I decided to start documenting our life. Sharing pictures and stories of our everyday happenings here on this blog with the hopes that anyone faced with this new diagnosis would stumble upon our life and say to themselves, "Wow, it's a lot better than I thought it ever could be!" (and it really truly is!)

The other day, my mom mentioned to me that my blog has now simply become a family blog that had really nothing to do with Down Syndrome at all, and I smiled so wide and said "That's EXACTLY why I started it!" Because you know what? The Down Syndrome that seemed SO MONUMENTAL and DEFINING in our lives back then, is really such a small part of how we live and view our lives these days.

Just this past weekend, we attended a charity event to benefit Ryan's first school - ACDS. At the last minute as we were getting ready to leave, I decided to throw some of Ryan's current school work into my bag to show any of his old teachers we may bump into, just how great he is doing these days. Here, have a look at just some of what our boy has been up to in school this semester - this kid totally ROCKS! AMAZING!










In the beginning of his life, we were so uncertain, scared and unsure of what he would ever be capable of. With a lot of support, hard work, and endless love, we now know that the possibilities for him are endless! What a joy and blessing it is for us all to have him in our lives! Everyone should be so lucky to have a "Ryan" in their life!

Please don't ever let anyone underestimate you or your child! And PLEASE teach your children about acceptance and respect for those who may seem different! What a wonderful world this would be if we could all see the possibilities and joy that others can bring to us!

Super Bowl Champs! ............

We were very excited to watch the big game!

and even more excited when the Giants WON! :)

WHAT A GREAT GAME!!! Way to go New York!!! :)