Miss Independent

That's what Ella's shirt says, and that pretty much sums her up. Ella is very much a do what I want, when I want kind of girl. I keep being told her attitude will serve her well in life, but it's hard to deal with now. She is getting increasingly frustrated with my inability to read her mind and know what she wants. (Her speech therapist has a great idea on how to help her communicate her wants, I will take pictures and explain when it is all done.)

Beautiful side shot of the belly : )













The weather has been really nice these past few days and is supposed to be great through the weekend, so I'm sure we will be spending our days outside. Sunday we are having a get together for the Down Syndrome Family Network at a park here in town, so I am looking forward to that.















Oh yeah, I got an email today, here it is....

Dear Friend,

Please join me for a special meeting on Tuesday, May 27th to hear about the work I am doing on the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. Our goal is to raise awareness of Down syndrome and let parents of children and adults with Down syndrome know about resources that are available to them.

As many of you know, my son Cole was born with Down syndrome. My husband Brian and I are committed to doing everything possible to ensure Cole has every opportunity to reach his full potential. I believe the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus will be a vehicle to help bring this information to the forefront so all families of children and adults with Down syndrome can lead happy lives.

We will meet from 9:00-10:00am on Tuesday, May 27th, at the Health Education Center Rm. 5 at Holy Family Hospital (5633 N. Lidgerwood). Here is a link to a map of the Holy Family Campus:

http://www.holyfamily.org/about/WhereWeAre/HFhCampus.pdf


It is exciting to see politicians, researchers, and the Down syndrome community coming together to coordinate and advance our shared goals. I look forward to seeing you on the 27th!

Best Wishes,

Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Member of Congress


How cool is that? I'm excitied to hear what she has to say!


Today we ran to Walmart to pick up a couple of groceries on our way home from Ella's school. I was just about done when a man with 3 kids came up to me and said "that must be your van with the sticker out there." Huh? Oh yeah, I have a bumper sticker on my van that says "I love someone with Down syndrome." I said yeah, while staring at his 3 sons and realizing that none of them had Down syndrome. He said "that is nice to see." I said thanks. He talked to Ella for a second said she was cute and then walked off. As he was walking off I heard him say "you boys never did get to meet your cousin." Made me want to cry.




Here is Ella reading books. Her new favorite
thing to do.

I asked Hunter if I could take his picture he said "yeah, but I'm NOT going to smile."









Here are pics of Ella's new little ankle braces, Sure Steps.

These shoes are cute but are going back to the store, they won't stay on with these braces on.