A sunny day

Cora met another milestone today.  We had been walking outside and over to GG's house and back home again.  The sun was shining and Cora was babbling away, riding in her stroller and looking at all the farm animals.  It was a beautiful and warm day and it was such a blessing to be able to go outside since the last few days have been windy and cold.

Once back in the house Cora decided to show her own added blessing for this day.  She was able to get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth in this position for a few seconds before her legs would slide out from under her.  (Up till today she has only been able to get up on her fully extended arms and sometimes tiptoes.)

I watched in awe at this wondrous event and then clapped my hands and signed "good job" while encouraging this new milestone.  Cora gave a big grin and tried it again, and again and again.  She succeeded almost every time she tried. 

Then she laid down on her belly, looked at me and signed "milk".  I agreed.  A reward was definitely needed after all that hard work. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day.

 Cora  wearing her outside bonnet. The old fashion style helps shield her from too much sun.

Cora gets her point across..

Cora had Early On therapy today.  She was napping on her play blanket when Veronica arrived for the physical therapy session.  Cora wasted no time in waking up and getting to work.  Today she was able to show off her sitting skills and balancing skills.  Cora showed Veronica that she is able to sit with little support from a person's hands on her hips and she also showed her skills at sitting in the Boppy pillow. 

Veronica decided it was time to see how Cora was developing in her grabbing skills when sitting.  Veronica had brought cute plastic, beanbag, colorful turtles and Cora's eyes grew big at the new toys.  Cora immediately reached for the toys and was very content in looking at them and holding them.  But Veronica was more focused on getting Cora to reach for the toys.  Veronica would hold one turtle off to the side and support Cora's hips while getting Cora to reach to the side for the turtle.  Cora had no problem doing this.  In fact she reached for the toys every time.  The problem was , Veronica wasn't letting Cora look at the toys for very long or letting her discover these new beautiful toy things.  I could see Cora's expression change from curiosity, to concentration, to disappointment.  Cora really wanted a minute to explore these new toys and Veronica was intent on the new skill.  Veronica was so intent on this new challenge that she forgot to take a few seconds to allow Cora the reward of reaching for the toy.  A simple reward of allowing Cora the time to explore the new toy.

After about five minutes of this Veronica tried to get Cora to reach for the turtle and Cora simply put her hands in front of her and wouldn't reach for the toy.  Then she very boldly babbled a few words, put her hands up and down, and then gave a big sigh and sat quiet.

Veronica laughed and looked at me.  I said, "I think she isn't happy that she doesn't get to play with a turtle before you take it away."  Veronica agreed.  Cora definitely got her point across.

By this time, therapy was over and Veronica said "bye bye" and waved.  Cora waved "bye bye" -  another milestone for Cora.  She not only knows how to get her point across she can also wave goodbye. A coincidence for today's happenings?  I don't think so...I think Cora got her point across in a few ways.  haha.

Cora says "HI"

Today was a beautiful and warm day here in the Upper Peninsula.  The sun was shining and a gentle breeze was blowing.  The perfect kind of day for taking babies outside for sunshine and stroller rides. That's exactly what I did.  I took Cora out for a walk around the horse pastures and enjoyed listening to her babbles mingle with the birds chirping and the ducks quaking.  We have an increase in ducks in the creek and even saw a barn swallow checking out the old mud nests under the barn eaves.  Its was shaping up to be a beautiful day and Cora and I were definitely enjoying the weather.

Since the day was so pretty and the weather warm, the indoor arena was warm as well today.  I decided that at a year old, Cora was old enough to be introduced to my horse Taksi. Up to this point she has only seen them from a distance. I know that Cora won't be able to ride until after her spine
x-ray when she is two years old, but I figure she can at least get to know the horses now.

When I brought Taksi in from the pasture and led him up to the stroller (Big sister Emily had the camera ready) Cora just stared at him with those big blue eyes of hers.  She looked at me and I signed "mama's horse" and kept talking to her and signing "mama's horse".  The whole time Taksi was smelling Cora and looking at her with his gentle eyes.  jAll of a sudden Cora started to wave her arm and out of  nowhere, clear as a bell, she says, "HI"!

I looked at Emily and Emily looked at me and we started laughing.  Cora had just verbalized another word.  "HI".  Cora verbalized the same word two more times while waving her arm at Taksi.  It was music to our ears and Taksi gets all the credit for this new milestone. 

It was indeed a beautiful day at our indoor arena.  We hope your day was just as beautiful...

The Bundle Fable

There was an old woman who was on her death bed.  She grew weary of hearing her children bicker with each other and seeing the struggles they each faced were heart wrenching.  She called to her eldest daughter and asked her to go outside and get the bundle of sticks used for the fire.  The daughter returned and the old woman asked each of her children to try and break the bundle of sticks.  the four children tried and tried and could not break the bundle.  The old woman then asked each child to take a single stick out of the bundle and try to break the stick.  Each child again did as the mother asked and were successful in breaking their stick.  The old woman then looked at each child and said, "Do you understand what I am showing you?".

I thought this was important to share with Cora's readers today.  I spent the day thinking about the struggles that Cora overcomes everyday.  I also thought of the successes that she has proudly achieved.  The train of thought then followed along the tracks of her journey and at every depot there was someone who was standing in support of her and I, waiting for us to disembark from that train and willing to shelter us in support: emotionally, physically and spiritually.

On this journey of Down syndrome and raising Cora it is so essential that when I feel overwhelmed by it all, when I see Cora struggle with her health or physical trials, that I remember we are surrounded by a bundle of supporters.  Cora has the ability to greet these individuals with smiles no matter what the day has brought her, I sometimes greet them with tears in my eyes.  Doesn't matter, for this bundle of people that surround Cora are very strong.  I am ever grateful for all of you.  Because in this alone I would surely break as easily as a stick will under all the pressure.  We all make the choice to be a stick or a part of the bundle.  Any parent who tells you they can be the stick and raise a child with Down syndrome is telling a fable of their own.  It definately takes the bundle!

You do understand what I am trying to tell you today....right?  Blessings to you who are in the bundle of Cora's journey.

If your happy and you know it......

Clap your hands!  Cora has figured out how to clap her hands.  Since she realized this will illicit a joyful noise and happy claps from those who see her do it, she has spend the majority of her time clapping her hands. 

Friday was the magic day for this new milestone to appear.  I had to take Cora to Petoskey for another hearing test.  While there Robin the audiologist asked Dayna to help distract Cora.  Robin put the ear piece into Cora's left ear and Dayna blew bubbles in front of her.  Cora was so happy to see the bubbles that she lifted her hands up and clapped.  Like she had been clapping for months, as simple as that.  Clap!  Clap!  Clap!  It was music to my ears.

The testing took awhile since Cora's left ear was not responding to the test, but this didn't bother Cora because she was totally engrossed in the bubbles appearing from the bubble wand and floating in front of her.  Finally the test was over and Cora passed on both ears.  This in itself is a miracle as Cora was born deaf and didn't pass her first couple of hearing tests.

A magical day indeed.  A passedt hearing test and a clapping Cora.  If your happy and you know it clap your hands....and Cora will keep clapping right along with you.

That which is broken

I found myself in the company of a book over the weekend.  This book is written by a parent of a son with Down syndrome.  Her son is grown and in his thirties and she decided to write a book to parents from a parent.  While I find a lot of helpful information in this book, I have also found some information that I don't agree with or that just doesn't pertain to my and Cora's journey.  This is with any good book.  There are parts you like and feel and parts that you walk away from.

In one part of the book she says that her son is broken to other people but to her she sees a whole person.  To her he is not broken.  I feel like that might not be a good thing.  Let me explain....

I have been approached by people  when I have Cora in my arms and when they are confronted with the fact that Cora was born with Down syndrome they are sometimes (more often than not) apologetic about this.  Like I somehow ended up with the wrong Christmas present or I was somehow given a  goldfish instead of the puppy that everyone else gets.  Or I received a gift that malfunctions, one that is broken.

Cora is not a child that was born and then broke.  She was born broken.  What an absolute blessing for her.  What?! Keep hanging in there....

Do you remember the bible story from when we were children and it talks about the Fishes and the Loaves of Bread?  The one where the disciples took the basket from the little boy and fed the masses with a few loaves of bread and a few fish.  There were over 4000 people in that crowd and every one of them were fed and left with the feeling of self-empowerment for having heard Jesus' talk and share his view of life with them.  Many of those people were broken.  Many of them were broken to the point of feeling as though they could not be broken further.  Many of them were at the end of their rope, their personal bottom,  BROKEN.  Yet, when the bread was broken it gave blessings.  Because it was willing to be broken so that others could be blessed.

If your not willing to be broken then you cannot be blessed.  Some of the greatest people have been incredibly broken at some point in their life.  How wonderful it is that Cora was born broken!   To think that she was willing to be born broken, to be born with Down syndrome so that she could be blessed and bless others....what a huge gift for those that know her.  Because I don't know many people who would honestly say they are willing to be broken so that a blessing can be received.  In my eyes, that makes her pretty honorable and special...in a blessed way.

Cora's Doctor Visit Lesson

Good news.  It was a growth spurt last week when Cora had that huge weight gain.  Such a great relief for both myself and Catherine at Pickford Medical.  Cora gained a normal amount for her in the past week.  She gained 4 ounces.  This brings her weight to 14 pounds and 12 ounces.  She also grew another bit and her length measured at 27 inches.  She is truly getting to be a big girl in a good way.

Catherine and I both sighed a breath of relief when we looked at the scale and it showed the simple 4 ounces weight gain.  I grabbed Cora from the scale and gave her the biggest hug and this week when I walked down the hallway, there was only smiles and pleasant thoughts.   Just to be on the safe side, Catherine did a thorough exam of Cora and declared that Cora indeed looked great and lungs and heart were sounding clear.  Catherine listens to Cora's heart by holding her in her arms and putting the stethoscope on Cora' back.  This enables her to keep Cora from squirming, but it also lets Catherine snuggle with Cora.  Something they both enjoy.  When Catherine went to hand Cora back to me, Cora turned around in her arms and grabbed a hold of Catherine's collar of her lab coat.  Cora was NOT done with the snuggle time and Catherine just laughed and snuggled her for a little while longer.

 Cora has a great "people radar" and I have learned to watch for her reaction to people.  She has a way of letting you know if the person she is encountering has a good vibe or a negative vibe.  She is interactive with those she deems as "good energy" and will just stare blankly at others she deems as "negative".  It is a lesson in seeing people for who they are and not how they appear.  When Cora decides you are accepting of her and give a good vibe, she often makes it hard to stop the snuggle time.

For me, it is a gentle acknowledgement that Cora is not only teaching me, but others around her.  Such a wondrous child she is, to be teaching those so many years older than her.  One would think that with age comes wisdom, but somehow, I think in Cora's case, the wisdom was born with her and she is passing it on to us.

At a time of year when religions are reminding us of the resurrection of Jesus and the reason for the Easter holiday...Cora is doing some of that resurrecting of her own.  She continues to resurrect the desire to learn and serve better for those that are involved in her medical care.  She continues to resurrect the feeling of youth in those that work in her therapies.  For me, she resurrects my laughter and optimism that has accompanied all my life.  It was lost to me for some years now....she is enabling me to find the intense ability to again look for the positive side of very dire situations. 

A great teacher this little button is becoming.  I only hope I can continue to be a good student in this journey of life I share with her.