Prayers for McKenzie

I started this blog as a way to connect Cora to friends and family that aren't as lucky as I am to see her every day.  And I also hoped to one day be a support to other parents of children with Ds as they go through some of the experiences we've had.  I am blessed to have already been contacted by other parents and am happy that I can be a source of support, even though our own journey into this is still relatively new.

I have recently been in touch with Margaret, mother to her beautiful surprise, 7 month old McKenzie Faith.  She is loved and adored by her mother, three older brothers, Will, Matt and Andrew and by her 3-year old nephew and 2 sisters-in-law.  Her family has just made the 5 hour trip to the hospital in New Mexico for her repair.

Today McKenzie is in pre-op and tomorrow she will have surgery to repair an AVSD (or AV canal) heart defect.

Please send her family your thoughts and prayers as they wait for their baby to go through this life-changing and much-needed surgery.  Having been there ourselves 7 months ago, support and thoughts from the world outside are so helpful.  Please pray for McKenzie's surgeon to do a quick and thorough repair, and for her recovery to be full and speedy.

We're thinking of you McKenzie.

Being a Canadian

OK.   So I've commandeered my mum's blog again, but I don't have much time before she figures it out.  You'd rather hear from me anyway, right? (This is Cora, if you haven't figured it out.)

So yesterday I learned that I'm Canadian.  I don't really know what that means.

But being Canadian sounds pretty cool.  I guess I can handle that.

What does a Canadian do?  Eat poutine?  Eat crepes?  Chase moose?  Or meese?  Owls are Canadian, right?  Here's me in a Canadian shirt....

Being Canadian Rocks!

The Guilty Canadian

I just discovered yesterday that it is Canadian Down Syndrome Awareness Week.

Even if I had known at the beginning of the week, I already missed doing a daily post by missing Tuesday. I admit I felt a little off-kilter not writing, even though I know I was looking forward to the blogging break after the 31 for 21 challenge.

I think I am feeling a little guilty about not being part of the Canadian challenge, since I am 3/4 Canadian.  At least I think that's right.  My mum is Canadian and my dad is half Canadian.  Yeah, 3/4, that's right.  Does it make me any more Canadian that I was actually born in Canada too? And what does that make the Beanie girl?  3/8 Canadian?  Not sure that my high school math skills are up to thinking about fractions right now. 

The Canadian in me comes out when I say "mum" instead of "mom" and say "eh" at the ends of my sentences.  But even though I was born in Canada, I've spent 26 of my almost 34 years in the States.  When in Canada people call me American.  And here I get called Canadian.

Some of my favorites things about Canada are all the family members we have who live there.  Why, Miss Cora has even been there twice already.  So I guess in that respect we've already been contributing to Ds awareness.

So hello out there to my fellow Canadians!  This 3/4 Canadian and her 3/8 Canadian little Bean want to promote awareness for Down syndrome.  Even if we don't blog every day for the rest of the week...

"Hey Mum!  Do prunes promote awareness?"

Sweet and Sour

Sweet little Cora.  Always such an angel with her pretty little face.

Except when she's not.

I know it looks like she's practicing her ogre-face, just a little late for Halloween.  But really, she's just amping it up in the "making faces while excited" department.  I'm not sure how much more exciting things can get.

31 for 21- Day 31: Ta-da!!!

This is it... the final post for the 31 for 21 challenge. 

Have you learned anything new about Down syndrome this month?

Checked out any new blogs?

Fell in love with the adorable faces of any cuties sporting designer genes?

I know I have.

This has been a great challenge for me and I hope I've lived up to it well.   Not all of my posts this month have been about Ds, as you will notice.  And that's just because our lives don't revolve around Ds.  But we are affected by it, in a powerful and often wonderful way.

Most of all we are affected by the crazy love we have for this silly little girl who's become the center of our lives.  And we are so happy for all that she's brought us, including new awareness, new friends and a new focus on life.

I may take a little breather after posting daily for the last few weeks, but I think I've become inspired to step it up a bit.  So you may just be seeing a little more of me (and of cute little Cora too).  And thank you to all the other parents participating in 31 for 21 this month.  You inspire me, make me laugh and make me cry.   

For my readers who may not have checked out many of the other blogs I follow, you can find their links in my sidebar.  I seem to be adding more all the time.  

And if you want to contribute to promoting awareness for Down syndrome, please share this blog or others with your friends and family.  Goodness knows that the more real, accurate and true-to-life information that is shared, the better informed people will be about the kind of blessing a child with Ds can be.  It may not be a perfect life, but it is a life worth living. 

Happy Halloween.  Have fun with your little (and big) trick-or-treaters tonight.  Thank you for reading.  It means so much to me.

31 for 21- Day 30: A Scary Day

Hi everyone.  Cora here.

Mum is pretty tired, so I thought I'd write today's post, even though I'm still a little mad at her.

Today she took me to a very scary place.  First she put this outfit on me.  For some reason she took lots of pictures.  I don't know what the big deal is.  But she takes a LOT of pictures of me.  At first everything seemed OK.

Then she put on these weird clothes.  It was fun to touch her hair and the balls on her shirt, but she looked pretty strange.  I wasn't too sure about it at first but then I realized it was just Mum even though she looked different.

After that, things got pretty bad.  She took me to this place with a whole bunch of people and lots of babies in weird clothes.  There were some good toys, so I played for a bit.  But everybody came to say hi to me and that was kind of scary.  I'm not sure why Mum wasn't scared too. 

Then she put me on the couch next to some other really scary babies and a whole bunch of people tried to take our pictures.  Luckily I screamed and cried enough that Mum picked me up and took me home before she got pictures with all the other babies. 

Anyway, once we got in the car things were fine.  Now we're home with Daddy, although he's playing with worms outside.  I can't wait for him to come in and play with me.

Mum says to say Happy Halloween.

31 for 21- Day 29: Fountains and Fries

The day is winding down and we're all a bit exhausted. Up visiting my parents for the weekend, we decided to take an afternoon trip to the Seattle Center for some food and fun.

The food carts were out in force, which would have made it feel like Portland, if not for the distinctly Seattle-esque scenery.

We sampled some yummy foods: pulled pork, Vietnamese sandwiches and some gourmet burgers.  Then we sat by the fountain, where we were thoroughly entertained for the rest of the afternoon.  That fountain is crazy and erratic and strong and will get you if you think you're smarter than it is.  We watched a lot of people try their luck against the fountain and get wet, including a kid in a full winter jacket and a dad with a baby.  But you ask for it... you get it.

After sitting and watching for a while, with the Beanie Girl wavering between being mesmerized and hooting and hollering with the rest of the crowd, her Daddy took her down a little closer... but not too close.  They ended up staying dry.  She sat down just at the water's edge with Grandpa for a while too.  She almost completely missed her afternoon nap.

And she may have gone on a hunger strike with all the excitement... until Grammie tempted her with her first french fry.  Yes, health food for a 9 month old.  Grammie peeled off the fried part and gave her the inner potato mush.  And it was a complete hit.  Her first potato.

"Hmm... this tastes a little funny Mum."

"Well, maybe it's not so bad..."

All in all, a wonderful beautiful crisp clear day in Seattle with wonderful company and a blissfully happy little girlie.  What more could we ask for?

Now we're getting ready for a dinner of fried green tomatoes, salad and some chocolate malteds for dessert.  While sipping on some of my dad's homebrewed beer.

What a lovely Saturday!