Little Packrat

So...just what does this little guy pack up and carry around with him all through the house???

 

Here's a little snapshot....

(mittens, a little fox, an iPod and a diaper)

I'm glad he's prepared.  Good thing he remembered some essentials, like a diaper :)

Ballerinas have Down Syndrome too!

Father-Daughter Dance 2012

Our Father-Daughter homeschool dance is always a lot of fun.  We went from 6 daughters attending last year to only four this year!  Moira is off at school, of course, and the age limit was raised to age 5 this year, so Erin could not attend. 

Here are the girls, all dolled-up!

Molly Grace

Bridget

Teresa

Eileen

Mike and some of his girls...

Our January babies....

.....are not babies anymore!  Eileen and Bridget turned 17 and 15 in January.  I'm late getting some pictures on the blog because those January birthdays always sneak up on us!

Here's beautiful Eileen, who had to wait another month, to the day, to get her braces off.   I'll have to get a picture with her new grin, full of shiny straight teeth!  Happy birthday, Eileen!

 

Here's beautiful Bridget, our 15 year old.  She was finally able to have a little party with a few friends over to celebrate her birthday, just this past weekend.  Happy birthday, Bridget!

Party Often?

Did anyone notice that my blog title could also be read as "party often"?  I didn't realize it until the image was already in Photoshop....and I have no idea how to edit it.  LOL.  Oh well, I guess it's okay if the Party of Ten parties often.

Erin's New Glasses

A few months ago Erin got glasses. We tried our best to make a big deal about how lucky she was to have glasses, just like Daddy.  Ha!  Let's just say we wasn't buying it....at all.  Goal number one was to get her to wear them for five minutes.  Then 15 minutes.  Then an hour.  Then, an hour, without her little brother pointing out, over and over again, that she did in fact have her glasses on.  Sigh. Finally, after a good long while, she now wear them most of the day.  Now, most of the time, she doesn't even seem to notice she has them on, which of course was our long-term goal!

I think she's pretty adorable in them, if I do say so myself.

Now, here's my plug for Specs 4 Us.
 
Specs 4 Us was started by a mom who had a little four year old girl with Down syndrome.  Often, because kids with Ds have very shallow nasal bridges, and small noses in general, glasses slip down.  We purchased another pair of glasses from a different manufacturer and they were always slipping down.  Specs 4 Us makes a huge difference!  So, my girl with designer genes now has glasses designed just for her.  Amazing, isn't it?  I love how this mom saw a need and did something about it to make life easier for kids with Down syndrome.  It's the small things that can become the big things, and this mom is grateful.

Okay...I Get the Hint

It seems I cannot keep enough food in the house.  I make a couple large trips to the grocery store per week, but still, with as busy as life is, it seems we are always running low.  You know how it is....you get down to the eggs, pancakes and soup.  Hmmm. what can I make with noodles and Italian dressing? Ha ha.  Oh, and there are usually frozen pizzas in the downstairs freezer, so you've got that goin' for you....

Recently, I received this letter from my loving children...

The citizens of the Delaney household hereby have cast lots and are willing to drop to their undernourished knees and beg for the smallest morsels of store bought food.  Your choices are:  Put Eileen in driver's ed so she can learn to drive, drop us off at the cousins, so we can eat, or the last choice, which is most approved by the lot casters, is to go to the grocery store and buy the smallest bit of nourishment.  Know that you have full support over choosing any of these choices, but know, also, that it must be done today!

Signed, Aidan, Bridget, Eileen, Seamus, Teresa, Erin and Molly Grace

Oh, they crack me up!  Yes, I did feed my children that day, I promise!

Our Christmas Card

Well, it certainly is not our best card, but it may have the most character! LOL

An Aidan Update

In early December, Aidan was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, caused by Graves disease.  Graves is an autoimmune disease.  Basically, his body built up antibodies against his own thyroid, attacking it. The result was an increase in thyroid hormones.  And a big increase it was!  His T3 hormone, which should be under 3, was at 19.  His TSH hormone was 0, meaning his pituitary gland had basically shut down.  It is very rare to have Graves disease at the age of ten and even more rare for a boy.  Girls (women) get Graves at a rate of 4:1.  He is seeing a wonderful endocrinologist at Children's Hospital of Milwaukee...the same doctor who treated his uncle Andy years ago! So, while we were surprised at the diagnosis, we were also relieved that we had an answer to his symptoms.

A little history:  Aidan started looking very thin in the summer, but he was also having a big growth increase, and not loosing overall weight, so we just thought he was going through a growth spurt.  In early fall, he started looking even more thin (and he didn't have much body fat to begin with!) and we put him on a high calorie diet.  Even with a ton of calories (think two extra large Haagan Dazs milk shakes a day plus an extra meal!), he was not gaining.  Additionally, by November, we started noticing many other symptoms and his school work was suffering as well. Some symptoms were vague, others a bit scary. So, to make a long story short, we took him the doctor, and there began his journey with Graves disease, and a long treatment plan, most likely for life.  Our hopes are for him to eventually go into remission, which does happen, although rarely for a severe case. 

The good news?!  It's treatable.  The other good news?! On the way home from Children's Hospital of Milwaukee (Seamus and Grandma and Grandpa D were with us that day), we took the boys to Cabela's....a big treat for Aidan!

Photos aren't the greatest because they were from my ipod...

Some Christmas Photos (2011)

I think Bridget someone dropped the ball on the picture taking.  Unless I'm missing a memory card, we have very few Christmas photos this year. So, here is just a sampling...

Homemade Nativity :)

Teresa and Molly  Grace practice some Christmas tunes

Not such a great picture of our neighborhood luminary...it sure is better with lots of snow!

My youngest and my oldest

Yep, he came!

Disney's Tangled horse (Maximus)= $20...Generic horse (Maximus)= $1 :)

The whole gang in Grandma's pjs, minus Moira, who had to work

Grandpa, showing the girls something really interesting

 

Colleen, Bridget and Teresa

Margaret and Molly Grace

Seamus and Teresa

Erin