Frequently Asked Questions

As promised, our Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.'s) tab has been updated and returned to the blog.

If you've ever wanted to know more about growing up with a sibling with Down syndrome, Josie's adoption, or where those darn food names come from, you'll find it under the F.A.Q.'s tab.  And if there's anything that you want to know about that we didn't cover under the F.A.Q.'s, feel free to email us at DualDownsDivas@gmail.com. 

 

P.S. Mom, click here.

A Must-See Documentary about Down syndrome

Travis & I stayed up late last night talking on our patio.  We got into a conversation about Josie's future; we discussed our ambitions for her and the opportunities that are currently available and how much things could change in twenty years.  It reminded me of a wonderful documentary I watched and I can't believe I never blogged about it before.  The documentary is called "Monica & David".

It's about a real couple with Down syndrome who get married and build a life together.  When I found out about it, I made Travis subscribe to HBO so I could record it.  Two years later, it's still on my DVR.

 

What I got the biggest kick out of were the similarities between Monica and Leanne.  I joked that you could play a drinking game for every time Monica said or did something that Leanne does.  For example, at the end of the film, Monica and David go out to a restaurant to celebrate their first anniversary together.  Upon receiving a complimentary dessert, Monica requests that the staff sing to her and David.  The next thing you know, a small group of servers are gathered around the table awkwardly singing "Happy Anniversary to you" to the tune of "Happy Birthday".

 

It made me laugh because a few years back, Leanne insisted on having her birthday meal at Chili's.  After making a big deal about how it was her birthday, the server brought her a bowl of ice cream.  Leanne looked up at him and said, "Aren't you going to sing?" and this rather introverted, soft-spoken server who was about 16 stuttered, "Uh, we don't really do that here."  To which Leanne emphatically replied, "But it's my birthday!"  I have never seen a teenage guy turn so many shades of red as he stood in front of the glaring eyes of a roomful of restaurant patrons and did a bumbling  solo performance of "Happy Birthday" upon Leanne's insistence.  I wouldn't be surprised if he never showed up for work again.

 

But I digress..."Monica & David" is an awesome documentary that delves into issues facing adults with Down syndrome including dating and marriage, socialization, finding employment, health struggles, and establishing independence from parental control.  Here is the official movie trailer:

You can find out more at these websites:
http://www.monicaanddavid.com/
 or
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/monica-and-david#/documentaries/monica-and-david/index.html
(which includes extra video clips and deleted scenes)
 

Love Machine

Dad is back from his business trip to India.  Boy was he missed!  The girls were delighted to see him.

 

As if his sheer presence wasn't thrilling enough, he brought the girls gifts: singing animals from India!

The upside of having a dad who travels for work is that their international singing animal collection is expanding rapidly!

 Of course some of us are happier about that than others...

Dad sure has a knack for picking out singing animals.  Just when we think they can't get any weirder (or uglier), he amazes us.  I can't even venture a guess as to what he'll return with next time!

The reason Josie isn't walking yet



Josie turned two in March and she still isn't walking.  We finally discovered why.

 

 His name is Kody.

 

He's a physical therapy grad student who is an "apprentice" to Josie's beloved PT, Katie.

 

From day one, Josie was smitten.  She thinks he's an absolute dreamboat!

Kody is downright wonderful with children, but Josie would prefer to think that she gets the V.I.P. treatment and he's just so-so with the rest of the kids.
 

If she learned to walk, it would eliminate her reason to have a weekly visit with her crush du jour.
 

So for now, she's just going going to sit back and relax in anxious anticipation of her next date with Kody. 

 

Josie makes the following proclamation about 400 times a day in our house...

It's too bad Kody's term ends in September. Don't worry, JoJo - there's always your first love...

* Special thanks to Kody who benevolently agreed to let us have fun with him on the World Wide Web!

 

 

Perhaps our best photo shoot to date...

This evening we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and have a little photo shoot in the park.  Despite being dangerously close to bedtime, we decked the little dolls out in their signature coordinated ensembles and hoped for the best.  Most of the photos turned out poorly.  It is a feat getting these two to sit still, look the same way, and smile at the same time.  But there were a few gems...

Perfectly lovely

 Despite her hesitation to admit it, Josie does adore her sister. 

 

Skills and abilities alert!  Standing!  Woo Hoo!  You go girl!

Josie & Merryn 2012 - Leanne & Elizabeth (me!) 1981

Is it just me or is anyone else tearing up?

 

And even if every other photo had been an utter disaster, it would have been worth it to capture this treasure:

Sit still while I give you a kiss, d@#mit!

 

Ladies and Gentleman, you may, quite possibly, be looking at our 2012 Christmas card photo.  It's hard to imagine anything that could top that!

Candid Confessions of the Chromosomally Enhanced

Here at CCE, we strive to remain positive, but we're not one of those blogs that sugarcoats reality.  As long as Aunt Leanne is involved, that is impossible to do.  Girlfriend has never been one to mince words.  She calls it like she sees it.  If you can't handle the truth, don't ask Leanne. 

When Leanne is visiting, she always comes and says goodnight before heading off to bed.  Over the weekend I was able to record one of these frank pre-bedtime chats and I took advantage of the opportunity to allow Leanne to reflect on each family member and share her insights...the truth hurts!

WARNING: This video may not be suitable for young children.  Parental discretion is advised.

Aunt Leanne and the Great Turtle Heist

hye evrbody

i hug the

rugrats

 i

love them

kiss

tpye

blogg

huge

jo

she

is

favoite

grill

gvie

you

preasnts

from

fair

 grounds

jojo take steel preasnt

from bnnna stawberry

meyeryeon

take way form her

onwn

tullle

joise

catfish

ketchup

 took

 tuele

grreen

 purle

turle

for

meryn



i love her

jo

jo

catcatfish

ketchup

In the tradition of the "chicken in my closet" comes Leanne's second annual state fair carnival winnings - a trio of stuffed turtles.  As her sister, I can confidently presume it was not her sheer athleticism nor stellar hand-eye-coordination that earned her not one but THREE stuffed animals; I can almost guarantee you it was her undeniable cuteness and captivating charisma that persuaded that carnie to fork over those treasures.

And in the tradition of the "never-ending goodbye," Leanne insisted on putting the girls down for their naps by herself before she could leave.  When Mama Hop attempted to carry Merryn into the nursery, Leanne immediately confiscated her and reminded my mom that SHE wanted to do it. 

Overall, we had a fantastic weekend but it flew by too fast.  As always, we are so grateful to Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne for all of their help.  Stay tuned because in the tradition of the little blogosphere reality show we've got going here, we have some great video footage of Aunt Leanne's musings...her candor is priceless.

Aunt Leanne narrates our trip to the zoo

hi

leanne everbody

yesrday

we

went tothe

zoo

place

nickame for me joise  catfish

wwith

 with ketchup

meryen\

banna strwabeey

nickname

for baby

walk  to zoo

easy  breezy

cover

grill

 

shhep

baa

baby cry

sheep

dont

have

cow

 

giraffle
long

neck

 

fox

mom has

cow

panick

zerbra

stripes

goese

leave zoo

i

drive

home

pizza

vegeables

 peeroinichesese

black oives

green

persers

help

jojo

go

to

bed

brush

theeth

germs tturn

black

love

leanne

As Leanne explained above, we took the girls on their first trip to the zoo.  The trip was an adventurous one.  Josie loved every animal.  When you ask her which one was her favorite, she replies "bear!"; we didn't see any bears.  It's difficult to tell which one was Merryn's favorite, but her least favorite was evident.  Merryn burst into tears of terror upon confronting the most ferocious predator at the zoo: the sheep!  Likewise, Mama Hop "had a cow" over the miniature fox.

Upon returning home, we dined on pizza and prepared for bed.  Leanne helped Josie brush her teeth because according to Aunt Leanne, failure to do so will result in the germs turning your teeth black!  Obviously we don't want to risk that! 

Overall, we had a fantastic day at the zoo!  Stay tuned because the adventures continue...

Josie loves...

You know that stereotype about kiddos with Down syndrome being loving and affectionate?  Well, Josie is out to prove that one right.  Lately, her favorite thing to do is to declare her love for everything and everyone.  Well, almost everyone...

Guess who just walked through our front door:

Aunt Leanne!!!!

That's right - brace yourself for a FUN weekend!!!

That's what sisters are for

Since becoming mobile, Merryn is a little hurricane tearing through the house as fast as she can go.  I can't get her to sit still for two minutes...

...but her sister can:

Merryn relishes in Josie's attention - regardless of what form it's in - because big sisters are cool like that!

A Weekend Without Kids

Travis and I were married for nearly 8 years before we had kids.  Life was quite different back then.  There was more freedom, fewer responsibilities, and significantly more recreation time.  Then along came this little beauty...

...and before you know it, another one...

...and things, well, they changed.  Priorities shifted.  We were parents!  And while we would not trade that privileged role for the world, we do have our moments when we miss the freedom we once had.

That's why we were abundantly grateful to YaYa and Papa for flying into town last weekend to keep the girls so Travis and I could take a little trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  Leaving one's children is never easy (even in the loving arms of wonderful grandparents), so I implemented rigid parameters so I could feel more comfortable with the arrangement.  I wanted to go someplace where I wouldn't be surrounded by kids so I wouldn't be constantly reminded of how much I missed them, and I wanted to be within a very short drive so I could return quickly if need be. 

In our little corner of the world, this rigid criteria limited our options significantly.  So for the first night, we chose to enjoy dinner and live music at a rural winery, which is how we ended up here, in "The Victorian Suite":

Now I won't mention the hotel chain but suffice to say, it was not the Ritz Carlton...nor the W...nor the Hilton...nor the Holiday Inn...but with a couple of glasses of wine under my belt, I found the surroundings quite amusing.  I even joked about stealing that lamp.  However, in the sober light of morning, the idea of being trapped in a Charles Dickens novel quickly lost it's appeal and I longed to return to the latter part of the 21st century...so we headed off to a casino and golf resort where we traded the flicker of an antique lantern for the glowing lights of the slot machines!

We spent a whopping 10 minutes gambling (at the rate we were losing, that was plenty of time) and the rest of the time lounging by the kid-free pool, dining in the kid-free restaurants, and shopping in the kid-free boutiques.  My desire to not be reminded of how much I missed my children was easily fulfilled in this environment where Travis and I were among a small minority who is not currently collecting a social security check. 

While the initial "I can't stand to leave my babies" tears threatened to put a damper on our romantic weekend getaway, I pulled myself together; and Papa lost his bet that I would return home before the 24 hour mark!  Everyone had a great time - especially YaYa, Papa, and the girls.  I can speak from personal experience that time spent bonding with one's grandparents is absolutely priceless.

We rounded up our fun weekend by returning home, gathering the family and heading out to watch Travis pitch (and win!) at his softball game.  To quote Josie's enthusiastic cheer at the game, "Go Travis!"

Stay tuned because we have so much more funny stuff to catch you up on!

Aunt Leanne Rolls Up Her Sleeves

Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne joined us last weekend to celebrate a very special occasion, Merryn's first birthday.  But it was business as usual in many ways.  As soon as they arrived, Leanne unpacked her things (this always takes precedent), and then she rolled up her sleeves and went into hands-on Aunt mode.

She pushed the girls on the swing in our yard...

...accompanied Mama Hop in taking the girls for a walk around the neighborhood...

...and she supervised bath time.  I just love this photo; Merryn is testing Aunt Leanne by threatening to stand up in the tub - a big "no no!" around here - and Aunt Leanne is getting her index finger ready to wag at that child!  She won't tolerate any funny business!

While Travis assembled the new kitchen set that Mama Hop got the girls, Aunt Leanne helped finish up the gift wrapping.  It takes her awhile and she requires a massive amount of tape, but she gets the job done.

Then it was time to party!

Of course Leanne was right in the center of the action, aiding Merryn in opening her gifts while reading the cards aloud to the rest of us.

Merryn enjoyed the festivities.  She loved opening and tasting her gifts!

Then it was time for the grand finale!  Without further ado, I present to you, the money shot:

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl! 

And as always, special thanks to Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne for coming to town and showering the girls with love and attention.

Aunt Leanne blogs

diinner -steak veggie
breakfast
church
frapucciciono
cholate chip with whip cream
 ruugrats bath
music
usher
llunch
meatball
photo shoot
later merrryn   brithrthday
party
cake

baby awkae
got go bye
love leanne
chesesbuger head

It's a big weekend around here...

Ten years ago, on August 3rd, Travis & I skipped our college graduation ceremony.  Why would you want to wear a cap and gown when you could wear a wedding dress instead? 

We still got our diplomas but we got so much more.  With each year that passes, I am increasingly grateful that I have my best friend by my side on this crazy journey as we continue to build a life together and pursue our dreams.

One year ago, on August 3rd, one of those dreams came within reach when I went into labor with this little cherub:

Tomorrow, at 2:34am, she will turn one year old. 

And you know what that means...it's time to party!

Guess who received top billing on the guest list:

That's right!  It's an eventful weekend around here.  So much to be thankful for! 

Happy 10th Anniversary, Travis.  I love you!

Happy almost birthday, little Merry-go-round!  Let's party!!!