Edie Stands All By Herself!!

It may not be all that easy to see b/c it was recorded with Scott's cell phone -

but hopefully you can make out the important parts! Edie is still learning how to sit.

So Big!

Edie is crawling!! Both hands and both knees!! She is also pulling up!! We are so proud of her. She started last week when we neglected to put her hip pants on. I believe this gives her more freedom to move and to feel her body when moving. Therefore our therapist advised we could discontinue using the hip pants for now unless we see Edie pulling up between her legs. Which means doing the splits to lay on her tummy instead of going to her side to lie down.
Edie is also pulling up on her toys and on us. She stands so easily now it is incredible. She is up and then down all day long. She is so proud of what she is doing....just as are we. Last week when I met with her ARC OT and her Bell Center PT - they both commented on how well Edie is doing. The ARC OT said she and the ARC PT joke all of the time saying "did someone forget to tell Edie she has DS" and The Bell Center PT commented on how well she was doing for just being 13months. It feels so good when a professional on the outside says such wonderful things about Edie. It confirms our feelings of accomplishment and it keeps us motivated so that Edie may continue to prove the statistics wrong. But to tell the truth, it is not us, it is Edie who is so wonderfully motivated and determined to overcome the text book stats. We continue to be in awe of her. Edie has honestly had maybe only 2 bad days in her 13 months. She is too perfect to be true, her love is never ending and her outlook is so impressive. We are truly in love and truly blessed.

P.S. Edie is also saying "iggy" or "gigi" or "mindy". We have not figured out which yet...but we know it is a word. She is also signing "all done" we hope to download some video of all of the great things she is doing soon!

We Did It!

Sunday was the finale of the 2009 Mercedes Marathon. "Team Ladybug" did great in the relay running in just over 4 hours! It was a beautiful day - to share with our friends and family. Edie, Charlie and Carter were all bundled up as they watched the runners and played with their red balloons . Although were were unable to see everyone run we did catch Scott on his last mile of the run. We are so proud of Scott, Mindy, Jimmy, Matt and Eric for what they accomplished. I was inspired by all of the PIT runners who passed by and thankful to them for supporting our babies. We are now looking forward to the 2010 race where we are planning to have several "Team Ladybug" relay teams and 1/2 marathon teams! So get your running shoes on!

My Friend Bergen

Bergen invited all of her friends to her birthday party a few weeks ago at Kindermusak. The babies had a lot of fun playing music on the drums, singing, eating cake and playing together. I have been very interested in Kindermusak (not sure of spelling) for a while. This is a service they offer to all children in various locations around town. The children and parents join others and play instruments and sing songs a few days a week. I know Edie would love this. The group that is closest to our home does not offer groups until age of 18 months. So we have a little while longer. It was nice of Bergen's parents to host Bergen's party at one of the locations and give us a taste of what it is all about. Bergen is in the top left photo with Edie beating on the drums - she is too precious. Happy 2nd Birthday Bergen!!

A Marathon for Love

Please visit http://www.mercedesmarathon.com/about.php. This link tells the stroy from the beginning of when and why the Mercedes Marathon was created. It is closer to home than I ever even knew and it sums up why we are a part of this Marathon for Love.

Special Friends

Scott, Edie and I are very fortunate to have so many wonderful people in our lives. One in particular is Stacey Day. I met Stacey a few years ago through some mutual friends and she has quickly become so special to me. She spent countless hours designing the invitation to the fundraiser and most recently, countless hours designing our "Team Ladybug" shirt. Which could not have turned out to be more perfect and I am thrilled to wear. The final phase of our fundraiser will take place this Sunday February 15th. Scott, Mindy, Jimmy, Eric and Matt will join thousands of other runners at 7:00 am for the Mercedes Marathon. Edie and I along with many other family and friends will join our team (later in the day) and cheer them on to the finish line. We will be sporting our team shirts as proud supporters of "Team Ladybug" and The Bell Center.

For those of you who have inquired - this race is not just for The Bell Center alone. Many of the runners are involved through other charities, reasons and some doing it just for fun. There will be runners from all over the world. The Bell Center, where Edie attends, uses this event as part of their fundraisers for the center. So it is a shared marathon for people of all interest.

After the race has taken place there will be a post party for all runners, family and friends. They will have food and entertainment as well as announce the winners of the race. I am not sure if this is just for The Bell Center runners or if it is for every single runner in the Marathon. We will see. None the less it will be very exciting and a lot of fun. I have never been involved in anything like this so I really do not know what to expect.

In a few more weeks The Bell Center will host a post party for all of the runners of The Bell Center. At this time the top fundraising teams will be announced. I can not thank everyone enough for all of their love and support. We have had family and friends from AL, CO, MI and TX support our cause. It has been a wonderful, rewarding experience and I look forward to next years race. Thank you everyone for everything. You have already made such an impact on not only our family, but the other 100's of families who are associated with The Bell Center as well. We love you and thank you with all of our hearts.

P.S. It is not too late to sponsor our team. We will be accepting donations through February 23rd. So if you can please sponsor our team and the 26 miles they will be running by making a donation of $26 - just $1 per mile. Please pass on Edie's link to someone who you feel would like to contribute to this special cause.