2009 PADS Buddy Walk

Tomorrow begins National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Please become an Advocate this month for our precious children and spread the word on how Exceptional they truly are. Let others know how you have been touched by a child with Down Syndrome. You can even go a step further and join us October 18th at Regions Park for the 2009 Buddy Walk and personally show your support. The day will be filled with games, music, food and ending with a short walk. Your ten dollar donation even includes a 2009 Buddy Walk shirt! Scott is actually the VP of PADS this year and his main responsibility has been to coordinate this big day. We are so proud of him - so come and see what he has planned!!

Click link to make your donation today and to find out more about the Buddy Walk

http://www.bhambuddywalk.com/index.php

Look at Me!

Edie has been walking with her push toy for several weeks now - but this past Saturday she really showed off!! We were at a friends house for the game and Edie grabbed Anna James' push toy and went to town. At one point they were both walking together. It was so cute!! I have never seen her so determined to use the push toy. Later that evening she went to town with her own push toy. One thing I have learned about Edie is she does things on her own time and to her own tune. We have tried working with her in the past on walking and if she does not want to do it there is really no "making" her. But everyone was right. Edie will do it when she is good and ready. And she was ready Saturday!! I bet she would have walked all night long!!

Now we just have to learn to navigate. Once Edie hits the wall she can not physically turn the toy around. So she just sits, bounces on her bottom and grunts until we move it around for her. I know she will figure it out soon a long with bending her knees when she walks which is a big issue for most children with DS. They tend to sometimes want to lock their knees and "waddle". Poor baby - I apologize for the pants. She has enough things to concentrate on with out having to trip over her pants and their being 6" too long. I promise not to do it again!! But as you can see it did not slow her down a bit!

Happy Retirement Nannie!!

Nannie is officially retiring Wednesday September 30th! We are so proud of her and excited to see what this new chapter of her life will bring. I hope it brings her more joy than she ever knew was possible. I know Edie will be excited to spend more time with her as will I. Nannie deserves a break and a long vacation. She has a lot of things planned starting with a long camping trip to South Carolina the day after she clocks out for the last time! Once she returns she will be spending some time with Edie and the rest of her grand babies I am sure. We celebrated her retirement Sunday with the whole family including our new addition Wylie. Edie was pooped after such a long day as were we!!

Roll Tide!!

I am amazed everyday at the wonderful things Edie is doing. I am even more amazed at how she is growing and turning into a little girl. She is still my baby and always will be, but she is quickly turning into a little girl. She is such a ham when it comes to the camera. When I pull it out she immediately starts smiling and posing. This lasts for only a few minutes though so I have to be quick!! This is Edie sporting her new bama suite I got her at Sew What in Helena. It came with both shorts and pants. However, the shorts are almost pants on Edie when she stands. I bought her the 18 month - months ago just knowing it would fit. I had to move the buttons up 5" to get to fit a little better. She will be wearing this outfit for three football seasons!

Isn't She Beautiful!!!!

This is a favorite photo I recently snapped of Edie. She is so beautiful. I think she looks like a little baby doll. We are going to a party on Friday where there will be a vendor there who makes jewelry out of photos. So I have been going through Edie's pictures for a photo necklace. This may be the winner!!

Where Have We Been?

I can't believe September is almost over and I have posted so little. It just goes to show how busy we have been! We have been here, there, and everywhere. Edie is really moving these days and in to everything. I have officially purchased locks for the cabinets. First and foremost I do not want Edie to get hurt crawling through them, but secondly I am tired of cleaning up after the little booger!

Edie leaves a trail daily, hourly throughout the entire house. She starts in our bathroom pulling out everything in my drawers and and cabinets. Then she moves on to the bedroom and my sock drawer. Next on to my jewelry cabinet pulling out everything she can get her hands on. Then it is to the playroom where the tornado really hits. After that the kitchen where she pulls all of the letters off of the fridge. In between pulling out all of her Tupperware. Lastly it is to the living room! I can't keep up!!

Above is were she spotted her toys I had put away in the closet while I rotate them. It is amazing how intrigued she was with the farm toy on that day, once it was put away - while it was out she had absolutely no interest in it!!

Play Dates

We have been quite busy with life lately. We always seem to be coming and going and never sitting. Between traveling with work, MDO and TBC we have managed to spend some fun times with our friends too! A few weeks ago Edie and I tagged along with my neighbor Deanna and her son Maxwell for a trip to the zoo. It started to rain 10 minutes into the trip. But the good thing was because of the rain most of the visitors left and the rain forced the zoo animals to stay close to the glass surrounds where there was the most shelter. Which gave us close up and personal one on one time. At one point Edie's was face to face with the Bangle Tiger! It was pretty cool I must say. We also had the entire petting zoo to ourselves. So despite the rain we had a great time.

Most recently we met my dear friend Stacey and her two boys Carter and Ross for lunch and a little fun time at Veterans Park on Vally dale. A very impressive park I must say. Not only does it have a handicap accessable play area complete with a rubber surface it also is equipped with handicap swings. I have never actually seen these in person but they are pretty cool and look so comfy. Next to this play area they have an additional playground for smaller kids and bigger kids. Mommy loved the AstroTurf surface and Edie loved the itty bitty slide. I would sit her on top and she would wiggle until she started to slip down the slide. I struggled not to touch her because I wanted her to do it on her own - but I did support her head each time as to make sure she did not bump it going down. As for the AstroTurf I think it is a perfect choice for our back yard. It is not the cheap shinny plastic kind. I am sure it too is made of plastic but it had some type of loose, black, rubbery pebbles down in it. I am thinking to absorb moisture and to give it buoyancy?? Good guess I thought.

After much play, some tears, spit up and Carter's beet -red face we decided to call it a day. Our last laugh was watching teeny tiny Stacey struggle to carry 16 lb Rossy while trying to open a car door that did not even belong to her! she was a little distracted I have to admit by Carter's spill onto the pavement, but it was still funny. I have to hand it to her she is a great mom to two gorgeous little boys. I am fortunate to have such great friends. Especially friends with cameras!! I forgot mine each time so I borrowed these from Stacey's blog. The one on the top Carter and Edie looking into a fish eye mirror. I'll steel some photos from Deanna and post soon too!!

Save The Date

This November we will be having our 2nd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser to benefit The Bell Center for Early Intervention. Last year we thought of having a fundraiser in honor of Edie and as a part of our marathon PIT fundraising for The Bell Center. So we came up with the "Ladybug Fundraiser". Why Ladybug? Because that is what we call Edie. Why you ask? Because Ladybugs are a sign of luck and fortune and that is exactly what Edie has brought us. We are lucky in love and so very fortunate to have been blessed with such a beautiful, wonderful little girl.

Last year we had over 100 people to attend and we raised over $7000.00 the night of the fundraiser. We had entertainment, food and a silent auction. This year we hope to have even more to attend and of course we hope to raise even more for The Bell Center. Things have certainly gotten off to a great start. My wonderfully sweet and talented friends Stacey Day http://www.rocpaper.com/ and Grethel Vann Epps of http://www.gvephotography.com/ donated their time and talents in creating the Save The Date card. I love and appreciate both Stacey and Grethel for helping us with our great cause. Above is what we actually had printed and the header photo was mine and Scott's 2nd choice of our favorite photo. We just love Edie's smile in it. It was too cute not to share. (Grethel I hope you don't mind).

We have pinned down date, place, time and entertainment thus far. We have donations for the silent auction coming in already including, a photo session and CD of photos by Grethel Vann Epps http://www.gvephotography.com/, UA Merchandise and several getaways - out of home, out of town and out of state. I am so excited to see things in motion and I can not wait for it to all come together. We have a long way to go and so much more to do. If you or anyone you know would like to donate a talent or item to our silent auction I would love to hear from you! Also if you did not receive a Save The Date or know someone who would be interested in coming I would also love to hear from you so I can get it in the mail. michelleandscottshunnarah@yahoo.com

Mark your calendars!! We hope to see you there!

So Much to Say.......So Little Time

Man. I am so behind! So much has happened and most so long ago I am going to try and remember it all for you.........

We went home to Billingsley for the Davis Family Reunion last Saturday. This was Edie's 2nd reunion. We had family from FL, MS and all over AL to attend. It is always great to see everyone and catch up. There was actually a lot of the kids (I am referring to myself too) there this year. It never last long enough and with Edie needing a nap it was cut especially short for us. We all had fun and ate a lot of great home cooking! There was some buzz about having it in Piedmont, AL next year which will be a nice change and a lot of fun. I am looking forward to it!!

A few weeks ago Edie visited Dr. Cortopasi for her checkup. She got two shots HEP A and a flu shot. She also had blood drawn for her yearly thyroid test. Things did not go so well this visit. Dr. Cortopasi was running behind due to the overwhelming amount of sick kids on a Monday (note to self - never schedule an appointment on a Monday again!) Because of the delay Scott had to go back to work before the shots were administered which threw me into a panic since he is the one who always holds Edie's hands and body while I look away because for one I can not stand needles and for two I especially can not stand seeing my baby cry. I did step up to the plate to hold Edie and practally cried along with her. She was so pitiful. The nurse had a little trouble finding a good vein and by the time she inserted the needle Edie was already in tears. She laied there looking up at the nurse crying to the point that she started making this "ooooo...ohhh....ooooo" noise. It was the saddest, weirdest, cutest noise all at the same time. Man I love that baby girl and I hate to see her hurt. After the nurse was done she quietened down a little but then when I laied her back down to put on her clothes she fell apart. I finally got her to calm down to a few sniffles when she saw her big, pink, camo band aid on her arm and started to scream again. Poor baby cried herself to sleep on the way home holding on to her big, pink, camo band aid.

The good news of the visit was they thyroid test came back normal. Edie is now 20 lbs 3 oz. She is 50th percentile in weight which is great! And 90th percentile in height on the DS chart which is great too! Dr. Cortopasi said she may just have her Daddy's height!!

Stuff Your Face Tailgate Party

This past Sunday The Bell Center hosted a "Stuff Your Face" Tailgate Party at Sloss Furnace. It was the first year for the fundraiser and it really turned out to be a lot of fun despite the rain earlier in the day. They had around 8 team tents set up under a covered area representing different university's. Each team decorated their tent and offered food with a "Team Spirit" flair. We definitely "stuffed" our faces with good food and drink. They had prizes for teams with the best spirit, most creative tent and most creative food. The turn out was good and I think they raised a good bit of money too!! Edie had fun seeing all of her buddies, dancing, eating and petting the "look-a-like" Georgia Bull Dog. There is already a lot of buzz on what they are going to do next year!!