Tag: news and updates

what she said.

what she said.

by Joanne ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

twitm-blog-what-she-said-12192016This image has absolutely nothing to do with this post. I just love that
she’s got her hands in her pockets. Too cute! Now without further ado…

Aisha and I were in the living room this morning, waiting for her papa to come pick her up. She was munching a cracker and watching Bubble Guppies when I sneezed – a big ol’ loud and blustery “AhhhhhCHOOOOOOO!”

The girl, face and mouth full of crumbs, turned to me and said, “Bless you!” in her best Baba-speak, before fixing her gaze on the television once more.

I sat and stared at the back of her head for a few minutes, goofy grin plastered on my face. I was partly amused, partly in disbelief over what I’d just heard. My baby girl is talking! Read more ›

stairway to a heart attack.

stairway to a heart attack.

by Joanne ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

the long and winding stairs
it’s a long way down… 

Since the year began, Aisha’s been literally moving in leaps and bounds, from standing to walking and pushing herself into a standing position from a seated one. And yes, in that very order. And no, she still doesn’t know how to crawl. There is no rhyme or reason to the girl; she just bes who she be.

Anyhoo.

Even though she’s far more surefooted as a walker, she’s been giving the stairs a wide berth. The staircase is curved, steep and plentiful – and from her vantage point, they prolly also seem like an awful lot of work. Aisha very much dislikes a challenge (she’s definitely her father’s child Read more ›

happy new year.

happy new year.

by Joanne ♥ 2 Comments
shutterstock_356848487Happy New Year from Shutterstock.

Was in the shower t’other day, thinking about how completely uneventful 2015 was for me, and how I’d like to do things differently for the New Year. And then I found myself feeling guilty for not celebrating the year my girl had, because, Down Syndrome be damned, the kid knocked it out of the fricking park in twenty-fifteen.

A recap of sorts. Aisha (in no particular order):

Turned one. Started feeding herself. Drank from a straw. Held her bottle on her own. Learned to push herself from prone into a seated position. Started daycare. Learned to say “hi,” “bye,” and “Aisha.” Can act out the entire words to “The Wheels on the Bus.” Read more ›

sucky baby.

sucky baby.

by Joanne ♥ 4 Comments

I’ve never been this excited about a bottle, nor its contents.

Last week I popped into Staples to pick up some supplies, and picked up this water bottle on a whim. I liked the colour, size and shape; I thought it would be a nice thing to have on hand for Aisha in the future. She likes to drink water, and will take it from a cup – although she refuses to take it from one of her regular bottles.

The little spout at the top flips up and down and has a straw attached. The function is pretty much straightforward; flip up top, put spout to mouth and sip. Voila! Thirst quenched. I think we take this action for granted. I have a friend whose son is either 12 or 13 and doesn’t know how to drink from a straw due to feeding/gastro issues he had as a small infant. Aisha couldn’t figure out how to breastfeed, so I hand expressed my milk and fed it to her from a bottle; kids with Down Syndrome can sometimes have suckling issues associated with low muscle tone. There are a ton of online message boards and parent forums chock full of tips and tricks on how to get little ones with DS to drink from bottles and straws.  Read more ›

don’t bother trying to find her, she’s not (t)hair*.

don’t bother trying to find her, she’s not (t)hair*.

by Joanne ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

FOTF04F
The last shot of 2015; me with long hair. (*and with apologies to The Zombies…)

I’ve been contemplating doing a hair post for some time, as I’ve been getting a lot of questions and compliments over the past year about my waist-long locks – mainly about maintenance (do them myself), and how long I’ve had them (just over six years), or what I put in them (nothing). As my hair grew longer, the response was almost exclusively enthusiastic, while my own feelings about it were increasingly less-than.

And so, on Tuesday night, while I sat in front of my laptop, dreading (ha) the idea of washing 19 inches of locks (and spending the next 19 hours indoors as they dried), I decided that I’d simply had enough; I grabbed a pair of scissors and headed to the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror, examining my hair and scalp beneath each lock, and asked myself if I really wanted to Read more ›

she’s a ten.

she’s a ten.

by Joanne ♥ 6 Comments

happy girl copyShe’s my star.

My little-big bean turned ten months about a week before Christmas and for some reason it was very emotional for me.

She is becoming very active now, rolling and army-crawling about to get to where and what she wants. I always knew she’d grow to be a stubborn little thing, and damned if the child hasn’t proved me right thus far. But she is also extremely loving and charming, ever-ready with a smile (any opportunity to show off her new teeth), and she makes me laugh-out-loud guffaw at least a couple times a day.

Parents of children with Down Syndrome are all too familiar with The List Of Things Your Child Won’t Ever Do, and for the most part, I’ve managed to ignore the naysayers and let the girl develop as she may, with a little help from her DT Patti and OT Amanda. Read more ›

hurried holiday greetings.

hurried holiday greetings.

by Joanne ♥ 4 Comments

WP_20141226_004 1These two cuties would like to wish you a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Hey y’all!

I know..I’ve been away from the blog for a bit – what else is new? But this time, with good reason…I’ve started freelancing full-time. So on top of being a full-time stay-at-home mummy, I’m also a full-time writer, and gat dayum if this shit doesn’t take up all my free hours…but more on that another time.

I just wanted to pop online to wish all of you a Merry – albeit belated – Christmas, or however you choose to celebrate (or not). I did not go overboard for Aisha’s first holiday ho-down…I’m just too practical for that sort of thing. What’s the point in lavishing her with tons of gifts when I know she’d much rather play with the paper (which is exactly what she did)?

(I did get her a total of three gifts, all adorable, and only because I had unused gift cards left over from my baby shower. The funny thing is, with all the bustle of the big day, I plumb forgot to give them to her until the night was almost over. Bad mommy.)

With that said, I hope to give proper updates in the coming days…I’ve a bit of time off from the drudgery working before it all starts up again in the New Year. There are only four days until 2015 (!) and if I don’t pop on before then, I hope you all have a wonderful time, wherever and however you spend it.

Kisses!