Our Five Ring Circus: INTRODUCING: Welcome Wednesday Link Party!!! (+ Life Lately)

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

INTRODUCING: Welcome Wednesday Link Party!!! (+ Life Lately)

Welcome Wednesday Link Party

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I hope 2018 is off to a great start for you.  I know many of you are missing the Tuesday Talk link party that ended late last year, so a few of the Tuesday Talk bloggers joined together to bring you Welcome Wednesday!


If you previously linked up with the Tuesday Talk hosts, you will find this concept to be very similar. The link party will open at 7 AM EST each Wednesday, and that week's link party will end the following Tuesday at midnight. 


We do have a few simple rules that we hope you will follow. Please remember to be fair, and that the point of link parties is to connect. Please don't just drop your links and run! 

  1. Only TWO posts please.
  2. Friendly content only. 
  3. Visit at least TWO other sites. (The more you visit, the more likely your content will be viewed!)
  4. Comment on at least ONE other post. (Yet again, if you comment, you will be more likely to receive comments in return!)
  5. Follow each host on at least ONE social media outlet. We'd love to connect with you!


Your Hosts! 

Whitney at Polka-Dotty Place / Bloglovin / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter 
Keri at Keri Lynn Synder / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 
Sarah at Sarah E. Frazer / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 
Lindsay at Lindsay's Sweet World /  Bloglovin / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter

I figured I would kick off this week with a bit of life lately! Life has been very busy around here for every member of my family. I keep hoping things will slow down, but they never do!

I never know who to start with when I do these posts, so I'm just going to start with the youngest (who happens to have the longest update) and work my way up!

LIAM


Liam has a BIG month ahead of him. If you read my post about our long Christmas Break or follow me on social media, then you probably already know that Liam got REALLY sick on Christmas with cellulitis (among other things) and ended up in the hospital.  I will be recapping our Christmas, right down to the details about how sick he was, in tomorrow's post!

He was healthy for almost a full week, then woke up with a runny nose yesterday. I seriously wanted to cry! He was in a germ-filled waiting room at one of his appointments last week, so I'm sure he picked up something there. The problem is, he NEEDS to be healthy for next week, so he is in quarantine at home until next Thursday! 

Which brings us to...the endoscopy to confirm Celiac Disease. I shared in October how Liam was having some chronic diarrhea, so they ran a Celiac Panel and his numbers were extremely elevated. The pediatrican told us to begin a gluten-free diet immediately, so we did. It hasn't been fun, but he's adjusting. We had to wait 3 months to be seen by gastroenterology, and they scheduled him for an endoscopy to confirm the Celiac Panel results for next Thursday. And as ironic as it seems, he had to go back to eating some gluten each day to prepare for the procedure.

I'm REALLY nervous about the procedure. He will be put under general anesthesia, and he's more prone to complications due to having Down syndrome. I remember how scary it was when he was put under for a procedure when he was a newborn, and I'm not going to feel better until he's back in my arms. And if it truly is Celiac Disease, at least we've already had some practice with the diet! And honestly, it could be worse...much worse. This is his only health issue, so we are blessed!

Following that, he will go in for a sleep study, which is standard for a child who has Down syndrome. People with Ds are more prone to sleep apnea, even without showing symptoms. Liam doesn't have any symptoms, but IF he does have sleep apnea, they will most likely schedule him to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. We're hoping that doesn't happen! 

After that, we'll move on to getting shoe inserts for his flat feet, then we have his Kindergarten transition meeting. To be completely honest, I still haven't decided if I will send him to Kindergarten in the Fall. His birthday is just days before the cut off, so he will be the youngest, and he's also a tiny 30.5 lbs and 37.5 inches. I really have no idea what to do! This is the first time on this journey that I actually feel lost!

Down syndrome

LILIANA


Lily is almost halfway through her year in first grade. She adjusted really well to being in school for full days, and hasn't missed a day yet! Her reading fluency is improving, and she's actually starting to get excited about reading on her own. (This book lover was getting worried!) She is the youngest in her class, and one of the youngest in first grade, but she is doing well! In her case, I'm glad we decided to send her instead of holding her back.

Lily still loves dance! We spend several hours on Thursday evenings at the dance studio. She starts with Jazz class, then goes to ballet class, then ends the evening with an hour of acro. She loves acro most, and has been working on her flips and flexibility!

She decided she wants to play soccer in the Spring, but gave up on the idea of basketball after seeing a kid get hit in the head at Dylan's basketball game last week. That's not surprising! She has a BIG personality, and is fit for the stage.

Childhood


ALEXANDRIA


Lexie's soccer season ended at the very end of October and the Spring season doesn't begin until March. She can't wait to play again! In the meantime, she has been focusing on practicing her flute for band, singing in chorus, and choreographing dances at home (I'm still not sure why she gave up dance!). She is still a straight-A student who hasn't missed a day of school this year, and she loves to read! 

Lexie is very bummed, because we recently found out that her cousin, whom she is very close to, is moving to Georgia. We're all very sad about her leaving because we love her so much, but it's hitting Lexie the hardest. Thankfully, she has been spending lots of time with her best friend, Lexi. Yes, you read that right. It makes things a bit difficult when they are together. They both look at me when I say their name!

AND...she will be celebrating her 11th Birthday next month! Slow down, time!!!

Childhood

DYLAN


Now that Dylan is 13, he's all about clothes, music, his iPhone, and basketball! He doesn't make many appearances on my blog or social media these days, which is taking me some time to get used to, but I respect his wishes.

Dylan loves playing basketball! Practices began at the end of November, and his first game of the season was on Saturday. We love watching him play, and it's awesome to see how much he improves each year. He had an AMAZING shot at Saturday's game, and of course I missed it with my camera!  So from now, until the very end of February, you will find our family cheering him on at the court every Saturday morning!

Basketball

ME


I don't feel like there's anything new to share about me! As you can see, all of my time is spent coordinating the schedules above, driving the mom taxi, dealing with everyday chaos, volunteering online for the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network, taking pictures, and blogging!

The kids first day back to school after holiday break last Wednesday began with a 2 hour delay, they went a full day on Thursday, then school was canceled on Friday due to the extreme cold, and again on Monday due to a snow storm. So...I haven't had much time to do anything...like take down Christmas and write blog posts...

Motherhood

GRANT


WORK, WORK, WORK! That sums him up! Seriously, though, he spends more time at the office than he does at home. I'm proud of him, though. His hard work helped him advance at his company, and he really does care about what he does! (He's a mortgage guy, in case you were wondering!)

He hasn't picked up his guitar since a few weeks before Christmas, which is surprising, but I'm sure he will get back into it!

Marriage

Well, there you have it! Life lately in a nutshell!


Like what you see? Follow along on social media to see more!




WELCOME WEDNESDAY!!!


Without further ado, welcome to Welcome Wednesday! Link up those posts!


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10 comments:

  1. What a beautiful update on your beautiful family! I have added the new link up to my Fabulous Link Ups page! Thanks for hosting.

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. Hi, Shelbee! Thank you so much! I'm glad you joined us this week!

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  2. So much going on! I will definitely keep Liam in my prayers over the next month and Lexi too. A close friend moving can be so hard at that age. It was fun catching up with you!

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    1. Thank you so much, Beth! I'm going to be glad when this month is behind us and we have some answers for Liam. And we are going to miss Aubrey so much. She spent so much time with us that she's like my 5th child!

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  3. I'm so glad you guys decided to reinstate Tuesday Talk, yet in a different form. I was sad when that link up disappeared. Good to hear about what you all have been up to lately too!

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  4. Liam will be in my prayers! It's always so hard when your babies have to go under anesthesia.

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    1. Thank you so much, Lindsay! I will be happy when this month is over!

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  5. Yay for a new link up! Glad that someone is continuing the Tuesday link up, now Wednesday link up. Love all of the updates on the kids. Happy New Year!

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I love hearing from you! Let's chat!!!