Two Cute: Liam at 2 Years Old

Prior to having Liam, I couldn't understand why parents who had children with Down syndrome used the term "The Lucky Few."



I understand now.  It's just something that you can't possibly understand until you live it.  I completely agree with that sentiment and I wouldn't change a single thing!

Two years flew by with our sweet little blessing in our lives. He filled the past two years with joy and love, and made us a better family. And despite me being in denial, Liam turned 2 on August 18th. That means the monthly posts are over!

Liam can't answer the yearly interview questions that I ask my older kids, so I'm going to share a few facts about him. Liam is simply beautiful inside and out!

Liam Dayne
Age: 2
Stats: 22.6 lbs and 32 inches



Liam is a tiny kid.  At his 2 year well exam, his stats put him at the average size for a typical one year old boy.  I say he's tiny but mighty!



Liam has tiny "starfish" hands which I adore, and tiny feet.  He just grew into a size 3 shoe.




Even though he's tiny, he has a HUGE appetite.  This kid can put food away quickly!



Liam loves bananas and pasta.  He could easily eat those two things every single day and be happy!



The only thing Liam dislikes is having his face wiped.  It's apparently torture.



 Liam has 16 teeth, including his 2 year molars.  4 teeth still haven't come in yet. It's common for children who have Down syndrome to teethe in a different pattern or have missing baby teeth.



Liam does not have any health issues whatsoever.  His thyroid is normal, his heart is healthy, his hearing is normal, and his vision is perfect so far.  He doesn't have any health conditions associated with Down syndrome other than being small.



Liam doesn't get sick often, which is surprising, but when he does, he gets really sick really fast. It usually involves breathing treatments.  Thankfully that's only once or twice a year!



Liam receives Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy in our home.  Each session is once a week for one hour.  When he turns 3, he will switch to preschool-based therapy.



Liam loves being the center of attention and he loves to make people laugh. He makes the funniest faces, waits for a reaction, then starts giggling!



Liam isn't non-verbal.  That was one of my biggest fears, and it was evident early on that he was, indeed, very vocal!  At the age of 2, he has a handful of words that he uses regularly. His only sentence so far is "Hey, guys" (which I think is cute and funny!), but he's making great progress with his speech!



Liam has a high pain tolerance.  When he gets hurt, he bounces back after just a few seconds of crying.



Liam LOVES to dance and loves music.  He starts dancing as soon as he hears a beat!



Liam loves to clap, too!  He claps after he does something good, claps after he falls down, and loves it when other people join in!



Liam loves looking at books, playing at the library, playing at the park, playing outside, swinging, splashing in his water table, and taking baths.



Liam can communicate well without even saying a word.  He's very in tune with feelings and emotions and makes great eye contact.  He can express himself so well without the use of many words!



Liam RARELY cries.  So when he does, you know something is wrong!



Liam still has such a cute "Frankenstein" walk, and he is always waving hi or bye as he enters or leaves a room.  He loves to announce his presence!



Liam is very social. He loves playing with other kids and always walks up to them with a big smile on his face, touches their shoulder, and looks them in the eyes.



Liam is very affectionate and cuddly.  When you pick him up, he wraps his arms around your neck, melts into your body, and usually turns his head to give you a big, wet kiss on the cheek or chin.  He hugs like no other. He is just the sweetest boy!



Liam sleeps extremely well. He has since the day we brought him home from the hospital.  When he wakes up, he starts singing and babbling.  He greets every morning with enthusiasm!



Liam reached all of the major milestones before age 2.  Now we're working on his utensil skills, jumping, kicking a ball, and, of course, speech.



Liam is extremely flexible. He will stop and bend into downward dog (or, as we like to call it, downward dude) at any given moment.



I could truly write a novel about all the things that make Liam so special, but I'll just end it with this picture.  It sums up his personality perfectly!  I love my sweet boy more than words could ever say!



Two isn't so terrible! My sweet Liam spreads love and joy wherever he goes, and is working to change all those misconceptions, one giant smile at time!



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Two Soon

My BABY turned 2 years old today! 



When Liam was placed in my arms two years ago, I knew as soon as his eyes met mine that he wasn't the child I was expecting. I remember the way my heart dropped and I remember the despair that filled my entire body. I was so focused on what I THOUGHT I knew about Down syndrome that I didn't even realize the amazing blessing I was given.

I can still vividly remember the moment our eyes met. I see those eyes every single time I close my own eyes at night. I imagine that moment will remain with me forever. The only difference is that now when I think back, that moment is completely beautiful. 

Liam is not a mistake. He is not imperfect. He is one of the most beautiful human beings I've ever met. I never understood how parents who had a child with special needs could say it was the best thing that ever happened to them. The thing is, you truly can't understand it until you live it. Liam made my life infinitely better. He is pure love and pure joy and it is an HONOR to be his mother. Sometimes the most unexpected things are EXACTLY what is needed.

Liam had a GREAT 2nd Birthday!  

It all began when he woke up and was greeted by his adoring fans (AKA his mom, his siblings, and his cousin) and a room filled with balloons!



He immediately headed for his highchair and got ready for special birthday breakfast!



At first, he wasn't too sure about the doughnut "cake" and birthday song.



He quickly changed his mind! 



Surprisingly, Liam vetoed the doughnut and opted for his banana instead!   

I was a mean mom on this birthday morning.  Liam had his 2 year well exam scheduled, and that was immediately followed by an hour of speech therapy!  

I didn't get a chance to take a picture at Liam's appointment, because they moved at an unusually fast pace today!  He had a great visit.  He was 22 lbs and 32 inches, which put him on the growth chart for the very first time.  It was the 1st percentile, but hey, we'll celebrate it!!! His doctor joked that he's officially the size of a 1 year old now!

Other than that, he's 100% healthy and he met every developmental milestone that needed to be reached by a "typical" child by age 2! This kid amazes us!

Back at home, he had one of his best speech therapy sessions to date. His therapist had him repeating almost every word she said, and he said "Tiger Roar Roar" which is pretty much his first sentence ever! Starting speech therapy at 14 months was one of the best decisions we ever made for him!

After Ms. Shannon left, Liam had his favorite lunch: Macaroni and Cheese and orange slices.  Of course, it was immediately followed by a blowout, which required a bath.  At 1:58 PM, right after he got dried off and diapered, he officially became a 2 year old!



Liam's personality was shining bright today, so we had a super quick photoshoot after his bath!  My sweet, beautiful boy turns me into a puddle of mush! (More pictures to come!)



After some playtime outside, it was time for a nap!  

He slept for several hours, and woke up ready for his pasta dinner!  Dinner was immediately followed by his mini birthday party! 



There was a delicious little cake which was lovingly made by his Nina!




Liam's all about the cake...



He got to cuddle with his Nina and Papa.



Finally, came the presents. He just wasn't as interested in opening his gifts as he was at his birthday party.  Apparently he just wanted to run! Although he wasn't impressed by the money for clothes from his Nina and Papa, he did decide he loved the Mickey Mouse book they gave him!



Lily tried so hard to get him to open the present from her, but he just wouldn't cooperate.  He did think the mirror on the flashcard book she gave him was awesome!




Liam loved the chewy ark from Lexie!



He got a car from Dylan!

 

Although he still wouldn't settle down enough to open his own gifts, he really liked his gift from mommy and daddy!  I had a feeling he would!



Our mini celebration came to an end, and my parents headed home. We had such a special day with our TWO year old!



Happy 2nd Birthday, sweet Liam.  You light up the world and you are loved beyond measure!




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All About Lily, er, Elsa

It's hard to believe that in 3 short months, my sweet Liliana is going to be THREE!

Lily is full of personality!  She's sweet, she's sassy, she's stubborn, and she's funny.  She is ridiculously cute and makes us laugh every single day!



Lily had a lot of change in her life over the past 9 months.  She went from being the baby of the family to being a big sister.  While a lot of kids would have acted out, Lily stepped into the big sister role with ease.  She adores her baby brother and has never been anything but gentle and loving with him.  She tells everyone that he is "My Miam."



Out of all our kids, Lily is the funniest.  Here are a few recent Lily-isms:

*Lily is obsessed with Frozen.  So much that she thinks she's Elsa. On Easter Sunday, a woman at church asked what her name was.  Without missing a beat, she replied, "Elsa."

*That isn't convincing?  Most of the time, when we call her Lily, she refuses to answer until we call her Elsa.  She will even say, "I not Lily, I'm Elsa!!!"

*A recent conversation:  Me: "What's your name?"  Lily: "Elsa."  Me: "Who is your sister?" Lily: "Lexie."  Me: "Not Anna?" Lily: "No.  Lexie."

*I was holding her the other day while Grant was holding Liam.  Lily pointed to herself, then me, then Grant, then Liam. She said, "I Elsa, You Elsa, He boy, and Him a boy."

*Her hairstyle of choice is an Elsa braid.  Every single day, she accessorizes with a red cape or a ribbon crown around her neck worn as a cape.  Ever since World Down Syndrome Day, when she wore 2 different socks, she has worn two different socks or shoes around the house.




*Lily is very stubborn and determined. She likes to do everything herself. Her favorite phrase used to be "Lily do it!" She quickly earned the nickname Lily Do from my dad.  Now, it's "I got it, I got it."  It sounds much cuter in her little voice.  "I dot it. I dot it."

*Lily insists that Spiderman is Orange Batman.  

*Lily has a unique style.  Hoodie?  Check.  Tutu dress? Check.  Snow boots?  Check. Whatever she wears, she has to tell us, "PRETTY!!!"



*She calls a butterfly a bubblefly.

*She calls flip flops "Slip-Sops."

*She came into our bedroom in the middle of the night. She was whimpering.  "My knees hurt.  They are sick."

*She was running through the house in her play "high hoes" (high heels), slipped, and hit her head on the wall. She started crying, "My noggin!!! I hit my noggin!"

*She loves to sing and loves to play Just Dance. Her favorite dances are Time Warp, The Final Countdown, and Ghostbusters.

 

*Whenever Paw Patrol comes on she squeals, "My favorite show!!!"

*She has unique tastes for breakfast.  The other morning she asked for spaghetti-o's (which I rarely buy, plus she has only had it once or twice before) hot tea, and an orange.  The next morning?  "I want soup." "What kind of soup?"  "Pink soup."  One would thing this was tomato soup, but it wasn't.  She wanted noodle soup.

*Yesterday, she asked for a black sammich.  I was thoroughly confused.  I had to resort to having her show me what she wanted.  Just for the record, she wanted a Nutella sandwich.

*This morning, Grant offered her a lifesaver mint before he left.  She said, "Don't want that. No thank you.  Too hard."  Grant replied, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know if you liked them or not." She stared up at him and said, "NOT."

Lily is quite a character!  She is acting very three these days (The Terrible Twos? HA! What a joke?  It's the threes that get you.), but she's still the same sweet, loving, well-behaved girl. She's just having fun testing her limits! One thing is certain: Lily has a way of capturing hearts with her sweet, bubbly personality.

I absolutely adore this sweet girl!