if you're happy and you know it clap your hands...

two days before maya figured it out, the occupational therapist was trying to teach her how to clap hands. this last month has been all about hands it seems. i've been trying to teach maya to use her hands more. grabbing, holding, transferring, waving, clapping. i've noticed that she is picking up things real quickly lately.

these days she is fascinated with the fact that she can put her hands together. she sort of rubs them together and stares at them. she opens and closes them and watches very carefully at the action. i happen to think it's awfully cute, but then again i am her mother.

maya below claps her hands, at nine months and three weeks old.

shifting perspectives for ds

this is an amazing project. i found it surfing flickr.
calenders created with the intent to bring awareness about people with down syndrome.
the kids and adults are photographed so beautifully. below is the link for the 2009 calendar but check out the 2005 calendar also. i love the idea behind it.

DS2008 - Shifting Perspectives

milestone: hand to hand transfer 12.22.2008

the night we got back from visiting my family, i put maya down on her play mat to stretch and roll around. she was laying on her back and suddenly she reached over with her right hand and grabbed the plastic links next to her. then she took the links and transferred them to her left hand.

i was so excited when i saw this because this is something we have been working on in her occupational therapy. it's something i've been trying to show her all the rest of the days as well. i just wasn't sure she was getting it. she always surprises me though. there are days when i worry that she will not get it, that she is not keeping up with the "average milestone chart". but then she just does it, like she has been doing it all along.

i found this milestone chart for infants with down syndrome on the web. i was glad to see that there is something like this floating around on the net. i'm trying not to take for granted all the wonderful progress she has is making. i want to remember all these moments and the joy i feel when she does them.

i'm happy to say at nine months and almost 2 weeks maya used her hands to grab something she wanted and move it from one hand to another. developmentally this opens the door to so many possibilities. i just can't wait to see what is next.

music video

this video is amazing....
hands away, music by interpol

maya's first christmas

this was our first christmas as a trio. we sure did enjoy a low key christmas this year with maya. it was so nice just to hang out, the three of us, for four days straight. it felt like a real vacation.

christmas morning we opened our presents in bed. that was the best part. even though maya is only 9+ months old she seemed to realize she got new toys and enjoyed playing with them that day.

what can i say about the new year coming our way. i just can't wait to see what maya will be doing in the months ahead. this next year i can see is going to be a great one indeed.

things to be thankful for...

this was maya's first thanksgiving. i suppose she really doesn't know what that means yet. in reality it was my first thanksgiving as a mother.

we spent our day with our family/friends eating, chatting, drinking coffee and acting goofy. it has been our usual tradition for a number of years now. at the end of the evening i felt something was different about this thanksgiving. and then it hit me, yes, i am a mother now. my focus has totally changed from where it was last year. it's really hard to explain, but now i know that my life will never be the same. of course we always are changing, but there is something very different about becoming a mother. my life is not my own anymore.

what i have to be thankful for this thanksgiving is having an amazing little person in my life that can bring me back to each moment. every action that takes place in her life is what will make her into the person she will be. i get to be a part of it in one way or the other. i'm very thankful for this opportunity. the chance to grow along with maya and become a new person.

thank you, d, for making this possible. without you, our precious gift would have only been a thought, an idea that might not have ever happened.

maya's first halloween

even though this a little late, i've decided to write a short segment about our halloween. this is maya's first halloween and although she will not remember it, i certainly will. there are some who may wonder why i took my daughter out on halloween, being that she is only 7 months old. i decided way before this day that i would do so because this is something in my childhood that i missed out on. for whatever reason i don't have many exciting memories of going trick or treating with my family. the one time i can remember going out was with my older brother. i remember most of our neighbors turned off the lights (retired folks) and the ones that didn't, well, let's just say i ended up with dinner mints in my bag.

i suppose i'm doing what all parents do, give their children the things that they never had. in my case the things that i missed out on were doing family events together like trick or treating or sitting together at dinner time. more than material goods, these moments are the ones that i really wish i could have experienced growing up. i'm hoping that i can give my daughter these kind of memories so that she can cherish them for a long time.