My Fearless Daughter

She just amazes me, frequently. She knows what she wants, and never seems bothered by her size, her abilities, or sometimes by common sense...

We had her IEP review on Thursday morning. I think it went well. We all chuckled at the notion that any "limitations" she might encounter are more because of her personality (i.e. STUBBORNNESS!) than her extra chromosome. She apparently does not talk as much in school as she does at home (but that was no surprise, because she's usually quieter in a crowd). The PT commented that she talks a lot with her, so the Speech Pathologist is going to try working with her while doing some movement (we saw this behavior since birth - she always vocalized more when moving).

We'll keep her schedule the same for the rest of the school year. Next year she'll stay for lunch twice a week, to start learning how to do that routine. They also recommended that I get her enrolled in some dance or gym program - I found a Yoga for Tots class in March taught by Sam's gym teacher from kindergarten!

So anyway, all in all it was a good meeting. We discussed plans for kindergarten; I did tell them that I wanted her to go to MWJDS but that it would totally depend on what was best for Sofia. I am going to try her at the Vacation Camp in April; the day school already found a teen volunteer to act as her aide.

Anyway, Friday night we had Shabbos dinner at the home of HaMenahalet, the principal at the day school. We had bid on "Brunch with Ty the Wonder Whippet" at the gala, and since we had the winning bid, she said it would be fun to do Shabbos together instead. It was the 5 of us, the principal and her husband, and their 25 year old son (who happens to also have Down syndrome!). Oh, and Ty the Wonder Whippet.

Whippets are very sleek, very fast dogs. They have short hair, so Micah and I were able to tolerate being around a dog for quite some time. Micah's eyes did start puffing up by the end of the evening, but not badly, and neither of us sneezed!

Sofia had fallen asleep in the car, so she was a little groggy when we arrived. But as soon as she noticed the dog, she was UP. Chased that poor creature around the house like a maniac. She had the dog's frisbee in her hands, and she ran around shouting "GAD ("dog" backwards!), MOUF ("mouth")". It was pretty funny to watch. She just kept chasing the dog. Micah and Sam had fun, too. And it was so nice to celebrate Shabbos with that family!

Yesterday we didn't wake up early enough to go to shul, so we had an easy morning. Then I dropped Sofia off with David at his office and I took the boys ice skating!!! They loved it. It was the first time for both of them, but by the end of the session, they were both skating on their own! I've never actually done a 15 minute lap around a rink - I usually skate faster - but it was so fun to watch them learn to enjoy a sport I really like.

Micah had an asthma attack mid-way through the session, though. Good thing I had his inhaler (always do).

Today David took Sammy for a hike, and I took Micah to a birthday party at TeamWorks, a sports place in Northboro. When Sofia saw the giant inflatable climbing thingy, she ditched her coat and ran right in. The teen working the event had to chase in after her to grab her shoes, and he was instantly enthralled by her. He helped her up the ladder a few times, but once I took off her shoes, she could even climb up by herself!

Amazing little girl.

I finally grabbed her out and went off to do some errands. We stopped to get some food, and ran into a mommy of another little boy with DS; I had spoken with her, but never met her in person, so that was really nice.

Then Sofia and I went to an Open House for a truly gorgeous house Ashland, but it's way on the other side of town, and would add about 15 minutes to the ride to the day school. Sigh.

Home now, trying to get everyone ready for dinner at Bertucci's. Hoping to find playdates every day for the boys. And Wednesday is Sofia's Birthday!!! Party in the morning.