Pizza and Movie Night

A few weeks ago, the kids had pizza and movie night. Since we had been busy with the holidays, I hadn't used Brennan's stander in a while (he's supposed to use it for a short period of time every day to help strengthen his legs). So, I figured I'd let dinner time be his stander time. The second I put Brennan in the stander, Jenna, Tanner and Parker grabbed their plates and came over to eat with him.

Then it was time for the movie. Obviously, Brennan would much rather talk to his siblings than watch a movie.

So cute!

Bones???

Jenna, Brennan and I were sitting together recently when Jenna looked at Brennan and then asked me "where's Brennan's extra bone?" With a confused look on my face I said "he doesn't have an extra bone!" to which she replied, "yes he does, mom - you said people with Down syndrome have an extra bone." At which point I realized that she had confused "bone" with "chromosome." I remember my friend and fellow-mom, Jennifer, writing about a good way to explain Down syndrome to kids called the "chromosome cake." So, I used this method and explained to Jenna how cakes are made with eggs, flour, oil, sugar and vanilla and that having Down syndrome is like adding more of any one ingredient. I told her the extra ingredient may make the cake fluffier or richer, but that the cake would still be delicious. This explanation seemed to make sense to her as she responded, "then I hope Brennan's extra ingredient is sugar so he'll always be sweet."

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Winter has definitely arrived here in New England! Luckily, our littlest man doesn't mind the cold. In fact, we recently discovered that Brennan LOVES sledding. The faster he goes, the happier he is.And could he be any cuter in his snow bibs?