World Down syndrome Day!!

I already posted the lists of 21 things about my sweet kiddos.  One of the coolest things about the the IDSC is the video they made for World Down syndrome Day!

Please check it out!

21 Things About Dasha

1. She’s a people pleaser.  She is never more happy than when she’s “helping”.

2. She has no words.  Lots of sounds, some specific, & lots of signs.  Some sounds are very purposeful.  But no actual words.

3. Dasha understands everything.  I can say “go get your shoes” or “go get Jack’s drink” and she does.  M thinks she will be a waitress specializing in beverages. 

4. She has a recent obsession with combs.  We keep several in a drawer in the bathroom and she keeps getting them out to play with.  It makes her dad nuts.  Crazy girl.

5.  She loves movies.  For at least 10 mins.  Sometimes she’ll watch longer; sometimes she must run around and then watch; sometimes it’s over after 10 mins.

6. Dasha is a mess.  She’s like pigpen, from Charlie Brown.  She always needs to be washed; hands and face especially.

7. Dasha was adopted from a Ukrainian orphanage.  She’s been home 2 years and 3 months.  It’s easy to forget that she wasn’t always here.

8. She’s still learning to play with appropriately with toys.  She doesn’t throw things as much anymore, but imaginative play is still a work in progress.

9. Her hair was super short when we brought her home and it grew and grew.  We cut it into a really cute bob just over a year ago.  It’s now almost that long again (grows fast) and I’m trying to decide if we should cut it again or let it grow through the summer.

10. Our girl loves water.  A big swimming pool, a bathtub, a sensory table at school, a sink full of water; doesn’t matter.

11. Her brother has a particular blue blankie that is his favorite.  So of course, we had to get Dasha the pink version of the same blankie.  Yay for me – she loves it!  It goes to bed with her and in the van and

12. Dasha loves books.  Sometimes she even looks through the whole thing.  Sometimes she just wants to see how many she can get off the bookshelf before I stop her.

13. Dasha is a runner.  We have to hold her hand very tightly or she will run away (and she is crazy quick).

14. She will be in kindergarten next year.  We haven’t had her transition meeting yet, but since she’s behind Jack by only a year, I’m comfortable with the process this time.  Looks like Dasha will even be in Jack’s class.  I hope that will be a good thing for both of them.

15. Dasha is completely incapable of being still.  She is in constant motion.

16.  She loves her brothers and sister.  Loves.  If one of them comes with me to pick her up from school, I am totally chopped liver.  If we all sit down to watch a movie she is all over one of the big boys.  It’s quite adorable.

17. Dasha loves to hug people.  It’s awesome that she’s so friendly.  Unfortunately, she hugs everyone, including strangers at the quickie mart.  It’s not always appropriate or appreciated.  We’re trying to teach her to not show affection indiscriminately.

18. Dasha is a very busy girl.  She doesn’t sit still for long.  Even at dinner.  We still buckle her into her booster seat at most meals so she doesn’t take a walk in the middle of a meal!

19. Food.  Dasha loves food.  She’s doing great with a spoon and fork and most finger foods too.  Unfortunately, our little miss came home from Ukraine with many eating issues, one of which was the she would stuff as much food in her mouth as possible, thereby leading to many choking incidents.  We learned to only give her a little amount at a time but we’ve been able to increase that in most cases.  However, gold fish crackers seem to be a “trigger” food.  We still have to watch her with these.  Dry cereal, oyster crackers, other similar stuff is fine, just not gold fish.  Weird huh?

20. Dasha seems to be an animal fan.  She loves our dog and any other animal she encounters.  We have to watch her though – she can be very enthusiastic which can translate into not careful or gentle enough sometimes.

21. My last thing for this list is an odd one.  Dasha loves music – not odd.  However, not too long ago we heard a russian-ish version of Jingle Bells and it completely freaked her out.  Completely.  Freaked.  Her.  Out.  We still aren’t sure why.  She’s been home over 2 years.  Weird.

So that’s our girl.  Much loved, much enjoyed, much cherished.

Review – 21 Things About Jack!

Here’s the link to Jack’s 21 things:

http://capnjacksadventures.blogspot.com/2012/10/21-things-about-jack-2012.html

Who I Am

The IDSC (International Down Syndrome Coalition for Life) is running a campaign in honor of World Down syndrome Day called “Who I Am”.  It’s all about individuals with Down syndrome, and how they are indeed, individuals.

Since there are 2 little cuties with Down syndrome in our house, they tend to be lumped together a lot.  I’ll try to separate them a bit for the next few days at least.  It’s been a fun thing, in blog land, to make a list of the top 21 things about your person with Ds in October (Down syndrome Awareness month) or on March 21 (World Down syndrome Day).  Since Oct. is the month of Jack’s birth, I usually do his list then.  And Dasha’s birthday just happens to be on Mar.21 so I’ll post her tomorrow, along with a link for Jack’s last one.  And I’ll be looking for cute pics to post too!