First Day of School

 Not sure where the time has gone, but the first day of school came and went by quickly.   Can't believe I have an 8th and 5th grader already.  John and Noah are not happy about Ben's afternoon preschool this year, since it means they have to get up and get on the bus at 6:50. So far we have only had 1 incident of over sleeping, and that was yesterday. 

 Tried to get a photo of them getting on the bus that first day, but missed.  At least I got a photo of the bus before it drove off.  

 

Ben was ready for school too.  I was impressed by how quickly he could get his backpack on all by himself.  

 Once he hit the front door of school, he was all business.  There was no looking back or hugging Mom.  He was ready to go.  I am pretty sure he had a great day, filled with lots of activity.

I know because this is what he looked like 5 minutes after I picked him up from school.

Now a few weeks later, we have only had one day where he did not fall asleep after he got home from school, but usually it is just a quick cat nap.  It is much easier getting him ready for school this year too.  Maybe it is because he is maturing, maybe it is because we have more time, or maybe it is becasue his brothers are not around to bother him.  Either way it is nice to have him excited and helpful when it is time to go to school.  

County and State Fairs

This year was a particularly good year for the boys in 4-H.  Both Noah and John won their divisions in the Presentation contest that was held before the fair.  At the county fair Noah won Grand Champion and best Picture in the 4-H division for his photo of a rock splahing into water.  The photo also got a purple ribbon at the state fair. 

They were looking for kids to do interviews on the radio, and Noah got picked.  He had fun and got to talk for quite a while since the was the only 4-Her in the area

  Noah also got Grand Champion on his framed stock certificate and history of the Elmwood Theatre Corporation.  This entry got a blue ribbon at the state fair. 

Since we were going to the fair on Wednesday to see the bucket calf show, I asked Noah if he wanted to enter a basket in the basket contest, since the entry time was going to be during our visit.  He ended up getting 1st place with a trophy and a ribbon.  He thought that was pretty cool.  

 Our friend Kate had two goats in one class, so Noah got to help out by showing one for her.  I would say a better description was that the goat showed him, since it mostly drug him around the ring.  But the judge was very forgiving.

 John wanted to do the cake auction this year and made a cake with Olympic rings on it.  It sold for $100. 









John also got a trophy for Reserved Champion Wild Flower photo.  It was cool seeing both boys on stage at the same time.
















Here is his reserved champion photo. 

All of their hard work payed off, because we got to spend a day at the Nebraska State Fair.













John got to do his presentation while we were there.  We were a bit late and they would not let him use our laptop, so the videos in his power point did not work.  He still got a blue ribbon which was good considering he experienced technical difficulty.

He got a special recognition for his photo of a bald eagle on our pond.  Above it is Noah's photo of the Blue Heron that also lives on the pond.  Both birds happen to be sitting on the same log (but they were taken at different times)  

His Child Development book about Ben's Farm got a purple too.  Love the expression on his face.  I don't think there was anything worse than being forced to pose for a picture, when there was the entire state fair to explore waiting right outside.  

I will leave you with this.  Only at the Nebraska state fair would you see something like this.  They were not running when we went by, but I am sure they could get a ride on one of the ones outside the house right now if they really wanted too. 

Inclusion Starts at Home.

A few weeks ago we slipped away to Branson, MO for a quick vacation.  While it is not really our favorite place to go, it is an easy place for us to go, which is why we return so often.  The shows are not really our thing, however, that are plenty of things to do in a town that runs on tourism. 

Our condo, and a nice swimming pool, and that was one of the first things on our list.  After a couple other swimming adventures with Ben this summer, one with a life jacket and one without, we decided to pick up a life jacket during our initial trip to the store to stock up on supplies while we were there.  It was a good thing we did.  Ben feels that he must be with his brothers in the deep end of the pool. and has no fear of the water. 

This trip, we decided that it would be a good time to take the boys back to Dixie Stampede. Noah was a baby the last time we went, and did not remember it.   This is Dolly Parton's show, where they serve chicken and pork lion that you eat with your fingers, around an arena where the North challenges the South, over a variety of events.  There were lots of horses and riding, buffalo, long horn cattle, soldiers and girls in pretty dresses.  All three boys LOVED it.  Especially Ben.  Even during the pre-show,  while a 14 year old boy juggled, Ben was glued to the show.  He bounced on my lap, clapped, cheered, and had a wonderful time.  The show is pretty expensive, but it was worth every penny to see the reactions of my kids.  Even our teenager had a great time.  No cameras were allowed, so I don't have any picture, but if I had taken any,  they would have been of Ben and the pure joy he experienced by being included in the fun. 

Putt Putt golf was also on the list.  Unfortunately it was getting hot already the morning that we went.  Ben made it about half way through, and then just sat down in the shade. 

 He still enjoyed just being with the family while we finished the rest of the course.

 

One of the other favorite activities of my boys while in Branson, has always been the go-carts.  They have carts of all sizes for any driver.  The place was busy when we stopped to get tickets, so I just dropped Randy and the boys off at the office.  I thought he would get a card with some points and then come back to the car and we would plan how to use the ride points.  But after a bit, I saw them all run of to the biggest track.  Ben was asleep, so I parked in the shade down by the medium size track and since it was nice that day, so I had the windows down.  I could hear the recording they had that gave the size restrictions, and rule for 2 drivers.  I know that kids had to be over 36 inches tall to be a passenger, and that Ben fit the criteria.   Ben woke up and was excited,  saying and signing car and please over and over again.  I look over in time to notice Randy and Noah getting off the cars that Ben could ride on, and making a run for the start of the line to go again.  I quick got out my phone to call Randy, and told him that his son would like to ride on the go carts too.  He replied, that Noah was not tall enough to go on the big track that they went to this other track that Noah could ride on.  I said, "Randy, you have another son who would like to ride".  Randy said, "Oh!  I did not even think about him being big enough to ride on these".  We got Ben out and he was so excited. 

I think the look on his face says enough about what he thought about riding on the go-carts.

Every time he went around the track I got the same smile.  It was so sweet.

But what this whole trip has reminded me, is that Ben just wants to be included in everything we do as a family.  Yes there are times, when Ben stays home with one of us, because it is just plain hard sometime to include him.  He is a runner, and will take off in the blink of an eye.  When we do include him, he spends way too much time in a stroller because  the stroller is easy, and it lets us enjoy events.   But what does that teach him?  It certainly does not teach him to stay with us when we are out.    So my goal for this next,month, is to limit the use of the stroller, while continuing to let Ben experience events with the family.  There are so many things that he is big enough to do now, so long as we remember to include him. Besides,  I want to see way more smiles like the one I see above.   It is really priceless.

Fifth Time is a Charm

Every year since Ben was born, I have submitted a photo to be shown on the video screen in Times Square in New York, for the National Buddy Walk.  This year his photo was finally chosen! 

Ben will appear in the bright lights of Broadway on Saturday, September 22, as part of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) annual Times Square Video Presentation, which embodies the NDSS mission to promote the value, acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome.

  

The photo of Ben was selected from over 1,000 entries in the NDSS worldwide call for photos. Over 200 photographs will appear in the video, which will be shown on the News Corporation Sony Screen, located in the heart of Times Square.  

Ben is pictured playing on his big brother’s drum set.  He loves music of all kinds. 

  

The Times Square video presentation kicks off Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. The video presentation will be followed by the 18th Annual New York City Buddy Walk® in Central Park. This year, Buddy Walk and Step Up Walk events will be held in more than 300 cities across the country, as well as select international locations, in and around October.   

Our own Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk in Lincoln, NE will be held on October 6, 2012.  Here is a link to Ben's Brigades fundraising page.  

So Sweet

Tonight Randy was tired and went to be early.  When it was time for Ben to go to bed he kept trying to go in to our bedroom instead of his.  I told him "Shh we need to be quiet and not bother Daddy, because he is sleeping already.  Ben shook his head like he understood and quietly peaked his head around the door and started blowing kisses to Daddy, then he signed and said "I love you,  Daddy.  Then said "night night, with more kisses blown.  It was so stinking sweet.  Made my heart melt. 
Thanks Ben, for giving me moments like this!

Happy Brithday Noah!

With the latest milestone in our house, we now have 2 boys in double digits.  Noah just turned 10!  For us it was a quiet day.  Mom and John up at 4 to drop John at the bus for de tasseling.  Mom tried to go back to bed, and finally fell  asleep 10 minutes before Ben woke up.


At our house we make home made birthday pancakes to start the day celebrating.  Noah's spelled out his name and had chocolate chips.

 

 Ben got some too.

Then we had to rush to Lincoln for a Van appointment at 9:00, so I asked Noah if he would prefer to go to Grandma and Grandpa's instead of hanging out at a car dealership.  He thought that would be best too. 

After a morning of Grandma spoiling we went shopping and he got to get a professional hair cut.  He was getting tired of getting nicked by the Mom salon and found that to be quite a treat.   Then,  he got to pick out  supper for the family.  True to form, Noah flaunted his diverse tastes by choosing blackened salmon, steamed broccoli, and corn or the cob, for our menu.   We finished with his usual preference of   cheesecake.  No candles for this boy.
Believe it or not, I did not get a picture of Noah on his Birthday, so will have to share one from a couple weeks ago, when he and Ben were playing in the sprinkler.

Happy Birthday Noah.  I am so proud of you.  You are funny, silly, smart, athletic, creative, competitive, and a really great brother.  Hope you enjoyed your special day.