Ball Night and Bailey

Last week was the Annual Ball Night for our local Down syndrome support group. We got to touch base with a few of our new friends in that group, as well as meet a few new friends.

Also included in this post is a picture of our new puppy Bailey. We are not sure what to do with her, because she is contantly nipping at us. She really goes after Noah, to the point that he is scared of her. We really need to get her calmed down, or I am afraid she will have to go. Hopefully the weather will turn around so the boys can spend more time with her outside, and maybe she will calm down.

B-day, Puppy and World Down Syndrome Day

Yesterday was Ben's first birthday. We Celebrated by having dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Willey, Uncle Steve and Aunt Shannon, Emma and Sam, Uncle Russ, Jo-Jo, and Great Uncle Chuck and Great Aunt Jan. We all had lots of fun and Ben got lots of cool presents. Uncle Russ was being ornery and kept giving Ben back what was left of the cake after I took it away.


Ben and his cakes.


Tastes pretty good...Think I will try some more....


Wow! That was fun!

Today the excitement continued when we picked up the new addition to our family, Bailey.
Bailey is a Labradoodle, Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever mix...aka a mutt. But boy she sure is cute. She is supposed to be an outside dog, but so far she has only been out side 10% of the time she has been home. She did visit her kennel for a short time, but that is about it. I was afraid she might drop dead after chasing the boys around over at Dad's this afternoon. She was one worn out puppy. Here are some pictures.


The boys meeting Bailey.


Noah and Bailey


John and Bailey


Bailey all worn out.

Today is also World Down Syndrome Day. Click here to find out more information.

They grow up so fast...

March 20, 2008


6 weeks

I can't believe my baby is almost 1. It is still very fresh in my mind, the day I called the Dr. back after my amnio, and found out he would have Trisomy 21 and that he may not make it to term due to possible abnormailities with his heart. We were given the option to terminate, but that was not an option I could live with. We soon found out that his heart was basically good, and it just had a small hole, but otherwise he was healthy.

I am still glad we got the prenatal diagnosis as it gave us time to learn more about Down syndrome. I have to admit that finding information (other than the statistic that something like 80% of mothers who get a prenatal diagnosis abort) from others who had prenatal diagnosis and gave birth, was fairly difficult. I finally ran across a site from the UK that showed problably 50 picutres of smiling happy children with Down Syndrome, and after seeing that website, I had the first sense that everything would be OK.

Another thing I remember reading early, was that a baby with Down Syndrome is a baby first. Ben, like many other babies, decieded he did not want to wait until his due date and decided to show up early, on the first day of the NCAA Basket Ball Tournament. I still think his Dad had somethingto do with that. When I finally got to hold my little bundle, after he was thoroughly poked and prodded, I wondered how anyone could possibly not consider him a normal baby. He smelled like a baby, he looked like a baby, and he sounded like a baby. I remember the skin on his back was the softest skin I had ever felt. He also kept me up at night just like my other two boys had. Sure he was a little bit floppier than my other boys were, in fact he still is. His is also not hitting his milestones as quickly as his brothers did, but he is hitting them, at his own pace.

I feel so blessed to be given the opportunity to look after this special guy. His is a very social, happy baby, who has brought us more joy than I ever could have imagined. He is truly a gift that I did not know I needed until after he arrived. He has taught us to slow down, to enjoy life, to embrace differences, and that the most important thing we have is each other. Who knew that a baby could be such a great teacher.


4 months

7 months

9 months


Ben at age 1

All Better

Well, the strep throat is gone, and last week we were finally able to get in to Ben's Dr. to get some antibiotic for his sinus infection. After just 2 doses his nose stopped running and he seemed to be his happy self again. He even seems to enjoy taking the pink stuff and has not given me any problems.

This weekend was John's last basketball game. They played Syracuse early Saturday morning, and the weather was bad. It was still snowing lightly and the roads were snow packed and slick. Right after we went by, there was a head-on accident just South of Elmwood that required 3 ambulances. It was no one we knew, but we still felt bad for them. At least there were no fatalities. Anyway John's team lost the first game by 2 and tied the second game. Since they only have 8 players, the boys were pretty tired by the end of the second game. Overall they had a great season. I was really proud of how much they learned. I was also proud of Randy for trying to teach them the basics, even though they only got to practice once per week.

Saturday was a Little Star's Swimming event at the Cooper Y in Lincoln. Ben loved the water and laughed and kicked and had fun. At first he did not really want to stand in the water, but he soon got over that. John came too and had fun playing with the sister of a girl with Down syndrome. Noah was not making good choices on Saturday and got to stay home with Dad. I think they had fun at home too.

Last week my cousin brought over some of her son's outgrown clothes. Included in the box were a bunch of ties. We spent most of the weekend practicing how to tie a tie. Both boys sported ties to church that weekend.

RSV, Strep, and the New Tooth

Last weekend Ben started to run a low grade fever. He had a bump in his mouth and a couple of loose diapers and we thought finally a tooth is ready to come in! But the weekend came and went and there was no tooth and the fever went away. Then the fever came back along with a very runny nose, coughing and wheezing. We went to the Dr. last Wednesday (not our regular Dr. but one of his associates) who looked at Ben with his red cheeks, and runny nose and announced that since no one at daycare had RSV he probably had conjunctivitis. Now I have seen kids with pink eye, and this was just not one of them. Neither of my other boys ever had RSV, so I did not know much about it, but after about 5 minutes of research on the Internet, I was convinced that he had it. So I called nurse back the next day and was told that although he probably does have RSV, they won't do anything for him anyway, because his O2 levels were OK.

Baby who did not feel very good.

Tuesday was the Science Fair. John did " Which brand of Popcorn pops the most kernels" and Noah did "Which paper airplane flies the farthest" They both got blue ribbons, and Noah even got a medal for a perfect score. Way to go boys!


The same day that we took Ben in, I called my Dr. to see if I could get my sore throat checked out. Sure enough, I had strep. So we took Thursday off and then had a snow storm on Friday, so we had a nice long weekend vegging out in front of the TV.

Randy's sore throat started on Saturday, then last night John started complaining about a sore throat, and had a fever too. We could not get in until 4:30 t0day with John, but he has strep too, and can't go back to school until Wednesday. Since Randy and I go to the same Dr. they just called in a prescription, so he got off easy.

Noah has complained of a sore throat and a tummy ache too, but has not gotten a fever yet. He has still been running around the house acting like a crazy child, so I don't think he is suffering from his illness. The little stinker is probably the carrier.

Ben is still having problems with congestion. He seems to have a good day, then a bad day, a OK night then a very bad night. Randy was trying to comfort him last night, while I was trying to rest and all of a sudden he started yelling, "I feel a tooth, I feel a tooth". I checked and it was true. There is a tooth coming in on his bottom right side. Even with all the sickness, he seems to be progressing. He started to sway when some music came on the TV as if he were dancing, tried to clap, is dropping toys in his container, and is doing a much better job of pivoting and catching himself when he falls over.

The boys both got hair cuts last weekend (that's probably why we are all sick). Noah wanted me to give him a Mohawk, so I did, then took a picture before cutting the rest off. Here is a picture of him hamming it up for the camera.

Here is the Willey clan at John's Basketball game last weekend.

My poor neglected blog

The computer has been acting up and not wanting to open any pdf's and it won't let me remove or download any software. It also does not want me to download any pictures. Can't wait for the new operating system to be introduced so I can get a new computer.
The last few weeks we have continued with more Basketball, thumb sucking and therapy.
The boys are really coming along and learning a ton in basketball. Randy is always trying to think up new plays, and the ones he has them running this year are working great. Here is a picture of the team that we took this weekend in Weeping Water. They won both games this weekend; Saturday against Murray and Sunday against Weeping Water. The game on Sunday was scheduled for 5:00. Some of the dad's were bummed that they missed the beginning of the Super Bowl, but at least they caught the end.


Noah is still trying hard not to suck his thumb but just does not have the will power while watching TV or when it is getting close to bedtime. We had not been using the zip ties at night, but then I found out that he was taking the gloves off and then putting them back on when John's alarm was going off. The last couple of nights we have been using the zip ties to hook gloves on both hands and he has been going to sleep fine. He did look a bit rough the first two mornings, but I think he is finally getting used to it. I showed him some pictures on the web of kids who have messed up their teeth from thumb sucking, but it did not seem to have any impact. It is just such a hard habit to break.

Ben did really good at his afternoon therapy session last week. Much better than when we tried in the morning. He is side sitting well and can move back to center fine, with no assistance, but just has not quite gotten how to get in and out of sitting yet. When he get on his knees he will rock a little, but he really does not like being on his knees.

On the craft front, I have a couple of orders left from Christmas yet to fill. One is to make another strand for a name bracelet. Since I did not make the original, I am having a hard time finding beads to match. I also have a couple more name doilies left to crochet. They are taking a bit longer as I find myself too tired once I get Ben to sleep to work on them, and it is pretty hard to work with fine thread when he is awake.