gratitude

we are grateful to life and to love

and for friends & family who circle their hearts

through our lives

and for small green elevators

on the way to speech therapy

in honor of mothers

this is livia with her booby-nana, my mother, who came to be with us while her other grandmother mük, was dying... and died last sunday. thank god for mothers. thank god for their love and patience and willingness to travel across the globe for us. thank god for their ability to let go and say goodbye, with endless gratitude in their hearts. thank god for little girls who blow kisses to grandma's who are leaving us either for good, or for a little while. thank god that we keep them all in our hearts, always.

friendship, nature & morning joy

big girl

lots happening in livi's world:

*kindergarten (full inclusion :-))

*great check-ups

*stubbornness, or loving to sit and NOT MOVE

(while signing 'eat', and saying 'stay mama'... as in: go and

get me lunch while i wait for you here on the sidewalk, mama)

*beloved papabikerides

*hangin' w bro...

we're having a great summer...

friday fun

and june moves on

mama go! run me wait no swing! papa eat music no!

...and june moves on.

walkin' with liv

weekend fun

canadian girls sleepover party

we had a blast last friday when livia's canadian cohorts- sasha, cara & hana, joined us for an evening of silliness and fun...

the highlight was dancing in our pj's to everything from rock 'n roll to disco, ballads and swiss rap. livia was absolutely the master of ceremonies- setting up chairs for everyone to sit in on the sidelines and telling us very clearly whose turn it was to dance... she was a riot! and all these girls know how how to boogie, let me tell you.

and i didn't know 4 girls could eat so many pancakes...!

for the love of paint

tanzfest

at a danzfest today, livia and i attended a myriad of open classes (lindy-hop, flamenco etc), but the most fun was watching her balloon-dance in the shadows of the cafe...after observing this, i decided that no one can ever complain of not having a partner to dance with. there are always balloons...and shadows.

how to keep a sleepy head from wobbling (tape)

livia stood in front of the fridge this morning and said

"pickle"

and happily ate pickle on bread

for breakfast

YUM!

reflections

talk

i don't talk much here, but somehow the silence is loud at the moment and i want to chat (if only to myself, and randomly). want to say that livia REALLY IS GREAT. my pride gets the best of me sometimes. then i wonder if i'm especially proud of who she is and how she is in the world because of her extra something.

i have a particular radar for prying eyes of folks walking us by, and i wonder what they wonder... wonder if i get extra-mama-marks cause i'm a mama to someone "special". then i wonder if i hand them out to myself sometimes for the very same reason...

and because it was livia's 4th birthday just days ago, i've been washed over with memories and pictures and feelings from that time which does- and doesn't- feel so far away.

i've always felt so nourished from the love and support of our family and friends as livia entered our lives... but honestly, that didn't surprise me at all. i surround myself with open-minded and hearted people, and their basket woven of faith and curiosity and love, felt natural and like home.

what did surprise me, was the absolute acceptance of also those in my more extended circle of aquaintances and friends... so much to the point that i started to wonder why people weren't asking me more often about how it is for me to have a child with down syndrome ( and i don't think it was a silence born of fear. it felt like an acceptance of something which was unexpected and different, and for which heartfelt congratulations and blessings were also immediately offered.) ironic somehow, in light of the many, many painful stories i've heard in the other direction.

and now we are here.

my daughter is fiesty and bossy as can be.

she says no to almost everything...

she ADORES her papa and her 3 brothers.

she loves to take off her clothes and play 'air-guitar'

to swiss rock bands.

she eats with pleasure.

doesn't like her foods mixed. (cheese & bread is great; melted cheese on bread is not.)

she loves to swing.

she's starting to get picky about what she wears.

swiss-german, english and ASL are the sources of her emerging words.

she eats at least 2 homemade popcicles a day.

she turns everything into a phone.

she likes to close doors and dishwashers.

she has been potty-trained since the end of last summer.

she wants to do everything on her own now.

water is her element.

her love for setting the table puts her brothers to shame.

she almost runs down the stairs.

anything sweet is called a cookie.

she loves to draw and paint.

i love her dearly.