About Me

My photo
After being told I would never be able to have children, I am now a stay-at-home Mommy to Maddie who happens to have Down Syndrome. I've been married 16 years to my best friend, having the time of my life. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our little journey through life.

Friday, February 19, 2016

What We've Been Up To

I haven't had as much time to blog this year because Homeschooling takes up most of that time.  
I had intentions of blogging about our homeschooling adventures, but I've discovered my focus can't be divided right now as we are still learning the ropes.  
Hopefully as we get a little more seasoned, I'll be able to multi-task and share more.  

I have missed it!
Maddie has been doing so well these last few months since we officially began homeschooling in August.  

She's lost 4 teeth so far.

Of the 4, we've only recovered this last one.  
My guess is she swallowed the rest?

We thought we were making great progress with potty training this fall, but as it turns out, I was really just training myself to manage her potty schedule (which was A LOT of work!)
I found a forum discussing potty training and Down Syndrome and most of the parents on that forum said their children were around 10 yrs before they were potty trained.
I decided to ease up and let nature take its course, and life got a whole lot easier.  

She's still not sleeping through the night, but I would say it's much better than it used to be. 
Another battle we were losing our minds to was the 'sleeping in your own bed battle.'
She now sleeps in our bed 100% of the time, and once again, life got a whole lot easier. 



 As far as her emotional well-being, she is definitely not as frustrated as she once was.  
As her communication skills are improving, so is her confidence!


She's not as scared of the world as she used to be, which has been absolutely delightful.


Cognitively, I would say we're working, overall, at a 4 year old level and she's now 7.  
I believe this one has so much potential!
It's like she's a little caterpillar in her cocoon, just taking things slow and steady, waiting for just the right time to emerge.

Parenting and homeschooling her has been so delightful and fulfilling! 
We have had a lot of frustrations and learning curves to overcome, but all in all the highlights shine much brighter than the shadow of the low times.