Non-Verbal Communicator

Vicki Forman writes about having a son who is a non-verbal communicator. Click here to read this essay.

Parenting

Carlene Mattson writes about her initial worries about the future challenges for her son Jeff who has down syndrome. That was when he was a newborn. Jeff is now 19-years-old. Click here to read about Jeff's excellent life and bright future.

New Sitter

Emma & Joe have a new sitter named Hayley. She will be coming to our house a few evenings this month and hopefully more in the future.

Emma & Annie

NDSS/Barnes & Noble Event

Check out what your community is doing. If you are in the Lansing Area Cindy Kress (324-3926) at the East Lansing B&N is planning the event. Possible date is Sunday afternoon, Feb. 25th. Below is the letter from NDSS.

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Dear Affiliates,

We are thrilled to announce that 500 Barnes & Noble stores across the country will hold special “Storytime” events for children ages six to eight in February to raise awareness about Down syndrome.

The events will also incorporate readings from Melissa Riggio’s article “I Have Down Syndrome,” which was recently published in National Geographic Kids. Melissa is the 18-year-old daughter of Steve Riggio, CEO of Barnes & Noble, Inc. and a member of the National Down Syndrome Society’s Board of Directors.

Melissa wrote in her article, “It’s true that I don’t learn some things as fast as other people. But that won’t stop me from trying. I just know that if I work really hard and be myself, I can do almost anything.”

We encourage you to contact the Community Relations Manager at your local Barnes & Noble store(s) to get involved in these exciting events! You can participate by:

Encouraging your members to attend the events through your web site, e-mail distribution, and/or newsletter;

Assisting your B&N Community Relations Manager with local media outreach;

Providing brochures, flyers or other materials about your local group’s programs to be available at the events (Note: A limited number of copies of the “About Down Syndrome” brochure from NDSS will be available at each event);

Following up with schools/educators in your community after the event with information about Everyone Counts: Teaching Acceptance & Inclusion, the NDSS disability awareness curriculum for grades K-6.

Please click here to see the list of Barnes & Noble stores participating in the Down syndrome awareness events and their respective Community Relations Managers. (If there is not a Community Relations Manager at your local store, you can contact the main number listed.)

If you have any questions, please contact Erin Geller at egeller@ndss.org or 212-763-4379

George Will Article

I am not a fan of his political views, but I do like what he has to say about his son, Jon. Click here to read an article written by George Will about the new guidelines for prenatal testing and his adult son Jon, born with an extra chromosome.

Ready For School

Emma is ready to face the cold and snow at the beginning of a new school week. She was delighted to find that her hair is long enough to look like dog ears rather than pig tails.

twins

Aunt Hope, Kamila & David picked out these matching pajamas for Emma & Joe. They love to dress as twins.

Trip to Boston

Emma and I went to Boston last weekend for a vist. Hope, Kamila, & David surprised us and came from NYC to hang out. Kamila is Emma's new best friend, and soon to be cousin.








Peter & Emma















Kamila & Emma



















Lucille & Emma















Grandma & Emma



















Joy and Emma
















David, Kamila, & Emma

Creation Station

On Thursday we made a pilgrimage to IKEA to buy some furniture. We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into with our room measurements and ambitious list of future purchases (and building projects). We came home with less than we had anticipated but more than we probably can handle. Chris spent the morning assembling the table, chairs, and bench set for the kids. Emma has named it the "Creation Station - a place where you can make whatever you want." Here are a few photos of the kids playing with play dough at their new table.