Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Walk

Joe the shark and Molly the mermaid

Under the Sea
Charlie the jellyfish, Daniel as Posiden, Joe the shark, Molly the mermaid & Michael Jackson (?)

Emma and Zach

Last night we went to the annual Pumpkin Walk in downtown East Lansing. The kids went from store-to-store collecting candy and coupons. We even scored women's basketball and vollyball tickets!

Emma's Halloween Party

Emma in the Marble School parade

Emma's 4th grade class. Mrs. Remington is in the back row.

Emma had her school Halloween parade and party today. Tomorrow both of the kids have a day off from school! Emma decided to be Michael Jackson this year and had a fun time putting her costume together. Tonight we meet friends downtown for the annual East Lansing Pumpkin Walk.

Joe's Halloween Party

Joe the shark

The shark waits for the parade to begin.

Joe had his school Halloween party this afternoon. This year for Halloween he is a shark. Tomorrow Emma has her party and later we go to the Pumpkin Walk in downtown East Lansing.

Emma's costume

Emma is planning on being Michael Jackson this year for Halloween. We bought a black suit at the Salvation Army, a black hat (at Meijer), she has white socks and a white shirt, and we found a sequined glove at Target. Here she is decorating the jacket. Her school Halloween parade and party is Thursday.

The Siblings DeRogatis

Prince Joe

Last week Joe & Emma went to Molly's princess party. They both had a great time dressing up and sliding down the giant blow up slide at Molly's castle.

Emma's book report

This month in 4th grade Emma had to read a biography and choose 10 items to represent key issues in the biography. The students also were required to decorate a box for the 10 items. This is Emma's practice report on Salvador Dali that she will give tomorrow.

Homecoming Parade

The annual Homecoming Parade was on a chilly Friday evening. Joe and Chris stayed home but Emma and I braved the cold to see the band and catch some candy.

Sports Skills

Joe is swimming with the MSU Sports Skills Program every Thursday afternoon. This is his third year in the program and this fall he is working with coach Ryan, a MSU student. This is a photo of them after the first day of swim class.

CHUM Hippotherapy in the news, again

The young woman featured in this story, Katie, is the person who 5 years ago convinced me to keep Joe in hippotherapy. Joe began with this program (C.H.U.M.) when he was 14 months old. For the first year he screamed during every bi-weekly session. It got so bad that some days I had to sit in the car. About half way through the first year I had a conversation with Katie and told her that I was worried about Joe and I didn't think that he would ever like horseback riding. What she said to me was this: "Oh, I cried for a long time when I started. I think I was scared. But after awhile I began to like it and now I am great at horseback riding!" I kept Joe in the program and now, after 5 years, he is great at horseback riding. Click HERE to read the State News story about Katie.

Joe reads

Welcome to Holland

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. In honor of the month I have made my own montage of Emily Perl Kingsley's poem, "Welcome to Holland." This is a poem that was given to me a few weeks after Joe was born and is well-known in the Down Syndrome community. Many other people have made similar montages that you can find on You Tube. Lots of people reference "Holland" when talking about parenting kids with special needs. For example, Jennifer Graf Groneberg's new book, "Road Map to Holland." I can't say that I have always liked this poem, but it reflects some of my feelings and some of the conversations that I have had recently.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Buddy Walk photos and posts

Michelle at the Sneathen Family Blog has posted a great slide show from the Buddy Walk. Emma is friends with Michelle's son Zachary and Joe swims with Michelle's son Daniel every Thursday. Swim classes begin today! Michelle writes about parenting a son with special needs and about life in general. Check her blog out HERE.