Snowy Day

Emma & Joe were home from school again today. We made rice krispie treats, visited the public library, played hide-&-seek, and finally I agreed to go with them outside to play in the snow. It took us about 15 minutes to put on snow pants, boots, hats, mittens (it is so aggravating trying to get Joe's little thumbs into mittens!), coats and scarves. Joe was outside less than two minutes when he put his boot in the snow and said, "Oh no, no, no!" We asked him if he wanted to sled, he answered, "no, thank you!" And then, "bye, bye, mama, bye, bye, Emma," and he walked back inside, took off his boots, mittens, coat, hat (not snow pants), and marched downstairs to play with his cars in the warm, dry playroom. Emma tried out her sled in the backyard and built a snow girl. Hurray! Public school is back in session tomorrow.

Barnes & Noble Event

This Sunday, 2 PM at the East Lansing Barnes & Noble our family will be helping out with the first annual Down Syndrome awareness event. It is inspired by Melissa Riggio, the 18-year-old daughter of B & N's CEO Steve Riggio. She wrote an article for National Geographic Kids about living a full life with DS and she is also an accomplished musician. At the event we will read the book, We'll Paint the Octopus Red, and do a craft. USA Today published an article this week about Melissa. Click HERE to read the article.

Speedy, Spotty, & Ariel

Emma had a great day yesterday. In the morning we purchased a fish bowl and 3 gold fish. The newest members of our family are named Speedy Lucky DeRogatis-Frilingos, Spotty Lucky DeRogatis-Frilingos, and Ariel Lucky DeRogatis-Frilingos. We were very happy to find that all three fish were with us this morning. In the afternoon Emma and her pal Annie went to the kid's theatre production "Sleeping Beauty and the 12 Dancing Princesses." Above is a photo of Emma with fish and Emma waiting for Annie to arrive at our house.

Fun with Photos

Cool Slideshows

Prince Joseph Attends a Princess Party!

No Time to Read

This month it is my turn to choose the book for the "No Time to Read" bookclub. My choice is Mark Slazman's, Lying Awake. Click here to order from Amazon and read the reviews.

Daddy & Daughter Valentine's Day Dance

Emma & Chris went to the daddy-daughter dance tonight. Emma bought Chris 4 truffles to celebrate the special night. I am happy to report that the double heart tattoo that she hoped to wear this evening didn't work when we tried to rub it on her cheek. As I type they are dancing the night away at the Hannah Community Center.

Lucy is Learning

Beverly Beckham writes about her 3-year-old granddaughter and the persistent misinformation given to parents about children with DS. The article "Lucy is Learning. But Are the Doctors?" was recently published in the Boston Globe. Click here to read the article. The article promotes the book Gifts, recently republished by Woodbine Press. Many of my blog friends (see links on right) have contributed essays in this book.

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.

Make video montages at onetruemedia.com

Merry Christmas!

Santa filled the stockings and brought a bean bag chair for Emma, a chicken Elmo (finally!) for Joseph, and a puppet theatre with puppets for both kids.

Stockings

Their stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there!

Christmas Eve

Emma and Joe were in the pagent at Edgewood Church again this year. Emma was an angel and sang every word of every song. Joe was a sheep--a small walk-on part--which he performed perfectly! None of the other sheep made it to the front but Joe sang and danced with the shepherds and said a couple of "baaas." The photos are of Emma & her friend Audry, and Emma, Joe, Audry, & Audry's brother Andrew who decided not to join Joe at the front of the church.

NAUGHTY OR NICE?

Making Christmas Cookies

Holiday party

On Friday Emma's first grade class had a holiday party. The kids had fun making gingerbread houses. Here are photos of Emma with Tommy and the two Emmas (Emma L. & Emma D.-F.)

Cocoa

Amy's Birthday

East Lansing 2007 Calendar

Joseph is the October centerfold for the 2007 East Lansing Calendar! Here is the photo taken of him at the Great Pumpkin walk.

Holiday tunes

For holiday cheer, click HERE

Holiday photos

Father - Daughter Conversation

Thanks Catherine for alerting me to this inspiring conversation between Mary and David Warm. In case you missed it this morning you can access it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6594348

Teddy Bear Tea Montage: Click Below

Make an online slideshow at onetruemedia.com

Teddy Bear Tea

Emma and her friends attended the annual Teddy Bear Tea, a fund-raising event for the MSU Children's Choir. The girls enjoyed special treats, they listened to the choir perform, they sang a few carols, they heard a story about a Christmas tree, they worked on arts and crafts projects, AND they talked with Santa! It snowed while we were there and looking out of the huge windows we saw a deer, who we think might have been Prancer.

First Day of Advent