Sparrow Superstars

Joe joined the Sparrow Hospital Pediatric Rehab. T-ball team and they had their first game tonight. Joe is probably the youngest kid on the team. They are playing with the Parks and Recreation league during June & July. Here's Joe up at bat.

swinging

first base

second base

third base

Joe ran past home and the catcher got tired and needed to sit. Chris's foot is seen on the right edge running after Joe who has now left the field.

Joe's teammates on the field

Tourist in your own town

Emma ran the Michigan Mile with the 7-year-old group on Saturday morning. The race was at the Lug Nuts baseball stadium and we saw lots of friends and had a good 1-mile run. Joe was signed up for the 50-yard dash but he was sick Friday night and needed to sleep in (so did Chris who was up with him from 1-4 PM!)
In the afternoon we participated in "Be a Tourist in Your own Town." We rode the CATA bus around Lansing and had our passports stamped at the local attractions that we visited. Joe & Emma thought riding the bus was the best part of the day. This is Joe sitting on a huge truck that was part of "Construction University" a kids event set up around the construction site in downtown Lansing. We wished cousin Evan was with us. He would have LOVED this site.


Emma at Impression 5 Children's Science Museum, Lansing, MI

Stowe, VT

We returned from Stowe, VT late last night. It was a great trip. We visited all our favorite places and spent plenty of time relaxing. The weather was beautiful! Emma climbed the rock wall for the first time and loved it. Joe enjoyed climbing the rocks and running away from us as often as possible. On Saturday we returned to Burlington for the farmer's market before we went to the airport. The sun was shining and for us as we said goodbye for another year.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

MSU Children's Preparatory Choir

Dress rehearsal for the MSU Children's Prep Choir Spring Concert. Emma is the one in the middle with the soccer gear and the lemon yellow Crocs.

T-Birds

Coach Chris, Emma, Annie, Melanie, Cora, Samantha M., Samantha S., Kelsey, Olivia, Jelimo.

The T-birds parents & grandparents!

The Thunderbirds had their last game of the season on Saturday. Emma could only play the first quarter because she had rehearsal for the MSU Children's Choir concert scheduled for later the same day. After the rehearsal we circled back to Cora's house for a T-bird party. Then, a couple of hours later.... the concert. Whew - what a day!

Krista's Graduation

Joe spent most of the graduation riding the free bus around campus.

Emma & Joe's sitter Krista graduated from the School of Education at MSU last week. Next fall she will be interning as a Special Ed teacher in her hometown.

"Cheese!"

Joe's Dance Party

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Joe's 5th Birthday

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy 5th Birthday, Joe!

Joe began his birthday celebration with a morning cupcake party in his early childhood classroom at Pinecrest Elementary School. During circle time he put on the birthday hat and his teacher helped him put on 5 candles. After that the kids sat down for a birthday treat!

Happy Birthday Chris!

Saturday

On Saturday the kids got their haircut, we went to the park for a picnic, and they spent a very long time in the driveway sweeping.

Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds won their first game of the season!

Play Ball!

Pushing 5

Potter Park Zoo

This morning we went to Potter Park Zoo to see the newborn camel. Unfortunately it was too cold for the camel to be outside but we caught a glimpse of her through the window of her heated room. We did see a baby mandril who made friends with Joe.

Hello baby Mandril!

How about a kiss?

It is still cold in Michigan.

Hippotherapy

After 4 years of hippotherapy Joe has acquired some fancy moves.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Based on the runaway best-selling book of the same name by Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter

premieres Saturday, April 12 at 9:00pm.

In The Memory Keeper's Daughter, a secret shapes the lives of two families over a quarter of a century, beginning in 1964. During a paralyzing winter storm, Dr. David Henry is forced to deliver his own twin babies. With his wife, Norah under heavy sedation, he welcomes a healthy son, Paul, and a daughter, Phoebe, who has Down syndrome. Hoping to spare his wife any heartache over having to care for a child with special needs, David tells Norah that their daughter died at birth and orders his nurse, Caroline, to place Phoebe in an institution. However, unable to abandon the newborn, the nurse secretly decides to raise Phoebe as her own in another city.

As the years pass, the lives of the two families are in stark contrast to one another. David's overwhelming guilt shatters his once happy marriage, while Caroline changes in unexpected and rewarding ways. As different as their lives have become, however, the secret about Phoebe continues to bind David to Caroline as he struggles to keep the truth from Norah

Money Matters

A new post by Vicki Forman, "Special Needs Mama" on tax time and parenting special needs kids.

Click HERE to read it.

Easter Egg Hunt

March Madness: Andrew's Season

Preparing for the Bunny

Well, there is snow on the ground and Joe has been diagnosed with strep throat, but everyone in our house is hopping and ready to search for eggs and baskets tomorrow. Here is the Easter Bunny Rap sent to us from Aunt Katheryn that keeps our spirits up. To rap with the bunny go here:

http://i.flowgo.com/greetings/rapeasterbunny/rapeasterbunny.swf

3.21 HAPPY WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY!

Happy World Down Syndrome Day! 3.21 = to represent 3 chromosomes on the 21st pair. Last year I devoted the day to teaching units on diversity in Emma's elementary school. This week I am hanging with the kids watching it snow. Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUTU! We think it is cool that Tutu's birthday is also Down Syndrome Awareness Day. In honor of both of them, this is the first digital photo that I have of Joe & Tutu. Joe is 6 months old in this photo and Tutu is something like 28 years old (which would have made me about 15 years old, but I am not a math genius). In 4 1/2 years Joe has grown so much!

My Baby, Right or Wrong

A thoughtful article printed in the Guardian written by a pregnant woman with Usher's Syndrome on prenatal testing. Click HERE to read it.

Spring is Just Around the Corner