Thankfulness Friday - Toys!

Concert pianist in the making?

Yummy orange!

Happy baby!

Bun Bun has tons of toys.  She has inherited bags and boxes of toys form my and John's friends and colleagues.  I've only had to buy a few that helps her develop her gross and fine motor skills.  The more colors and texture it has or the more sounds it makes the better.  With them, she could track with her eyes and let her little body follow.  This way, she learned how to roll over and sit up straight to build up her core strength.  Bun Bun goes through favorites.  She has only gotten interested in them since February or March.  She mostly takes them, puts them in her mouth, and gnaws on them a bit.

Thankfulness Friday - Naps

Hard work deserves a little nap.

Baby Bunny is the nap champion of the house!  She can pretty much fall asleep anywhere, at any time.  Here, she konked out during one of her workout sessions.  She is suppose to lie on the pillow and prop herself up with her arms straight.  This is a requisite to how she'll learn to crawl.  Every time she gets extra sleepy like this, we think she's going through another growth spurt.  On Monday, she weighed about 16.5 pounds and was 2 feet, 2 inches tall.

Thankfulness Friday - Gross Motor Skill Explosion

Baby Bunny has been working really hard recently!  Over the last two months, she's been doing all sorts of exercises to help her roll over and sit independently.  She still has a long way to go; she must continue to build up her core strength and get her stomach muscle working.  When she tries to sit up, I can see her tightening her abs.  It's kind of funny.  Instead of a round ball, the stomach gets a little flattened, and I can even make out a six-pack!  Go, Baby Bunny, go!!

March/April '12 videos & photos

Waiting for yummies face

Silly face

Happy tummy face

Mama is silly face

Thankfulness Friday - Easter!

Easter is my favorite holiday of the year.  I like it much more than even Christmas.  It's about the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ Jesus.  It's my favorite time of the year - spring!  Flowers and some trees are blooming.  There's a new crisp green to almost everything.  Birds are singing.  There's warmth in the air even though I can still see my breath on some mornings.  Everywhere I look, the earth seem to be waking up from winter slumber.  There's renewal and a sense of starting afresh.  I love it and am so thankful for Easter and spring!

I get a four-day vacation for Easter.  So, even though it's still only Thursday, it feels like Friday.  I'm savoring each second of this short break to rest and play with Baby Bunny.  Come next Tuesday, it'll be a lot of manuscript writing until the end of the month!

Bun Bun Notes:
With Down Syndrome, everything becomes more difficult.  Acquiring new skills and reaching milestones take a lot longer than usual.  At our home, we celebrate every little achievement Bun Bun makes.  This week, we cheered when she rolled over from her back to her tummy all on her own.  It took months of building up her trunk strength and head control.  At last, she lifted her legs up, swung them over to one side, and finished with her arm fully flung to the same side.  She did it!  Hooray!