Walking!!

Behold!  Baby Bunny walks!  She walks!

Weekend

We had a busy weekend.  On Friday, we went to see a Comedy Pet Theater.  It's a theater troupe of cats and dogs with human clowns and jugglers.  I think Bun Bun had a good time watching the cats and dogs do their little tricks.  I sure did.  On Saturday, Bun Bun got to spend an entire day playing with 婆婆 because Mama and Daddy went to a T21 Symposium.  They got a bunch of great information and met a few great people.  Then, on Sunday, we went to visit 爺爺 and 奶奶 in New Jersey.  We got to visit Janet 奶奶, too.

Phew...

Baby steps

Yep...  Bun Bun has been taking baby steps.  When she has forgotten that she's not holding on or touching something, she'll take 2-3 little steps.  She's gaining some confidence!  Look out world!

She did well at the pool last Saturday even though she stuck to me like clue.  The swim instructor called her a little barnacle.  So, she's now Barnacle Bun Bun.  We will miss swimming this Saturday.  There's a Trisomy 21 symposium we'll be attending.

"Don't drop me, Mama!"

Bun Bun with her leopard print outfit and matching Little Leopard.

Spring Break

This is the last day of spring break!  Where did the week go?  I had so much I wanted to accomplish this week.  I did get to spend a whole day with Bun Bun on Wednesday.  Of the anticipated 4-6 inches of snow, we ended up getting just rain.  I didn't get much done on Wednesday, but I treasured every second with Bun Bun.

Classes back in session on Monday.  This first half of the semester has been kind of dragging.  I sure hope the second half is the upswing.  Spring is just around the corner.  Sometimes, that can make or break a semester.  Come on, Students, just 7 more weeks!

On a lighter note, we signed Bun Bun up for swimming at the Y this spring.  She did OK for the first 3-5 minutes.  Then, the novelty wore off, and she realized Mama wasn't anywhere near.  Yep.  Separation anxiety.  We had to cut the already short 30-minute session even shorter.  We'll try again this Saturday with both Mama and Daddy in the pool.

Swimming is fun, Baby Bunny!  Mama is right over there.

Wow!  A huge mirror to see myself!  Hello, Grammy!

Who's that pretty girl?

It's me!  Bun Bun!

My newest favorite picture

What do you think the caption should be?

Techno Bun Bun

Bun Bun is obsesses with technology.  She has an eagle eye for computers, iPods, iPads, iPhones, Nooks...  When she sees us or anyone using any of these, she makes a bee line for it.  She loves touching buttons and icons.  She knows them, too, because there are some that she seem to always go to.  She has learned very quickly the "slide" to turn them on.  She likes the camera app,  looks at herself on the screen, and sometimes takes pictures of herself.

Having fun with Daddy..   Daddy having fun with the picture.  Looks like Bun Bun's eyes are really big with the glasses.  Her eyes are really big!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Mama being silly with Bun Bun.  Baby Bunny looked especially cute here.  婆婆 made the cute monkey jumper.  With her pink shirt and pants, she matched perfectly.  By the way, Bun Bun is still picking out her own outfits.

Bun Bun's stacking achievement: those barrels to the  left of her.  She got distracted by the camera in my hand and wanted to play with it.  The lady on the left is Miss Carmela, the occupation therapist.

Happy February!

I've been meaning to write an update on Bun Bun's blood test results.  It's good news!  Her newest TSH levels are back down to the normal range.  So, she doesn't have hypothyrodism after all.  Hooray!  We were at a routine doctor's appointment last week.  Other than some ugly skin rashes (eczema), she's fit as a fiddle.  She's grown taller (2 feet, 5 inches), and maintained a slim 19 pounds.

Bun Bun's latest achievements:  stacking blocks.  I was hoping to post a picture of her "art", but never quite got around to downloading pictures from the camera.  She's so proud of herself.  In fact, she claps and gives herself a hand whenever she hears, "Yay!" or "Good girl!"

This weekend, we also discovered that she will start to dance when she hears music.  She'll start dancing to the music at church, at the mall, from TV...  It's really cute.

So, it is February, at least 6 long weeks of winter.  We haven't had much snow, just a couple of inches here and there.  I think 3 inches was the most we got so far at the end of December.  It has been chillingly cold.  I'm so looking forward to the spring.

Onward to the Chinese New Year this weekend!  This is the year of the snake.

Weekends with Bun Bun

Bun Bun keeps her lighted musical toys in this box.  She sometimes goes in and turns them all on at the same time.  It's like a light and sound show in there.  That push toy you see on the right there... she's been walking all over the house with it.  Still too timid to let go and walk independently.  That's OK.  We already know Bun Bun has gotten her own agenda.

We were at a local zoo a couple of Saturdays ago when it was relatively warm.  Bun Bun looks a little mad in this picture.  I think it's just how the camera captured her at that split second.  She's hardly ever upset, unless she's really sleepy.

Our favorite weekend activity...

Brave Girl!

18 months, 11 days.  1-18-13

A few months ago, Baby Bunny had a routine blood test for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.  Kids with Down Syndrome are prone to hypothryoidism - poor to no thryroid functions.  The bad news was that Baby Bunny had a borderline high TSH levels making her doctor a little nervous and thus sent us to an endocrinologist.  High TSH usually indicates hypothyrodism.

On Monday, we were finally able to see the Endocrinologist.  He made several suggestions.  Because Bun Bun's TSH levels were only borderline high, we can just keep an eye on her thyroid functions or start treating her with hormone replacements.  He had us go and get another blood test done.  So, off we went to a neighborhood diagnostic lab.  Two technicians, two sticks, lots of tears, and no blood later, we went home licking our wounds.

Today, we went to a real hospital lab to see if some more experienced technicians can get blood from a little skinny arm.  Behold!  One technician, one stick, no tears (not one drop!) later, we got a small tube of blood for analysis.  Hooray!

We'll see in a few days what resulted from it.

We've been teaching Baby Bunny sign language.  The sign of the week is doggie.  She consistently pats her leg when I say, "Doggie!"