Monday, April 24, 2006

More pictures

We had Jackson's birthday party with friends outside in our back yard last Friday. The boy is very territorial when it comes to his toys and playset. He was so afraid that someone might try to swing on his bucket swing (he can swing on the regular ones just fine) that he decided simply to stay there most of the party and call out greetings to his friends from there as they arrived.

Jonathan at Jackson's friend birthday party.

Jackson's birthday theme was bugs, bugs, bugs! Here he is at our family party blowing out the candles on his dirt and bug cake.

We went to go see the Easter Bunny at the zoo the morning of Jackson's birthday, April 15. As you can see, 1945 called and wanted its Easter Bunny suit back.

Jackson and Jonathan on a tractor in the farm area of the Birmingham Zoo. Jackson had no interest in the tractor until I placed Jonathan on it. Then he declared it his "favorite," sat there playing around for at least 10 minutes, and we had to pry him off of it so we could leave.

The Warren Family, Easter 2006

Sorry for the potty and speech talk but the update is that Jackson is no longer wearing diapers at all and stays dry at night, too! His speech is consistent and clear with little stuttering.

Jackson went to the dentist and had a good visit. We went to the zoo afterwards with friends. After lunch, we saw a few more exhibits and then headed to a new eating/play area. Part of the play area is a playground and the other part has rubber on the ground with fountains that spurt intermittently. Kids get out there in diapers, underwear, bathing suits, clothes, etc. running through the spurts. We opted to get wet after Jack finished running around on the playground. I took off Jackson's shirt, thinking he could get his shorts wet. Jackson seemed to think that would not be comfortable because when I turned around after putting away his shirt, he had shed his clothes - ALL of them. Two women sitting nearby could not stop laughing - more like twittering. Jackson was simply looking on at the other children in the water, ready to get in, totally oblivious to the fact that being completely unclothed in a public setting might be slightly inappropriate. Now, keep in mind that the place was full of kids from schools, kids with daycares, and stay-at-home moms out for the morning. It was hysterical and what was even more funny was that he was so completely at ease in his "birthday suit." After quickly slapping on a pull-up, Jackson ran out into the water and I followed with Jonathan.

The last few weeks have been pleasant and peaceful. Thank you to those of you still praying for us. We have been healthy and we are so grateful. Jamie and I are reminded daily that we are not in control and I am praying each day that the Holy Spirit would permeate my life and that I would yield control to the Lord. I am finding such peace and contentment in letting go.

Julie

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Special Weekend

This weekend was special - marked by Jackson's celebration of his third birthday and Jonathan's first Easter.

This Easter Sunday's message was challenging. Our church is currently on the prowl for a new minister. David has been our church's speaker for a six-week series called "Unstoppable." His messages have prompted a lot of personal soul searching. On Sunday he ended the message with a question: Is Jesus the Master of your life?

Jonathan's birth brought so many unexpected things and my world shifted dramatically in an instant. What was so difficult for me to digest was that these changes were permanent. I was totally out of control. All of my life has been lived in an effort to achieve perfection, to keep up appearances, and to stay in control. A guy I coached with once said he was glad that I wasn't a police officer because I would never go off duty.:) I laughed at the time, but that is the pattern of my life - I neither accept nor extend grace. The standard for myself is perfection and, therefore, is the one I demand of everyone else. That mentality is in direct opposition to what Christianity is.

As a Christian, my basic knowledge is this - I am a sinner and I am unworthy to enter heaven or have a relationship with God on my own merit. A price has to be paid for my sin and since God is holy, He cannot accept my imperfect offering. It has to be an offering that is completely perfect and holy. Jesus, who was without sin, came to this earth and died in my place. I accept Christ's payment. He is my "ticket" to heaven and to a relationship with God while I am here on this earth. I know this in my head, but I realize that I have not always believed it in my heart.

I experience my life like a bank account. Growing up, I bought into the picture that others painted of me. To keep my place on the pedestal, I would deposit things into my account - good grades, a hard work ethic, daily devotionals, abstinence from foul language, rigid dating standards, etc. If something happened to end my stint of perfection in an area, I would become angry and defensive, listing all the things I had done for God and how unjustified the situation was. Eventually, things would improve and I would think I had wooed the Lord to my way of thinking. I thought I was superior to others and did not deserve the same treatment because of all the good I had done.

Now I look at Jonathan's scar on his chest and all it represents - a need for a heart change, the realization that I am not perfect, and the knowledge that I cannot survive without help - grace. Christ died in my place - yes, my place. I can do nothing to earn my way no matter how "good" I am.

Is Jesus the Master of my life? NO. I fight Him on a daily basis for control. From this day forward, I want to accept His grace, extend it to others, and invite Him to be my Master. I am so tired. I will let go of the bank account/police officer mentality and let God perform open heart surgery on my heart. He is the Great Physician and the Great Healer. I need to let Him do His job.

Julie:)
juliewarren@mindspring.com

Friday, April 14, 2006

Weight gain, Birthday Celebration

Jonathan went to have his last (hopefully) synagis shot on Thursday. Before giving him his shot, they weigh him to insure he is receiving the proper dosage. With his diaper on, he weighed 12 pounds, two ounces! Slowly but surely, he is gaining weight!

Jackson celebrated his birthday today with friends. It was high drama. He was on the bucket swing, calling out to people from the swing for most of the party. He did not want to surrender the swing for fear someone might use it. :) We just played outside, had snacks, and ate cupcakes. His friends were a lot of fun and I was so glad so many of them could come. I cannot believe he is three years old!

Tomorrow we celebrate Jackson's birthday with family. We hope to avoid meltdowns.:)

Have a wonderful Easter,
Julie:)

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Jonathan



Just wanted you all to see a recent close up of Jonathan.

Julie:)

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Playing Catch Up

Warren family visits Thomas the Train. Jackson was thrilled!
Pops arranged our Thomas trip.These are Jamie's parents (Nana and Pops).
Jackson "wrestling" with Jonathan.

Thursday, March 30 - Pops went with Jonathan and I to the Bell Center. Jonathan did well. He was weighed while we were there - 11 pounds, 12 ounces! The dietician reminded me to be taking a vitamin and wanted to know when we would begin adding cereal. No clue. I need to ask!

Friday, March 31 - We went to Thomas the Train in Calera at an old railroad station. Jackson ran from train to train, unable to contain himself. I am being serious - the kid did not walk until we got in line to wait to ride the train. He would climb up on the old trains and commandeer them - he's a bit territorial these days.:) Jonathan took it all in stride.

Saturday, April 1 - Jonathan awoke around 1:30am with a cough. It was the croup - that unmistakeable barking sound. We opened up the freezer, took him outside, and finally settled on sitting in the bathroom with a hot shower running. We stayed up with him for about two hours. We ran the humidifier and then Jamie slept in his room with him. Jamie took him to the doctor the next morning where they heard the congestion but no wheezing so he was in the clear. However, he is too young for antihistimines so we just have to wait out the congestion.

Wednesday, April 5 - We went to see the cardiologist. It was wild. I went alone with the boys - no big deal, right? It started with not finding a parking space in the deck. I ended up at the doctor's office 30 minutes late because I parked in another deck a couple of blocks away. Imagine carrying a baby in a carrier in one arm while fighting for your three-year-old's hand with the other hand in downtown traffic! We got there and had to wait because we were late. Upon our arrival, Jackson took control of the toys in the waiting room. Sometimes you just have to act sorry on the outside and contain the laughter on the inside.

We were called back to weigh Jonathan. While I was trying to undress Jonathan and keep an eye on Jackson, Jackson stepped on a nurse's foot - she had on sandals. She made a real show of the intense pain she must have felt from a small child barely grazing her foot with his little shoe - I found it rather amusing and had to keep from smiling. I made certain we properly apologized then explained to Jackson he needed to stay seated - amazing the social pressures of needing to feel like you have properly disciplined your child to the satisfaction of another when really it is no big deal.

We went back to the waiting room and Jackson ran in the play area where he entertained himself. He jumped up shortly thereafter declaring he needed to use the potty. I was thrilled. Of course, a doctor's office is not the ideal place for your child to use the potty. I grabbed all of our stuff, dragged it in the bathroom, hiked Jack up, and then he decided it was a false alarm. About 30 minutes later, we got called back. Jackson climbed all over the place, trying to be beside his baby brother, worried the doctor was going to hurt him. I let Jack have some goldfish and regretted it the instant Jonathan kicked them all over the floor.:) I tried to occupy Jackson with an explanation of the ultrasound and what the colors meant. He was enthralled. Too soon he was bored. He was jumping from stool to stool, flipping the lights on and off. It was interesting, to say the least. Actually, it was quite hilarious but, again, I put on the stern face.

Jonathan weighed in at 11 pounds, 14 ounces. He will continue to take one-fourth on an aspirin daily for another month. After that, no meds! His heart looked good and he had a little congestion left over from the croup Friday night. The doctor said that he looked and sounded wonderful and no need to see him until a year from now!

On the way out, Jackson did use the bathroom and I had no treats with me. We got McDonald's on the way home for him as a reward. We stopped and got lunch for Jamie and me elsewhere. We dropped it off at Jamie's office and headed home. When I got home, I saw a cop car parked outside our house. I parked at the top of the driveway but not in the garage. Our door between the garage doors was open. I left the boys in the car with the windows down and crept inside the garage. The cop called to me from the top of the stairs. When it was established that I was the homeowner, she apologized for pointing her gun at me - I did not know she was pointing her gun at me! She said she was sorry for going through the house - I thanked her. People must be pretty rude with them for checking things out - I was thankful she had gone inside. It was established, after talking to her and ADT, that one of our doors set off the alarm. It probably blew open (we found out on Sunday that our former neighbor did it!).

I went outside and Jackson was screaming. I assumed it was because he was mad he had to stay inside the car. By this time, I was low on patience. I told him to chill out and calm down. The police officer said, "He is saying something about a bug." Low and behold, a yellow jacket was in the car. So, I let him out and could have kicked myself for not paying better attention! He proceeded to run to the top of the backyard and yell, "Look! Look!" I told him to come back down and go inside, that he was taking a nap. This did not go over well either. I apologized to the police officer, she left, and we went inside. Jamie came home and checked out the house just in case. I was a little afraid someone might jump out of a closet or from underneath the bed or something.

Jackson went down for a nap. When he woke up, we went outside. He ran to the same spot in the yard and yelled, "Look! Look!" I went over there to look. At the base of a tree was a raccoon. I was afraid to get too close. I felt badly for it because flies were swarming it. I assumed it was dead but noticed its chest rising and falling. I called four different organizations, trying to figure out what to do. If it was hurt, I wanted to help it and not let it get eaten alive. The consensus was that it had something called distemper - similar to Alzheimer's in humans. An hour or so after we saw it, it got up and walked around as if it were in a drunken stupor. It would lay down, seize, and then get up. It walked around as if its legs were not its own. When Animal Control called the next day, the raccoon was no where to be found. Animal Control said it probably crawled in a hole to die - so sad!


That was quite a day.

Thursday, April 6 - We went to a session with a speech pathologist from Ohio. He was here for a conference and we were able to meet with him so he could evaluate Jonathan and give us suggestions. His main philosophy is to imitate your child through methods he calls balancing and matching. Balancing is imitating your child and adding a bit more. Matching is doing exactly what your child does. Anyway, that is the basic concept. He said we should interact with Jonathan by imitating and taking turns with him. For instance, he might make a sound and wave his arms. We make the sound back and then move our arms. It is amazing because he will respond and do the same thing again or something else. What you find is that you are having your own "conversation" with him. The doctor said that DS kids have a tendency not to be social and that if we teach them to interact socially, the rest will follow. He said that after 35 years of practice, he has seen clients with DS accrue lots of knowledge but are unable to interact on a social level. We need to teach them to interact. I think he was trying to stress the danger in being too focused on physical therapy and academics. There is a balance to everything and our kids with DS need to be social because academics will only get them so far. This guy was phenomenal. He said that Jonathan did a good job of following us and connecting. The website where you can get more info is www.jamesdmacdonald.org. I would highly recommend it!

Saturday, April 8 - Jonathan turned from his back to his tummy!

I went to the speech conference portion for parents. I was nervous because he would ask us questions about our children and I would answer, hoping I had the "right" answer. I usually did not. I think my thought processes are so academic and his point was that will hurt Jonathan more than help him. I need to play with him, imitate him, try to have fun with him and simply relax!

Tuesday, April 11 - We went to the Bell Center while Jackson was at Mothers' Morning Out. Jackson has his third birthday this Saturday and he is excited. He told me exactly who he would like to come. It ought to be fun! He also said to me today, "Mommy, you are a good cooker!" Ha! Aren't our kids wonderful?

Please keep praying,
Julie


Monday, April 03, 2006

Pictures

Jamie and Julie at the Guild Gala.
Jonathan playing on the boppy.
My dad with Jonathan.
My mom with Jonathan.
Both kids with "Gigi" (my grandmother).
Jackson with Grandpa.
Jackson with the Dobbins' family dog, Rupp.
Pops (Jamie's dad) flew us to Columbia in his
plane.

Jackson was evaluated today and the consensus that what he is going through is common and there is no need for him to see a speech therapist on a regular basis. Yeah! We thought that was probably the case but were not sure.

If you are reading this and you know of anyone who needs some encouragement because they have/had a child with Down Syndrome and/or the heart condition and you think we could be of help to them, let me know at juliewarren@mindspring.com. I would love to help or offer encouragement to others as we have been helped.

Have a great week,
Julie:)
juliewarren@mindspring.com