School is in session...

and I have pictures to prove it! Lauren is now (almost) exaclty 2 1/2, old enough to begin attending Ida's preschool for the hearing impaired. Some of our favorite people are from Ida so we have been looking forward to this for awhile.

Here is a quick snap shot of her first day. she even rode the bus home but my camera was in her Elmo bookbag so I didn't get any pictures yet.

















Outside her locker agreeing to a quick pic with Mom.



Eating her snack all gone - she already has earned a Masters degree in eating, this is just a refresher course. Notice the little pilot cap for keeping her hearing aids in place. In theory, at least.

Block time with her new friend, Chloe

Music and Movement time - just look how tiny she is! But, she holds her own and has a lot of presence :)~~~~~

Calendar and story time - dont' let the picture fool you - she was up plenty according to her teacher, Joy.







So far, so good. No tears from LoLo or me.

a video worth watching

Please watch this video montage put together by a Mom from my online Down syndrome support board. She is the mother to a little girl named Gabby who was loved and wanted, just as her other children are. The fact that Gabby would have Down syndrome did not sway her love, commitment or longing for her.

She already had 2 beautiful daughters and Gabby brought the count of beauties up to 3. As you will see, Gabby was absolutely precious, vibrant and very loved. As planned, Gabby had open-heart surgery, something quite common for babies born with Ds. The surgery went well but the recovery did not and Gabby did not make it.
The commentary on the video reminds us of how even the difficult parts of life: the parts we don't choose, become the most important, impactful and amazing...anyway...the video (and yes, Lauren is in there, too!):