Road Trip!

We officially had our first road trip as a family of four. How does this differ from a road trip with just three? Tremendously! A trip that normally takes four hours driving (went to Mom and Dad's) with the occasional stop became a 6 hour trip with many long stops. Stops to eat, get out of car seat, nurse, change diapers, walk the dog, etc. etc. We decided to leave close to Gracie's bed time, gave her her milk, let her watch a little TV, and off the dream land we hoped she would go. No such luck. She LOVES her some Veggie Tales so she refused to fall asleep. She may have slept for an hour tops but was wide awake when we finally pulled in to mom and dad's around 1 am. Reese was great and slept the entire way!

Packing and the amount of stuff needed for two babies is unreal. Keep in mind that no toys were packed but a few books and a baby doll. Mom and Dad have an entire room full of toys which Grace likes to play with cause they are all new to her. We took the pack-n-play for Grace to sleep in and Reese slept in bed with us. It actually went better than expected. Grace was able to sleep the entire night without waking when I would be up with Reese and she actually slept in every morning till 9 am. This is something I wish she would do at home.

Needless to say, it was a little chaotic getting there but we had a great weekend. Matt and I attended my annual work Christmas Party in Gaithersburg, MD on Friday. Then we spent the evening with the family. Beth and Andy drove up as well as Jeremy and Lauren. We did our Christmas with Beth and Andy as they will be in GA to visit his family over the holidays.

Below are some of the pics from our weekend. It's funny to see how much more Grace is into Christmas lights, and presents, and bows, and all the fun Christmas stuff. She was so cute just staring at the tree in amazement!

Littlest Santa's helper!

This past Sunday we had the pleasure and honor of attending our first large Down Syndrome Association event. The Christmas party was for all ages and their families. They had a DJ, karaoke, face painting, elfs making animals out of balloons, games, and Santa even made an appearance as well.

We had a lot of fun. We were sad Grace couldn't be there cause she would have LOVED it but she was home recovering from her weekend illness! Reese slept through most of it but she woke up in time to meet Santa. She must get her "dancing" from her sister cause she was wiggling so much I thought she was going to wiggle right out of my arms. I warned Santa before I handed her to him and after a few pics he looked at me and said "You weren't kidding..she is a mover and a shaker." Guess she liked the music selection the DJ chose. ;)

Reese was the littlest one there and she was a huge hit! All the kids and parents wanted to see her and thought she was the cutest thing ever. Of course we agreed with them! She is a McClain! hahahahha! That totally sounded like something Matt would have said! Doesn't it?

We met a lot of great people and look forward to more events in the future. Here are some pics of our cute little Santa's helper! Enjoy!

Ignorance!

I mostly blog about our family and positive things but something happened this morning that really irritated me and I knew I needed to blog about it. I took Grace to the Pediatrician this morning because she has really been struggling with a cough and congestion the past few days. Well when I went to get her out of the crib this morning her face was swollen and she just looked miserable. Thankfully our pediatrician has Sat. hours.

While we were waiting in the waiting room a very sweet young girl came over to talk to Grace and I. I learned her name was Brittney and she was 14 years old. She asked lots of questions about Grace and offered her toys to Grace. Brittney is different from other 14 years girls. I'm not sure exactly what her diagnosis is but one of her legs is shorter than the other. She wore a special shoe and she spoke differently. She wasn't a "typically developing" child and this I can very much relate to. After talking to us for a while she walked over to a woman with her little girl not much older than Grace and asked how old the little girl was. Next thing you know the nurse was calling Brittney's name and off she went. We waved bye and started to play with the etch-a-sketch. Next thing I know the woman beside me leaned over and in a not so quiet voice and said "Her Grandmother needs to keep her over there and under control." I just looked at her in shock and didn't say anything. As I sat there realizing what she just said I became so angry. Angry at her ignorance and angry that my children might go through the same ridicule one day. I want to protect my children but I know that there will always be ignorant people out there judging those different than themselves. (this woman's little girl had HUGE ears but did you hear me saying..wow..your kid has some big ears, have you thought about getting them fixed? NO, I would never say something like that because it's not important and it doesn't define who she is!)

I went from being angry to feeling bad for this woman. She probably doesn't have the pleasure of knowing a child with a disability or felt pride by watching a loved one accomplish a milestone that others take for granite. I also realized that I want to do everything I can to educate those around me so that there is less ignorance. But I know it's not going to be easy and there will always be those people who will get under my skin and upset me. I just pray for patience and for wisdom on how to respond.

2 months old!

Reese turned 2 months old on Nov. 29th. I still can't believe how fast time is going. I remember by mid Aug. I was so over being pregnant and very excited to meet our little girl. Fast forward three months and our little girl is here and growing more and more everyday.

We had her 2 month check up on Tuesday and much to my surprise and the dr's, Reese gained 2 lbs and 13 oz and grew 2 inches in one month!!! She is now 10 lbs 13 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. She is doing sooo well, especially since they said she may gain weight slower than other children! I don't think Grace ever gained almost three lbs in one month. She is filling out nicely! Don't you think?