A few winks

Last night Braska had some trouble initially, but M was nice enough to take her so that I could go to sleep, and he returned to bed sometime a little later after she was snoozing in her bed. She slept from about 11 to 4:30am, which normally would be a bad night for her, but after the last few, that's pretty good. I brought her in to our bed at 4:30am hoping she would snuggle up and go back to sleep, even if I couldn't. She was so restless, but she slept for bits here and there. She just thrashes around with her eyes closed like she just can't get comfortable. For her, that's especially weird, because when it's time for bed, she's like a stone. She zonks out in the position she lands in and doesn't move much at all.

She has had two short naps this morning, one that I got to snooze during as well. The other was on my lap, so I just managed to get some work-work done with one hand since the laptop was next to me on the couch, so as not to disturb her. We're headed to have a consult with a possible new pediatrician today (thanks Julie!) in about 45 mins to meet her and discuss Braska's history and see if we feel comfortable with the match. The really good part is that her office is less than 1/4 mile from our apartment, super handy, so that would be a nice switch, for sure.

Thanks for all the tips on things to try with Braska for some comfort. I have had her on Tylenol regularly, but no Benadryl. Don't know why I didn't think of it. Oh wait, she's not been sick in 18 months...that might be why! We're getting some today, though.

OH! And the other news... she has 5...count them...5 teeth coming in right now!!! That could be the problem. I only knew of 2 til I did some forceful checking this morning. Ouch!

Sleep, I miss you

Braska's been running a fever the last few days, on and off, but getting up to 100.4, which is way more than she's ever run for teething. She seems to be ok for the most part, a little snotty, but just a tad, and sometimes clingy, but also minimal. The problem lies in the sleeping, or lack of, that she's doing.

Generally, she's a peach in the sleeping department. When it's time, we say our "night nights" or thank you prayers for our blessings and ask for good things for those around us and far away, then when I say "Amen," she dives for the bed. This is the routine at naps and night. But the last few nights, she's been not wanting to go to bed, fussing (in a pathetic hoarse voice) and waking up numerous times just screaming. Last night she ended up in our bed, which is a big no-no in my book, largely because I can't sleep a stitch if she's in there. And that was the case. When we tried to put her back to bed after she fell asleep, it never lasted.

Today she did nap for a while, and I snuck one too during that time, but tonight's not looking to be any better. Big bummer. I'm not feeling great myself...scratchy throat and such. I just want to sleep all night. It's not gonna happen, I can feel it.

And, as if on cue, she just woke up crying again... and it begins.

I think HE can dance...and more!

I'm a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance on Fox. Last night we were watching it on the DVR and when this young man appeared, I stopped and said, "No way!" Both M and I stopped what we were doing and watched...here's what we saw.



After it was over, we we grinning, talking about how great his speech was and all kinds of what I call "geeky" DS stuff (therapies, diagnoses, characteristics, etc). Then we both said that the blogs would go wild in no time. This is just the kind of thing that we like to see, so why not post it?!?

This morning, there are entries on a few forums I watch, and Meredith is the first blog on my reader to post on it. I'm sure more will follow. But all blogging silliness aside, this guy is really neat. He is a neat guy, DS or not, but I personally believe that at least part of it is because he IS who is IS and has learned to be more than ok with that. That's all we want really. Go Brett!!

The Reason

Moving is no fun. Packing and unpacking is not enjoyable work. Leaving a life and a place we loved for a place we don't really know is scary. Missing friends and coworkers we liked so much is painful. Giving up something I'd dreamed about and never thought I'd actually have in my backyard is really hard. (I love this pic, just had to share...so clear and blue.)

Why did we do it? Why would we up-end our whole life? What could possibly cause us to do such a thing?

Nuff said.

Heading south

It's big news time--We're moving to St. Louis. Well, actually St. Charles, just NW of St. Louis. It's where I lived before we got married 7 1/2 years ago and I moved to Champaign. It's where M got a new job, just finalized yesterday after a whirlwind process that only began late last week.

It's a bittersweet time, as we will miss Champaign a whole lot. This is the longest I've lived anywhere in my life, and that's something. It's been very good to us, and sometimes it's been a little cruel to us, but that's life in this world. All in all, I will think on my time here very fondly.

We are excited about being close to family, close to friends in that area, close to Braska's doctors, eliminating the trips down for appointments and such, trading a 3 hour drive for about 30 minutes to downtown. The new job is very good, and it seems like it will be an easy transition for M to slide right into. He starts in 2 weeks, so the chaos will be overwhelming for a while, but in the end, I really believe life will be much simpler and that's a BIG deal to me.

Big kudos to my husband for making this move. He is not a fan of change, to say the least, but he is putting his family--specifically Braska's best interest--first, and for that I'm immeasurably grateful.

More details will come as we know them. It's all so very fresh still. So far things have been miraculously smooth, so we know this is the right path to take.

(While I blabber on, here's how M announced it.)

Peek at tomorrow

This weekend we were at my in-laws' place for a very quick visit. We went largely for a housewarming for Cheryl and Ethon, which was Sunday afternoon. They have a pretty darn cool place, so yay for you guys!

Sunday morning pictures are normal, we do them alot. This week, before we left for church, Carole took a few pics of my little poonchin. They didn't all turn out great, as she kept making funny faces and moving at the last second. I stole them off her camera for my collection, and when I looked at this one I just kind of stopped.

It's not any super great picture. It's cute, but hey, how could it not be? She's waving at herself, that's the reason the hand is up. But that's not what I saw.

Go ahead, click on the picture. Can you see it?

I don't see Down syndrome. I don't see a feeding tube. I don't even see a tough cookie, open-heart surgery survivor. It's not my favorite picture of her ever, but I can't hardly stop looking at it. This picture, to me, is a picture of what's to come. She looks less baby-like here. She has a whole different look to her, which I think will be amazing to compare to a 2nd grade picture or something in a few years. I can't explain it, I just see our future there. I don't think she really resembles either of us, now or in this pic, but I do see more of herself coming out in her face here. There's something grown-up about that little smile. I just can't wait to see how she grows into her personality. She's going to be one great little girl.

New Fave-o Site

Get a cup of good hot chocolate, put on your comfy clothes, and settle in with some non-rushed time to check out Dan Drinker's site. I can't even tell you how much I love watching these videos and reading what his family has written about him. I feel like I want to tune into the Dan Drinker 24-hour channel or something.

Dan is a young man with DS who is living and loving life, and his younger brother Will captures much of it on video. It's priceless, in my opinion. I just love it. Check out the blog, watch some videos, tell them that you've been there. I wish this guy lived near me!

The most recent post, about Breaking Up with Christine, is funny and poignant. Here's a couple of my other favorite videos so far... I've still got more to watch!
His 7th Prom
A Basketball Date with Sarah