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

Braska: Buddies and braids

Last week on Monday, Daddy came home from work with a present for me! A coloring book and colors! We practiced coloring for a while before he had to go back for a special work meeting.



Since Daddy had a meeting, Mommy and I went to eat dinner with Jack and his family and some of his friends. It was fun! Jack thought there was alot of talking, I think.



I found a new thing I like alot... Mommy says it's called mashed taters and country gravy. I ate alot of bites of it!


Mommy did a new trick with my hair last week, too. She said it was french or something.


"What do you think?"


"Huh? Really? Gee, thanks!"

We went to see the guy that gave me my Steps. He was checking to see if they still fit ok. And they do, for a couple more months, he said. I waited for him like a big girl, but I kept looking to see if he was coming soon.


When Daddy got home that night, I told him and KiKi all about it.

On Thursday night, Grammy, Papa, Auntie Julia, and Uncle Ryan came by. I sat with Auntie Ju and watched some TV.