Strengths and Weaknesses

Aubrey is obsessed with Disney's Monsters Inc.  Could NOT have cared less about movies of any kind before, but now she loves.....just this one!  Asks for it multiple times daily.  Knows some of the words in it and recites them. Can name most of the characters. Crazy how attached she got!  But is she potty trained...at 5....Nope.

 It is very common for people with Down syndrome to be very into one thing, but totally lack knowledge or ability in other stuff.

 I once knew a guy who had Down syndrome. He knew the birthday and age of everyone in our church...after only being told once!  And his baseball trivia was amazing!  But at 26, was not ableto live   on his own. Just one of those things that comes with an extra chromosome!  But then again, we all have our strengths and weaknesses.

{her with all her birthday Monster stuff}

Wordless Wednesday....5th Birthday!

{Happy Birthday to you}

{Happy Birthday to you}

{Happy Birthday, dear Aubrey}

{Happy Birthday to you!}

{a little too close....she did burn her lip a little}

Where she's at....writing.

For those who aren't around or don't spend "craft" time with Aubrey, this is where she is at in her writing skills.  I would really say that Fine Motor Skills are her weakest area.  She has finally mastered a closed circle.  She even added a couple dots one day and a line to make a face:)  My Momma heart was bursting!

 Now she is working on crossing lines.  They start with a plus sign, for example.  Then she will move on to angled lines.  But the other day, Woody worked with her on A's.  He drew a whole sheet of them and she had to trace them all.  Sounds easier than it was, but she did it twice!  The angle parts seemed easier than the middle cross part for her.

Way to go girl!  You are on your way to writing your name!

Good Friends

My girl has good friends!  I think her sister Emelia is her bestie right now.  So many inside jokes with these too!  Wish I knew what they knew sometimes.

But she really does have good friends both at school and church and all around her.  I feel very blessed.

A friend shared this video and news report on Facebook and I'm so glad.  The cheerleader in the story has Ds.  Sounds like she has some really great friends and is surrounded by people who are willing to fight for her!  Hoping that what Aubrey has now, will continue to be her norm for all her years.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/10/05/cheerleader-with-down-syndrome-rejoins-squad-after-safety-debate/

Overcoming Obstacles

Yes they wear THAT to skate class....I pick and choose my fashion battles:)

Delays are always going to be a part of Aubrey's life.  We knew that from the start.  Some areas are going to have greater delays than others, because of her Down syndrome.  But she will eventually OVERCOME all of those obstacles.  

I would say that her speech is mostly delayed because of her hearing impairment.  I don't know where she would be with her language if she didn't have that impairment.  Definitely behind, but I don't know where.  She is WICKED smart with her sign language, so I think in some ways, she is probably right on target, we just can't understand all that she says verbally....yet!

Beyond that, physical things have been a challenge for her.  Mostly because of her size, and not ability.  She's finally tall enough to reach the pedals on her tricycle and takes off down the street pretty fast.

Aubrey has wanted to ice skate since August when she saw the big girls doing it.  Girl finally got her chance!  They actually make skates almost small enough for her!  And while most things don't come easy....they come and she is determined to do it with out help.  It wasn't love at first skate, but she is as persistent as she is stubborn and girl gets it done.  She practices, becomes confident and then watch out, cause here she comes.

See ya!  I'm going to skate!

**I think everyone would agree that walking in skates is much easier than actually skating....same for Aubrey.  Skating with Aubrey takes two constant hands, so there are no pictures of that.  But she LOVES it and there will be more skating in her future:)  Overcoming the world, one sport at a time!  Just like everybody else.....just slower.

Reading and Signing by Aubrey

I thought it would be nice for you to be able to see where Aubrey is at in her speech and signing....I'll admit, that this is not her best signing and she is a bit of a lazy signer when she knows things well.  Here she is a couple weeks ago reading/signing Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Eric Carle 

The video starts part way into the book, but I think it gives you a perspective on where she is with her speech.  It is becoming much more clear, and we are able to understand much more of what she is actually saying to us and hopefully YOU who are around her often are able to understand a little more.  

So much of her frustration, comes from her inability to make people understand her, but that is all coming along much better and I see her actually talking with other kids and really trying lately to help them understand her.

IMG 0272 1 from Woody Smith - Dallas on Vimeo.

Small things....

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart".  -Winnie the Pooh

That's definitely how we feel about our pint size Aubrey.  She just turned 5 and is 37 inches tall and 32 lbs.  Just barely on the Ds growth charts, but finally there!  We love you, peanut!