Tuesday

So Handsome!

Tuesday started off bright and early. I had booked to go in and have a Mammogram and I was picking up our eldest daughter, Amy (nearly 21), on the way to my appointment and had nearly an hour to drive. Felix and I had to get ready quickly and race out the door.  There are a couple of women in my family who have had breast cancer and some questionable cysts, so I thought it was pretty important at the age of 41 to go and get checked out myself. I strongly encourage anyone who has been putting it off to go and do it. A couple of people had told me that the Mammogram was painful or at the very least, uncomfortable. I was in and out of there in about 5 minutes and I can honestly say it wasn't either painful or uncomfortable. Go and get one done, ladies!


While I was at my appointment, Felix went with Amy to get some breakfast. It was so cute, when I arrived at the cafe, to see him sitting on her lap sharing her poached eggs on toast. Felix doesn't get to see Amy very often, but it was just like he'd only seen her yesterday. He looked totally at home cuddling her and 'talking' away. I love that they have such a strong bond even though we live so far away. It really touched my heart and set a great tone for the whole day.

Lunch with Amy

I was lucky enough to spend most of the day with Amy and Felix. Being from a small town, I don't get a chance to go shopping much as we don't have many stores here and end up doing a lot of it online. I had a list of a few things to get at the shops and am pleased to say I was able to find everything without spending much money at all. Amy happily carried Felix around because she wanted to cuddle him rather than put him in his pram. I'm pretty sure her arm would have been aching the next day. He loved it and was totally content to be in her arms, looking at all the new sights.


At lunch time, we met up with Amy's boyfriend and our eldest son, Daniel, and his fiance. It was the first time I had seen Daniel and Cate since their engagement, so it was lovely to see her beautiful ring and to talk weddings for a while. It was so special to be with them all and catch up. Felix loved it as well. He was so good. He sat in his pram and ate his lunch (and then tried to eat everybody elses). He loves food, that boy! We had a slight mishap when the lid came off his cup of juice and emptied all over him. Oops! I didn't bring any spare clothes for him but had just bought him a couple of things in a (much) bigger size for next year. I had no choice but to put those on him. He looked pretty hilarious... you could barely see his hands and I had to roll the bottom of his pants up about 3 times! Thankfully it happened just before we left, but we rushed out in case we bumped into anyone we knew. 

Big kisses for Amy in the
middle of the shops

After a fantastic day with our beautiful girl I took her home and then made the drive all the way back to my parent's house. I gave Felix a quick bath to wash away the leftover juice, fed him his dinner and got him ready for bed. My Mum had a small surgery that day, so my Dad offered to put Felix into bed for me so I could head out for my next appointment. Felix was playing happily with Papa when I left. I'm not sure who was enjoying it more.


What followed was an incredible night. I drove back into the city (again) to meet up with 6 of the other Mums, from Felix's Early Intervention group at the Down Syndrome Society, for dinner. I feel a little bit emotional as I write this, but find it difficult to express in words why it meant so much to me. Each of these ladies all have a child with Down Syndrome the same age (or very close) to Felix. We are all about the same age as each other as well. Although all of our stories are different, we share a common bond. We just 'get' each other. There is an understanding when you speak to another parent of a child with Down Syndrome, that you don't share with anybody else. 

Trying on crazy hats

One thing which really touched me was the joy we all had when we talked about our children. Every single one of us are so proud of them. Some of these Mums have had to deal with horrific health issues with their precious little ones, but there was no complaining; just happiness that they had got through previous surgeries and a resolve to get through anything the future will bring. These are some amazing women. I had tears in my eyes when I heard about all the milestones the other kids had reached since I last saw them. One little boy did nothing but lay on the floor last time I saw him because he has such low muscle tone (among other health issues). To hear that he is now 'Commando crawling' across the floor and dragging himself up onto things was the most amazing news!!! I felt so proud; he could have been my own son! 


I can honestly say I could have listened to them all; and talked about Felix all night. It meant so much to me that the girls gave up a night at home to get together with me (and work around my crazy schedule). Thank you so much ladies. You all inspire me to be a better Mum. I look forward to many more get-togethers.