Boy's Best Friend

Inseparable from the start

I just picked up Felix's suit for the wedding on Saturday. He's going to look SO cute! Even though he will be two in a week, he only fits in a size 00 suit; it's so tiny (just like he is). He's also got some soft soled black shoes which tie up with a ribbon. He practised walking in them up and down the hallway today. He thought he was a bit special with little shoes on his feet. I'm still not convinced that he will be cooperative on the day, but I'm open to being surprised by him taking it all in his stride.

Starting to crawl

Today, the bigger boys stayed home from school because they were upset. We had to have our much loved cat, Brutus, put to sleep last night because he was struggling to breathe. He was getting old and had got quite skinny over the past few months, but to see him like that last night was upsetting for all of us. The boys had a chance to say their goodbyes and we took some photos of them all with him before we took him to the vet. He will be missed by all of us.

Just hangin' with my buddy

Guardian Brutus

Personally, I think our animals are an important part of Felix's therapy. In his first year Felix would push himself to crawl so he could get as close to Brutus as he was able to. Brutus would then move a bit further away, and Felix would continue to drag himself across the floor to get to him. Eventually Felix got too fast and Brutus gave in to the inevitable, and just lay there and let Felix pat him and pull him and, in recent times, sit right on top of him. He was very patient with him. Felix learnt how to be gentle, and we taught him how Brutus liked to be patted. One of the very first words he signed was 'cat' because of all the time he spent with Brutus, followed closely by 'dog' because our house is full of them too. I don't think Felix would have learnt to do some things as quickly as he did if it wasn't for our animals. He wants to be able to keep up with them, so they encourage him to keep pushing forward with his physical development. Felix and Brutus were good buddies and Felix will miss his little friend.

Peek a Boo

Felix was a bit grumpy today; maybe he sensed that we were all feeling sad, but he's also on the verge of getting sick. He seemed a bit unwell yesterday so we took him to the Doctor, and everything pointed to the beginning of a viral infection (swollen glands and a bit off his food). We've got fingers crossed that it won't develop into anything nasty, especially with the wedding coming up in a couple of days. As I've mentioned before, kids with Down Syndrome can often go from slightly unwell, to really sick within days and Winter is the most dreaded season. Felix was well and truly ready for bed tonight and was asleep within seconds of laying in his cot. Hopefully when he wakes up tomorrow he'll be happy and healthy, and ready for a five hour car trip.