Inspiration

Hard at work!

I've been sitting here tonight with Nathan watching YouTube videos of the Special Olympics (not to be mistaken with the Paralympics). Naturally, we have been watching events featuring athletes with Down Syndrome. One young guy touched my heart so much. He is a weight lifter, and works hard with his Coach and a personal trainer to keep in shape for competition. Just before he's about to deadlift, he works the crowd with a beaming smile, and gets them all to start clapping as he psyches himself up to lift. The crowd were so into it, cheering him on and shouting encouragement. It was brilliant! Nathan and I agreed that it would be great to be able to attend the Special Olympics one day; the atmosphere would be amazing, and the athletes inspiring.

The other videos we have been watching tonight have been nothing short of inspirational. Children and adults with Down Syndrome speaking about the things they enjoy doing, jobs they have and what they would like to do with their future. There was a little girl in her ballet tutu, and a little boy playing guitar. There were teenagers who liked to dance, and one who can sign so well (as well as speak), that she is an interpreter for the hearing impaired. They talked about their dream jobs, and about learning to drive a car. It was a reminder, once again, that people with Down Syndrome are just like us!

It's all about the expression!

Felix had a lovely start to the day today. I usually put the morning news show on when I'm giving him his breakfast, and this morning they were interviewing The Wiggles. He couldn't take his eyes off the TV for the first song they sang, but later when they sang his favourite song 'Rock a Bye Your Bear', he had a grin from ear to ear and did every single action! He was not happy at all when the show continued with boring news stories and The Wiggles disappeared, and he let me know!

I never get bored of watching Felix learn to do things for the first time. Sometimes the things I notice are so small, but I can't help but be excited about them. He has been able to tell us that he wants a drink for a long time now by pointing to his cup and grunting. Today, he also used the sign 'drink' when he pointed to the cup and grunted. Every time he adds a sign to his vocabulary it becomes easier and easier to understand what he is asking us. Just over the past week, he has learnt the word 'cricket' (as in the bug, not the game), spider, and crocodile. In the books I've read about sign language, they stress that exaggerated facial expressions are also a really important part of signing. Felix obviously read the same book, because his facial expressions are priceless!! He looks so enthusiastic when he's talking about things he likes. He 'says' helicopter' and 'Police car' with huge eyes and a massive grin. I could watch him all day.

Seriously Mum, put the camera away!

Today Felix crawled into my bathroom and lifted up his potty seat to put it on the toilet. He looked at me and signed 'toilet', so I sat him on there and he did a wee. Such a clever boy! He has gone backwards a little bit with his toilet training lately. He has been doing his number two's before I get him out of bed in the morning, and then another one when he has his day time sleep. I haven't been able to catch him at the right time so he can do it on the toilet. It's a little bit frustrating because he was doing so well, but at least he's still happy to sit on there and do a wee every couple of hours. I will keep persisting and hopefully he will get back into the same routine again soon.