¡Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!

May this Christmas had been a time

of joy with your family and friends.

Merry Christmas!

We have a peaceful, joyful, relaxing and fun Christmas. We were looking for it after having a rough year with worries, stress and difficult moments from start to finish of the year. Not matter what, we are a stronger family full of love. Having our second child has been the most grateful moment we had this year. He is adorable and funny. Watching our boys growing up and learning to be bothers is a joy.

   

¡Feliz Navidad!

Getting older

Wow! I cannot believe I am 5 month old. I am 80 percentile for my height and 47 percentile for my weight. I am good size baby! But I have to tell you, my bother was taller and heavier than me at the same age, so he is teaching me stereotypes are breakable and I should believe in myself.


I am a busy baby because I am doing a lot of things. I am working on eating solid food; I have mastered my cereal, so I am in the adventure of tasting vegetables. In my last post, I told you that it seems I am two months ahead of my age. Well, my pediatrician told my daddy the same thing in my 4 month check up. My pediatrician told my daddy I was doing things for a 6 months old baby, when I was just four months. I keep doing things ahead now that I am 5 month old. It seems I am ahead in my overall development. So my mommy and my daddy are very proud of me. They know how blessed I am!

Eating my cereal for the first time

Nov. 24, 2011

Practicing finger paint

I was trying to eat, but suddenly everything 

was a mess and I began to play with the food.

Dec. 4, 2011

Some of the milestones I have reached ahead of time are:

• To mouth objects - 3 months
• To respond to my name - 31/2 months
• To raise my arms to be picked up - almost 4 months (But my daddy thinks it was before because my daddy took me to a meeting with his coworkers when I was about 2 months old. In the meeting, my daddy's coworkers told my daddy I was raising my arms for him to picked me up. My daddy has told my mommy he saw me raising my arms before the meeting, but my mommy don't believe us!)
• To play with toys in the activity center - 3 1/2 months (I wasn't batting toys anymore, I was more interesting in standing, sitting and grasping toys. So my daddy got me the Baby Einstein ExerSaucer. I could play on it, but there was one problem, I couldn't reach very well. So my mommy told my daddy we could wait a few weeks for me getting taller. They did, when I turned 4 months I was able to reach better)
• To sit without support for a few seconds - 4 months. Currently, I use my hands to catch my-self and stay for longer periods of times without support. 
• To get in four point position and scooting backwards - 4 months. Currently, I am getting in 4 points and rocking, so I will be crawling soon. 
• To push to stand while I am on my mommy's laps - 4 months. 
• To start experience separation anxiety - almost 5 months

The following speech milestones can be accomplished when a baby is by the end of his or her six month. But it seems I am a little ahead, too: 

• To star babbling. My mommy is hearing some speech sounds: a, ai, ba. Over the weekend, I began to repeat the speech sound "ba" after my mommy.
• To make gurgling sounds when playing with my mommy or when I am alone
• To move my eyes in the direction of sounds
• To notice that some toys make sounds
• To pay attention to music

Seating for a few seconds without support

Nov. 12, 2011

Standing in one of my ExerSaucers.

I use My brother's ExerSaucer when I am upstairs

Nov. 14, 2011

Seating up on my swing chair

I have felt from this chair or I have been hanging form it. 

So I don't use this chair anymore because it is not save for me.

Nov. 14, 2011

Playing with my Baby Einstein ExerSaucer

Nov. 14, 2011

My mommy feels the guilt that she is not stimulating me enough because she is trying to help Tommy to overcome his developmental challenges. As a good mommy, she worries! I am fine, I learn by washing them because I pay a lot of attention. I enjoy so much being around my big brother. When is meal time, I like to seat at the table with my big bother, I watch him very closely and I try to eat all my food as he does. We have a game that we named "Hugs," we hugs at each other and we laugh and giggle. I pull his hair or he pulls my hair sometimes, but we are learning to love each other. 

Rocking back and forth

I having rocking back and forth for about two weeks

so I am getting ready to crawl.

Thank you from the battom of my heart

"I promise I will never let you down. I won't rest until you reach your full potential. I promise I will do everything to change the world for you. If I can change one person's mind about Trisomy 21, I will change the world for you."  October 31st, 2007 around 11:00 am. My promise to my son Thomas Aidan Lane

Until today, I haven't rested in finding ways that can help Tommy to reach his full potential. I don't put him in the box of stereotypes. I don't expect less from him because he has a genetic disorder that slows his abilities. He always shows me that inside him there is more potential that what we can imagine. When I was so emotional because I couldn’t understand why all his regressions, he began to ride his bike (trike) effortless. Completely, the opposite of what I was told. Tommy with this action, one more time, showed me the sky is the limit. So I stepped up for him and I have left behind my emotions. I am armed with a team of professionals, new toys for his therapy play, new ideas to make learning fun, an unconditional playmate (his little brother) and a wonderful family who will be beside us not matter what. This is the beginning of the Chromosomal War II. If you missed Chromosomal War I, here are the links:

Extra! Extra! The Chromosomal war has began

Chromosomal War (Part 2 - Video)

Raising a child with a genetic disorder has more challenges than raising a child with a typical development. But unconditional love is all about; if you truly feel LOVE the rest comes easier: 

1 Corinthians 13 The Way of Love 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,a but have not love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;b 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I admire my son instead feeling sorry for him. People may think he is in at disadvantage situation in this world, but the trust is he is up high and away from us, so we have to wait and see:

Matthew 19:23-26 23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,b when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfoldc and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

I have been busy trying to understand what was happening to Tommy; why he was regressing in his development; how I could help him by stopping all these regressions; Calling to the medical community to find answer to my questions. While all this chaos was happening, my mother-in-law and my father-in-law were organizing a Trivia Night to raise money to pay the medical bills we got due to the hospitalization and the private paid services Tommy is getting. The Trivia Night was on November 18, 2011 at 7:00 pm and it was a successful event. My mother-in-law did a wonderful job organizing this event. Her friends and family members help her to put everything together. That night, we were very impressed about how well organized the event was. The people’s respond was amazing, that warms my heart just to remember. Thanks to them we have a relief in our shoulders, the best of all, the treatment to help Tommy with his regressions and sensory issues will be able for him without worries about not being able to afford them. Since I received the positive results that my first son had Trisomy 21, I have been praying for strength and wisdom. I have also been praying that God put the right people in our path who believe in our son's potential. God listened to my prayers and I was able to experience it in the Trivia Night!

Since the middle of September until today, we have been working hard to help Tommy be the child he was before. It is beginning to show good results. I am hearing from people at school and extended care telling: he is getting engaged, he is socializing, we are seeing progress. So I can just say from the bottom of my heat:

THANK YOU to all of you who support my son in the trivia night. THANK YOU to the estrangers who donate money for the trivia night without knowing Tommy. THANK YOU to the School District, Tommy’s teacher, Therapists, Extended care staff for your dedication in helping Tommy.
THANK YOU to our families, friends and coworkers who support us in our journey of raising Tommy.
THANK YOU to your support, I will be able to continue my plan of action for Tommy to reach his full potential. He is an amazing kid that has the natural ability of unifying people.

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!