.

Attack of the Birthday Girl!

2011-10-11T23:00:00.001-05:00

You might wonder what we're teaching these girls, after looking at these two pictures! Boston turned 1 on September 21st, and we had a nice little butterfly party at Gulley Park. She loved the cake, of course, but she especially enjoyed this "butterfly candy spoon" that I made. I almost felt sorry for the little pretzel butterfly when I saw how viciously she was attacking it! Maybe she learned it from Berkeley, who apparently is training for WWF with this crazed pose!

Berkeley's Latest Accomplisment

2011-10-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I promise that our other kids are doing great things, too...but the last few posts have definitely been focused on Berkeley. But hey - she SHOULD be celebrated, after all - these are some major accomplishments! This video shows her climbing down the stairs completely by herself (which, by the way, is actually harder than climbing up the stairs)! We're so proud of her!

I'm Walking in the Buddy Walk!!!

2011-09-27T00:19:00.001-05:00

Hi!

This is Berkeley (...okay, it's really Julie typing...but Berkeley is telling me exactly what she wants you to know...)

I’m taking part in the DSCNWA Buddy Walk 2011 to raise awareness for Down Syndrome!
Can you take a minute to read my story and find out how you can help?

Go to my FirstGiving page: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/berkeleysmith/buddywalk2011?fge=ask
You can sign up to walk with me at the Buddy Walk, join my team, or donate to help me raise money for the Down Syndrome Connection! Even if you can't do either of those, you can still see a SUPER CUTE picture of me! :)

Julie says:
Berkeley is such a saleswoman! Don't feel pressured by her...we just hope that you go to the site and check out her picture and bio. Don't worry if you can't donate this time, but we know that some of you would like to support Berkeley in this way, which is why we're sending this out.

The people in charge of this site say:
You can donate online with a credit card. All donations are secure and sent directly to DOWN SYNDROME CONNECTION OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS by FirstGiving, who will email you a printable record of your donation.

Please send my page on to anyone who might like to donate!

God bless!

Julie

Berkeley's Baby Book

2011-09-22T12:29:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Living Disabled in Northwest Arkansas - an interview

2011-09-21T15:03:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd post this on the blog so I'll have a record of it. Sean and I were asked to answer some questions for an article being written about living with disabilities in Northwest Arkansas.

Interview with Julie:

1. Please give me a little background info about yourself (where you are from, where you went to
school, what you do now, etc.)
I'm a Fayetteville girl - I grew up here, went to FHS, then went "off to school" at John Brown University in Siloam Springs. I had a 10 year adventure in Texas, and now I'm back in Fayetteville - with the addition of a wonderful husband and 3 awesome daughters.

2. Please tell me about your daughter (name, age, interests, favorite places to go…I am not sure
how old she is, but she is welcome to give me a quote about herself to include in the article! )
Berkeley is our 3 year old. She loves being a big sister and a little sister, and gives lots of hugs and kisses to her sisters and to mommy and daddy, too! She loves dolls, dogs, pushing strollers, and yogurt! Her favorite song is Jesus Loves Me, for which she does sign language when we sing. She is a daddy's girl, and loves to be anywhere that he is. She has just recently learned to walk on her own, and this has quickly become her very favorite activity....she just walks! She walked 1/4 of the Gulley Park trail the other day! We are so proud of her.
3. What disability is she diagnosed with? When did you find out she had a disability?
Berkeley has Down Syndrome. We found out at birth, although we knew beforehand that there was an increased chance of having a baby born with DS.

4. What kind of schooling does your daughter receive (that is, if she is school aged… I’m not sure if
she is yet?)
Berkeley goes to the Children's Therapy Team several days a week, where she works hard at Physical, Occupational, and Speech therapy. She attends UBC's mother's day out program, where she is part of a "typical" classroom of children.

5. Could you please tell me about her therapy appointments (If you feel comfortable
recommending the name of the facility, that is fine. But you do not have to. Sean had
mentioned you take her to therapy appointments as well as do in-home therapy with her. I’d
appreciate any info regarding what she does in therapy).
Berkeley works so hard! She practices walking, climbing stairs, kneeling, and all kinds of things with her physical therapist. With her Occupational therapist she practices coloring, painting, keeping objects in their proper place (AKA NOT throwing them!). For speech therapy she practices flashcards, making sounds of letters and objects, choosing objects, answering yes/no questions, and communicating with words to get the things she needs and wants.
6. How long have you lived in northwest Arkansas?
8 months
7. Do you feel NWA has a lot to offer those living with disabilities? Any examples?
My husband, Sean, and I have both been impressed by what Arkansas (and Northwest Arkansas, in particular) has to offer for the special needs community. Berkeley has been able to receive much more therapy than before we moved here (from Texas), which has helped her progress by leaps and bounds! The community is very welcoming and accomodating to special needs, and all of the preschools, church nursery, and other childcare settings we've worked with have been loving and accepting - even eager - to work with Berkeley. It didn't take long at all for her to establish her "fan club" up here. ;)

8. As a parent of a disabled child, what is the best thing NWA has offered you and your family?
Wonderful therapists, good state-funded insurance and services. Mostly, though, loving friends, family, and community to come alongside us!

9. What is the biggest challenge you have faced in NWA in regards to having a disabled child?

Not much to complain about! Maybe the cost of gas for transporting Berkeley to and from therapy so many times each week! Or, the endless paperwork that comes with getting special services...but of course you would have that anywhere.

10. Are there any changes you would like to see made around this area that would make NWA more
disability-friendly?
Perhaps a part-time preschool program within Fayetteville city limits.

11. Do you have any advice for other parents living in the area who have disabled children? (for
example: a great activity their kids should be involved in, a fun place to go, or a great school to
attend)

Probably the best advice I can give is to stay connected to other parents who are "in the same boat." It's hard to keep track of what to do and when to do it, so it helps to talk with other parents who've done it before.

12. Are there any programs or social groups in the area that are encouraging to families with
disabled children? (Sean mentioned you organize play-dates for other special-needs children.
Could you please include some information about that here, as well?)
We are part of the Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas, which has helped us meet several other families with children who have Down Syndrome. Also, I help to organize play dates for some of the kids with Down Syndrome. The kids enjoy playing, but it's probably more for us moms...it's good to talk with other people who know what you're talking about...there's a whole different vocabulary and set of experiences that go along with having a child with special needs. Also, we have yet to attend one of these, but the 99 Balloons organization hosts a wonderful respite night called "Recess" for families of children with special needs.

13. **Any additional information is welcome and much appreciated! **
We feel very fortunate to have Berkeley and to get to experience life with a child who has Down Syndrome. She is a beautiful girl who delights us in so many ways!

I'm excited for me, too!

2011-07-27T00:20:00.001-05:00

I've heard there are a few people out there who have noticed our lack of blogging lately. I admit it...I'm guilty...no blog posts for 3 months!

So, here are updates on the girls, which is the same as giving you and update on me, since I hang with them all day every day. :)

Brighton:
~Turned 5!
~Had her first ice cream truck purchase. She'd been dreaming about this day for weeks, just wishing for the chance. When I heard the tune of the ice cream truck, I ran outside and literally flagged the guy down and asked him to wait in our driveway while I went to get Brighton. She was excited out of her mind. She picked the bluebunny double gumball ice cream cone. I told her, "I'm excited for you!" and she said, "I'm excited for me, too!" She was starry eyed for hours.
~Had "the best week of the summer" taking art classes at the Nadine Baum Studio in Fayetteville. It was probably the best week for me, too, because she got to make tons of messy art, and someone else cleaned it up! :) Seriously, though, the girl has an artistic streak, and I was so happy for her to have an outlet.
~Took swimming lessons. She might not have learned to swim, but she is getting into the pool without a quadruple buckle life jacket, so that's something.
~Starts KINDERGARTEN in just a few weeks!

Berkeley:
~Learned to walk!!! She is almost exclusively walking, and almost never crawls anymore.
~Decided that the smaller human in the house is actually pretty cool, and has begun to count Boston as a favorite playmate.
~Has firmly established her fan club up here in Fayetteville. I knew it wouldn't be long. If you could just hear her say "tutu" you would be hooked, too.
~Realized that naps are not as fun as mommy makes them out to be. She walks over to her baby gate and peers out, but if Sean or I catch her in the act, she really calmly and slowly crouches down behind the baby gate and lays on the floor...as if we won't know what is going on!

Boston:
~Finally made it onto the growth charts! In case you haven't seen much of Boston, she's a real "pip squirt." She's really packed on the pounds lately, though, and has soared up to the tenth percentile on the growth charts!
~Has become enthralled with animals. At first I thought she was scared of dogs, since she shrieks like a wild puma everytime she sees one...but it turns out those were just very shrill shouts of joy.
~Is getting a little closer every day to becoming a "daddy's girl" like the other two.
~Bears an uncanny resemblance to Brighton as a baby. The other day I was getting sentimental about Brighton growing up, and I thought, "if only I could go back in time and just hold her as a baby again." Then I figured out that all I have to do is hold Boston and it's pretty much the same effect.

Check out our summer pictures and a few cute videos by clicking on these 2 links:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150304908317354.383455.745472353&l=7561eac25b&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150321148942354.388595.745472353&l=1cc05bd930&type=1

Kid of the Week

2011-04-28T23:21:00.000-05:00

Announcing this week's "Kid of the Week" at the Children's Therapy TEAM....
our very own Berkeley Smith!!!!
Check out her bio on the Children's Therapy TEAM blog: http://www.childrenstherapyteam.com/blog/

We are really proud of Berkeley, and she is proud of herself. She is having a ball learning to stand up without holding on to anything. This week she started saying "hi" and "bye." She's probably imitating my exaggerated way of saying hi to her, saying "hi-ee!" in a high-pitched sing-song voice...not sure if I should be offended or not. ;)

Car of Happiness!

2011-04-28T23:00:00.000-05:00

Update on Brighton:
Age: 4 3/4
Favorite Color: Pink and Purple
Favorite book: Harry Potter
Favorite food: sugar

Brighton has been very interested lately in mixing liquids. I keep telling her, "you better be a chemist when you grow up!" ...Otherwise, all these messes and spills will be in vain! She is also trying out the guitar, as you can see in the picture. Her gymnastics class is one of the highlights of her week, and she's looking forward to swimming lessons this summer (well, by "looking forward to" I mean "kind of freaked out about trying to swim"...but we'll get there!).

She has a whole slew of playmates here, and has been making plans without me, which is funny. Sometimes I'll have to tell her, as we are about to enter a social setting, "okay, now don't make any plans with the other kids without talking to the mommies first!"
She is still a great cheerleader for Berkeley, and now for Boston, too. She encourages them to work for whatever goal they're trying to reach. She demands their affection, and gets more than a bit huffy if they don't give her the loving she's after. She was ecstatic last week when I put Berkeley in the car after her therapy session, and Berkeley voluntarily leaned over and gave Brighton a hug and a kiss. Brighton exclaimed, "this is the car of happiness!"
In the picture below, the girls are playing with a toy that Brighton bought for her sisters at a garage sale. She had a few coins with which she could purchase anything she wanted to at the garage sales, and she decided to spend her money on a toy for Berkeley and Boston.

Sitting Up!

2011-04-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

Boston has really been changing! She's been sitting up for almost a month, which is fun...I've always felt sorry for my babies when their only "activity" consists of laying on a playmat or a bouncy seat. A change of scenery and posture must be nice for the girl!
She is eating crackers, puffs, and usually 3 servings of solid foods a day. I guess that full belly helps her sleep at night...so I'm happy to make sure she gets fed all she wants!
Even though Boston is meeting her developmental milestones at average times, I'm always surprised when she learns a new skill. To me, it seems like they happen so quickly and without much effort. I realized that I had become accustomed to waiting long stretches (and working hard) for Berkeley to reach her milestones, and forgot how quickly typical kids pick up new skills. I guess I should just enjoy each stage while it lasts...which apparently isn't long!
Another big achievement is that Boston can now spend time with other humans besides myself. Previously, such an attempt would result in ear drum bursting shrieking. Thankfully, I can now leave her with mom and dad, who are thrilled that she's calmed down enough to enjoy her time with them.

a photo book of Berkeley

2011-04-16T22:39:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Sweet Pea (Strained, that is)

2011-03-24T22:12:00.001-05:00

So, this is Boston at 6 months.
She's graduated from her cry/scream/eat/sleep/scream/scream/scream routine and moved on to developing some personality.
Sean and I just love her smile. It actually begins somewhere in her forehead region as the entire area lifts upward, which pulls up her little eyebrows, then gives a little sparkle to her big round eyes, wrinkles up her nose, then finally pulls the corner of her mouth up into a little smirk that pushes up the apples of her cheeks. But the smile hasn't finished it's work until it stretches into a full gummy grin (which is sometimes accompanied by a cute little gurgle).
Ah, it's good to see her smile...especially since the more she's smiling, the less she's screaming. And if you've been around Boston much, you know what I'm talking about.

Check out some more pictures of Boston, Berkeley, and Brighton in our new surroundings this Spring (which is much nicer and less north pole-like than it was in the winter):
https://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/WebAlbumSpring2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCMy5s8q6hoi94QE

Berkeley's Progress!

2011-03-01T15:55:00.001-06:00

With 3 physical therapy sessions under her belt, Berkeley is ready to tackle new challenges! Her therapist told me that during her session today she stood up, with no support, for 12 seconds! We are thrilled. You can tell she's proud of herself. She hasn't started speech therapy yet, but she is making all sorts of new sounds, trying out new words, and doing more sign language. Her favorite sign at the moment is "cracker." She's getting so good at it that I sometimes have to tell her "no more crackers!" or else she would be signing and eating and signing and eating all day long. :)
Here are some pictures of our family from February (maybe a few January in there, too):
February photo album

Snowiest Snow Day EVER!!!

2011-02-09T16:14:00.001-06:00

This has been a record-setting snowfall! We've been in awe of the massive pileup of snow around us! I ventured out in the snow...up to my knees at some points...and got a few pictures of the house and neighborhood.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=326609&id=745472353&l=3b42134dc8

If the video works, it is of Berkeley eating snow off her mitten, "bear"ing an uncanny resemblance to Pooh Bear eating honey off his paw. Oh, and Brighton is in the background speaking in her own made up language. Could this be a sign of genius, or just another way to confuse her mama?

Saturday Night Transplants

2011-01-25T00:45:00.000-06:00

The Smiths are officially relocated. It has been a pretty wild ride, and it's not really over yet, but we're functionally settled in our new house and getting the hang of living in Fayetteville.

Here are a few things that have changed for us:

1.Church on Sunday morning...that's weird! It turns out that doing something consistently for 8 years can be habit forming. We felt a little restless on our first Saturday night here...missing Restoration Community Church...we loaded up the whole family and went to the mall, of all places! The next day it just didn't feel natural to wake up early for church. The 9:30 service at potential church #1 slipped by with us still in bed...followed by the 10:15 service at potential church #2...but we finally rallied the troops and made it [30 minutes late] to an 11:00 service. After all that effort, we thought we'd try out a local restaurant (Fayetteville has some really great local places). After driving to four different places, and finding them all closed because it was Sunday, we ended up at a little place called Chili's. Anyone heard of it? ;)

2.Berkeley switched to sleeping in the toddler bed. The first night, she slept in the bed the whole night. Hooray for Berkeley! The second night, she slept in...the hallway. No one quite knows what happened there.

3. 1° Fahrenheit...nuf said.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of months...some from Texas, and some from Arkansas, including a few of the new house (yet to be properly decorated, you understand!):

http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/WebAlbumJanuary2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCMvRsqnfuYvsAQ

The Smiths Big News...

2010-12-05T12:23:00.000-06:00

Some people think this is good news, and some people think it is bad news...what you think about it will depend on two things:
1) where you live
2)whether or not you like us. ;)

As some of you already know, Sean and the girls and I have decided to make a big family move. We were not looking to move or for Sean to change jobs, but an opportunity came out of the blue. We didn't have much time to make the decision, but after praying, talking, making a zillion pros/cons list, getting advice from others, etc, we decided it was the right thing to do. It was a very hard decision, since we have developed close relationships with people here, and since this is the place that we've started raising our little family of princesses.

Sean is taking a job in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which is where I grew up and all my family is. It's very exciting to think about being around my parents, siblings, friends, etc...but believe it or not, I did not arrange this! Sean will be working with Sport Personality, LLC. He will be doing project management (and other things) for a sports media company. If you are familiar with Sean's sports affiliations, this might be a shock to his system to move to "Razorback Country!"

Sean starts next Monday, and we might be completely moved by Christmas. I wish I had time to see and talk to each of my Dallas area friends and family before we move, but it looks like it might not happen. I just want to thank all of you for loving us, encouraging us, and helping us out countless times. We will miss everyone very much.

To my Fayetteville people...I'm really looking forward to being around you all on a regular basis!

God bless you!
Julie

P.S.

2010-11-30T14:41:00.000-06:00

Below is a conversation that Brighton and I had in the car the other day, while trying to encourage her to pray about the everyday things going on in our lives.

Mommy: Brighton, we should pray about some of these things that are happening. Would you like to start?
Brighton: yes...
God, can you help my head feel better?... because I fell off my bed yesterday and hit my head.
...and one more thing...
Do you like Christmas?

Priceless!

(I called Sean to tell him what she said, and he pointed out that God does, indeed, like Christmas...after all, it WAS His idea!)

BOO!

2010-11-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Boston is starting to be more expressive. She's always made funny faces while trying to fill a diaper, but now she is starting to focus in on people a little and sometimes smile! We had a fun halloween and enjoyed getting to take all 3 girls to a church festival. Check out our pictures using the link here (you may have already seen the first half of this batch, but there are lots of new ones, too!): http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/WebAlbum2010October?authkey=Gv1sRgCNvB5YyTg5OEnQE

Tell Me Something I DON'T Know

2010-10-26T13:18:00.000-05:00

They say you learn a lot about yourself when you become a parent. Sean and I have, indeed, learned much about ourselves these last few years...and Brighton has taken the lead on this instructional project.

For instance, we learned from her that daddies are more fun than mommies because "they are the warmest". She also taught me about how I have blue veins on my forehead. One time I was delighted to learn, by way of this hyper-observant 4 year old, that my head looked like a mushroom (thanks a lot, dear)!

And is it possible that her newest lesson for me is that I'm a craigslist junkie? Rummaging through the cabinet this week, she discovered a sheer silver tablecloth with large crystal beads attached to the corners. After admiring it for a moment, she said, "This is pretty. I love this!" Then she added, looking somewhat concerned, "Mama, don't put it on craigslist."

Being 2 is Hard Work

2010-10-22T22:55:00.000-05:00

Usually meal time is the most exciting part of Berkeley's day...the kid loves to eat! On this day, however, she had her flu shot...and whatever they put in that thing hit her right about dinner time. After we cleaned her up, she instantly became delirious, laughing at her big sister's antics. It was all very amusing.

3 B's in a Pod

2010-10-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

The "big girls" have really enjoyed having little Boston here. Brighton is very motherly toward her, and Berkeley treats her like she's a baby doll, patting her and saying "ahhhhhh."

Check out our new pictures! Click the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/WebAlbum2010October?authkey=Gv1sRgCNvB5YyTg5OEnQE

Welcome to Boston!

2010-10-01T16:37:00.001-05:00

Boston Adeline Smith was born on September 21st, 2010 at 7:39 pm, weighing 8 lbs 3 oz and measuring 20 3/4 inches in height.
Welcome, Boston!
Click here for more pictures!

Am I Going to Have to Do This the "Old-Fashioned" Way?

2010-09-15T11:16:00.000-05:00

We were ready. We had the bag packed, the cameras ready, the babysitter on the way...I had my waterproof mascara on and my hair straightened (hoping it would survive the events of the day). We were 5 minutes from heading out the door to have our baby! We were scheduled to be induced this morning at 7am.
But...somehow a whole herd of pregnant women decided to gang up on the maternity ward at the hospital and all have babies last night/today. They were totally booked this morning and I couldn't go in for the induction. Definitely a let down, as Sean and I had almost came to the realization that we were having our 3rd child today.
The real bummer (to me) is that the earliest my doctor could reschedule is for next Tuesday.
Well...there's always the good old-fashioned way...I can just go into labor! So, I had some jalapenos for breakfast and Sean is suggesting jumping jacks. Nah, just kidding (although I really did have some fresh jalapenos from our yard this morning!).
On the bright side, maybe we'll have a name for this girl by then!

Berkeley's Funny Faces

2010-09-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

Berkeley has really taken on some extra personality lately! Her new favorite way to get giggling is by making the face in the second picture...causing us to make the same face...causing her to laugh with delight! It's so fun.
She has also become Sean's #1 fan. She even laughs at his jokes...even when no one else is laughing. I'm not even sure how she knows that he told a joke, but that girl is ready to support her daddy!
As far as her development, Berkeley is making so much progress! She is crawling on her hands and knees, pulling up to stand, and doing a ton of cute babbling. She loves to say "duck" when she sees one in a book. Oh, and she's a great snuggler...that's always good. :) It's just hard to believe that she'll be a big sister in a couple of days!

Sunrise on the Beach

2010-09-13T22:03:00.000-05:00

We're not exactly early risers around the Smith house, but I wanted so badly to get up and take Brighton to the beach one morning to see the sunrise. She had never been to the beach and this trip was all inspired by her interest in sea creatures. She loves to learn about sharks, crabs, fish, eels...it's all fascinating to her. But (maybe just to be quirky) she is also pretty terrified of anything unfamiliar. It's a strange mix.

We woke up in time our last morning of our trip. We walked across the street from the resort still wearing our pajamas and got to the beach before the sun came up. It was beautiful! Brighton collected shells, we came across a couple of sandcrabs, we marveled at the sunrise
...and then she fell backwards into a big puddle of sea water! Our quaint little morning adventure was cut short as Brighton was terrified that she had fallen into the ocean! The thought of jellyfish attacking her took over and we had to leave.
...but it sure was a beautiful sunrise.

Is This Normal?

2010-08-08T21:35:00.000-05:00

Maybe some of you parents that have had a 4 year old can tell me...is this normal? Brighton loves to eat the strangest combinations of things. This particular day, she had her heart set on watermelon and ketchup. Umm....excuse me Brighton, but isn't MOMMY the one who is supposed to be having strange cravings right now? Maybe she just takes after her great grandfather, "Pop," who regularly enjoyed eating pickled pigs' feet and drinking milk with Tony Cachere's mixed in.

4th of July in Austin

2010-07-13T23:53:00.000-05:00

We had a great time with Sean's family in Austin. The reason you don't see Brighton in this picture is that she wouldn't come within 20 feet of a sparkler! She's a little skiddish around fire and explosives...and I'm okay with that.

Too Cool For Summer

2010-07-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm.....Spaghetti!

2010-06-27T23:59:00.002-05:00

This girl could eat spaghetti for hours...and she just about did! Lovin' that Berkeley!!!

Welcome to the newest Drama Queen!

2010-06-27T23:56:00.000-05:00

The girls LOVE their daddy! They love mommy, too, but there's just something about daddy. We're having a great summer so far...we really are...but I'm still getting used to being home (or somewhere) with the girls all day. Some of you who are moms might understand that there can sometimes be a little bit of tension between mothers and daughters. Brighton and I really did have a wonderful day today, but by the end of the day things were getting a little dramatic. She really wanted a gumball, but since she had just had a cookie, I told her no. She pressed the issue, so I said (trying to use a New York accent), "forget about it." With as much drama as she could muster, while holding her pointer finger up in the air, she said, "I will NEVER forget about it! I will keep this story FOREVER!" I think Sean summed it up tonight when he said, "when you get a bunch of women together, things just get crazy."

Jungle Princess

2010-06-21T01:34:00.001-05:00

Brighton made a wonderful "Jungle Princess"...a party theme that she came up with all by herself ("princess for the girls, and jungle for the boys," she said). Her party was at Chuck E. Cheese's, and they really made her feel like a princess. It was so fun to see her having a great time with her friends and family.
As if kids' parties aren't exhausting enough, we decided to top off the day with a trip to the Dallas zoo. They were having the annual "Zoobilee" ... bounce houses, free carousel rides, stilt-walkers, face painting, and of course... animals! Two of her cousins from Austin, Carson and Brenna, came with us and we all had a great time. The kids slept good that night!
One of her presents was a safari book that we got at the zoo. Each day she wants to learn about a new animal. Yesterday it was Lions, and she learned the word "pride." Today was the White Rhino (which also happens to be the name of our favorite coffee house). She learned what poaching is. Each page has a 3D puzzle of the animal that you can put together. When I told Brighton that it was too late to put together the rhino puzzle tonight, she said, "but Mama, I want to LEARN!" Wow, talk about manipulating the heart of a mom (and a teacher at that!)...nevertheless, I said no. Sometimes it's just time for bed!
Good night, Jungle Princess.

More birthday pictures at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=222563&id=745472353&saved#!/album.php?aid=222563&id=745472353&ref=mf

Summer Fun

2010-06-17T11:48:00.000-05:00

We are having a great summer so far!
In case you don't live in Texas, let me just tell you: IT IS HOT!!!! The water hose has been our friend!
Here is a link to some pictures of the kids doing various summer things: water hose, zoo with cousins, firehouse tour, and even an overseas guest!
http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/WebAlbum20106June?authkey=Gv1sRgCKiewdWQqMuwxAE

Here are a few more photos from last month in case I forgot to post them:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/May2010WebAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCKnTxIrC_ruJ8AE

Fire Station

2010-06-07T01:13:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our recent tour of the fire station in Duncanville. Our good friend Logan Henry is a firefighter there and volunteered to show us around the station. Brighton got to learn all about the truck and even try on some of Logan's equipment. Thanks, Logan!
For more pictures from May, please go to
http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/May2010WebAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCKnTxIrC_ruJ8AE

No wonder her clothes don't fit any more...

2010-05-16T15:07:00.002-05:00

Visiting the Dallas Zoo is one of our favorite family traditions! We've been measuring Brighton for a few years using the giant ruler by the penguin habitat.
This first picture is from June of 2009, and the 2nd picture is from early April, 2010 (notice that she is not standing up straight against the ruler. She really measured 3'6" that day). She has grown about 5 or 6 inches in less than a year!
Thank goodness for capris being in style...we get away with rolling up her highwater pants and making them look like they're supposed to be that way. :)

The Pineapple experience

2010-04-25T21:03:00.002-05:00

No words necessary...just please watch this video! :)

Easter Picture

2010-04-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

"He is Risen!" ~Matthew 28:6

Teddy Bear Parade

2010-03-21T15:51:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would throw in this picture of Brighton pulling her Texas Rangers Bear, "Ranger," during her Teddy Bear Parade at her school. She decorated the box and proudly gave Ranger a ride to show her off!

Surgiversary

2010-03-21T15:15:00.001-05:00

Celebrating 1 year since Berkeley's heart surgery! It seems like forever ago. What an answer to prayer, that her surgery went perfectly and she has absolutely NO problems ever since. We go for checkups a couple of times a year, but the doctor doesn't foresee any need for future surgeries.

Her physical development is not where it should be yet, but she has therapists that push her to work hard (even though she really puts up a fuss about it). Finally, she seems motivated enough to get toward certain toys that she will army crawl and inch her way to them. Crawling should happen soon! We keep telling her how much she's going to love it!

Brighton is still very loving toward her and loves to play with her. Sometimes we have to pry her off, but at least the smothering is done in love. For those who don't know, we've got a new one on the way, too. Brighton and Berkeley will have a new brother OR sister in September.

Thank you to everyone for all the love and support you give us, and for anyone who reads this blog. Our girls are such a joy for us, and we are happy to share with all of you.

Snow Princess

2010-02-25T20:52:00.001-06:00

The snow princess sits on her fluffy white throne after our bizzarre snowstorm 2 weeks ago.
Brighton had a blast in this once-in-a-Dallas-lifetime snowfall (over 12" of snow...and over 15" in neighboring towns). Even though it was a rare occasion, we weren't sure if we should let the girls play in the snow because our power was out, which meant no heat. We didn't want to freeze them and not be able to thaw them! But I just had to get Brighton out there, at least for a little while! Snow angels, snow balls, snow man, and snow throne...we pretty much did it all even though we only spent about an hour outside.

Having a blast at meal time

2010-01-31T20:02:00.002-06:00

Just a short video of Berkeley...always making us smile!

One of My Favorite Pictures

2010-01-02T01:22:00.004-06:00

Nothing new has happened, really...but this is just one of my favorite pictures of Berkeley, so I thought I would post it. She is a constant smile-maker at our house. She smiles, and we do, too.
For those of you who have wondered, Berkeley is still working on trying to crawl. She learned how to sit up, and was having so much fun with that for a few weeks, that she stopped working on getting onto hands and knees. We have to discourage her from getting up into that sitting position, and keep her on her belly so she will try to crawl.
She has, however, made some great strides in playing the piano. She bangs out a very beautiful little tune (at least it's beautiful to us!).
Wondering what the possibilities are, I searched the internet to see about kids with Down Syndrome playing instruments. A site came up about a young man named Sujeet who plays 6 instruments. Here is a clip of him playing piano.
http://www.vimeo.com/1070140

Girls meet grandpa Kevin

2009-12-29T23:31:00.000-06:00

Brighton and Berkeley enjoyed meeting "Grandpa Kevin" this week. Sean's dad came to visit from Phoenix, Arizona, for a few days. Unfortunately, Sean's grandma "Meme" (Kevin's mom) had to go to the hospital with pneumonia only minutes after he arrived. She is doing much better, but still in the hospital. Meanwhile, the girls are enjoying a little extra time with him.

2009-12-23T10:07:00.000-06:00

Just HAD to put up these pictures. Hat: courtesy of Sandra Popham, Shirt: Courtesy of Tanya Henry

Half Birthday Party

2009-12-20T18:46:00.000-06:00

December 19th, 2009, marked the halfway point between age 3 and age 4 for little miss Brighton. She is now officially three and a half. We had a special tea party to celebrate. We wore our finest hats (Brighton - Strawberry Shortcake, Mom - gray elephant)and had our finest drinks (cranberry juice with cream, and even some eggnog!). Brighton has been very sweet lately, possibly exiting the sassy stage that kicked in at the beginning of age 3. I know all you parents of teenagers are laughing at the thought of a child "exiting" the sassy stage...but a mom can dream, right?

Berkeley's First Pigtails!

2009-12-19T17:02:00.001-06:00

Berkeley is growing up! This is a picture of her with her first pigtails! The back of her head still barely has hair, but the top has enough to squeeze it into pigtails.
This week I saw some definite use of sign language to tell me she wanted to eat, and that she wanted more. We are so proud of our sweet little girl.
Many people have asked about Berkeley's health. We are happy to say that she has been doing wonderfully! The cardiologist gave her a great report this month - he doesn't foresee any future problems or need for any more surgeries. Praise God for all the wonderful care she has received, and for keeping her healthy!
Thank you to everyone who keeps up with the blog. It means a lot to us to know that so many people care about our little gals.

Say it into the air!

2009-11-22T00:24:00.000-06:00

Disturbed that she had forgotten her offering for church, Brighton was making plans for saving up her money to take to church next week. She was very adament about "giving her money to God."
I told her, "That's great! The bible says that God loves a cheerful giver!"
She said, "I love God!" I told her that He loves her, too. Then Brighton asked, "Can God hear the stuff we're saying?"
I said yes.
With that information, she quickly said, "Then I'll just say it into the air...I love you, God!"

Buddy Walk

2009-11-08T21:32:00.000-06:00

Our first try at the Buddy Walk was a success! We showed up...we walked...so, I guess we accomplished our goal. :)
It was nice to see so many other kids with Down Syndrome - like a little sneak peak into the future for Berks. On top of all the family fun, the adult Smiths got to get a little exercise. Of course, following the walk with mexican food at Chuy's kind of defeats that purpose...but boy, was it good!

See why we love these girls???

2009-10-25T16:28:00.002-05:00

Brighton proclaims her love for the Smith family!

Berkeley's laugh is contagious! Watch out, you might catch it, too!

N-O!

2009-10-09T20:46:00.004-05:00

Update on Brighton - Sassy!!!
She is getting pretty sassy these days...and too clever for her own good. Last night she proclaimed loudly, "I...WANT...SOME...ICE...CREAM!!!" So, following her lead, I said emphatically, "N....O!" to which she quickly replied, "N...O... minute!" She didn't know what I had spelled, but used it to figure out how to get that ice cream "in a minute."

Update on Berkeley - Roly Poly!
Gone are the days where I can leave Berkeley and expect her to be there when I return. She's rolling, twisting, turning, and "craw-fishing" to get around. She's not quite crawling, but she is making progress! Sean took her for another hearing test yesterday, and it looks like she'll probably have tubes put in within the next few months. Other than that, her health is great! She is constantly charming us with that famous grin. Oh, and she's finally accumulating some of those cute little baby fat rolls!

Sean and I are so thankful for these girls!
For more pictures and videos, visit
http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/200910October?authkey=Gv1sRgCPrNiZy08uaxtQE

GEAUX SMITHS!

2009-09-06T12:03:00.003-05:00

I'm posting this video, knowing that my family in Hog-country (Arkansas) will probably disown this branch of the family tree after seeing this. Yes, even I (Julie) was wearing an LSU shirt on this particular evening.

Last night we had our first family tailgaiting event of the year at the Smith house. Sean was so excited about the LSU season starting that he bought LSU t-shirts for everyone, and even made a 1 1/2 hour roundtrip journey to pick up "Raising Cane's" chicken (a restaurant chain that was born on LSU campus and has now spread to Texas). We had our little tailgaiting picnic in the light of the TV as we watched the Tigers play the Washington Huskies. If any of you keep up with football, you might already know that this game didn't start until 9:30pm! Sean made sure that the girls had a long, late nap so they wouldn't miss this all important event! Geaux Smiths!

WOO HOO!

2009-08-24T22:36:00.001-05:00

Berkeley celebrates her first birthday a few days early with her Arkansas crew. Next step, party hard on Saturday night after church with our Texas gang!

Just before her heart surgery in March, while anxiety was building, I had a dream. The dream was just a tiny little glimpse of Berkeley celebrating her first birthday. Usually, I have such bizarre dreams that I never take them seriously...but this one was so comforting, and at just the right time. Right then, I felt like everything would be fine. And it was. She has arrived at this landmark, and we are so proud of her! Praise God for taking care of little Berkeley this year...through heart defects and surgery, pneumonia x 2, hearing issues, trouble eating and gaining weight...He was right there with us, and we'll just keep entrusting her to Him.

"For this God is our God for ever and ever, and He will be our guide even to the end." Psalm 48:8

Feeling Silly (not a rare occurrence)

2009-08-04T09:05:00.002-05:00

Brighton and I are sporting this year's latest fashion trend - wearing hats made of the leftover demin from my cut-off capris. We are very ahead of our times in the fashion world...so far, in fact, that the general public may actually never recognize this as fashionable during our lifetimes.
Anyway, this is my last week of total hang-out-with-the-girls-days. I will definitely miss it! Fortunately, Brighton and Berkeley will be spending their daytimes with our friend Tracey Rose. We're very excited about this, because Berkeley will get really individualized care and get to stay home. Brighton will get to benefit from Tracey's fun and loving personality 3 days a week, and will get her classroom fix by going twice a week to the same learning center that she's gone to since she was a baby. It's a pretty awesome situation, and we're very thankful to God for working it all out...and in a pretty random way. We had no idea we'd ever have a "nanny." Thank God for knowing WAY more than me!

A few random things

2009-08-02T08:42:00.004-05:00

Berkeley with her Uncle Tim (Julie's brother)
Brighton and her cousin Carson (Sean's sister's daughter)

Brighton learning to be adventurous with Evie (Julie's best friend's daughter). They are up in a hayloft of a model barn at the Fayetteville Botanical Garden.

Grammy Donna (Sean's mom) thinks the girls are a real hoot.

Just a few pictures of family and friends.

Also, if any of you want to receive an e-mail when we update our blog, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail with your e-mail address. My e-mail is seanjuliesmith@tx.rr.com

Video of Berkeley Sitting

2009-07-25T16:26:00.005-05:00

We are so proud of Berkeley! Here is a clip of her sitting all by herself. She's really getting good at it! She does fall at the end, but she's fine!

Berkeley's rodeo

2009-07-17T17:17:00.000-05:00

8 Seconds -

Doesn't seem like long....

unless you're riding a bull...

or sitting up all by yourself for the first time.

In case you're not currently in the baby scence, most kids learn to sit unassisted around 6 months of age. At the very end of June, at age 10 months, Berkeley made it to this milestone. She sat by herself, on a flat surface, with nothing to hold on to or lean on, for 8 whole seconds! It was just as exciting as when any baby learns to sit, if not moreso, because she had worked so hard to get to this point! Yea Berkeley!

Brighton's two cents

2009-07-17T15:50:00.002-05:00

A conversation with Brighton, who is now 3 and thinks she ought to help with the decisions.

Brighton: Mama, what are you doing?
Julie: Thinking about whether or not I need to swat you for what you just did.
Brighton: I don't think you need to swat me for everything I do.

Well, I didn't get around to swatting her. I was too busy trying to hide the fact that I was laughing.

For more pictures of the Smiths in July, click this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/20097July?authkey=Gv1sRgCOTU2NiMhZWXggE

History In the Making

2009-06-13T20:37:00.001-05:00

I know this isn't about our girls, but I guess in a way, it is (you know...in a "future of our country" kind of way). I mostly wanted to share this picture with those of you who don't live in a racially diverse area like Dallas.
When was the last time you remember complete clothing and accessory lines being churned out that featured a political figure? I was slightly amused and surprised when my students in Oak Cliff (urban area in Dallas) started wearing T-shirts, jackets, and stocking caps with President Obama's face on them. When I told a student that he needed to take off his hat, he immediately got defensive, seemingly ready to fight for "his" new president. I laughed and told him, "No. Hats are out of dress code. Take it off."
Regardless of your political or personal opinion about the election of Obama, it is hard to deny that this event has inspired many young African Americans. Sure, most of them don't really know what his political stance actually is, and probably many of you reading this do not agree with it, but they do understand that he overcame the odds to reach his goal. Hopefully they will be inspired to do great things with their lives as well.
"By Obama being a black president and us being young black kids it makes us feel like if he can do it, we can do it," said one teenager.

Are you Jesus?

2009-05-25T08:20:00.001-05:00

"I love you SO much...You are SO beautiful...and God made you JUST perfect!" These are the words Sean tells our girls every night of their lives. Last night, it became apparent just how engrained those words are in Brighton's head. As I was tucking her in, I told her, "I love you, Brighton...but I could never love you as much as Jesus does. He loves you SOOOOO much!" Using her two year old deductive reasoning skills, she asked, "Is Daddy Jesus?"

Problem Solving - by Brighton

2009-05-17T13:03:00.003-05:00

Brighton has her own style of solving problems, and it blows me away. Here are two short stories to demonstrate:
1. A conversation between Brighton and Mommy (Julie), just before bedtime one night:
Mommy: Brighton, you know you're not supposed to pull toys out of the basket before bedtime. Just pick ONE THING to play with, and put the rest into the basket.
Brighton: OK
Mommy: (a few minutes later, after reentering the room and seeing that toys were still spread all over the living room.) Brighton, there are still toys everywhere! Did you pick out one thing to play with?
Brighton: yes!
Mommy: Well, what did you pick?
Brighton: The BASKET!

....Outsmarted by a two year old! At two years old, it's funny, but my mind jumps to the teenage years when she could really hatch a lot of sneaky plans. Sean can deal with her then.

2. On our way out the door to go to church last night, Berkeley decided to unleash a stinky surprise. The original deposit was bad enough, but once her diaper was off, she managed to deliver the next shipment via airmail. I dodged it just in time, and it landed 3 feet away and splatted on the ground. Sorry, I know that's gross! At least YOU weren't there!
Brighton came to see what all the excitement was about and couldn't be convinced to stay in the hallway. She kept walking into the bedroom, where I knew some splatters had landed. In the stress of the moment, I snapped at her and raised my voice.
After the clean-up, we finally got out the door and into the car. I realized I needed to apologize to Brighton for yelling. I told her I was sorry for being grumpy with her. To my surprise, Brighton came up with the best solution for my impatience. She said, "We need to pray to God for you to have a good attitude."

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:11-13
FOR MORE PICTURES, CHECK OUT THIS LINK:http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/20095May02?authkey=Gv1sRgCO7ckvq3kZnH6wE

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

2009-04-19T12:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to our grammies...Ginger Cotton (April 19th) and Donna Johnson (April 20th)!
We love you!

Princess Night

2009-04-05T16:10:00.005-05:00

Theme nights have become a semi-regular occurrence at the Smith house. Last night while Sean was at church, the girls celebrated Princess Night! Brighton wanted to be a ladybug princess, Berkeley got to be the bumble bee princess, and I was the butterfly princess (until bumble bee spit up on my tutu!). We played princess memory cards, read princess books, ate princess-y snacks, watched the Little Mermaid (who was actually a princess, in case you never noticed), and took her dressed up bears on a princess parade in the backyard. When Sean came home from church, he brought us a princess dessert - coke floats in princess cups!

She's gone wireless!

2009-03-30T19:39:00.002-05:00

Praise the Lord, Berkeley is out of the hospital! No more wires. No more tubes. No more sleepovers in the cardiac unit! The gang is all together again at home.

Party in Room 264!

2009-03-27T23:44:00.003-05:00

It's starting to feel like a roller coaster...we've been down, up, up higher, down again, then back up once more! Now, before you read the next paragraph, I want you all to know that Berkeley is doing great right now and resting peacefully. Okay...now you can read the exciting stuff:
Berkeley had made it out of ICU and was doing well on the regular cardiac floor. She decided to have a party, though, and invited 17 medical staff members to it. Unfortunately, her method of invitation was to get a swollen trachea and struggle with her breathing. I never imagined that many people could actually fit into one hospital room at one time - it was the kind of thing you THINK only happens on TV hospital shows. They rushed around making sure she had enough oxygen, bringing in a mobile ultrasound unit, and doing who knows what else (I couldn't see her half the time for the crowd of nurses and doctors surrounding her). Syringes of medicine were flying, and the doctors were talking to each other so urgently that they didn't even have time to "translate" for people like me. It was kind of scary, but Sean and I knew that she was getting good care. And in the midst of the craziness, with all these hands helping her, God reminded me that it was HIS hands that were really taking care of her.
She spent a few hours in the 12th floor ICU, then got moved back down to the cardiac ICU. Today she was promoted back to the regular cardiac floor and has been doing really well! As you can see from the video below (if you're dedicated enough to click on a link, that is!) she is making a great comeback! The doctors are predicting Monday for our departure date. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and encouragement, meals, help, and concern. We love our family and friends!

for the video and for more pictures, check out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/OceanNight?authkey=Gv1sRgCOTbwvGZ9Mbj1gE

Bye C. U. !!

2009-03-25T14:56:00.002-05:00

Well, it's official. The ICU at Childrens' Medical Center is no longer our temporary home. We moved on up (but still haven't gotten a piece of any pie) to the 8th floor this afternoon, and Berkeley is still doing great. She is having a little bit of a right lung mucous issue similar to what she had when we were here with pneumonia in January, but it's not nearly as problematic, and the doctors and nurses are still very happy with her status and how she is recovering.

We just met with our cardiologist, and he is very happy with how Berkeley is doing. He said that the goal is to get that right lung cleared out and make sure she's eating well, and we should be going home right on time.

Keep praying for a good recovery, particularly that she coughs out whatever mucous is still hanging around in that upper right lung, and we'll hopefully be home before too long. Thanks to all of our family and friends that have prayed for us, visited, called, brought food, and been all-around awesome. We love you all, and we thank our God upon every remembrance of you.

Hospital Update

2009-03-24T15:49:00.004-05:00

Berkeley's recovery is going "by the book," the nurses say. I like hearing that! NO DRAMA NECESSARY!
She is resting peacefully right now, and has made a lot of progress today. She got her breathing tube out (it had been doing all the work for her lungs, but now she's doing it herself), her catheter is gone, as well as a tube monitoring the pressure in her left atrium. Also, she is supposed to get to have a bottle tonight! Based on the way she went after the minty mouth swab I used on her this morning, she'll be ready!
She's only really opened her eyes and looked at us once. That was wonderful...until she realized that being awake hurts! They quickly gave her a sedative and I promised not to bother her for awhile.
Since I couldn't hover over Berkeley, I decided to take a spy nap in the room. I like to act like I'm sleeping, even when I'm not, just to hear what all the nurses and doctors say to each other about her when they think I'm not listening. Nothing scandalous, but they're maybe a little more honest. I did hear one nurse make a funny comment when they were discussing Berkeley needing to urinate. She said, "how are we going to do that? Stick her hand in warm water?" I thought that made all my eaves-napping worth it.

Doing Great!

2009-03-23T14:54:00.002-05:00

This is just a quick update from my iPhone at the hospital, so it will be brief and very well may contain some grammatical errors. But here's the great news: Berkeley is out of surgery and is doing great so far. She apparently did very well in the operating room, and the surgeon said that her heart repair went beautifully. Keep praying for her recovery to go well!

Pat-a-verse

2009-03-14T13:51:00.001-05:00

Brighton has somehow put pat-a-cake on the same level as scripture and prayer. I'm not exactly sure how this happened. A few weeks ago, she was saying pat-a-cake, and getting pretty into it. She was wrapping it up - "and put it in the oven for baby and me!...AMEN!"
This morning, she spontaneously said one of the bible verses she's memorized - Ephesians 6:1. She had learned the verse by way of a little cheer we made up. When we say "Ephesians," we roll our hands and draw the name out, like a rah rah sis boom bah kind of cheerleader routine. I guess it worked - she recited it perfectly! "Children, obey your parents, as believers in the Lord." Then came the ever spiritual pat-a-cake reference. Instead of Ephesians 6:1, she cheered,"Roll it...6:1!"

Animation of the AV Canal surgery

2009-03-12T14:46:00.007-05:00

AV Canal Surgery

go to this link if you're wondering what exactly needs to be fixed in Berkeley's heart, and how they're going to fix it.

Change of Plans

2009-03-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

Sean, Berkeley, and I spent 8 hours at the hospital today doing preop activities...lots of fun stuff, like x-rays, echocardiograms, EKG's, blood draw, and more! Berkeley got her stamp of approval on having surgery tomorrow. Later this evening, we got a call from the nurse telling us that Berkeley had gotten bumped from the schedule on Thursday (some little baby needed surgery more immediately than her). The nurse said that it wouldn't be Friday, either...but I'm praying that something will open up. I was so hoping to have the surgery before Spring break and have that whole week off as she recovers.
Right now we're just waiting for a call to let us know when the surgery will be. I figure it doesn't hurt to ask God to get us in sooner than later!

Surgery Calendar

2009-02-27T16:21:00.006-06:00

Okay, here we go. This calendar is intended for family and friends to see who is coming to visit Berkeley after surgery so that people making longer trips can plan accordingly and not all show up at the same time on the same day. We'd love to see everyone all at once, but Berkeley probably won't be able to handle too many people at one time for a while. I'm sure local family and friends will be around a lot as well, but this should help those making the drive to see what's going on. Please, please, please make use of the calendar if you are planning to come see Berkeley. This will help us a lot in knowing whom to expect after surgery time, as we will probably be tough to catch on the phone for several days. I've gone ahead and marked off her surgery time on March 12th, and we can expect her to be in ICU for about three days after that, so that's marked as well. Anyway, go ahead and sign up for times that you plan to be around, and yes it's okay if you come at the same time as someone else, but if there's already several people on the same day, please try to find a day with a little less traffic. Oh, and if you have trouble using the calendar, just post in the comments when you'd like to come by, and we'll try to add you in ourselves. Thanks!

EDIT: Apparently, the calendar I embedded for you is difficult to interact with for posting new appointments. You can go to the bigger version of the calendar and make your appointments and see them updated here on the blog version. The link for the full calendar is here:

Berkeley's Surgery Calendar

Martha Stewart Stall Tactic

2009-02-21T23:33:00.000-06:00

Returning misplaced toys, taking lost socks to the laundry room, straightening a crooked potty, and closing all the closet doors in the bedrooms were suddenly a top priority for Brighton tonight. She may have been stalling to avoid bedtime, but we were amused by her Martha Stewart-like precision about the whole process.
Sean and I just keep saying what wonderful girls we have. We love them so much. And, much to our joy, Brighton is at the age at which she can express her love to us. She initiates the "I love you" now. It usually goes like this -
Brighton: I love you, Mommy.
Me: I love you, too.
Brighton: I love you, too.
Of course, she also "loves" Peter Pan and her stuffed dog,Nana. But we know we're her real favorites.

New pictures from 2009:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seanjuliesmith/Web2009JanuaryFebruary?authkey=KHz-PkNF4PU

1 Doctor Visit Too Many...

2009-02-21T23:07:00.001-06:00

Berkeley went to the doctor three times this week - once to the cardiologist for a final check-up before surgery (which should be in early March), once to the pediatrician for her shots, and the third time was really me showing up to the pediatrician the day before that appointment...on the WRONG day! Yes, that was very embarassing and I still can't figure out how I managed to do that. I had taken off of work and everything!
She had a busy week of doctor visits, and that was before she got sick. There's something going around, because Brighton got it, too. Our weekend has turned out to be busy with taking temperatures, cleaning throw up, giving pedialyte and gatorade to the girls, and lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
The girls have been angels through it all. Sean has behaved pretty well, too.

Home again, Home again

2009-01-31T16:22:00.002-06:00

I guess we should have updated this already...Berkeley got to come home from the hospital almost 2 weeks ago! Brighton is especially happy to have her home. She wakes up each morning saying, "I want to see my sister!" and then countless times throughout the day says, "I love my sister!" Berkeley has her own personal cheerleader. I feel like that is such a gift from God.
The doctors want her to have plenty of time to fully recover from pneumonia, so they would like to schedule her heart surgery for early March. We'll have a date within a few weeks. I'm ready to get that over with, but at the same time it makes me nervous. Now that Berkeley is a little older and began to smile, laugh, and coo, I feel like I know her so much better now...which makes it harder to think of her having open-heart surgery. But I'm still happy that her heart problem is fixable!
MANY THANKS to those of you who prayed, visited, brought food, or encouraged us in other ways. We are amazed by the wonderful people the Lord has put in our lives!

Breathe Deep

2009-01-10T15:35:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been a long week. And we're not out of the woods yet. Berkeley is still hanging out at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. She's becoming quite a celebrity, getting to know just about every doctor, nurse, and respiratory technician in the pediatrics wing of the hospital. She and I have outlasted several shifts of doctors and nurses and now she's working on the weekend crew with her mom. I'm taking a break and sleeping at home for a night or two while Julie gets to spend some more time with Berkeley.

Monday night when we went in, I told Berkeley that there were cheaper ways to get a daddy/daughter date. Yesterday, I told her she's bumped that up to a daddy/daughter vacation. The good news is that there's a reasonable chance her upcoming heart surgery could be totally free. We might tap out our insurance deductible this week instead. Heh.

But everyone really wants to know how she's doing. The short answer is she's doing pretty well actually. The antibiotics have been very effective in dealing with her pneumonia (it's more fun to say if you don't make the P silent). Everyone that's checked her out over the past three days has commented that her lungs and airways are sounding much better, and x-rays of her lungs confirm all of that. The one issue that's keeping her in the hospital is her breathing. She is simply not getting enough oxygen saturation in her blood. She's been hooked up on an oxygen tube since Monday night, and we just can't seem to get her to level out and breathe well enough on her own to totally come off of the oxygen yet. When she finally does come off of the oxygen and is stablized on her own, she'll still have to go through a 24-hour observation period before they send her home.

So what originally looked like a quick trip to the referral care clinic on Monday evening and then turned into a slumber party that we thought would end the next day has managed to stretch on for a week now. They're trying a new breathing treatment on her as of yesterday evening. I went online and read a 6 page journal entry in the Pediatrics journal for medical professionals while the doctor and respiratory technician argued over whether she needed a low flow or high flow heated cannula for this method. I was able to support the viewpoint of the respiratory tech after studying up on the issue. They asked if I was in the medical profession. I told them that I wasn't but that I was really good with Google. I felt like I was in one of those Holiday Inn commercials.

So anyway, Berkeley is still getting better each day, and I'm learning more than I ever cared to learn about respiratory problems and treatments. Hopefully we'll all get to go home soon. Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. Please keep praying that Berkeley will breathe more deeply on her own and that her oxygen levels will ... well, level out.

Every smile is a gift

2009-01-08T18:40:00.002-06:00

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones."
Proverbs 15:30

Berkeley's smiles can always make my day. But today's smiles were even more special, because they were an answered prayer. I told Sean, "be sure to tell me if she smiles today, because I prayed that she would feel good enough to smile!"
She hadn't been feeling good enough to smile or even interact much at all, and she had a pretty rough morning. I was relieved when Sean reported that she was alert for 2 hours and gave him some good smiles this afternoon. When I got to the hospital after school, she made my day with a sweet little smile just for mommy! Thank God for that little bit of encouragement!

The verse at the top took on a different meaning. I'd always thought of it as the one with the cheerful look having joy in their own heart. Now that I'm a mom, I know how much the expression of someone you love can affect your heart.

I hope to have more good news to share with you soon!

Prayers for Berkeley

2009-01-07T15:02:00.004-06:00

Berkeley is sleeping peacefully with her teddy bear right now...unfortunately, she's not at home but at the Children's Hospital in Dallas. Sean took her to their ER on Monday night with a high fever, and they decided to keep her. She has pneumonia in several places in her lungs and is having some trouble with her respiration rate and blood oxygen level. They want to keep her for a few more days to make sure she is getting better. She's a real trooper, though, putting up with a lot of poking, prodding, and a gazillion different wires and tubes.

Brighton has gotten to visit her once, but she misses her little sister! Brighton loves Berkeley so much, and usually starts each day with an adorable "good muw-ning Buw-kley." Another favorite greeting is to give Berkeley a kiss on the forehead and an excited "hi sweetie!" We are so blessed to have a 2 year old that adores her baby sister. I told her that's a good thing, because Berkeley will need her to watch out for her, cheer her on, and give her LOTS of love.

We would love for you to pray for Berkeley specifically as she recovers - that the pneumonia will clear out, that her breathing rate will go back to normal, that her blood oxygen level can stay above 90% without having to be on oxygen.

The Long Day: Autumn

2008-12-04T13:17:00.002-06:00

Man autumn was a long day! Seems like we went from September to one exhausting long day and then BOOM ... winter time. October and November are just a blur. And now it's cold, even in Texas. It was 34 degrees here last night, and bundling up the girls this morning for the mad dash from the garage door to the already-warming car was a reminder that winter has arrived. So what in the world happened to fall? Or, for the sake of this blog, what in the world happened to the Smith family for the past two months?

Well, our blog posting took a hit in October, because October totally surprised us with its complexity and outright difficulty this year. Julie started back to school, and that turned out to be a very stressful situation for a little while. She's at a new school this year, and although the kids are really great, it's always a challenge to start somewhere new, especially when you're starting a month after the school year kicks off and coming off of a lengthy maternity break. So that presented a lot of challenges for our whole family. Also, Julie's new school is on the way to my office, so we now carpool. Getting both girls dressed and ready, getting ourselves ready, and getting all of us out the door in time to drop off the girls and then get Julie to her school on time has made seismic changes to our morning schedules.

On top of the school stress, there was the added stress of many new doctor visits and check-ups and therapist sessions for Berkeley. We sort of ramped up in October and November on all of that stuff but have settled back down for now. Of course, we'll ramp back up for surgery sometime in January. All of those doctor visits have to be coordinated with time off from work for either Julie or myself, so that has added some degree of scheduling stress for us. We're getting better and balancing all of that, though.

And then we also have had a few holidays/events to deal with in the past two months. Halloween was greatness. Brighton was a duck this year, and Berkeley was a chili pepper. No, we didn't do the thing where all the kids match each other somehow. Duck. Chili pepper. That was it.

We had a funeral to attend, as well. One of our very good friends from church, a wonderful lady named Bobbie, passed away after a fairly brief but difficult battle with cancer. Brighton loved Bobbie and prayed for her every day, saying, "Help Bobbie feel better." Toward the end of Bobbie's life I sat down and chatted with Brighton about death and what all it meant. Trying to explain that in a two year-old way of thinking is not so easy. I told her that Bobbie would be going to live with Jesus in Heaven and that we wouldn't see her for a long time, until we went to live with Jesus in Heaven, too. On the morning after Bobbie passed away, I pulled Brighton up and sat her in my lap and explained to her that Bobbie had died. Brighton looked at me very seriously for a few seconds and then asked, "Bobbie way better now?" I laughed, wiped a tear away and told her "Yes. Bobbie's way better now." That was one of those moments I'm sure I'll never ever forget.

Election day was a pretty good Brighton moment, too. I had explained the day before what election day was and how we get to choose who our president is. I even tried to tell her a little bit about the candidates: their names, their parties, and some basic positions on issues. I told her I liked McCain's tax plan and national security credentials a lot better but that Obama was a very dynamic leader who seemed to have a lot of momentum. I mostly was just talking at her, not really to her. When I stopped for a minute and asked her what the next day was called, I was expecting her to say "Election Day." She said "Obama." I had a feeling right then that McCain was sunk. After the results came in, and I told her that Obama was our new president, she asked if I was going to see him. "See who?" I said. "Go see Obama," she answered. I then had to dissapoint my daughter and let her know that daddy isn't on the president's guest list for any upcoming parties or events. I'm such a loser. :(

Okay, so then Thanksgiving came around. This year, I provided the turkey for the Austin, TX side of the family. Me being the gourmet cook that I am, I ordered a smoked-to-perfection turkey from Mike Anderson's BBQ here in Dallas and took it down with us for Thanksgiving. It was pretty darn good, too. Thanksgiving all around was great this year. Brighton got to play with her cousins for a few solid days, and a lot of our family got to see and hold Berkeley for the first time. The only downer at vacation this year was my Tigers getting beat by those Razorbacks. What a horrid year for LSU this has been.

Okay, so we're roughly caught up to date here. Sure, a LOT more happened in the past two months, but the gist of it is that we really just got sort of overwhelmed by our own schedules in October and are only now beginning to find a pretty good balance with all of that. And with balance comes blog postings. We should be able to update again at a semi-regular pace. I'm sure Berkeley's heart surgery with throw us into a tailspin again in late January, but we'll try to get in some stories and pictures between now and then and just cross that bridge when we get to it.

Slideshow of recent pictures - October and November

2008-11-24T15:03:00.000-06:00

Chili pepper and Duck head

2008-11-02T18:09:00.002-06:00

Our little Chili Pepper is doing great! We had a big round of doctors visits last week, so I'll give a quick update. Berkeley had her 2 month check up and got her shots, then we rushed over to the Scottish Rite hospital the same day to have her hips and her hand checked out. The x-ray of her hips looked perfect, they said. Her hand, in case you don't know, has two shortened fingers and one finger that has no joint and can't bend. They said that she would be fine, and would just learn to compensate. So, there are two doctors we get to check off of our list and don't have to follow up with. Her last cardiologist visit went well, too. They said her oxygen levels were great and they didn't even need to do an ultrasound. She has been so much more alert lately and being a really sweet little "sugar lump" as Sean calls her.

Duck Head (Brighton) has been quite a character lately. She's definitely in her independent stage right now. She keeps us laughing, though. The other morning she said she wanted to eat dinner. I said, "We don't eat dinner in the morning. What meal do we eat in the morning?" She proudly announced, "Oat-meal!" (Get it, oat-MEAL???)

Never a dull moment around here!

(Tea) Party Girl!

2008-09-30T12:42:00.001-05:00

Berkeley's Funny Faces

2008-09-26T23:45:00.002-05:00

No fancy story this time. Just a lot of ridiculous faces from Berkeley. We're going to schedule some more tests for her next doctor visit to determine if, in fact, she is a claymation.

Matters of the Heart

2008-09-22T09:13:00.004-05:00

Well, we managed to get too busy at the end of the week and haven't had a chance to update you all on Berkeley's heart. We had our first visit to the Heart Center for Children at Medical City, Dallas, last Wednesday. The doctors there were great. It's been very encouraging to meet the folks who will help us take care of Berkeley's health as she grows, from our own pediatrician to the many specialists that we're starting to meet. God is really taking care of us with great doctors and resources in that regard.

Anyway, you don't care about our doctors. You want to know how Berkeley's heart is. So here we go. We knew when Berkeley was less than a day old that she had at least a partial hole in her heart that had a chance to be "complete", which is just another way of saying that there's a hole all the way through a wall inside her heart. We also knew that this could possibly just grow and heal itself over time or that it might require surgery to repair. The appointment this past week filled in a lot of grey areas for us and answered a lot of questions.

First, yes Berkeley's heart has a "complete" hole from one side to the other. Here's a picture to help illustrate what's going on inside her heart:

In the picture, you can see the left side and right side of the heart, separated by a wall of muscular tissue. You can also see two valves leading from these chambers of the heart on up into the arteries. In Berkeley's heart, the wall of tissue is not fully formed, leaving a large opening between the two sides of her heart. As a result, those two separate valves you see in this picture, are actually one large common valve in her heart. We got to see all of this on a sonogram of her heart and watch it pump. It was pretty amazing.

Now, before anyone gets worried that her heart is just going to stop or anything like that, let's explain a few things. First, her heart is in no greater risk than yours or mine of suddenly stopping. That is to say, it could happen to any of us, but this condition doesn't necessarily make that any more likely. If her heart began to have problems, it would be a progressive failure over time, caused by simply having to work harder to keep up. There would be signs that this is happening, and there would be ways to correct it. The main thing that you look out for in a condition like this is the oxygen levels of the blood. Berkeley's heart is allowing the oxygenated blood coming in from the lungs to mix with the unoxygenated blood that's returning to the heart from the rest of the body. However, testing showed her blood oxygen levels at 100%. That is oustanding!

So what's the next step? Well, it was determined that surgery is absolutely what Berkeley needs to repair her heart. The hole will be repaired partly with Berkeley's own tissue and partly with a synthetic Dacron fabric. The heart tissue will grow around this fabric as she grows, and it will never need to be replaced or have a bigger piece put in (I asked the doctors about that just for you). The second part of the surgical repair is to take that one common valve her heart has formed, and gently form that back into the two separate valves.

All of this will be done sometime just after Christmas, once Berkeley is a little chunkier. Let's be honest, we're ALL a little chunkier after the holidays, so that makes it a good time for this. Anyway, her surgery will be done at Medical City, Dallas, by a specialist who only does heart surgeries on infants and children. He's one of the best that there is, and I'm very much looking forward to meeting him and peppering him with questions about the heart surgery. I'm sure he'll be able to tell us a lot more and give us some nifty visual aids, like the heart diagram I posted above.

In between now and surgery time, we'll be going back to the Heart Center for Children once a month for them to check Berkeley out and look at a sonogram of her heart. We're taking the same approach to this that we did with the Down Syndrome. This is simply part of the path God has laid out for Berkeley (and us), and we're just taking it as it comes. I don't think we're too worried about it, and we're trusting God to continue to hold Berkeley's heart in His hands and to help her heal. If any of you have any questions or want to know more (or if you need more visual aids), feel free to ask. I think the more we talk about this, the more we are forced to educate ourselves, and that is a good thing. We'll keep updating the blog on the heart as we learn more, so that will be probably at about a monthly interval, based on our appointment schedule with the Heart Center.

Exactly what He wants...

2008-09-14T12:36:00.009-05:00

Question: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

As I was rereading this entry in a devotional book by A.W. Tozer, the words struck me in a new way. I knew that we were created to give God glory, but I never thought about the fact that God made ALL things for His pleasure...exactly how HE wants them.

The devotional book cited this verse from Revelation 4:11 -
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou has created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."

We don't have to do anything special to make God love us. He made us, and through that alone we are automatically pleasing to Him. Berkeley might be a little different from other kids, but she is exactly what God wants her to be...His.

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On a lighter note, we were a bit shocked today when Brighton spelled out her first word with magnetic letters. The fact that she randomly picked letters that formed a real word was surprising enough, but if you look carefully at the picture, you'll see why we were really shocked! We usually sound out the words that we create, but we opted to keep quiet on this one!

Berkeley's Medical Update

2008-09-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

**Note: Just read the last paragraph if you only want highlights**

Okay, Julie and I know that many of you are curious about how Berkeley is doing and what all we're learning about the specific medical challenges that she might face and some of the hurdles that she's already cleared. So we're going to try to sum up about everything we know at this point and get everyone up to speed. Berkeley is now 18 days old, and it's been a pretty busy two and a half weeks for her (and us).

First, with Downs there is always an increased chance to have a few problems with certain organs and systems. Apparently the heart and kidneys are among the more commonly affected organs, so Berkeley had renal and cardiac checkups within her first 24 hours of breathing air. Her kidneys checked out great. Her heart showed a murmur being caused by a malformed or immature A/V valve on the right side. I called Auto-Zone, and they do not carry this part, so we've got an appointment this week with the Heart Center for Children in Dallas. Incidentally, this condition appears in a lot of children whether they have Downs or not. Sometimes it heals on its own, and sometimes it requires surgery. We'll have to wait until we meet the good folks at the Heart Center for Children before we know what to expect there.

Oh, also during Berkeley's first 24 hours, it became apparent that she had a pretty good case of jaundice going. Her bilirubin count was high, but more concerning was the rate at which it was continuing to climb. Yet again, Downs children seem to be at a higher risk for jaundice in the first few weeks, so we had to monitor this closely and go back to Charlton Methodist and Children's Hospital of Dallas for a couple of outpatient blood samples over the first few days that we had Berkeley home. She showed remarkable progress within the first two days of being home. Apparently just some home cooking and a nice spot in the basinet by a big back window did the trick. If you're keeping score, that's Kidneys and Liver (bilirubin and jaundice are related to the liver) okay, Heart still possibly an issue. Two out of three so far ... we aren't complaining. :)

The next hurdle we had/have to clear is the hearing test. Berkeley was unable to pass the test at the hospital before we brought her home due to still having some fluid in her ears from the whole birth experience. Most babies with Downs have smaller ear canals, and it can take a bit longer to drain out that fluid. They scheduled us to come back for the test, but when we returned, Berkeley had picked up some congestion (probably got a little bit of Brighton's cold last week). If an infant is congested, the test won't work properly, so we're still waiting to clear this hurdle. Berkeley had a tentative appointment for tomorrow morning, but we called and postponed it while ago because she still has a bit of congestion. We'll keep trying on the hearing test as soon as she's got a clear nose and throat again. We have found out that impaired hearing is a common trait of Downs, so we'll be prepared in case it turns out that there's more than just snot keeping Berkeley from passing the test, but we're still praying for her little ears. So I guess our tally now is Kidneys and Liver okay, Heart and Ears still possibly an issue. Still no complaining here.

Next up .... we had Berkeley's two-week checkup this past Wednesday. I told a friend at work that right now it feels like we know we're in a mine field and we're just sweeping to see where the mines are. This past visit was a good first shot at finding out what all we face. Our pediatrician, who is awesome by the way - she even has made a few personal calls on the weekend and after hours to check in with us - gave us a few additional things to watch out for. One, Berkeley hadn't been keeping her weight on very well. They put us on a strict feeding schedule with her, and after the first day of feeding her 3 oz every 3 hrs Berkeley had put on another 3 oz of body weight. That's a good thing. She's doing well in this department now. Another one for the win column.

Our pediatrician did say, though, that she was going to go ahead and refer us to Scottish Rites Hospital for Children in Dallas to have Berkeley's two short fingers and her hips looked at. If you didn't know, Berkeley has two short fingers on her left hand. We call it her "Rock Concert Hand" or her "I Love You Hand" because it looks like the sign language symbol for I love you. Anyway, Scottish Rites specializes in bone and muscle conditions and might be able to give us more information about those two short fingers. The hips are probably not a concern, but since Berkeley is so tiny our doctor just wanted to have specialists do a better examination than she was able to do at her office. She gave us a bit of information, and based on what she said and on Berkeley's ability to stretch her legs all the way out (usually when she's loading a diaper), we think things are going to be fine with the hips.

Okay, so that's about everything we know at this point. We are just beginning our tour of some of the greatest kids' hospitals and clinics in Dallas, so we'll know more soon, but for now this should catch everyone up. The highlights are that we need to find out what to expect with her heart and with her ears/hearing. And Scottish Rites should be able to tell us if there is anything else we'll need to prepare for with her hips and fingers. Overall, though, her general health really is amazingly good. She's pretty much just like Brighton was at this stage, starting to spend more time awake and looking around, starting to move her head around pretty good, and really blowing through some diapers. I still don't know how something so heinous can come from something so sweet and cute. Anyway, seriously, she's doing very, very well, and we are thankful to God every day for her good health and apparent progress in so many areas. We'll keep you all posted on the heart, ears, hips, and fingers. Those are four good things for you to pray for when you think of Berkeley, especially the heart. Stay tuned.

Dads (and Bears) Don't Stand a Chance

2008-09-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

The evolution of the human child from Homo Diaperus to Homo Pottytrainediens is a bizzarre process to witness. Some days, kids seem to want nothing more than to sit on their potty for three hours until something happens. Other days, you'll beg them to use their potty, they'll swear they don't need to go, and then two seconds later they'll inform you of the need for a fresh diaper on their hindparts. Brighton's personal favorite way to break this news to us is "Pee pee, I forgot!" or the more alarming version: "Poo poo, I forgot!"

Well, we had made some progress in this area, but since the arrival of Berkeley who is also a diaper-demolisher, Brighton seems to have lost some ground here. "I forgot!" is heard much more frequently. And then we have incidents like this past week, where "forgot" is even forgotten and all sorts of calamity ensues. Up until this point, nothing I've written has a thing to do with the post title or the image for this post. This is called setting the stage. Here we go.

So Brighton had just finished up a particularly glorious bath in our big master bathroom tub. No bath would be complete, of course, without the proper assortment of toys, inflatables, and old plastic ballpark cups used for sharing the bathwater with the rest of the bathroom. And of course, the bears have to be there to supervise. Brighton doesn't do very many things without the assistance of Pink Bear and/or Big Bear. Big Bear is the happy fella in the tea party picture with Brighton just up there to the right. He is definitely one of her favorites. Well, on this particular bath day, Big Bear was sitting on the step up to our tub, just beside where Brighton's potty had been situated (I had put it there earlier in the day, and it seemed wise to have it accessible right after a bath, as that's a common time for Brighton to have need of such a device). And all was right with the world. And then the bath ended.

This is the part where the memory of what occured begins to go into a Matrix-like slow motion version of itself. I was sitting at the chair in my office, office door half open, straight visual shot across the hallway through the open master bedroom door and through the open shutter-style doorway into the master bathroom. My view gives me a shot of of about half of the sink area between the bathtub on the left and the shower area on the right. Julie, who is assisting Big Bear in the supervision of the bath, shuts off the water and informs Brighton that it's time to get out and dry off. This goes smoothly. And then I hear Julie make a surprised shrieking sound and say something to the effect of "Brightonbrightonbrightonwhatareyoudoing!" Assuming the worst (that Brighton has slipped and fallen), I jump up and make the few quick strides across to where the action is unfolding. Brighton had not fallen. She wasn't hurt in any way at all. But Big Bear had fallen on hard times.

You see, when Brighton exited the tub, she realized she needed to pee. Good thing the potty was right there, ready to be used, right? Nope (or "Nopes" as Brighton says). Instead, she strikes a pretty decent shortstop pose, feet apart, knees slightly bent, rear pushed out a little so she can lean her face forward. And then she proceeds to just mark her territory all over poor Big Bear. That's no way to treat your stuffed buddies. So Big Bear had an evening of cleaning and washing and drying ahead of him. While Julie took Big Bear and started his detox process, I attempted to use the moment to reinforce some potty training advice with Brighton. Here's how that conversation went:

Me: Brighton, did you just pee? (great question, Dad)
B: ummm, yes
Me: Where is the pee pee supposed to go?
B: in the potty
Me: Where did you pee pee?
B: umm, on Big Bear
Me: Do you see the problem here?
B: ........
B: I love you, daddy.

At this point, all teaching and discipline is over. How does a dad deal with that??? The kid is two years old and already has reached a point where she has me totally beaten by a look and a line and has her bears living in fear of being peed on. Oh, to be two and rule the world again.

Flying Solo!

2008-09-02T14:55:00.003-05:00

As Brighton told Grammy G today, "Daddy at work. Make monies." That means that Sean's back to work, my Mom is back in Arkansas, and we're finding out if I can handle our two girls by myself.

Besides wearing our pajamas until 2pm, I think it's gone pretty well. We've all been fed at least once, Brighton has read the insurance manual to Berkeley, and we've talked to both Grammies on the phone.

Now both girls are asleep. Brighton is wearing her princess nightgown and slippers, getting her "beauty sleep" inside of her "castle" (a tent-like playhouse that Sean put over her bed). Our girls are so precious, and I'm so happy to be their Mom!

That's all for now...I'm new at this!

Loving this,
Julie

Big Sister

2008-08-31T16:14:00.003-05:00

Now it's time to introduce the other namesake of this blog: Brighton. She's our two year old, and she is really a handful. Brighton is a huge fan of animals; she's helped us really get the most out of our family pass to the Dallas Zoo this summer, and she has also made trips to the Dallas World Aquarium, the San Antonio Zoo, Sea World, and the Austin Zoo. I'm telling you ... she loves animals. It's also a pretty common family event for us to gather around Youtube and watch videos of lemurs, dolphins, turtles, okapis, or whatever other animal she wants to see. Keeps us busy, for sure.

But even more than animals, Brighton LOVES being a big sister. She has been so excited about her little sister and has already been a huge help to us. She constantly wants to help feed Berkeley or hold her hand or give her kisses. It's so sweet! On the way to church, Brighton proudly proclaimed for the entire ten minute drive, "I'm the big sister!" I thought about turning up the radio to drown her out, but I realized that I should be truly grateful for a two year-old who loves being a sibling. She hasn't exhibited any signs of attention-deprivation or jealousy of the new baby (yet), so we're pretty thankful.

It would be too much to try to catch you up on two years of Brighton, so we'll just start here and share some of the good stories as they happen going forward. I'm sure there will be plenty.

Berkeley's Arrival

2008-08-31T15:42:00.005-05:00

Well, we're going to do this slightly out of order, just because of the recent nature of Berkeley's birth. We'll introduce Brighton properly soon enough, but for the purposes of the blog, we're going to start out with baby Berkeley.

Berkeley finally showed up five days ago at 7:36pm on 8.26.08. She was 6 lbs and 12 oz at birth and 19.5 inches long. She was just a little squirt. We were truly overjoyed to finally meet her after nine long months of watching her grow and move hidden in "mommy tummy" as her sister would say.

We quickly realized that Berkeley was going to be a very unique and special girl, and we sent out a notice to several friends and family members to inform them, as well. For anyone who may have missed out on that, here is our letter to friends and family:

Julie and I wanted to take this chance to share some more news with you about our sweet little Berkeley. You may have already [heard] from those who have visited or called, but we wanted to tell you ourselves that Berkeley does have Downs Syndrome. We knew early in the pregnancy that there was a heightened chance of that with Berkeley, and we were able to discuss that ahead of time and prepare ourselves for the challenges of parenting a special little girl.

We want you to know we are totally excited about Berkeley, and we are not at all sad or disappointed about raising a child with Downs Syndrome. We feel extremely blessed to have such a beautiful new little girl to bring home, and we know that God has entrusted us with a special task. We also know that God won't just leave us hanging, and that He will supply everything we need to make sure Berkeley grows up just the way He wants her to.

The reason we wanted to share this news with you all is so that you would not feel awkward or uncertain about how to approach us with regards to Berkeley. Every question we've asked the doctors has been answered with something to the effect of "Just do what you would with any other kid." And that's the way we feel about Berkeley. Even though we don't know all that is to come, we feel hopeful about the road God has laid before us. We have questions, concerns, and prayers, but we don't have any doubts.

Every night since Brighton was born two years ago, we have tucked her into bed and said three special things: "We love you so much, you are so beautiful, and God made you just perfect." Brighton even says them with us now. Two nights ago, when Berkeley arrived, Brighton helped me say those things to Berkeley, and she'll hear them every night when she goes to bed. We fully believe those three things about both of our wonderful little girls, and we're going to raise them to know that they are loved, beautiful, and perfect.

We are open and willing to talk about any questions you may have about Berkeley or any wisdom you may want to share with us, but you should not feel at all uncertain about how to approach us or Berkeley. We have a wonderful support system of family and church and friends, and we know that you will all be a vital part of the lives of both of our girls. Feel free to ask us about anything, and we hope you get to meet Berkeley soon.

Sean, Julie, Brighton, and Berkeley Smith

We've already received numerous phone calls, emails, and personal visits that have proven true our belief that we have a wonderful support system of friends and family and church to help us raise our sweet Berkeley.

Brighton and Berkeley's Beautiful Beginning

2008-08-30T16:46:00.004-05:00

Well, the Smith family is finally taking the plunge and joining the blogging world. It's sort of a weird feeling, honestly. Feels kinda like we're kicking down a wall on the side of our house and inviting the world to peek inside to see what's going on. I guess we've decided that's kind of what we want to do, though. Two years ago we were blessed with an amazing little daughter named Brighton. Five days ago, her sister Berkeley arrived. The two of them are so overwhelmingly amazing to us that we can't keep them to ourselves any longer, so we've set up a blog to let friends and family keep up with our crazy lives as we try to keep up with our daughters. Hopefully we'll get a few more posts in rapid succession here to give you snippets of each of their lives, and then we'll settle into a more regular schedule of updating the blog. See you soon.

Sean, Julie, Brighton, and Berkeley Smith