Good bye 2010

Brady hit the sack early tonight in preparation for the big celebration. He is just thrilled about ringing in the New Year. He's planned a celebratory ensemble featuring sequences, feathers and leather. I thought it was a bit over the top, but he assured me that a "man" of his stature can pull it off. He also reminded me that he is extremely fashion forward and that 2011 is ready for such a statement.

Since we aren't exactly night owls the clock will strike "midnight" at about 7:05pm tomorrow. This way Brady can slam some bubbly, light some fireworks, dance a jig, kiss a few ladies and nail out his resolution list and still be in bed at 7:30 sharp! His beauty rest is an essential component to his appeal.

Mallory could care less and plans on following a great Netherlands tradition by eating a dozen donuts.

Happy New Year!

Testing

In parenting there are many tests, the first is to see if you can assemble a pack-n-play with your marriage still in tact. The next is to see exactly how little sleep you can function on. Well we passed the pack-n-play test 2.3 years ago, though it wasn't easy and there may have been a few tears and a broken toe. The sleep answer- 3 hours. Three hours is all our little darling Mallory has allotted her dearest mother. Turns out that the Grinch sneezed a nasty cold into our lives, stuffed it right in Mallory's stocking! Ugh. My parenting GPA isn't so great right now. Throw in an out of commission husband and sleep deprivation and you've got an underachieving mama. I'm totally on parenting probation. I wish Santa would have brought me a fancy parenting tutor aka a nanny. Maybe Mrs. Claus could volunteer now that she has a bit of free time on her hands!

Peace

As the world is rushing around doing last minute Holiday prep, we have been moving at a snails pace and enjoying the calmness of home. We've watched Christmas movies, over dosed on sugar, ran laps around the Christmas tree, wrapped, opened and re wrapped every gift under the tree and discovered the wonders of sticky bubbles. Seriously, they are the coolest invention on the planet. Bubbles you can touch! Brady had one that stuck to his ear for at least 5 minutes...bubble bling baby! The only down side is that they leave a mess resembling a snow globe.

Brady has diligently been prepping for the big man, but his idea of prep is a bit different than conventional standards. Our fireplace hasn't been lit in 4 years so that's an easy "check." Brady's a bit concerned about Santa's weight so instead of a plate of cookies he will set out a veggie tray and lemon water. He's kept the entire driveway shoveled so Santa can easily park his 2011 Jeep Wrangler. His stocking has been reinforced with care so the rolls of 100 doll'a bills won't knock it off the mantle and to conclude his Christmas prep he sent Mrs. Claus to the spa because he knows that a happy wife makes for a happy life!

Merry Christmas all!

Sugar

Mallory ate Santas cookies

Christmas is in 3 short days so Brady has been working over time to ensure a positive rating from the big guy. He's been so sweet that he is sweating frosting. He let me sleep until 8 this morning and when I got out of bed all the laundry was folded, the floors were mopped, Mallory was fed and all the bills were paid. I think Brady just landed himself on the "Nice" list for the next 14 years.

He knows when you've been bad...

Brady has been pulling out Santa's whiskers...hope he likes coal in his stocking!

Who's got it right?

The other night a man walked up to us with "the look." Before he even said anything I knew he was going to tell us about his relation to Down syndrome. Turns out he has a 62 year old brother with DS, or as he referred to him "a Downs." UGH! I let that slide, sometimes the people first speech gets old. Anyway, he was very sweet and continued on how "Downs people truly are the happiest people." I often hear this statement so Jeff and I got into a discussion about it. "What do people really mean when they say that and why?"

As a group we value intelligence, drive, ambition and determination. In our society these core traits equate a successful person, so we go to school, learn as much as we possibly can and then find a job that is meaningful and work our tails off...BUT what we are really working for is love, happiness, security and purpose. People with DS are naturally loving, caring and empathic individuals and their strengths fall into a category that is extremely pleasing and positive. When you describe the perfect friend or mate the list almost always includes caring, loving, trustworthy and funny followed by driven etc... So what we are all working so hard for is naturally hard wired into people with DS and we think that's why we often hear the "happy statement." Who has it right? Maybe people with DS have it. We are all searching for happiness so maybe the secret lies within that extra chromosome.

The video features three of Brady's current greetings. You never know which one you are going to get. My fav is "bumps" simply due to cold and flu season. There is one more greeting I couldn't show you on film. Brady calls it the swooner and it is reserved for Claire.

Ahhhhh

Just a little Christmas sweetness. Happy weekend to you all.