My Sweet lil' Family

Well...HELLO!  It has been a bit since my last post but there is lotsa cuteness to catch up on.  For starters Ella Mae graduated Montessori School.  HOLY SHNIKIES!!  How did that happen?!? She will be starting Kindergarten in a month.  Geez.  I want to just freeze those sweet hugs and record all the "I love you Mommy's" so I will have them to unfreeze and listen to in the teenage years....but for now...this is what I am dealing with....

If you chopped her hair off and added a beard...just sayin.

Pure sweetness (well 98% of the time).  She had a solo where she sang a song about Martin Luther King during her "Transition Ceremony" as they call it in Montessori School.  The song went something like this:

I have a dream, said Martin Luther King 

We're gonna make that dream come true. 

Let freedom ring, said Martin Luther King, 

It's up to me and you. 

It's not the color of your hair, 

It's not the color of your skin, 

It doesn't matter what you wear,  

It's the character within. 

I have a dream, said Martin Luther King 

We're gonna make that dream come true, 

Let freedom ring, said Martin Luther King 

It's up to me and you.

 Here she is singing her solo....

Pretty smart that Martin Luther King guy. Mrs Gayle (pictured below) told me once that Ella Mae was one of the sweetest souls she had ever met and it was such an honor and pleasure to teach her and watch her grow...

Ruby and Ella are in the same class for the summer so that has been pretty cool. I can ask Ella..."How was Ruby's day?"...and she can give me the scooby on what went on that day.  It also has some of her friends asking about the differences in Ruby..."Why doesn't she talk as much?" and "Why doesn't she play the game the way we want her to?"  We have talked  with Ella about Down syndrome some, but we don't make it a point to emphasize it...ya know?  We want her to understand what Down syndrome is...but not let it seem like it's a big deal.  Cuz it isn't. I think, in part, because she is surrounded by individuals rockin' that extra chromosome all the time that she doesn't see any difference.  The hubby and I were chatting with her the other day and asked her "Do you think there is something special about Ruby?"  Her response?  "Yeah....there is something special about her.  She is a great sister and has a great heart and imagination."  Be still my mommy heart!  She is genuinely so proud of her sister and I know that they will make each other better everythings just by having each other to learn and grow old with.  I know Ella Mae will help guide her friends and help them understand when they have questions about Ruby because that is just the compassionate lil' being she is. 

And this one....

She had a HUGE language spurt while on vacation last week.  We went to Indianapolis for the NDSC Conference and then to Michigan to see G-Ma and G-Pa.  It was doubly cool cuz the G-parents got to witness the action.  She is putting two and three words together, adding new words to her vocabulary everyday (can you say octopus??) and closing out her words with final sounds.  And she does it with total flair....."buusssssssssss! "  

I have to say it has been pretty darn awesome as we have been working on these things for a bit.  She even knows her entire alphabet!  All that bathroom reading is paying off...

Anywho....she has one proud daddy...

Dang he's handsome...

And one proud grandmother AKA "BABOO"...

And of course the most proudest mommy in the world!!  

More soon about the conference, our Michigan trip, the Rockin' Rainbowl, our new Rockin' Recipients and how we are rockin' this beautiful like we were given!!