Whitney's BIG haircut (aka wrestling an alligator!)

Tonight we cut about 11 inches from Whitney’s hair. When she first was born, her hair was a reddish/blonde color and there seemed to be a lot more in the “mohawk area” than anywhere else. As it grew – the “mohawk” became more pronounced. As it grew some more, the original hair color started to look as though we were bleaching her roots- the hair that was growing in was BRIGHT blonde… and that is the color she still has! Whitney’s hair has also grown very quickly. She is taking after her big sister- Anne donated her hair in January 2011 when she was 4 1/2 yrs. old and Whitney is donating her hair in December 2012 when she is 4 1/3 yrs. old.

We did NOT take her to have her hair cut professionally because she can be VERY grumpy (understatement) when she feels her freedom is being restricted and she flings her head back and forth and all around – it would NOT be pretty!!! I attempted to cut her hair while we sat her on the kitchen table with her favorite person in the world, Rachel Coleman from Signing Time.

I divided her hair into two long braids. Cutting the first braid went great – the second one… she was grumpy and flung her head around in the middle of cutting… so the second cut went shorter on the left side of her head. This was the easy part – trying to even out her hair and make it look decent was like WRESTLING AN ALLIGATOR!!!! She was not a happy camper, to put it mildly, and it was scary for both of us trying to cut her hair with sharp scissors!!! Finally- I had to give up and just go with “doing the best I could”… all things considered – I think it turned out pretty cute :)  It could definitely use some work and fine tuning, but Whitney is NOT going to allow that (not in a million years) – so I just have to give up and be happy with how it looks for now. Here are some pics of the big event:

Happy Last Day of Summer!

We took a few minutes to find the dandelions that had turned to seeds in the field behind our house after school one day this past week... the girls had fun running around in the field and I was able to capture some fun photos! Hope everyone had a great summer - happy last day of summer :)

Whitney's laugh!!!

I just have to share this video of Whitney laughing! I posted it on facebook but wanted to have it saved on our blog - when Whitney really laughs it just lights up everything... she was ASKING me to tickle her last night and was laughing hysterically - here is the clip:

no more training wheels for anne!!!

Anne has been working on her balance bike and practicing recently to ride her bike without training wheels.  (although - with temperatures near 100 for most of the summer, we have not been able to practice very often!) Today was the big day that she finally did it :)  

Daily Smiles: Maybe I talk too Much

Daily Smiles: Maybe I talk too Much

happy world down syndrome day!!!

today is the first time the date 3/21 is recognized by the united nations officially as "world down syndrome day". the date, march 21st (3/21), represents the 3 copies of the 21st chromosome people with down syndrome have (aka designer "genes")

in honor of world down syndrome day, we made a donation to the adoption account for emily (http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=emily)

through the reece's rainbow adoption ministry. it breaks my heart that these children do not have families of their own and we would like to be part of the change and difference reece's rainbow is making in the lives of these orphans with down syndrome and other special needs throughout the world!

happy 3/21 :)

end the "r" word

I posted this on facebook today and wanted to "repost" here in case anyone did not see it on facebook.

Today is officially "spread the word to end the word" day - the "word" is "RETARDED". I am borrowing a quote that I have seen a couple of friends post about their children (hopefully that is ok with them) because I could not have worded it better myself. I am also including a link to a great blog post about the "r word"

"Do you love Whitney or have some sort of special attachment to her? If so,please keep in mind that the word RETARDED will be offensive to her as she grows older. And it is offensive to me, Michael Byron and her sister, Anne and to those around her that love her. Before Whitney was born, I too was probably guilty of using the word to reference stupid things I did. So I am not trying to judge you nor would I stop being your friend if you say it in front of me. My hope is simply to educate you to the fact that it is a hurtful thing to hear someone say. I literally cringe when I hear it now. So, for the sake of Whitney and all of her special friends, please think twice before jokingly using this word. Her self-confidence depends on it!!"

http://pudgeandzippy.blogspot.com/2012/03/no-time-for-tact-or-eloquence.html

whitney is testing her limits with the cat

we are watching my parents cat, bella, and the girls are having lots of fun while she is living with us. whitney has not quite figured out (or maybe she has) that she needs to be gentle with the cat. the cat is very patient with whitney, overall… here is a little video of the girls and bella:

A Superbowl Cheer

"good job, Whitney"

whitney loves to tell herself "good job, Whitney" as she works on her flashcards...

Good Morning

anne and whitney would like to say “good morning” to you… *disclaimer – anne is NOT drinking coffee… she is warming her hands on her daddy’s coffee

 

good morning

Pat-a-cake

Whitney recently started “singing” all of the time – she has always loved music and finally can sing along with a lot of songs.  She also loves to “sign” along with the songs she is singing.  In addition to singing, she is very into playing with dolls.  Here is a little video of Whitney and Anne doing “pat-a-cake” with their doll “Stella”

“pat-a-cake” with “stella”

GREAT awareness video

this is exactly what we hope for Whitney's future - this mommy and her daughter Maddox say it perfectly!!!

Happy 2012!!!