Sunday, March 21, 2010

World Down Syndrome Day

Today, is World Down Syndrome Day. March 21, representative of the 3rd copy of the 21st chromosome, or 3-21. When a child has an extra, or third chromosome on the 21st Chromosome they are said to have Trisomy 21, or Down Syndrome.

Today I am surrounded by my children, my husband and my parents (and even a 91 year old Grandma from California) and in honor of Ava and Down Syndrome our family compiled a list of 21 things we love about Ava:

1. She "sings" every morning to her teddy bear and baby doll. (Liesel)
2. Her delayed response- When we say 'bye' or 'I love you', it takes a while but she usually says it back. (Oma)
3. She gets so excited when I take her in the stroller to see the cow and the horse, and does the sign and says 'pow'.(Liesel)
4. She is so quiet and full of joy. (Grandma N.)
5. She is forgiving. (Charissa)
6. She hugs me and kisses me. (Simeon)
7. She has blue eyes like me. (Jude)
8. I like when she eats bananas because they are so healthy for her body. (Hope)
9. She is left-handed like me. (Liesel)
10. I love it when she signs my name when I talk to her on Skype. (Oma)
11. I like it when she touches my whiskers. (John)
12. I love playing This Little Piggy with her tiny toes. (Charissa)
13. I like how flexible she is. (Liesel)
14. She makes noise when she pushes the chairs around and slams kitchen cabinets. (Jude)
15. I like it when she imitates whatever I do. (John)
16. I love how she clasps her hands and puts them on her head during family prayer time. (Oma)
17. I like when she puts her feet on me when she wants them to be rubbed. (Liesel)
18. She can put her feet behind her ears. (Simeon)
19. She never cries. (Opa)
20. She exudes love. (Grandma N.)
21. It's cute when she takes a brush and pretends to brush her hair even though she doesn't have any. (Liesel)

Happy world Down Syndrome Day to all who are blessed with the gift of Down Syndrome!
Also, please click here to read a special article about World Down Syndrome Day, adoption, birth family preservation, and Ava. So many things I'm passionate about in one well-written article!

7 comments:

Marlita said...

I will add my favorite thing about Ava: Her wave.

Anonymous said...

I dont know her personally but I have been following you for years and my favorite thing about Ava is her beautiful smile.
Cheryl

Shelly said...

Charissa that was awesome! It brought tears to my eyes! Although I don't get to see Ava very often, my favorite thing is when the boys are playing soccer and she claps and giggles to cheer them on!

Zack, Jenn and William said...

What a neat way to honor your sweet girl - she is such a beautiful child, and I'm thankful that she is an Urban!

Thanks again for allowing me the honor of including you guys in my article!

Jenn

Claire said...

I don't know Ava, so I can't really have a favourite thing about her. I will so though, that she is perfect. I will leave you with a link to a website which shows the lives of some young people with down syndrome. They share a house together, and their lives are so normal and live others their age. Could this be Ava's future?

http://www.the-specials.com/

liesel said...

Thanks everyone for you cute comments. Jenn, thank YOU for including us in your awesome article. Claire thanks for putting a smile on my face this morning. We will definitely check out that link!

kirsten said...

loved, loved #14, 20, & 21. Great post!