Mushy Monday

Oh where, oh where has my baby gone?!
My little 16 month old is turning into such a big boy! He's wearing big boy socks and shoes. His socks are just like Daddy's!

With Tommy having Down Syndrome it has been a blessing in the sense that we have gotten to fully enjoy him being a baby. Kyle has always told me that he is glad Tommy isn't too mobile yet b/c we're getting a long stage of what everybody loves - a sweet, fun baby who you don't have to chase every where. Tommy still isn't too mobile just yet, he gets where he wants to go, but thankfully he doesn't go too far yet! But Kyle and I have both seen lately how much he is growing up. And we appreciate him getting older and are having so much fun watching even more of who Tommy is, coming out. He is laughing more, playing more, loving on us more, playing games, etc.

Anyway this week my big mushy/excited moment (apart from no surgery for a while) was when Tommy held his sippy cup! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAY times a bajillion! We have been working on this since he was about 9 months old and he is now 16 months old. But he looks like such a big boy holding his cup! And I LOVE it! I have been feeding this boy since birth and I have been looking forward to when he could help feed himself more. My selfish hope in this is that Kyle would be okay with feeding him more often now, but Kyle's helped with feeding him more ever since he started using a cup in his high chair. (Kyle didn't like feeding him a bottle b/c he didn't want to get spit up on afterwards).

Look at him holding his cup!

ADORABLE!

Okay mom, enough pictures, I'm trying to drink my water.

 After seeing those pictures you should feel mushy too! He was so proud of himself! Kyle and I cheered and clapped for him every time he stopped taking a drink and that encouraged him all the more!

And a word of encouragement to any other moms who have kids that don't want to hold their cup - Tommy recently started using his hands a lot more - picking up toys and putting them in a bucket, clapping, etc. And out of no where I just tried giving him his cup this week (b/c I had somewhat given up since we had no success with it before) and he just held on to it and drank! I wish one of his therapists would have explained that those things go hand in hand, as he plays and does more things with his hands that he might then hold his cup on his own, rather than just telling me to keep trying before.

We're so thankful for all that the Lord is doing in Tommy's life. And we are so thankful that God gave us Tommy b/c we're finding as he grows that we love him more and more as we get to know him. He is already such a stinker - he plays teasing games, where if you ask for a kiss he'll turn his head away but then turns back and will give you one. And his absolutely PRECIOUS laugh is so infectious! It is a helpful reminder to me that when you laugh during the day it makes you feel good! I know that sounds silly but every now and then Tommy, or someone else, will make me laugh and I realize, I haven't laughed in a while and that was great! And it's hard to explain but when Tommy makes me laugh it makes me feel even closer to him, like we're becoming such great friends. I could probably write a whole mushy post on that!

So if you haven't noticed, I love my kid! I love that he is getting bigger and more boyish b/c I desire to know him, his personality, and to see what the Lord will do with his life.