Ivory Vintage Market

Tomorrow is market day! Will you be stopping by?

I don't have ton of stock (my sewing machine decided it doesn't want to sew nicely last night) but I have dolls, and 5 of my new Owl toys, plus button earrings and button hairpins!

I am looking forward to meeting everyone and of course selling some of this stuff.

See you there!

Location and times over to the right ------>

late night blogging with a kitten on my shoulder

One of the last times Ola and I saw Katie (our IDP consultant) I talked to her about how I was frustrated about how as a parent I feel like my kids have to compete with other kids to meet milestones and succeed. I was frustrated that even though I went through the same thing with Poppy that I felt like I was experiencing it all over again with Ola.

Obviously I don't need to talk about Ola's potential delays, we all know that they might be there, or they might not. As of right now I think that I can safely say that Ola's development is about 5-8 months behind her peers. I am using that range because her development is staggered right now. She is not as far behind in eating as I think she is in motor skills and speech. Everyone has their opinions on where she should be, but for me I am content in knowing that she is progressing and really that is all that matters. I know that there will be times when the development picks up and other times (like currently) that things slow down. We seem to have hit a stalemate on the crawling (creeping) but are making leaps and bounds in the eating department. I dunno... It is what it is and there is no sense in dwelling in it, it will only make me crazy. Trying to compare kids with Ds to each other is next to impossible. Every child with Ds is so different from one another that something that Ola can do now might not be possible for another child for another 6 months. When I see how other kids are progressing with their crawling I have to remember that Ola is getting really good at her self feeding. It's apples and oranges really, and when our kids are 5 and all doing the same thing the fact that Ola is 14 months and doesn't crawl won't matter.

Now Poppy, she is another story. According to the charts she was late getting her teeth (first one at 9 months), she was a late walker (14 months) and a later talker (2- 2 1/2 years). I remember Mark had to take her for her 18 month inoculations and the public health nurse told him she was "concerned" that at 18 months Poppy's language was so delayed.  Up until that point I knew that maybe she could be saying more but wasn't really that worried about it. I started looking into speech therapy and then realized that the 18 month waiting list would take her to her 4th birthday and that wouldn't fly with me. We got her into a group speech session and by the time the session started she was talking up a storm. There was no need to worry, however I did pick up some stuff that is proving helpful with Ola, so no harm in taking that class I suppose. Currently I am really happy about where Poppy is. I think that she is a sharp as a tac, talks up a storm, and is F U N N Y. She has a memory that astounds me, she remembers everything, and I can't get anything past her.

The other day Katie sent me a really lovely email with a link about "what a 4 year old should know" and I found it really funny that later that night I would have a little crazy mommy rant on my brother about something similar to what I had read.

Let me set the scene.

Someone asked Poppy to count how many servings of ice-cream needed to be dished out for dessert, so Poppy started counting and re-counted two people. Instead of counting 9 she counted 11. I didn't think anything of it, she does that sometimes to be silly (she can count to 14.)

My brother told me that she counted wrong, and I didn't think anything of it until he said to me "She should be able to count to 40."

I asked him why to 40? and he pointed out that he knew a almost 5 year old who could and that Poppy should be able to as well. She is 3 1/2 just so we are clear.

I flipped. I went all crazy mommy on him. I did.

I started spewing things that Poppy could do that I figured this other little one couldn't.

Does she know how to hold a baby chick? collect eggs? hold a kitten? help feed her sister? walk a mini pony? do bum drops on a trampoline?

I freaked and then realized that everyone was staring at me, but I was so mad. Did he think Poppy was stupid? why the pressure to know how to count to 40 at 3 1/2?

I know now that I over-reacted but I think the subject was just so fresh in my head and I was already feeling sensitive on the subject that I didn't know what else to do. Plus I think that I took it personally as a stab at my parenting skills, like I have failed her as a mother because I haven't taught her to count to 40 yet. ( and yes, I know that this does not make me a bad parent.)

Every parent wants their child to be successful and I would be lying if I didn't admit that I do a little happy dance inside when people compliment me on how bright my girls are, whether it be Poppy's funny banter or Ola's bright smile.

Ola and her friends have taught me to not sweat the small stuff. Enjoy painting the sky pink, Draw 6 legs on your cats! just take it day by day and celebrate the daily accomplishments.

Congrats  to J on the 300gm weight gain!
Congrats to P on first pigtails!
Congrats to A for cutting those first teeth!
and congrats to my little Ola for eating tiny pieces of grapes on your own!

ahhh progress, you sweet thing

Ola started trying to self feed a little bit ago, but I thought today maybe I would grab the camera. 

We have made big progress in the food department lately. Going from formula and cereal (mixed with amounts of very smooth and runny fruits and veggies) to bowls of little noodles in pasta sauce, pieces of grapes, smashed avocado, banana in her little chewy bag thing, and bits and pieces of whatever we are eating at the time. She has tried chicken, ham, ice cream, whipped cream, crackers and I am sure there are more but I can't think of any right now. I try to give her anything we are eating so she is exposed to everything that we eat. Knock on wood, but I think we have avoided the dreaded texture issues!

Ola also gives high fives! Getting one is awesome, it instantly makes you smile!

She is now also saying DaDa, and I know she is because she says it loud and proud just to Mark when she sees him. With him travelling so much it is so nice to see him get such a warm welcome home.

She is starting to do different things each day, but don't get it twisted, this girl will do anything for her bottle!

happy daddy day

Oh Mark, I love you.

Thanks for all that you do.

saturday snaps

Life goes by too quick and you never know when a photo op may come your way.

So grab any camera and snap away!

leg-warmered baby legs

cheap sunglasses

kid loving

ice-cream and sparkly shoes

a typical basset day

first times in a shopping carts

kittens coming home

pondering a spare

pre-school sing-a-longs

back to basics

10 on 10

I found this very lovely blog and a project that she does on the 10th of every month. It's simple really, just take a photo an hour for 10 hours on the 10th of the month and voila! 10 on 10! Then share a link to your blog on her blog.

For my first month I decided to take photos of our newest addition. He doesn't have a name as of yet, but he sure is a cutie.

a cleansing breath

Just when I think that I am feeling comfortable in this space I'm not.

Just when I think I have figured out the purpose of this blog I haven't.

Just when I think I have a path to follow I don't.

I have said here before that I am not sure where I want this blog to go. I want it for my memories because lets face it, I can type a whole lot faster than I can put a pen to paper. Plus, for some reason I always seem to make time for this, and I know that at midnight when I am crawling into bed I wouldn't reach over for a journal.

After Ola was born I wanted this to be a place where I could talk openly and honestly about Down syndrome and my feelings on it. I wanted to use this space as a place for advocacy and education. I wanted a place where I could come, type and cry and get it all out so I could move on with my day. A place where I could come and share the great moments and accomplishments. A place where you could come and love up my little sweet Ola.

I want to type all the crazy little things that Poppy amazes me with everyday. Her little jokes, questions that make me laugh out loud, or make me turn my head in disbelief so I can have a little snicker without her seeing. I want to share how wise and loving she is, that she knows about Ola's special friends, and that she loves them like they are her own.

It is crazy to me, that in the 3 years that I have been blogging my husband hasn't come here once to see what I write about. He hears from friends and family about the blog but honestly has no idea what I share. In some ways I want to thank him for letting this place be mine, but on the other I am curious why he doesn't seem to care. I don't actually know who in my family reads this blog besides my Mom (hi Mom!) I wish they would read it. It would mean a lot to me.

I started this blog in early 2008 as a place to send my customers for updates and information. I kinda like that the dolls are hardly mentioned here any more.  I have been thinking a lot about my dolls lately and I just can't get up enough steam to let them be a success. I honestly don't know if it's fear or laziness that is holding me back.

I think that I always hoped that Poot & Boogie would become an overnight sensation and Moms and other bloggers would help make me a household name. For what, I have no idea, but I think that I always wanted some type of "fame" out of it. I have come to realize that the world has enough popular mommy bloggers, enough Ds mommy bloggers, enough crafty mommy bloggers, and honestly I think that is ok with me now. Like some of you (ok I bet all of you!) watched the last episode of the Oprah Winfrey show a few weeks ago, and even though I thought it was for the most part a preachy speech but there is one thing that she said that sent shivers up my spine. I don't remember the exact wording of course but basically it was that everyone has a platform to change someones life. In her case it was her stage, it was her show. It my case it's this blog. My words are my Oprah show. She said it didn't matter how many people you had in your circle. Whether it be 20 or 30, or just your friends and family and neighbors. Every person has the opportunity and ability to share, listen, teach, learn or speak. It doesn't matter currently if I have 10000 followers or 29 (but who wouldn't want 10000?) My words are reaching you and I Thank you for taking time out of your day to read about what I am writing.

I look at quite a few blogs throughout the day. Some are Down syndrome ones, some are sewing and crafty ones. Some are photography and lifestyle ones, design ones, and so on. I am not quite sure where I would like to fit in the blog world. Can I just be Leanna the blogger?

If you haven't noticed already, take a look around, I have made some changes (mostly cosmetic at the moment) but I will be adding more content to my blog in the near future. I was feeling unmotivated here, and I had been afraid to switch things up here but decided today was the day to take a leap of faith. I wanted to refresh this space, breathe some new life into it. I am hoping that my little changes have started the ball rolling. I am planning on joining a blog networking site (don't know which one yet) I figure I am always looking for new blogs, so maybe someone is looking for mine!

It is my hope that you will share this blog (if you want to of course! no pressure!) so that more people will come share this space with us. We all have an opportunity to learn through poot & boogie (myself included) so spread the word! facebook it! blog it! share it! No need to ask, just go for it!

You don't have to have a google profile to comment on posts, use the anonymous option but leave your name so I know who you are! Feel free to comment, share links, ideas or whatever!

again, thanks for taking the time, it means the world to me :)

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Ola's great food adventures

Lately we have been working on food with Ola.

Now to some parents "working on food" might seem strange.

Most parents don't have to work at food with their kids. I totally took for granted how easy it was to get Poppy to eat. I started feeding her cereal at 6 months and we progressed from there. She loved to eat. She ate pretty much everything I gave her and still does.

With Ola on the other hand it's been a bit more of a challenge. The Down syndrome is obviously is a factor in this whole situation. Children with Down syndrome have a lower muscle tone that makes the whole eating process a little harder. Coupled with a smaller palate that makes them thrust out their tongues feeding can be tricky. I wrote a little bit about this in my post on Ola's highchair.

Ola has had a bit of a roller coaster ride with her eating. I started trying to giver her cereal at 6 months. After a bit of a slow start, and lots of spitting out, we had success!

lots of spillage, but she got better and she loved it!

Then this happened...

Ola in Children's hospital in October with Intususseption. Her small intestine pushed it's way through her large and out her bum. This was not a fun 5 days, but I was glad to hear that it is very common in all children. The Ds didn't have anything to do with it. Phew!

When Ola came home from the hospital I was really scared to try feeding her cereal again. I was sure that the food had something to do with it. Crazy I know, but when you just saw your daughters intestines  cereal doesn't seem very important.

Ola also had a ton of colds this winter. Every time she got a cold we would have to wait for it to pass to carry on. All she wanted was her bottle, so that is the way it was.

After a visit from our IDP practicum student in March I decided why not just try a Mum Mum cracker?

Ola did this.

She just put it in her mouth like she had been doing it for months. Needless to say the crackers have been a permanent fixture in our cupboard ever since.

Kids with Down syndrome also seem to have texture issues. So while we have been rockin' out the oatmeal cereal and all types of smooth baby food the textures seemed to be a bit off putting. She wasn't refusing them or anything, but you could see her working her little tongue to get them all sorted out in her mouth.

Slowly, I have been making her food a bit more chunky, and decided to try a few new things.

On a whim Mark offered her a little teeny tiny piece of chicken. She loved it!

Then I gave her chunky smashed avocado. She loved that!

Cheese? why the heck not! Loved it!

Oh this kid!

chunky avocado!

The next step is self feeding, I have also been doing this as well. I bought her a bowl that suctions to the table so she can reach in and grab pieces of food one at a time. She is really good at grabbing lots at once, but that also means lots in the mouth, which to me means choking! and we really don't want to go down that road agin.

If I put food on her spoon she can get it in her mouth quite easily.

sweet potatoes are this girly's favourite!

She doesn't really like it very much when I take the spoon away to refill it, but then she forgives me when she gets it back.

Poppy and I decided to let her just play with her food one night. It was a little more chunky with cubes of carrots and didn't want it so I let her just play.

nice!

It was a mess let me tell you, but she had fun, and so did I! Poppy has tried to convince me every night since to let her to do it again with no luck.

I am taking the whole food thing slowly with her but I am concerned that I was being to cautious. I am going to pick up the pace a bit, but Katie (our IDP) made a good point. Rather than try to rush it feed her at the developmental stage she's at. Ola can sit by herself, but can't crawl yet, so that puts her at about 8 months? 9 maybe? so we are right on track with food when you look at it that way and it helps take a bit of the pressure off.

Plus Basil is loving this messy stage. He makes a good housekeeper non?