i did it!

My friend Jennifer from the blog Three's A Charm has created an amazing "i did it" campaign in honor of her son (and Madi's buddy) Joaquin. She created these " i did it" tees and is selling them for $21 in honor of Trisomy 21 (down syndrome). For every tee purchased she purchases a copy of the book Gifts 2, signs it with the name of the child who it was purchased for, and donates it to a local hospital, pediatrician office or genetic counselor in Sacramento. How cool is that! You can read more about the campaign on her blog Three's A Charm. The book Gifts 2 is an amazing compilation of short stories written by parents, grandparents, etc that share personal stories of how people with Down Syndrome enrich the world and Jennifer is a contributing author.

So, Madi has her i did it tee and I finally took some pics of her. We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. Having a child with down syndrome really has opened our eyes and made us truly appreciate all of the small victories in life! She is such a blessing and has introduced us to a community that we never knew we wanted to be a part of but are now so grateful that we are. Madi is now 11 months old and has done so much in that time! In honor of the "i did it" campaign, here are some of Madi's i did it's:

• Made it through and quickly recovered from open heart surgery and a staph infection
• Learned to roll very early and now rolls all over the house
• Sits up all on her own
• Has learned to drink from a straw
• Feeds herself
• Has learned the pincer grasp and uses it to carefully pick up her blueberries, cheerios, etc (her determination is so cute!)
• Gives kisses
• Is starting to wave
• Has done the sign for Mommy a few times (I think she is getting it!)
• Plays peekaboo
• Puts her arms in the air when you ask her "how big is Madi"
• Says dada, baba, lala, has said mama a few times...I'm obviously pushing for that one
• Has mastered the prone position and is now working on getting up on her knees
• Pivots in circles while on her tummy and is trying to scoot/crawl to get places
• Is the perfect yoga student and is more flexible than you can even imagine
• Manages to steal the attention and hearts of everyone she meets...she is quite the social butterfly!

We can't wait to watch her grow and develop and see all the "i did it's" she has in her future. I know she will accomplish all that she puts her mind to...she is an amazing little girl! Thanks Jennifer for this awesome campaign and giving us all a way to show the world that together we can do it!