We Celebrated Kate

One of my very first thoughts after Kate was born was "this will never be a good day, how am I ever going to want to celebrate this day?" She was only a few hours old and I was already jumping to her first birthday. Well time has a way of healing. While I try to not remember that day as a sad one, it was. It just was for me. I can't go back and change those feelings or the way I remember them or even the ache in my heart when I recall her birth.

But time. Oh it does have a way with sadness & heartache. As with any major life changing event there is a process one must go through to arrive healthy on the other side. If steps are missed, skipped over, pushed down to the deepest corner of your soul then you aren't going to arrive to that "better" place. Everyone's steps are different, some are short, quick strides while others are long and lingering. We are all different and we have to go through OUR process. It can be frustrating when you think you see others arrive there before you. But you can't rush a good thing.

Well I arrived a short while ago. I am in such a better place than I imagined I would be. I do still have sad, painful moments. I do still hate down syndrome. But I love Kate more.

So we celebrated! We celebrated Kate's arrival and first year of life and my arrival too!

This is a note we enclosed with the invitations.



HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY KATE! WE ALL LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH.

So I had a huge party. I had a party to celebrate a wonderful, beautiful life and to thank all those who helped us welcome Kate when we were not able to do it as well as we would have liked. For all of the support, the kind & encouraging words, prayer, meals, meals, meals (I had meals from November-March), the wonderful gifts. But for most of all loving my girl, my boys and the whole family. I live in a very special community, I am blessed by my friends, by people who have done work for me, by my church.

I invited family (of course), friends, pastors, doctors, nurses, EI therapists all who have touched our lives this past year and helped us get to where we are today. There were over 100 guests at Kate's party (adults only). We celebrated how we are all so much more than alike than different.

She loves to show everyone how old she is. Needless to say we have overdone the "how old are you Kate?"









At one year old Kate is clapping, waving hi & bye, has two signs "more" and "all done", can identify the color red, she points, she points out the sun in a certain book. She can point to my nose and my eyes, she can show me her belly and toes. She is self feeding, drinks from a straw, eats table food & drinks whole milk, babbles, says dada (a lot, no mama), hi, bye & that (which sounds like dhat). If I ask her "where is Daddy?" she looks for him. She is crawling, standing (not independently). She doesn't like to be told NO. I know there is plenty she can't do but I choose to focus on what she is doing....

She is a BIG girl. Weighing in at 25 lbs and 31 inches tall! These stats put her at the 95th percentile on a typical chart.







Have I said lately how I love this girl and she loves me......