31 for 21 - Kindermusik Class

Connor started attending Kindermusik class with Miss Rose when he was 5 months old. At that time he was only coming because Makayla was in the class, but even then I think he enjoyed it! We only did it for a few months at that time, but started up again when he was 17 months old and have been attending ever since. Miss Rose is absolutely fantastic and amazing with all of the kids. Connor has grown attached to her in class and prefers to sit on her lap instead of mine! The class that he attends is for ages 18 months to 3 years. We sing some songs, explore different musical instruments, and dance around the room. Connor loves the drums and bells and loves to copy Miss Rose's gestures. We both love the time we get to spend together at this class!  The class encourages him to stand up and try to walk and dance along with the other kids, teaches him to share, and reinforces the sign langauge that he is learning.

 

 

31 for 21 - Goose Rocks Beach Vacation

In July, we went on vacation for a week with friends and family in the Kennebunk, ME area. I was so excited for this vacation for many different reasons. First of all, it was the first time since our honeymoon over 7 years ago that I was taking an entire week off from everything! I have taken lots of days and and half a week, but never a full week away from it all so that was very nice! No work, no therapy sessions, no running around like crazy. Secondly, we were going on vacation with some of our best friends...my brother Mike and and sister-in-law, Miss and my beautiful neices, Madi and Emma, as well as our great friends, Mel & Luke with their kids Jack and Piper, Becky and Liam with their kids Alana and Liam, and Joel and Andrea with their son Sam. We started looking for a beach house over 6 months ago, and found one that could accomodate us and was in a decent price range that was described as minutes from the beach. After booking the house we realized that minutes from the beach actually meant driving minutes and the house was 7.3 miles away from the beach. Though I was a little disappointed by this at first since it meant I would not be able to run on the beach in the morning, it worked out really well in the end.

When we first arrived at the house, we were a little shocked! It looked very nice from the outside. Large house that could technically be broken into a duplex attached to an old barn. Upon entering the house we realized that it was very old as it had the musty, cat pee smell in every room. It was extremely stuffy and about 95 degrees in the house. No air conditioning. It had 2 separate kitchens and 2 living rooms which was a plus with the amount of people who would be there for the week. It also had 2 separate staircases leading to the 7 bedrooms upstairs. The rooms were all decent sizes, however, the stairs were very steep and not great for the young kids! Luckily we had brought 2 gates from home and found some extra's at the house. One of the rooms had the stairs as part of the room with no door or railing...definitely not safe! But we moved a dresser and blocked them off so it all worked out.

We were all a little skepticle on how the week was going to turn out based on the conditions of the house, but it turned out to be a fantastic week and aside from the house being so far from the beach, I really think it was a nice place. We didn't have to worry about the kids breaking anything and I know for a fact that Koolaid and Milk were both spilled on the carpet and no one will every know about it =) By the third night it had cooled off drastically so sleeping was a lot better!

We went to the beach everyday and could not have asked for better weather. It was absolutely gorgeous. The beach was beautiful and very quiet. The water was cold, but not bitter cold. Connor loved the sand and the water. He played in the sand for hours shoveling and building and loving every minute of it. He loved to watch and play with the other kids. He enjoyed playing in the water as well. He crawled into the waves and would then crawl as fast as he could to outrun the waves! Makayla loved the beach as well! She has always loved both the sand and the water and of course had a fantastic time.

Mom and Makayla

Dad and Connor

Family Photo

 Jack

"Murphy face"/Angry Connnor



 Makayla, Emma, and Alana

 Makayla and Emma (Twins)

Sam, Makayla and Emma

Piper

 Liam

 Madi - bathing beauty

Uncle Mike and Connor

Makayla, Emma, Madi and Connor

 Cousins

 Makayla

Connor standing!!!

Connor and Madi

31 for 21 - NNEDSC Golf Tournament

Monday, October 1st was the 1st Annual Northern New England Down Syndrome Congress Golf Tournament at Candia Woods. Connor and I did not actually golf in the tournament, but we went up with Makayla for the dinner at the end. The golfers all had a great day and seemed to enjoy the event. Connor and Makayla had a fun time at dinner and helped hand out the awards with some of their other friends. Thank you to all the golfers who came out to support Connor and and his friends. Especially Uncle Mike, Mem, Pa, Rick and Norma =) A big thanks to Brian Laing for setting the whole thing up. Also, thank you to all of the sponsors, including SFC Engineering (where Jeff works). Definitely a success and we look forward to future years!

Jeff with SFC Sponsor sign

Connor and his best buddy Ty

Mem and Makayla

Mem, Connor and Pa

31 for 21 - Murphy Baby # 3

We would like to officially announce that Connor is going to be a big brother! We are all very excited and cannot wait to find out if our new little one is a boy or girl. I am currently 14 weeks along and our newest addition is due on April 1, 2013. We are expecting an April Fool's baby =) April 1st will also be the third anniversary of Connor's heart surgery so it is a good day all around!

Ultrasound was at 6 weeks 3 days

13 weeks

Connor's newest gesture is shaking his head "no" which he says to everything you ask him even though he will do it with a huge smile on his face. So of course when I ask him if he is going to be a good big brother he shakes his head no while smiling and laughing. We know that he is going to be an amazing big brother and teach the baby all kinds of amazing lessons! Makayla is beyond excited and we already know that she is the best big sister anyone could ever ask for. We are all looking forward to continuing our fun adventures =)

31 for 21 - Down Syndrome Awareness

Here we go again! I cannot believe that it is already October 1, 2012. The year is flying by. Once again, I am going to try posting every day in the month of October to help raise awareness for Down Syndrome.  31 posts for Trisomy 21.  Before Connor was born 2 years and 9 months ago, I did not know much about Down Syndrome at all, but now I cannot imagine my life without knowing what an amazing miracle it is. Connor makes me smile every single day and helps me remember what a blessing each day is. I love this little guy and the joy he brings our family and look forward to sharing our journey with you. Stay tuned =)                                             

                                                    

First Steps!

Connor took steps without holding on for the first time tonight! Stood up and took 4 steps to get to the tv. And then he did it over and over again =)  This is not the best video, but this was about the 6th time he did it. We are sooo proud of Connor...he has worked so hard for this!

ENT update

Connor had his ENT checkup on Monday to check on his ears. It was a great visit =)  His right ear tube is still in (has been in for 18 months even though the doctor only expected it to stay put for 6 months to a year) and the fluid that was in his left ear back in April has drained out on its own which is fantastic news. So now we will wait another 3 months to check for fluid again and do another hearing test.

Makayla came with us to this appointment and entertained Connor by dancing around the room to Taylor Swift the entire time we waited for the doctor =)

Trouble makers

Dancing

Ready to climb up

Look mom I can dance too!