Popping in after a very turbulent flight back from Dallas (there was a lot of Sweet Mother of God, please make it stop). My girls are huggy and swoony, and it makes coming home all the sweeter. I will share more about the I Heart Faces Conference and the inspiring sense of community I felt there later on Monday (and I’ll share Linkel Designs winners).
For now, sharing a little love for Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Thank you to BabyZone for recognizing this important month.
Read Ten Things I Learned About Down Syndrome…
…and Life After Down Syndrome.
So much to celebrate this month. October certainly does deliver. Much Love.
Welcome home! Thank you for sharing these messages. Kelle, we met in Michigan (I’m the children’s book author) and we chatted on IG about Sue Bryce sharing my friend Jill’s story. Anyhow-I will be in FL in April as the guest author for a Reading Festival and hope you and your girls (and little man) will come! Details to follow! It’s April 13th. Not sure how far it is from your house but I will get you more details closer to the date!!!
jealous of you getting to go to the conference. in my next life, i want to be a great photographer!! 🙂
glad you made it safely home!
What wonderful articles. As always, so thoughtful and inspiring.
Glad you’re back! 🙂
Oh sweet kelle…. I just finished the end of Bloom today. You captured my heart with your truthfulness as raw emotion. Although I’ve been reading your blog since way before Nella was born, I read most of your book through blurry eyes. Kelle, you are real. You are amazing. Thank you for writing your story. Touch my hear it did!!!!!
I am so glad you had a great time in Dallas : ) And very glad you survived your turbulent flight! Aren’t my friends Drew, Angie and Adrienne the coolest girls in the world? : )
Have a happy week Kelle. Glad you are getting snuggles in!
Welcome Home… So glad that you are safe and sound back at home with your family, I can’t wait to hear all about you trip.
I enjoyed keeping up with you on your trip via Instagram (which I just recently joined). These baby zone articles are beautifully done. I am sharing with all my facebook friends. Enjoy snuggling those sweet girls! Welcome home.
Glad you made it home safely…can’t wait to read more about it!
Welcome home ~
~Lisa
I love you, so there. Squeeze those precious girls for me, I love them toooooooooo!
Pouty lip Nella is killing me, seriously way too much cuteness going on! Great article!
How beautiful are your words that you use to capture the love in your heart and the passion you have for your daughters. I am enjoying reading your posts more and more, and they never fail to make my heart swell and bring a tear to my eyes.
Inspiring….that’s what you are!
xoxo,
Bug & Ruby’s Gram
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Hope the conference was productive – I’m sure everyone enjoyed meeting you!
I watched the first episode of season 2 of Upstairs, Downstairs last night. One of my favorite characters is Lady Pamela, who’s played by Sarah Gordy.Have you seen this marvelous actress? She has DS and is quite accomplished. On her website there’s a short video of her doing a scene from Jane Eyre. Check it out – you’ll love it!
Rosie
Last Wednesday was the opening season of Shakespeare at Navy Pier in Chicago. We have new people seated next to us–a young man (20ish?) with Down Syndrome and his mother. We introduced ourselves and he and I launched into a discussion of Shakespeare and Sondheim. I learned a lot from my very informed new friend and can’t wait until the next performance.
Best,
Bonnie
Had a moment recently where at a local Whole Foods, I could tell my check out clerk was ‘different’ (not Downs, but something was ‘special’ about him), and I thought of Nella working some day, and boy did that totally change my perspective. Not that I really thought it needed a change – I feel pretty accepting and have cousins with disabilities – but it made it so personal from reading your blog. Gave him a huge smile and asked how his day was going – now we see each other daily.
Totally awesome 🙂
Glad you made it home safely…nothing worse than the flights that make you all sweaty while repeating “Sweet Mother of God, please make it stop” =)
Great BabyZone articles…I shared on FB!
Jill B (Overland Park, KS)
Thanks for sharing, Kelle. I always enjoy reading your blog (& book) but, I never get tired of hearing and seeing you encourage other Moms and moms-to-be.
I have been reading the blog for 3 years now, and I know you don’t like to put a huge emphasis on DS on your blog, I think that it is great that you are honoring it this month. And with your subtle way of handling it, and really showing the joy not the struggles that accompanied Nella’s diagnosis, my mind has definetly been shifted in its thinking towards others with down syndrome. I find myself curious and engaged with people I see with DS not trying to look the other way as I used to be. Your really doing a phenomenal job of opening people’s eyes and creating awareness.
Welcome Home!! Those welcome home hugs and lovings we get from our kids when we have been away are the best!! Can hardly wait to read about your FUntastic time in Dallas.
Your two pieces in BabyZone are incredibly written. You write straight from the heart. Beautifully done Kelle. Have you ever considered writing a children’s book from Lainey’s perspective?…”My sister Nella” or whatever the title may be. I think you guys would write a beautiful book for Down Syndrome Awareness…I would read it 🙂
Happy Monday
Monique
Your thoughts on baby zone were so, so good and so helpful. That pic of Nella with her little sad face just brought tears to my eyes. She is such a love.
Hey… Babyzone says Nella is 3! Let’s not rush things here, little miss is NOT 3 yet! 😉
thank you so much for making a difference in the perception of down syndrome. i’m the mother of a “typically developing” 5 year old, and a 2 year old with down syndrome. your words are always so reflective of my thoughts. it’s amazing and so reassuring to read. keep doing what you’re doing – and thank you, thank you, thank you!
Welcome back, Kelle!
Since it is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I wanted to pass on one video that everyone should see:
http://sproutflix.org/content/be-my-brother
It is a film about a young Australian man with Down Syndrome. It warms your heart and opens your eyes in unexpected ways.
Sprout Flix is a great world-wide resource for videos about all sorts of folk with disabilities: http://sproutflix.org/free-streams
Their motto is “Making the Invisible Visible.”
4,343 unread Yahoo messages (peeked at the top of your header bar) – YIKES!! How do you even begin to get through all those??! 😉 Jen at themamayears.com
Haha the two comments I was going to make have already been made….
It says Nella is three and I had to do a double-take as my youngest daughter is only a few months younger than Nella and I thought maybe i had let time get away from me.
And those emails- wowza- i see a few hours in front of the computer with a bottomless cup of tea in your future! That must be that glamourous blogger lifestyle, right? LOL. I would have (playfully) teased you about it but then I remembered that my inbox was that bad- worse even- last week. I even have photographic evidence that I had 5400 emails in my inbox. Yup. I worked out it would take me an entire work day just to sit there and delete them! Meep!
http://www.twenty5seven.org/2012/10/organising-my-email-inbox.html