Daddy's Pants

Today my mom had several medical tests done because of some issues with her bladder. My dad took off of work so he could be with her. While at the doctor's office, he looked at my mom and said, "I must have lost some weight because these jeans feel big on me today." My mom remembered washing clothes the day before and hanging up some clothes in their closet. She told my dad that she remembered putting her jeans on yesterday and told him that they had felt small on her. Then came the moment of revelation! My mom said, "Howard, maybe I hung my jeans on your side of the closet and hung your jeans on my side of the closet!" She told my dad to go to the bathroom and check the size on the jeans he was wearing. He came back from the bathroom and sure enough ... he had on my mom's jeans! They laughed and laughed. My mom then knew that she had worn Daddy's jeans the day before and that Daddy was wearing her jeans today. They continued with their plans to go to the mall and eat out for lunch. And, all the while my dad was wearing my mom's jeans!

A Trip Outside

I know this sounds crazy, but today was the first day that Victoria has ever been able to walk in our driveway and yard in her life. She is almost 2 so this has been a long time coming.

The weather was just right for being outside today. Victoria took on the driveway and sidewalks like a pro. The grass was another story. She was quite wobbly.

Victoria's physical therapist told us when we could get her outside to walk on the grass it would help strengthen her legs even more. She has mastered walking on our level floors inside the house, but the uneven surfaces outside were more of a challenge. I'm looking forward to a little warmer weather so we can continue to let Victoria explore her yard.

We took a few pictures that I wanted to share with you. We had a great afternoon and it was encouraging to see that Victoria liked being outside so much!

Semi-Annual Evaluation

This morning was a little tough. Victoria had her semi-annual evaluation by her Early Intervention Coordinator and one of her therapists. While Victoria has done so well in her gross motor development, her speech development has not improved at all in the past 6 months. I was told that Victoria is operating at a 1-year-old level in speech right now (She will be 2-years-old in March). Even though this was very discouraging to hear, Victoria's coordinator told me it was very typical for a child to excel in one area (like Victoria's gross motor skills) and be behind in another (her speech). Maybe I'm just an emotional mom, but after Victoria's therapist and coordinator left ... I cried.

It is hard to describe how I feel. I love Victoria so much and want her to do well. And, while I'm told she is very intelligent and progressing so well ... I can't help but want her to talk. I think the day I hear her finally say "Momma" I will have a hallelujah hoe-down!

After I finally composed myself from my emotions this morning, I picked Victoria up. I held her in my arms and told her that if she never talks (or doesn't talk for a while to come) ... I still love her. I told her that I was proud of everything she has done and how thankful I was to have her in my life.

Victoria will be set up with a speech therapist soon and my prayer is that we will see her progress by leaps and bounds once she starts receiving services in that area. She is a smart little girl and I know she will eventually catch on.

She holds a very special place in my heart and even though I fall apart at times ... I wouldn't trade the life I have with her and my family for anything in the world. The Lord only draws me closer to Him through Victoria. Sometimes the drawing hurts a little, but I know it is only for my good.

Natalie Turns 3!

It is hard to believe that our Natalie Joy Messick is 3 today! She was born at Springhill Hospital on January 10th, 2007. From what I remember, she was born around lunch time. She weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was around 21 inches long.

She is such a fun little girl and we feel so blessed to have her! She has a very silly personality. Everyone who meets her just loves her. She loves to sing and she is into wearing princess gowns and shoes now. I love when she tells me that she looks "gorgeous!"

Mark and I are so thankful for our Nat Nat today (and everyday)! We love you, Natalie! You are a beautiful little girl!

Momma and Daddy

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you from the Messick household! I apologize that it has been so long since I've written, but here is a quick update!

This year has been a year of many blessings! Mark has been asked to speak at several events at other churches and God has continued using him in such a wonderful way! He has a unique way of communicating to adults and kids and we are so thankful for how God has opened doors for him to be used inside and outside of our church body. Mark continues to serve as the Education Pastor at First Baptist North Mobile where we are so loved on by the people there. We feel blessed to serve with such a wonderful group of pastors and people. In April of 2010, Mark will celebrate 8 years as a pastor of that church. And, on another note ... Mark will be having a birthday in just a few days! He will turn 38 on December 31st!

For me, this year has truly been one of healing and flourishing. God has given me several opportunities to share my testimony about having a child with special-needs. It is hard to explain, but through sharing your grief and joy with others, God brings about healing. I've so enjoyed speaking and singing at different events and pray that many more opportunities come along in the future. I feel as if that is a new ministry God has given me. I have been blessed to have opportunities to record on several worship albums/projects and I always thoroughly enjoy doing that. I also continue to teach as an adjunct professor at the University of Mobile as a Commercial Voice Instructor.

Elyssa is in 4K this year and is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she will be 5 in July of 2010! I have enjoyed seeing her actually behave better! Is that terrible to say? With three little ones, you are thankful for things like this. It definitely makes my life easier as a mom! Elyssa has had opportunities to sing in church for a few different events and has a cute little singing voice. She loves to write and cut. And, she is actually developing a sense of her own style when it comes to clothes.

Natalie will be turning 3 in just a few weeks (January 10th). She has beautiful wavy hair, bright blue eyes and loves to sing. She is always singing around the house and isn't much of a TV watcher (unless Dora is on). She loves to play with cars and I'm finding that she is a bit of an organizational child because she lines every car up as she plays with them. She has such a fun personality and everyone who spends time around her just loves her!

Victoria is continues to grow slowly (physically) and I think I've decided that she is just a petite child. I worried for a while that she wasn't gaining weight fast enough, but I've finally gotten okay with her small size. I have read that children with Downs are small the first part of their lives so I've found comfort in knowing that. Victoria is walking now and spends every day exploring our house. She loves to follow Natalie around when Elyssa is at school. And, if Natalie isn't at home, she follows me around. She loves to push strollers and anything that can be pushed around in the house (including chairs from our kitchen table). She jibber-jabbers a lot and I hear her saying things for me like, "Da Da," "Pa Pa," "La La," and "Ba Ba." She is such a pleasant girl. She always has a smile on her face and a hug for anyone. She is a true joy. Her therapists say she is doing so well. We've been told numerous times that it is so unusual for a child with Downs to be so active, so therefore her therapists think she is a "high-functioning" Downs child. She is a girl on the "go." She does not like being idle at all. So, we are so thankful that she is doing so wonderfully.

As you can see, this year has been a busy and blessed one for us! We thank God so much for all of the blessings He has bestowed on us. We know that it is only through His grace that we survive the "circus" which is our life, but we enjoy every moment of it!

We pray you have a blessed holiday season and know that we love you all!

Walking More And More!

Here is a video I took of Victoria today. As you can see, she is walking even more! She's doing great! It is so cute to see her walking around because she is so tiny!

I'm really having to watch her now. Her favorite place to sneak into is the bathroom! She gets into the toilet paper and I've caught her putting her hands into the toilet several times. That totally grosses me out, so I'm trying to keep the bathroom door closed at all times so she cannot get in there. I'm going to have to grow eyes in the back of my head now to keep track of everywhere Victoria is going!

Cars

Yesterday Victoria met with her physical therapist, Candace. Candace was so impressed by how Victoria is standing up from the floor, taking steps and cruising on furniture so well. She also commented on how huge it was that Victoria WANTS to do these things on her own. We don't have to prod and push her to do anything. She said this is a sign that Victoria has high cognitive levels, which was so encouraging to hear! She said normally Down's babies are content to do nothing. Victoria is the total opposite. She can't stand to be held still for long at all. She WANTS to be down on the floor going, going, going. So, these are all very wonderful signs that our baby girl is on the high-functioning end of Down syndrome. Yeah!

Candace wanted me to work with Victoria on using a push toy a little more so she can work on her balance. After Candace left, I had Victoria pushing a little car that Elyssa and Natalie both used as babies. The first few times Victoria pushed it, she lost her balance and fell. But, boy ... shortly after that, she was pushing that car like a pro. It was so fun to watch her!

I thought you'd want to see her wonderful progress! She's a cutie!

PS - You'll notice that when she pushes the car to the chair or wall and cannot go any further, she gets mad. I think that is the funniest!

The Long Awaited "Walking" Video

Many of you have asked about Victoria and if she is walking yet. She has started taking several steps and we are thrilled. I think the most steps we have counted are around 12. Those are small steps, mind you, but we still count them all! The cutest thing of all is that Victoria laughs while she walks most of the time. I think she is so proud that she is walking that she cannot contain her happiness!

So, here you go! Enjoy viewing our little miracle of God taking some of her first steps!

Buddy Walk Results

We had a wonderful time walking at Hank Aaron Stadium with family and friends for the Buddy Walk. We raised over $800 for the Down Syndrome Society of Mobile in honor of Victoria and were quite pleased with that!

Elyssa and Natalie loved walking with their sister! They especially loved the yummy cupcakes from Buttercream Dreams that they ate after their one-mile walk! They also enjoyed their visit on the fire truck and Coast Guard helicopter.

It turned out to be a beautiful day and we couldn't have felt more blessed to walk alongside Victoria! Thanks to all who donated funds in her honor! We love you all!

Buddy Walk Update

Thanks to friends and family we have raised over $375 for the Buddy Walk in honor of Victoria Jayne so far! It is still not too late to donate toward the Down Syndrome Society or to commit to walk with us in the Buddy Walk THIS Saturday at Hank Aaron Stadium. Registration starts at 9am and the walk begins at 10am with tons of games, food and entertainment to follow! We would love to have friends and family walk along side us as we honor our special little girl!

Make sure you let us know if you'd like to walk with us so we can meet you at the front entrance of Hank Aaron Stadium Saturday morning.