Carol is a lady with downs syndrome who has a passion for bananas.  In fact she loves her bananas so much that she will do absolutely anything for them.  Now, like many of us, Carol hates hospitals so when she had to go into hospital to have her lungs X-rayed, the only way to get her around the hospital was by walking backwards with a banana just out of her reach.  When we finally got to the X-ray room we handed her over to the nurses and gave her the banana.  To have your X-ray done you must keep very still and Carol wasn’t going to have any of that.  She waved around and jiggled in her seat and the nurses had to try and hold her down.
 
Anyway, a few days later we got the results back to find out that Carol had a very serious case of pneumonia which could mean death.  I cried and cried and the doctors invited the lady I was staying with to take a look at the X-rays.  When she came back she was laughing so hard she could hardly even explain what had happened.  When she had taken a look at the X-rays she found that the pneumonia was in the shape of a banana and the doctors realized that Carol must have waived the banana in front of the screen at the exact time the shot was taken.  When they rechecked Carol, this time without a banana in hand they found she was perfectly fine!
 
Carol lives in the USA in a nursing home now, I live in England and I miss her so very much.  I have saved to go and visit her this summer.  At 66 years old she is certainly getting on but is just as loving and wonderful as ever.  I couldn't ask for a more loveable friend.  When she was put in a nursing home I was so sad but all the wonderful stories here have really cheered me up as I can relate to so many of them!!

My son Daniel who is 14 has always wanted to please people.    Just last week he came home from school and had a bad day in his van listening to his driver.   He was to come in and ask me to talk with his driver , but he went straight to my room.   Anyway the driver comes to the door and tells me the story about him not listening.   When I went to talk to Daniel about this he pipes up "I am grounded aren't I?"    Well the point of this story is:  Daniel has never been grounded in his life, but he has two 16 year old sisters who have been grounded many times ... I thought well no tv for a 4 days and he accepted it well .  He just wanted to be grounded like his sisters .
  
Posted by:  Clara

Of course this isn't necessarily related just to children with DS - but it does prove that not all kids with speech delays are "orally defensive".  Our daughter Suzy, about age 2, was visiting friends with us.  (Their youngest, a boy, John, also has DS) We were discussing the gross things that kids eat.  We were having a picnic on their patio, late June.  I was relating a story about how when Suz was about 9 months old, I noticed chocolate dribbles coming down her chin. "Who gave chocolate to the baby?"  I asked my husband and son.  Blank stares.   "WHO GAVE THE BABY SOME CANDY?!?"  No response.  So I did a rapid finger/mouth sweep and dislodged one (1) garden variety snail, shell included, in fragments...eccchhh.
  
Well as I described this story, the other parents of course howled.  Just as I wrapped it up, I looked over at Suzy crawling around...crunch, crunch, she had just sucked up a June bug.  She's 5 years old now but still occasionally gets a taste for those odd-textured food items.

My 6 year old daughter Cailee loves to imitate characters in movies.  Her favorite movie right now is "A League of Their Own" and she likes to imitate the little boy in the movie.  There is a part were he holds his nose and says "you're gonna lose, you stink."  she insists that we play the part, too.  He gets hit in the face with a mitt, thrown by Tom Hanks, and she insist that we hit her in the face with the mitt, too!  She also takes turns being all of the characters.  One time, she was Kit the Pitcher and threw a baseball right at the TV and we all jumped a mile.  Next time, she was a batter and hit her Father on the head with a bat.  We found out after that incident that she was preparing herself for the scenes by hiding the items behind the couch and bringing them out at the appropriate times.  She also likes to imitate the Rosie O'Donnell character by yelling "It's ok, shake it off." or "Evelyn, really".
  
Posted by:  Julie McGowan

My son Zachary is truly a mess.  He is 3 1/2 now.  He has discovered the dishwasher and stove.  And how to climb in his high chair and get to the radio.  He is learning something new all the time.   This past Christmas he had gotten a remote control car from my mother.  It is so cute.  The control is large and the car is too.  He learned how to work it fast.  So during that week after Christmas we had visited everyone and taken the car with us.
  
One day I realized we were missing the remote to it.  We had the car but no remote.  So we started looking all over the house for it.  Under the sofa, under the beds, in the toys, behind chairs, in cabinets.  It was no where to be found.  So we started calling everyone that we had visited and asked them to look for it.  No one could find it.  So then we realized that maybe somehow we had thrown it away. Not wanting to give up to have to buy another on we kept on searching.
   
So one day Zachary was in the kitchen playing and I went in there to check on him.  He had taken the air vent off the floor, and had a toy in his hand.  I quickly said no to him to not play with the airvent.  He loved to take it off and look down it.   When I bent over to put the vent cover back on I noticed something yellow sticking out.  When I reached down in there I pulled out his REMOTE!!!  I couldn't believe it!  He had stuck it down there one day while playing and must have put the cover back on because I would have noticed the remote in there if I had put it back!  I just laughed so hard and couldn't get on it him.  He does some of the funniest things!  I can't wait to see what he will do next!  I love him so much!
  
Posted by:  Susan Queen

I have 4 sons:  Ages 5, 4, 3, and 15 months.  Our 5 year old started to ask questions about Bailey, my 3 year old with down syndrome.  So, I started to explain as best I could in a language and level that he would comprehend.  He said "ok I'll help Bailey to learn, Mom."  The next day one of Bailey's therapist came over and Alek (my 5 year old) said "Bailey has down syndrome, and that means he learns things slower, but i can help him to learn."  The therapist said "Wow, what a great big brother you are", and Alek replied, " YEA, I HAVE UP SYNDROME. and that means I learn things fast."
  
Posted by:  Lisa Smith

Our son Jacob is only 14 months old, but continues to surprise us every day.  His first spoken word has just recently been,Quigley!  Quigley is our 7 year old golden retriever who exhibits impecable patience towards, Jacob and his young energy.  Although Quigley might be a difficult name to pronounce Jacob knows it and can articulate it quite clearly.  I hope he learns to say mom soon becuase I'm feeling a little jealous of the dog right now, not a good thing!

My husband and I thought our son Peter, who is 2, was ready for a pet.  So I brought home a kitten.  At first Peter would not go near it, but as the days went on we would catch him trying to sneak up and grab the kitten.  Well, needless to say, Peter became very brave and next thing we know he was picking the kitten up by the head, sitting on top of it whenever he got close enough, and bopping the unsuspecting kitten on the head with any toy that was within reach.  But no matter what Peter did, this kitten still came around him and never hurt him.  Quietly my husband and I would laugh each and every time they got together.
Posted by:  Tonya

KIDS DO THE DARNEST THINGS
Hi! I have a little girl who is just turning nine on December 26th.  Only yesterday she came in to visit me at a small options home where I work with 3 adults who have disabilities.  She always loves to visit with the guys and of course check things out while she's there.   On this visit she discovered that they now had a real cool fish tank at their house.  When I turned my back she apparently dipped her hand right in up to the elbow (wet sleeve) and took out a fish.  A half hour later as I was walking by I noticed that there were only 3 fish not 4 in the tank.  I immediately asked her about the 4th fish.  Her reply was "Umm... it was a really yummy fish!"   I guess I had never explained that there is a difference between Haddock and gold fish.   YUCKY!!!
POSTED BY:  SHerry Larade

I have a little bro. with DS, his name is Jeffrey and now he is 11 years old, he is just the cutest little boy I have ever seen.  He always makes me laugh, so when i'm in a bad mood he comes up to me and gives me a big huge and tells me he loves me.  The funniest thing about him is he loves country music (Garth Brooks) and when he listens to it he turns it up full blast and does the funniest dances.  I love him so very much.
POSTED BY:  Carrie Waller

SINCE IT IT THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, I WANTED TO SHARE THIS STORY ABOUT MY SON DREW.  TWO YEARS AGO (HE WAS 18) I WAS DECORATING FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND GETTING OUT THE NATIVITY SCENE.  HE WAS WATCHING ME SET IT UP AND I THOUGHT IT MAY BE A GOOD TIME TO GO BACK OVER WHO EVERYONE WAS AND FOR MY OWN CURIOSITY SEE IF HE REMEMBERED THE WHOLE STORY.  WE HAD JUST PUT BABY JESUS IN THE MANGER AND I PICKED UP JOSEPH AND ASKED DREW IS HE REMEMBERED HIS NAME.  HE GOT A REAL MISCHIEVIOUS GRIN ON HIS FACE AND LOOKED AT ME AND SAID "PAPA BEAR" THAT GAVE ME SUCH A CHUCKLE THE WHOLE HOLIDAY SEASON EVERY TIME I WALKED BY THE NATIVITY.  THERE'S NEVER A DULL MOMENT AROUND OUR HOUSE.
POSTED BY:  MARY BAHR

I HAVE A COUSIN WITH DS AND SHE IS ONLY 4 MONTHS YOUNGER THAN ME.  WHEN I WAS OLDER I BECAME AWARE OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN US.  WHEN I WOULD VISIT HER, SHE WOULD ALWAYS BRING A SMILE TO EVERYONES FACE BY SINGING.  SHE COULD SING ANY TELEVISION THEME YOU CAN THINK OF.  SHE WOULD SING THE BRADY BUNCH SONG MOSTLY.  BUT HER WAY SOUNDED A LITTLE DIFFERENT.  FIRST, HER B'S CAME OUT LIKE H'S.  IT WASNT THE BRADY BUNCH IT WAS THE HERADY HUNCH.  WHEN SHE SAND SHE GOT ALL INTO IT.  DANCING AROUND.  SHE IS VERY MUCH LOVED BY HER COUSIN.   I LOVE YOU. 
POSTED BY:  CARA

My son Taylor is 13 years old and he takes care of all of his personal grooming except, I give him a hand once a week with a good hair shampoo.  Up until this year, we would take care of this while he was in the bathtub.   We've had this routine since he was 9 years old.  About once every other month, while washing his hair, I would casually mention that when he gets older, he would start to grow hair on his face . . . hair under his arms . . .hair on his legs. . . and hair in his pubic area.  Keep in mind that this went on for 4 years.
 
Earlier this year, while washing his hair, I noticed a little public hair growth, and casually said, see Taylor, you are becoming a young man, you have hair in your pubic area.  He replied, Yeah, Yeah, Right.   The next week when I started to wash his hair, I noticed a rash where the hair use to be, alarmed, I said Taylor! Why did you shave your pubic hair?   He said, MOM, YOU TOLD ME AND TOLD ME, I grow hair on my face, hair under my arms, hair on my legs and hair in my public area.  MOM! I DON'T HAVE A BEARD!
 
All of these years, I was proud that I was preparing my child for these body changes, not realizing that he would accept these changes only in the order I had told him they would happen.  Kids with ds just don't typically generalize very well.   We now wash his hair in the sink.  He's still waiting for the beard, but for now he's accepting the other changes.
 
Weeks before I noticed the hair growth, I had noticed that he was constantly talking about beards and shaving.   He got a little face painting of balloons at a park festival and it stayed on until bedtime that night.  While relaxing on the sofa that night, he rubbed his hand over his face and felt the cracking face paint, jumped up screaming, MOM! and ran to a mirror, I was close enough behind him to hear him say "stupid balloons!"   He had mistaken the cracking face paint for whiskers.   I guess he figured he could then accept the hair growth if he had a beard.
A NEVER ENDING ADVENTURE!
Posted by:  Dru Barbee

I have a friend in school named,Andy.  He lives with DS.  One day in science class we were taking a test, he sits next to me and usually I explain everything thats going on to him.   Well I told him to draw a picture, when he was finished it ended up to be a robot, the best piece of art work I've ever seen.  The whole thing was so detailed, little lines to show movement and designs.  He gave it to me and I treasure it.  Andy has taught me so much more than any teacher ever could!
Posted by:  Zara Keith

Our son, Jason, is now 12 years old.   He is the second of four boys.   Until about a month ago, our family lived in Africa and Jason grew up learning a mixture of English, French and the local languages.   He also learned many of the customs, one one of which is to offer a drink to any guest who comes to your home.   Each time a visitor comes, Jason will go to the kitchen, get a glass of cold water and offer it to the guest.   Of our four sons, Jason is the first to greet a guest with a smile and a handshake and also the one who escorts guests to the gate when they leave.   He is very sensitive to the feelings of others and responds to every kindness.   We have learned so much from him and are grateful he is part of our family.   Thanks to all those above who contributed their experiences.   I could really identify with them and shed a few tears while reading them.   God bless you all!
Posted by: Peggy

Haven, my 'angel' baby (w/ DS) always bring chuckles to mine, her father, and her grandmothers' face.    Haven, only being six months old has...learned how to spit!    Ofcourse this is something that all babies do with their mouths and tongues but Haven has become a pro!   One beautiful day and Haven's father and I went into Haven's room just to see what she was up to all by herself in there. Her father leans over her crib into her face and gets to talkin', well apparently, Haven, laying on her back didn't want to be bothered, so she babbles a little and spits right into Omars face.    Sure it sounds a little yucky, but its just baby juice Omar calls it when he's kissing her, but its spit when she's 'spitting'.
Posted by:  Beatrice L. Fells and Omar Lewis

It was a rainy afternoon at the lake.    About 20 of our friends had gathered under covered boat dock slips.    Our son Taylor, who was maybe 7 or 8 years old at the time, saw this gathering as 'his' audience waiting for a performance.    He graciously made sure everyone had a seat, rearranging some of the chairs to suit his plan.    We had no clue what the plan was until he came out of the boat with his tape player, favorite Garth Brooks tape, cowboy hat and guitar.   He got everyone's attention and the concert began.
After his first number, everyone applauded and cheered!   With his hat in hand, he crossed his arm in front of his waist bowing in front of each person on the front row, personally thanking each one.   At this stage of speech development, he was still having a problem articulating the letter 'T' . . . it came out as 'F', the ending sound was usually accurate . . . Sooooooo when he bowed and said 'Thank you', it sounded like he was saying 'F . . K you!' over and over with each bow.   There was a silence in the air as many of our friends had covered thier mouth with their hand in shock as I announded . . . THANK YOU . . . THANK YOU . . . THANK YOU.   Everyone applauded and roared with laughter as the show went on.
Posted by:    Dru Barbee

My story is about Emily, my three year old sister-in-love.   She's the cutest and funniest person that I know.   Being the youngest of six she has to do her best to attract the attention of the family, something that she has no problem doing.   One of Emily's favorite things to do is immitate characters in movies.
My favorite memory of that was one day while watching Beauty and the Beast.   As Belle and her prince joyously danced, Emily waltzed the floor with her stuffed animal.   After the dance ended to celebrate Belle and her prince kissed.   Not wanting to miss a part in the movie Emily chucked her stuff animal and ran to the love of her life, her daddy.   As her dad was napping his Sunday nap, Emily gave him the cutest most memorable kiss.
What a fun day!!I am so very thankful for the joy these children bring.   It may be an extra chromosome, but as God added that, he gave an extra bucket of love.   Emily is perfect and I thank God for making her the way she is, but best of all I am blest to be able to call her my sister!!
Posted by:  Melanie

Our son Taylor is 13 years old and in 7th grade.   When he was 9 years old and in 3rd grade, he was having a rough year.   One morning in February, I was having a hard time waking him to go to school.   I made the decision to let him sleep and go to school late that day.   I thought we'd go out for breakfast.   I layed back down and fell asleep.
   
I was awakened from a sound sleep by the ring of the phone.   It was Taylor's teacher calling to ask me to bring a pair of tennis shoes to school so he could participate in PE.   I was confused, because Taylor always wears tennis shoes to school.   Still half asleep, I told the teacher this.   I was not prepared for her response.   She said, "Well, he wore flip flops today." "What?" I screamed into the phone.   My heart raced. The reality of the situation was dawning on me.   Taylor was at school and I was alone in the house.
   
After I had wakened him and gone back to sleep myself, Taylor had gotten himself up and off to school.   Scanning the house for clues, I discovered that he had served himself breakfast in bed.   The remains of toaster waffles with syrup and a big glass of juice rested on a tray in his room. His homework papers, speech notebook and library book had all been collected from different rooms in our home, and his backpack was missing.   When I got to the school with the shoes, I noticed that Taylor had dressed himself in long pants, long-sleeved shirt and a windbreaker, all appropriate for a February day in Georgia.   The bus must have arrived before he had a chance to get his shoes on, so he had grabbed his filp flops and run out the door.   
   
Putting aside the momentary fears for his safety, I began to realize that this was a breakthrough for him.   All of the teachers were impressed with his sense of responsibility, his independence and his ability to get the job done.   From that day forward, Taylor was viewed differently by his teachers.   They praised his accomplishment and he basked in their new respect for him.
JUST HOW INDEPENDENT DO WE WANT THEM TO BE?
Posted by:  Dru Barbee

They say that couriosity killed the cat:  well our daughter Larissa's curiosity has gotten her into some interesting situations!   When she was about 4, she came running by me, as I was talking on the phone, spitting and sputtering "Yucky....Yucky".   All of a sudden I smelled a strong odor of pine.   I dropped the phone and took off after her.  She ran into the bathroom and started scrubbing her teeth.  She would not tell me what she had put in her mouth.   I ran frantically through the house looking for the evidence to find a bottle of aftershave that my stepson had left in reach of a child.   I immediately called Poison Control to find out the best way to handle this.   Aftershave does not list ingredients.  After calming me down, I learned that the ingredients are mostly alcohol.  After keeping her awake for a time and loading her up with sugar we made it through the ordeal!  Boy did we learn our lesson! Posted by:  Suzie

I don't have one story--There are many.  My son Drew is 20 years old the youngest of three.  A real vivid memory from his toddler days was the time we were shopping at the local lumber yard. They had toilets on sale out on the sidewalk and as I was loading the car I turned around to see him using it. As we were in the midst of potty training, I was really proud of him. We have had so many wonderful times with him. We live in a small town (about 15,000) and he knows everyone. He has worked at a local grocery store, now works in our family business, is a manager for the high school football team attending all of the away games, and his most recent adventure is becoming a volunteer fireman which has been his lifelong dream. He is anxious for his 21st birthday and when asked how he plans to spend it says he wants to go to the gambling boat and drink wine. What a character! His Junior Year of High School, he came home telling me that he had been nominated t! o be a candidate for Christmas King.  A close family friend was his date to the dance and we along with grandparents, brother, sister, and aunts proudly watch Drew being crowned King. The students at High School were wonderful to him and he was very excited and proud.  I could go on forever because the stories do, but I'll stop by saying that Drew is such a blessing to our family and valued member of our community
Posted by:  Mary Bahr

I don't actually know the person this is about ...but one day when I was at an amusement park in line for the bumper cars a boy with DS and his older sister were in line behind me.  At first I didn't notice, but suddenly I heard somebody behind me say "You're very pretty."  Not knowing who the comment was for, I turned around.   There he was, all smiles, and then he said "I love you."  I thought it was kinda strange for a complete stranger to say things like that, but I also thought it was really sweet.  After that his sister told him to stop it, so he didn't say anything, but just kept smiling at me.  Then all during the ride he kept shouting to me "I love you!" whenever we passed.  All I could do was smile, because I thought it was just so adorable.
Posted by:  Paula

I was volunteering during the extended school year of the sdc class.  There was this one student that I had to teach to tell the difference between yellow and green triangles.  After many weeks, he one day held up the green triangle and told me green, immediately after he said "yellow" with a smile.
Posted by:  Jennifer Marie Geiger

My son, Zack just started playing t-ball.  The other children on his team are always fighting with the coach.  They want to bat, or play a different position.   Zack always goes wherever he is sent with a smile on his face.  It is with great pride and joy that I watch him stand in the outfield, in his too big t-shirt and cap, glove held high in the air, just waiting for that pop-fly to land in it!
Posted by:  Sue

Zack 5, with Down syndrome and Matt 4, legally blind and PDD, love to sing songs they learn in school.  One day we were in the grocery store and they were standing in the cart, singing at the top of their lungs and off key "Alabama, Misssissippi/Alabama, New Orleans/Alabama, Mississippi/Shake it on down to New Orleans/Shake, shake, shake/Shake your bootie" They had combined a children's song "Alabama, Mississippi" with the disco song "Shake Your Bootie".  My husband was SO embarrassed, but everytime they came to the end, I would start them over.  It was so great to see people's faces!
Posted by:  Sue

I got a call from my father that my sister in-law was about to give birth.  So off I went just in time to see T.J into the world.  I was so proud when I left the hospital and so hurt when my brother (T.J'S Father) called me with the news that T.J had Downs.  I cryed all the way back to the hospital.  Once I held my buddy again as a Down Syndrome baby, there was no turning back for me. He had my love forever and I thank my brother and sister in-law for giving me such a joy every day of my life.  By the end of the day T.J was born, my Brother said he loved me, kicked me out of the hospital and said tomorrow is another day.  So I left. On the way out I was looking at all the other families that had babies that day and I felt sorry for them because we got the special one in our family.  T.J is 17 months now and very active and healthy. He has his whole life to teach me every thing he will learn.
Posted by:   Aunt Mary Butler

My son Taylor, is 13 years old.  He is "my heart that walks outside of my body".  Two years ago, he and I went to the Atlanta airport to pick up my mother-in-law for her Christmas visit.  Taylor convinced me that it would be fun for him to wear his full Santa suit, complete with wig and beard.  When we went through the metal detectors, his belt buckle set off the alarm and, not realizing that he was a child, they held me back and ushered him ahead to the search area.   I was trying to explain to them that he was a child, and that he had Down syndrome, and I needed to be with him, but they just kept telling me to wait.  When they reached the designated area, Taylor threw his arms against the wall and spread his legs apart as if he were being placed under arrest.   They searched his body with the metal detector and then a physical search, still ignoring my efforts to rescue my child.  I was worried that he was frightened, when suddenly, he jerked off his hat, wig and beard and announced "SURRRRPRISE!, it's just ME".  It seemed like the mad rush of busy travelers just stopped all around and enjoyed the joke that Taylor thought he had played on the guards.
Posted by:  Dru Barbee

I have been on a diet for the past 4 weeks and every morning I pull the scales, which I keep underneath the treadmill, and weigh myself.  After I am through, I slide the scales back underneath.  The other day after my son ,who is three, had finished his lunch I took him down from his high chair.  After washing his hands and face, he walk over to the treadmill and reached underneath it and pull the scales out.   He got on them and said "noooo".   I'm not quite sure if he was imitating me, but what ever he saw, he wasn't happy with it.
Posted by:  Mary

My 4 year old son with DS came home from preschool one day with blue paint in his hair.  He had decided to paint his hair as well as the paper on the easel.   When my daughter who was about 7 years old came home from school I told her, "Wait until you see your brother, he has blue painted hair today."   She promptly responded, "No fair, they got to paint their hair today!  We never got to do THAT in preschool."
Posted by:  J. Reimer

Hello from two very proud parents of Katherine. Born March 16th 1997.  Scott her father has two daughters, one 25 and one 23 with 4 grandchilderen.   When our daughter was born with Down syndrome we knew we were chosen to be the special parents for our gift from God.  We thank him everyday; she is the joy of our lives.   She is my first child and I never knew that motherhood was so rewarding.  Especially since at age 39 I thought I wasn't getting the chance.  Well we have been blessed with a very healthy daughter (no surgeries & only one cold) at age 16 months we are thankful!!   One day last month we were invited to a birthday party at the park with friends from Katherine's school, and one of the mothers asked Scott if he was shocked when we found out our daughter has Down syndrome?  I heard him say NO, the shock was when Kim told me that she was pregnant!!!  I had to laugh as he has to be the very best man and the very best father in the world.  And we now have the very! best, our daughter Katherine Lurlyne Sugden!!
Posted by:  Kim Morri

I live in an ARF home with 6 DS females- two are children, ages 10 and 13, and the other four are in their twenties.  I love these girls (women) very much.  Anyway, the youngest girls learn from the older ones. the 13 year old recently got her first period and had no problem adjusting to it-- she also recently got her first bra.  Well I guess the youngest one felt left out--she wanted a bra too.  I told her that she had to wait a few years.  Then one day a few weeks ago she was wearing a pair of shorts.  Something didn't look right.  I asked her what was wrong.  She then told me she was wearing a pad--I guess if I wasn't going to buy her a bra, she was going to wear the most available thing we had.
Posted by:  Jenine

Our son Taylor is 13 years old.  When he was, I guess, about 8 or 9 years old and we were shopping out of our community, he started to notice that sometimes people look at him differently.  (People are just curious and interested.) In our community, we see alot of people we know and he is just another kid to them.  It broke my heart when he asked, "Mom, why are they looking at my face?"  I gently replied that they must think he is handsome and he said, "No, they are rude." Then, I told him that he was right, that it is rude to stare, but they just don't know him.  He has since, at times been the rude one by asking people why they didn't bring their camera or, more recently, he has said, "What are you looking at?"  I got upset with him over this one and explained how ugly and rude that sounds to me and asked him not to say it again.  But, the latest was, "What are you looking at, you think I'm purrdee? (pretty) Then he gives this great big pie face grin that cracks stangers up.   (Don't get me wrong, this is not a common problem, but I think it is kind of neat that our kids can solve these situations with a sense of humor, and break the ice, if you will.)
Posted by:  Dru Barbee

My daughter, Karrie, about 22 months old at the time, came into the kitchen.   Smelling her before I saw her, I asked her "Did you pooh?"  She shook her head no.   I then asked "What is that that I smell?"   She immediately signed "flowers".   Karrie is now 28 months old and the light of our lives.  Her sister, Katie, 8, tells people when asked what's wrong with your sister, "Nothing.   She has Down Syndrome.  She's just the way God made her."   Couldn't have said it better myself!!
Posted by:  Sue Brown