Confident in Sitting

Look at her now :-) This is taken just a week later and she's confident enough to wave and smile while she sits. So BIG!!

Learning to Sit

These pictures are taken at the beginning of October as Macee is getting more and more confident with sitting. She's playing with her stars and watching them light up.

Pumpkins

It was a gorgeous fall day at the beginning of October and Macee and I took a trip to Trax Farms to see the pumpkins. They have mounds and mounds of them and Macee enjoyed posing for some pictures. Too cute :-)

Macee Pictured on Parenting Mag's Website

For the month of October, Parenting Magazine celebrated children with Down syndrome. They asked for parents to send in pictures of their children and then posted the photos in galleries at Parenting.com. Macee was chosen and can be found at the following link:

http://www.parenting.com/gallery/Baby/A-Special-Joy-16-Babies-With-Down-Syndrome/3. Here is the picture of our famous baby :-)

First Fall Walk

As the leaves began to change in September, Macee and I headed out for a gorgeous walk on the Montour Trail one Sunday afternoon. It was Macee's first time holding a fall leave. She really enjoyed checking them out.

Pretty in Purple

This is one of my favorite dresses on Macee. I opted for a little photo shoot after church back in September. Such a cutie as she poses with her baby :-)

She does not like the puffs

These pictures are from when I first introduced Macee to puffs back in August. The purpose is for her to get used to the taste and texture, so she will then want to feed herself with these wonderful things. Yeah, she does not like them. So I keep trying and she's got them in her mouth a couple of times. Yay Macee :-)

PA Cousins

Another Sunday afternoon at Hannaw and Pap's house (Mike's parents). Macee plays with some of her PA cousins. Pictured are Ali, Madi, and Cameron. Ali and Madi are helping Macee match the shapes on the toy while Cameron eats his.

Sarah Palin

Macee and I attended a presentation by Sarah Palin on Oct. 24 at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriot where she addressed a small group, 350 people on the McCain/Palin policies related to Special Needs Children and Adults. The presentation was very encouraging! Also, after she spoke, she came off the stage on our side of the room and we got to meet her. As I'm getting closer to the front, the next thing I know is Sarah makes eye contact with me, sticks her arms out to hold Macee, and we have a conversation. She is so "real" and genuinely wanted to know about Macee. She was excited because Macee and her son Trig are so close in age (almost 2 months apart). She also said "May God bless you" and I said it back, then I was able to tell her that we are praying for her and she smiled and said thank you very much! And then as I take a step back to take a picture, my camera turns off and is out of battery. Yep, camera failed and I don't have the important picture of Macee is Sarah's arms. I was able to talk with someone from her campaign who took my information and said she would ask the campaign photographers if they got a picture and if so, they would email it to me. So, we'll see. But still, such an AWESOME opportunity! Here are a couple of pictures I took, and then one from Yahoo news with me in the background.

Jumperoo

The jumperoo is Macee's new toy and she's having lots of fun with it. It makes jungle sounds and lights up everytime she moves, so she is always smiling in it! Great for development :-) Thanks grandma and grandad!

Macee and Ohio Cousins

Macee and I spent a few days with Shannon and the kids while Mike and Greg were both out of town for work reasons back in Sept. It was a lot of fun and us mommies got to have some quality time together as well as the cousins got to play! Lucas was so cute with his "mammy" as he calls Macee. Kallie and Macee also had lots of fun talking to each other and playing together. Lots of fun and we definitely have to do this again!

Macee and Daddy Slumber Party

Macee and Daddy had a slumber party the other night. Mike slept on the airmattress in Macee's room and it was so sweet. They even read books together on daddy's bed.

Playtime :-)

Macee is still having lots of fun on her belly. She can now get up all 4's and likes to "dance" as she rocks back and forth. She can also pivot and scoot to get those all important toys that she's sees just out of reach. It's been so awesome to watch her continued discovery. Also, Mike has taught her how to do "touchdown", so you'll see her doing "touchdown" with her rings. Too cute!!

Mealtime Fun :-)

Macee mastering the art of eating solid foods now. Some of her favorites are sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, bananas, and yes, she loves prunes :-) She also loves her oatmeal cereal too! Mealtime is so much fun with her as she usually tells me stories of her day while she eats. I'm also doing some mealtime signing to her, so she can see this while she's learning with these new words mean as well. I know it will be awhile till she can sign back, but at least she's getting exposure :-)

Smiles

Macee and I are playing this afternoon and I was able to capture some smiles on the camera. I LOVE the Macee smiles :-) Catching smiles has been tough as I always seem to miss them. But I was successful today.

Another day of discovery

Everyday Macee is learning more and more about the world around her. Well, mostly toys!! She's getting so strong and is rolls over as soon as I put her on the floor and then plays on her belly.

Macee's Baby Dedication

Macee was dedicated to Christ on July 20, 2008. Emmalyn was also dedicated with Macee. We chose to combine the two since Shannon and I enjoyed pregnancy together, we felt it fitting that we didicate the girls to God together. Very awesome!!

Boat Ride

We rented a boat for the day and enjoyed the lake. All the kids did great! The boat even rocked them all to sleep. Too cute :-)