As close to the “famous” as We Get

One thing no one told us when we found out about Piper have Ds was that we’d have the opportunity to meet famous people because of it.

Of course, our definition of “famous” has changed slightly to mean “the lady that writes all the books about Down syndrome and speech.” 

Hey- we’ll take what we can get!

This weekend, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (the group that puts on the Jet Set Fashion Shows) here in town invited Libby Kumin to come and give two full day seminars- one for parents and one for professionals.  Luke and I dropped the girls off at my mom’s so that we could, you know, actually pay attention, and headed down for the seven hour class.

And it. was. awesome.  We got to see so many of our friends, which just made it super awesome, and learned a lot, too.  We’re so fortunate to have these symposiums available to us so frequently! 

We learned about a few techniques that I want to try with Piper, like using a strip of big polka dots to “pace” speech (have one dot for each word you want, and tap the dot to emphasize the different words or syllables.)  I also got a better idea about some of Piper’s quirks, and whether it’s more “Ds related” or just Piper quirkiness. 

And to make it all even better, Luke won a copy of the new version of her book which is supposed to be released next month.  How cool is that?

While we were gone, the girls played.  Hard.  Thanks, Mom, for taking on the gruesome twosome.  You’re the best!

The girls love Mom’s Boston Terrier, Stitch.  She’s little, and fast, and they crack up when she’s around.

Stitch kinda likes the girls, too…

   

Hershey, on the other hand, is a giant lab.  She’s more of the grandma type, and pretty much lets the girls do whatever they want to her.  She’s a saint. 

…but even saints are a little weary when they’re personal space is being impinged upon.  She’s ready to bolt.