Tuesday 2 September 2014

Flowering Bud

I apologise for beginning this post with an age old cliché but seriously, where does time actually go? Another couple of weeks (and more) have passed since I last wrote and suddenly I find everything happening at once. No sooner did the school holidays start and they've finished again!

Bud's eldest brother Harry started High School today which in itself has been a huge thing for our family but this blog is about Rosie so I'll not digress other than to say, Harry, I'm extremely proud of you son, you're growing to be a genuinely decent young man and the whole family are very proud of you for taking such a big step (which includes travelling by train!) so confidently.

So back to Rosie... well as I mentioned at the end of the last update she was to be a flower girl at our friends Nicola & Brian's wedding which she took to really well. Not only did she look absolutely gorgeous and cute beyond words but she behaved impeccably too. The day was wonderful and we were even treated at one stage to a bit of disco hand dancing from Rosie (see video below) – let me tell you this girl has rhythm, certainly more than I do anyway!

We met Nicola & Brian through our local support group, their son Daniel (who also has DS) is just a week younger than Rosie and has been through many of the same early challenges in life, including open heart surgery and the date of the wedding deliberately fell on the anniversary of his operation. We have met so many wonderful people through our group and it was an honour to be there to share such a special day together. As the night drew to a close there was still a bunch of us dancing into the early hours and it just so happened that the last ones standing were all members of our South Manchester Support group. It was quite a special moment and Nicola picked up on it immediately making a touching off the cuff speech acknowledging our friendships which have blossomed so quickly amongst us all.

The photo of us below (sadly not including everyone) dispels two important myths about Down's syndrome. Firstly not all babies with DS are born to older couples and secondly having a baby with special needs will not alienate you from friends and society or stop you having good times, if anything it will enrich your life and friendships further.

I can't believe it but the next post I write will be based around Rosie's first few days at Nursery which she starts tomorrow. Yes you read it right, tomorrow! Neither Karen and I can believe how far she has come and just how quickly this next big stage in her life has arrived. Rosie has began to slow down with her progress in recent weeks and we both feel that although 'letting her go' will be a huge upheaval emotionally (especially for Karen) it is definitely what she needs now in order to push on and encourage further development.


Happy from The Future's Rosie on Vimeo.




5 comments:

  1. LOVE Love love love all of this!

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  2. Such fun!!!! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Wishing you love and much fun and friendship at your ne nursery Rosie xxx

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  4. Love the photos and video! Go girl!

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  5. Good luck at nursery Rosie. I look forward to hearing all about it! Good luck to Harry too I hope you have a wonderful time at high school!

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