Vacation Wrap Up.

The beach.  The sun.  The water.

It was a good vacation.

A few final photo highlights:

Photo credit random lady on beach.

We're back to the grind today.  Ellie is at school.  Caroline has a cold and is asleep on the living room floor.  We have massive piles of clothing and kid supplies to unpack and put away and no food in the house.  But we're all a little sun kissed and salty haired.  (Don't think one or two showers can remove the amount of sand on my children.  They looked like churros.)

The next few weeks will be a return to routine with gymnastics and school and photo shoots.  But as the weather gets nicer, I hope the next few weeks will also feature some outdoor play!

Always in Naples/Photo Highlights.

We vacation about once a year in Naples, Florida.  And without exception, we meet another family who has a child with Down syndrome.  (We often plan meet ups, but I'm talking about chance meetings.)

Easter was no exception.  We happened to sit near a family of six girls and one boy, and the boy has DS.  Ellie was of course delighted.

Other highlights have included the beach, the Children's Museum of Naples, and feeding giraffes at the zoo.  We went to the museum for sensory night, so there were very few children, extra sensory friendly experiences, and and additional staff on hand.  Ellie loved it.  At the zoo, we also met the Easter Bunny and a giant chick.  Ellie was thrilled, and I was grateful.  Caroline was unfazed.

Museum fun.

Baby blues.

We wouldn't let her eat sand.  She was angry.

All Ellie wanted for her birthday was to feed the giraffes salad in Florida.

Easter service on the beach.

The Easter Bunny is holding baby Caroline!!

How Things Change.

There's so much I want to say when I hear of a mom with a new Down syndrome diagnosis.

Things get better.
You'll have friends.
You are not alone.
You will still have fun.
Your kid will have fun.
You WILL be okay.

Five and a half years ago, I googled "Babycenter Down Syndrome" after seeing some group mentioned in Road Map to Holland.  I signed up, joined this online group and some very nice moms gave me reassurances like those above.

Missy was the first mom.

Selfie from Missy.

Reading about her daughter, I thought, "I could have a kid like that.  It would be okay."

Missy answered a LOT of my questions, and I had plenty of questions.

That didn't end when Ellie was born.  I ask Missy (and a few other folks) all of my Down syndrome questions.  Most of those moms, even if I met them online, I've had the chance to meet in the five and a half years since Ellie's diagnosis.

And many of them have said, "How in the world have you not met Missy yet??"

Well, I finally did!

From this random lady online to a real friend, I am so grateful for how things change.

I didn't know we would still go on vacation and have fun.  I didn't dream that my baby girl (the actual baby) would be at her happiest in the arms of Missy's middle daughter.  Lily said she's around little kids a lot (and she clearly loves them, and they clearly love her) at Down syndrome events.  I smiled and realized that Caroline may also have this gift.

Without Caroline, but WITH a mermaid tail!

Sweet toddler Violette who gave me encouragement made me laugh at the beach as a big kid.  Caroline was the hot commodity.  "Excuse me.  Can you please get me your baby?"

And Ellie?  That baby who made me worry so much?  She had a blast at the beach.  "Miss MISSY!  WHERE ARE YOU!?!?!  LOOK AT MY CASTLE!"

Me and my fears?  I'm sitting on the couch with my five year old who just got out her crayons, colored for awhile, and put her crayons away.  Last night, her baby sister had a rough night.  They're sharing a room right now, with Caroline in the pack and play and Ellie in a twin bed.  I was sick of getting up and running into their room so I got in bed with Ellie.  In the morning, she asked why I was there and I explained.  She comforts her sister constantly - I am so thankful.

Down syndrome has made my world bigger.

Friends.

Sometimes, you just need to get away with two of your best friends before one of them takes off and moves to Colorado.

One the drive from Northern VA to Dewey Beach, DE, we spotted: A crazy rainstorm that was the equal in duration to the time it took us to load my car, a rainbow, someone running across the eight lanes of the beltway, and a very large bird in a car looking at us.

At the beach, we saw dolphins and a lot of dogs in clothes, including sunglasses and a tutu.

But most important was time together with great friends and laughter.

I didn't have an umbrella in my car, but I did find sand toys and a broken tiara.

Baby G got to come with us because she's little.  Ellie did NOT.  And she still doesn't know I was at the beach.

Christina riding an elephant.

We looked super cute for dinner at Salt Air on Saturday but didn't take a single picture.  The rest of the time we looked windblown and that all was documented with iPhone selfies.  But there's plenty of pictures of a cute baby!

 
The scenery in Rehoboth was fun to take in, and we explored a few shops, including an independent bookstore.

I'll have to take Ellie's weekly portrait soon, since I didn't see her until Sunday night!

Headed Out.

Time to head home has arrived, but we made sure to leave the beach with a bang.

Ellie finally got brave enough to get in the water on her own.

We met up with Matt's brother and his wife, which was the absolute highlight of Ellie's vacation (and ours.)

We ate take out on the beach and watched the sunset.

Ellie made new friends with some of the nicest big kids I've ever met.  We're talking such sweet kids we found their parents and told them good job.

We'll miss you Naples.  Until next time....

And a little video from Instagram.

A video posted by Megan Landmeier (@meganlando) on Apr 3, 2015 at 3:48am PDT

Love and Portraits.

Rest is hard to come by.

But the beach helps me find it.

Ellie wasn't interested in seeking rest, but shells.

"I found a ring!"

We have been playing on the beach in the golden hour before sunset each night.

Photo credit Matt.

Photo credit Matt.

 In case you can't tell, it's my favorite time/place for portraits of Ellie.