Ava was fascinated by the mackerels and other schooling fish and could scarcely be dragged away.  Check out the video here.  They had a special exhibit on seahorses that was extremely cool.

Reid brought his new sketchbook and pencils, and decided to sketch one of the eels.

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And video of Reid sketching here.

Here is a quick list of 7 things to do:

1. Celebrate

   Congratulations.  You’ve just had a child, and he or she is a beautiful child.  Sure, there will be some extra stuff for you to deal with, but when is there ever a guarantee — with any child — that you won’t have some extra stuff to deal with?  Your kid is wonderful and will make you a better person.  Celebrate.

2. Read this

   This is the article that started it all for us.  Written by Amy and it’s awesome.  It might give you a new perspective.

3. Learn sign language

   Right away.  Don’t wait.  Seriously:  do it now.  Signing Time videos are the easiest way we’ve found.

4. Learn more

   A lot more.  Browse the “Down syndrome” section of links on the right-hand side of this page — especially the DS Health link.  You’ll be amazed at how little most people know about DS — especially doctors and other people who should know better.  And you’ll need that knowledge.

5. Reach out to others

   You need help.  Everyone does.  The best help comes from other parents with kids with DS.  Find your local group and get involved.  The NDSS website is a good place to start.  And reach out when you meet or see other people — especially other people with kids with DS.

6. Fight the R-word

   It’s a word that demeans our children.  Even if it’s casually used, and not used in a way that’s directed toward you or your family, please step in and ask the person to stop using the word in that way.  When used casually, its meaning is based on a fundamental comparative insult to people with special needs.  Help stop it.

7. Celebrate

   Congratulations.  You’ve just become a better person — and not just for your child.  You are now a true activist, and you’re making the world a much better place.  Celebrate.

Amy, Reid and I started learning American Sign Language as a method to communicate with Ava. As Ava has grown, so as my skill with ASL, but it’s very fair to say that I can only manage “toddler” ASL. Amy and Ava are much better, and Reid’s skills are stronger still. I’m very grateful for learning it, for it was only through ASL that we learned of Ava’s advanced reading and receptive language capabilities. Even though Ava has Down syndrome and is very delayed with her speech, we discovered that at age 3.5 she was reading at a kindergarten level. Without ASL, Ava would have been a very bright child trapped without much ability to express much beyond frustration.

I boarded the Southwest Airlines jet, and began to look for a seat. I noticed that the boy was sitting by himself near the window in a row toward the front of the plane. I took the aisle seat in his row, hoping that I might work up the courage to test my ASL skills and attempt to communicate with him. At the very least, I thought, I might be able to help him if he needed it. I sat surprised at my nervousness and at the level of adrenaline coursing through me. I leaned over and got the boy’s attention by tapping him on his arm.

I signed, “I. Know. Little. A. S. L.”

He got a pleasantly surprised look on his face and signed, “Thanks.”

I signed, “I’m s-e-a-n.”

He smiled and signed, “r-o-b-e-r-t.” At least I think that’s what he signed. I’m quite sure, but I was so nervous and shocked and giddy at the prospect of actually signing with someone that I almost forgot to muster the considerable concentration required of me to recognize even his slowly manipulated (for my benefit) finger-spelling.

I gave him a “Hi” sign and he returned the favor. Relieved that I had accomplished that much, and eager for a break from the anxiety of my first signing communication with anyone outside my family, I took the opportunity to settle into my seat. Robert seemed a typical kid of his age, and wasn’t terribly interested in conversation. Again, I was partly relieved, having sustained a high degree of anxiety that he would be frustrated at my lack of communication skills. When the flight attendant came by for drinks, I asked him if he wanted one. He said yes, but only shrugged when I asked him what he wanted. The flight attended suggested a Coke, and he agreed.

That pretty much summed up the majority of our communication, except for his nod and my wave when he departed. But it was enough for me. I can only hope that I helped eliminate some of his travel anxiety if he was feeling it. Robert gave me an expanded possibility for communication. And he gave me yet another reason to be grateful for my little girl, Ava.

I’m talking about kitchen appliances. And not the big ones like refrigerators and dishwashers. No, I’m talking about toasters and blenders.

I’m talking about Breville.

Breville makes some of the best performing, coolest looking, and highest tech small kitchen appliances around.

You got a toaster for your wife on your anniversary?  You spent how much on a blender?

Oh yes.  And I’d do it all again.

But before you write me off completely, allow me to present the evidence:

The BTA820XL

This little number is the one that started it all for us.  3 words:  No toaster handle.  There is no lever to press down.  It is fully motorized.  Put your bread in the slot, press the button, and without a sound the toaster automatically lowers your bread and begins its task.  Curious to see how things are going, then just press the “Lift and Look” button and the toaster will lift the bread and give you a quick peek into its progress.  But you won’t have to wait long; this is the fastest toaster I’ve seen.

Still not convinced?  3 more words:  A Bit More.  Honestly, this was the feature that did me in.  How often has your toaster popped, but you realize that the toast is not quite done enough?  So you jam the lever back down again.  Unfortunately the toaster is still hot, so the stupid little temperature sensor thinks things are all done, and pops the toast right back up.  So you try to outsmart the toaster and give the toasting control a push to the right and mash the lever back down.  This works until you move on to some other part of your breakfast and forget that you’ve just pressed your toaster into the service of turning your bread into charcoal.  Which it does.  And then you’re left with either making a huge mess by scraping the burned layer off with your butter knife, or starting the process all over again.  Bleh!  Not so with The Greatest Toaster On Earth.  Just press the “A Bit More” button.  The BTA820XL dutifully, quickly, and in a fully automatically motorized way returns your not-quite-there-yet toast to the heat.  And what do you get?  In a few moments — your toast with “A Bit More.”

The BBL600XL

компютри

This blender continues the love with more great design, more high-tech buttons and an LCD readout.  Yes, yes, it blends well, is sturdy, and has a powerful 750 watt motor and all the usual blender features.  But it also has a smoothie button.  What’s the big deal?  Don’t most blenders have different buttons with things like “puree” and “liquify” on them?  Yes, they do.  But most blenders aren’t this blender.  You see, the smoothie button activates the automated smoothie program in the eerily smart brain of the BBL600XL.  The LCD countdown timer starts and the blender gets to work.  While swirling your bananas, frozen strawberries, and whatever else you’ve stuffed into its gullet, the blender actually detects chunks of ice and measures the consistency of the smoothie to continually adjust the speed and spin pattern of the blades.  Seriously.  I’m not making this up.  Nor have I fallen victim to clever marketing.  I’ve tested the thing.  When it hits a block of ice or a frozen chunk of fruit, it will almost seem to attack the thing, keeping it in the blades until it has been obliterated.  If your mixture is a little thick or a little thin, the blender will adjust, delivering to you — at the end of the countdown — a smoothie that lives up to its name.

Reid presented his science fair project at the Blossom Hill School open house along with all the other K-5 students who participated.  He choose the topic for himself:  “How Do On and Off Switches Work?”  Amy and I helped with research, and I worked with him on creation of the presentation which included a working model of an on and off switch.  He was very proud (as were we).  Here are his findings:

Electricity flows in wires.  Wires are made of metal.  Metal is a conductor.  Wires are wrapped in a coating.  Coating is insulation.

Switches turn on and off.  Electricity flows when the wire is connected.  When the switch is off, the circuit stops flowing.

by Reid Parham

And

For this project I learned about:

• Math
• Measuring
• Models
• Scientific method
• Scientists are careful and clean
• Electricity flows in wire
• Wires have
• Metal = Conductor
• Plastic = Insulator
• Switches allow or stop electricity flow

All that guilt and all those gifts make Mother’s Day one of the most commercial holidays of the year. According to IBISWorld (via Wikipedia), a publisher of business research, Americans will spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts — like spa treatments — and another $68 million on greeting cards. According to the National Restaurant Association (also via Wikipedia), Mother’s Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States. We’re expected to spend close to $3.51 billion in 2008 on dining out for Mother’s Day.

But Mother’s Day is not just another Hallmark holiday. You may not know that Mother’s Day in the United States was started by Julia Ward Howe as a call to unite women against war. Which war? The American Civil War. Nice thought, but apparently we still haven’t learned much from Ms. Howe. On Mother’s Day this year, in addition to the billions we’ll spend on gifts for Mom, we’ll also spend $720 million on the continuing war in Iraq. We’ll spend it again tomorrow. And again the day after. All that adds up to an estimated $3 trillion bill for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. But that cost pales in comparison to the nearly 100,000 lives lost so far. How’s that guilty motivation now? This year, in honor of Mom and Mother’s Day, I’ll spend a little more money. But this time it will be spent in the form of a donation to an anti-war organization. Maybe CODEPINK?

Lastly, I received a nice Mother’s Day gift today. Reid, Ava and I were at the grocery store this morning rounding up provisions for a nice breakfast for Amy. We were in the checkout line and the store clerk was carrying on a friendly conversation with us. He looked at Ava in the cart seat and asked, “And how are you?” Ava pointed at something in the cart and said, “I got that.” The clerk replied, “You got that? Well I’m sure Mom will like that.”

It was the first time that Ava has said anything to a stranger that was perfectly understood and replied to. I’m sure Mom will like that. Dad did too.

–

Addendum: I made two donations in honor of Mom today: One to the Collateral Repair Project to help Iraqi refugees, and one to CODEPINK’s campaigns to end the war in Iraq. Both of them made via the CODEPINK website.

Merry Christmas everyone.

The extraordinarily cool thing about this is that neither Amy nor I have been practicing signing her name with her.  She’s been practicing signing letters with us, and she’s been working with her name at school, and she’s clearly linked the two.

Awesome.