Growing Up

For about five years, we've gathered this crazy group of kids for an annual picture. Something a little more 'formal' than the everyday ones we catch as they do life together.

Travel and then a pandemic pushed us back into the summer; we usually do this during the holidays.

So many fun relationships in here...I love seeing the personalities come out year after year, both inside of the photos and in my backseat and backyard.

These kids started their relationships before Ruby was even born, when the only school kids we had were two brand new kindergarten boys. They each have connections in fun and unique ways.

My circus. My monkeys. So so so thankful for the community we have with this family!

Drive In Wedding

And here we are, celebrating yet another milestone that has had to drastically change during these crazy times. We've known the bride and groom since they were in elementary school. We've had the pleasure of working with them in the areas of music and photography and general church youth things. Their wedding was planned before COVID was what it is now, but rather than let that get them down or cancel their wedding, they just shifted and made an unforgettable drive-in wedding. 

Maddux and Ruby were still part of the wedding party that walked down the outdoor aisle, only to return to our car. 

Eli and Lehr were dapper guests, dressed to the nines. 

(I was shooting, so I was able to have a front row seat to the entire day.) 

It was not what the couple planned on, but I can say it is a wedding our family will always remember!

More Than Lucky

When I got this tattoo, I did it to remind myself of the community that I have the privilege of belonging to because of Ruby. There were many moms that I had connected with that help me find stability in a sometimes rocky journey. They offer guidance, companionship, and counsel whenever I need it, and I wanted to honor that 'tribe' by inking The Lucky Few arrows on my arm. After this last weekend, that tattoo has become deeper in meaning.

For the last few days I had the pleasure of escaping town and attending a Down syndrome conference with over a dozen of these women. Some of these women I’ve known in person for years, some of them I’ve only chatted with on the phone or in text, most of them I see once a year at best. But none of that mattered as we came together in our version of a sorority house for the most humble,  connected, supportive experience that I’ve ever had with a group of women (who also happen to be very diverse in their walks of life, linked pretty much exclusively by the fact that we all have a child with Down syndrome).

For three days we talked and laughed, and got real with each other and got silly with each other, and talked about Down syndrome and talked about anything BUT Down syndrome, and swapped recipes and swapped hard life stories, all the while moving from small groups to big groups to one-on-one conversations to quiet reading times by the pool to a loud boisterous table talk. There was no expectation of how you were to spend your time and there was no judgment. We could go to bed early or stay up later than any of us have likely stayed up since we have become parents. "You do you."

While we were at an amazing conference, most of us agree that the house, the time spent with just us was the best part of the weekend. However, the conference had a standout moment for all of us when a 'mom panel' answered a few questions from the perspective of having having teen and adult children. The wisdom and experience in the answers these women gave was palpable. We were all left wanting more, and I kept thinking about how they had come to be so wise and full of perspective. Fast forward to a heavy conversation a few of us had just before bed the last night, and I was in awe once again, but this time by the moms I was sharing the late night hours with. It struck me that we all have some of that wisdom and perspective now, especially when we are giving counsel to someone else. (#mindblown)

Enough rambling.... Even all of the many words I've typed cannot sufficiently describe the freedom and restoration that occurred in less than 72 hours, but I know that as bonding as our experience has been walking through our lives touch by a diagnosis, this weekend cemented the deal. These women challenge me, they encourage me, the lift me up, they sit down with me... So whether we wear the arrows on our skin or around our neck or on our heart, we are all so amazingly woven together that to call these women my 'tribe' seems like an understatement.

we are gonna be friends

sometimes we get a glimpse into a really cool world. one where ruby has friends around her. friends who just love her. friends who don't need lehr or i to translate or facilitate.

we've not had a lot of this, as ruby is still young. don't get me wrong - we've had friends at church and school and in the neighborhood. friends who put in effort and who are awesome and loving and kind. 

but sometimes a shining friend makes you realize what you didn't know was missing. sometimes you find a friend who shines His light bright into our lives. a friend that doesn't really seem to be trying to be a friend - they just are.

they are getting as much out of the friendship as ruby is.

No-Snow Day

Every year since Eli and Maddux have started school, we've had at least one snow or ice day, usually in January. The past few years, the county has definitely been quick to cancel school if there is a real threat of the snow coming on too quickly during school hours. (Thanks, Snowmageddon 2014!) In those same years, Lehr has kept a close eye on the forecast just northeast of us so that he can take the kids for a quick ski day in North Carolina. This year, the two events lined up together.

A snowstorm (an Atlanta snowstorm) was due to hit us yesterday around 10AM, providing a few hours of snow followed by about 24 hours of below freezing temperatures. We all predicted the day off of school for today (due to all of the snow being frozen on the roads), but it was anyone's guess what they would do about the day the snow was actually coming. Out of an 'abundance of caution' (the most common words used to describe their snow decisions in the last few years), Cobb decided at noon on Monday to cancel school for Tuesday. So Lehr decided to pack up the kids and their snow gear after Maddux's basketball game and head out before the snow hit the roads. Because he's the amazing dad he is, he invited 4 other kids to go with them. Two of the kids went (one friend each for Eli and Maddux). They had a great time, piling into a motel room for about seven hours of sleep before carbing up with a pancake breakfast. They skiied all day, enjoying awesome fluffy snow continuously refreshing the trails for them. After grabbing some dinner, they drove back to Atlanta.

Ruby and I stayed here and enjoyed about 90-seconds of a flurry in the sky, followed by sun and very mild temperatures (maybe 42?). The kids all returned to school today.

GiGi at GiGi's!

Ruby and I spend a lot of time at GiGi's Playhouse; it's our go-to spot most Saturday mornings. And GiGi's wouldn't be in Atlanta if it wasn't in Chicago first, where GiGi's mom had the brainchild to create such a cool space about 15 years ago.

Fast forward to last week when we got an unexpected visit from GiGi and Nancy Gianni at both our Atlanta area GiGi's locations. Ruby and I were unable to meet them at our regular GiGi's, so we made the trip to the 'new' GiGi's the following day.

The pair was so outgoing and jumped into the kids' play right away. (LOTS of Ruby's friends were there that morning.) Ruby and I got Nancy's book, and GiGi signed it for us! And then I had to get a photo of Ruby and two of her buddies that she met at GiGi's the first two times she and I visited.

Beach Trip

Another great fall break on the books! We returned to 30A for our fall break, housing with another family - one we adore - which meant 10 people under one roof...fun fun fun!

For five full days we played in the waves and the sand, barely touching the pools this year! The kids seriously loved the ocean and all spent all of their time in there. Boogie boards, skin boards, surfboard/beaterboard, yolo board, nets for 'fishing', sandcastle making, and seashell seeking occupied every day.

Ruby could not get enough of the ocean. She LOVED to use the boogie board and she loved to 'swim'. She would jump at the water and try to glide, sometimes going under (which seemed to make her even happier!). Ruby rode in the bike trailer and on the front of Lehr's bike, which also made her happy as a clam. (We did have two bathroom accidents, reminding us that potty training is STILL going strong even when we think that after 1+ years we might be done.)

Maddux made friends with kids on the beach and worked in the sand and water most of the time. But she did plenty of boarding and swimming as well. She saw a dolphin and several huge rays during our stay. Her favorite activity seemed to be collecting live sand dollars...they were everywhere, which is crazy because before this trip, we'd never seen one before!

Eli was all about the boards, and all about swimming. He had a great time, especially with Drew and Davis and Bryce. We were on the beach by about 9 every morning and stayed until about 3 each day before going home to shower and get dinner. Each night we ate dinner at or on the beach, enjoying any extra sand we could.

We saw lots of other friends at the beach, at dinner, on bikes...pretty much everywhere! This was hands-down one of the best trips we've had, from the friends who shared it with us to the 'ease' of getting right down to the beach and just living there each day to the best weather and waves we've seen in a while. I love that this is our go-to vaca every fall!

Jazz Fest

Always my favorite time of year.

This year the kids rejoined us (last year, I gave Lehr the 40th birthday gift of a fest with just the two of us for the first time since they were born), and they couldn't have been happier. We drove in late Thursday night so we could attend all day Friday and Saturday and only have to miss one day of school.

Despite the fact that we arrived at the hotel at midnight, Ruby was up just before 6AM, ready to go. Lehr snuck her out and the two of them went for a mini tour of NOLA. They got some beignets, coffee, visited Breaux Mart...some of the staples. The kids and I were up at 8, ready to get some beignets also. (Yes, Ruby got to visit Morning Call twice that morning!)

After a quick meal, we went to the fairgrounds. We wanted to be there when gates opened at 11AM, which meant getting there by 10 to buy tickets and wait in the gate line. Even with all of that prep, we were still not the first ones on the line at the Acura Stage. We planned to set up camp there for the afternoon Revivalists show.

Because they are awesome, the Overlys joined us again this year. I say awesome because their boys were not with them, so they could have had a kid-free weekend, but they still chose to hang out with us for most of both days.

The kids ate, danced, and people-watched through the day. We stuck pretty close to that stage all day because of the great line-up. The weather was amazing...even a little cool to start with (which is why you'll see sweatshirts in some of our photos).

After our boys performed, we ended the day at another stage with another family we love. We didn't leave until the music was done and we had to shut it down. On the way back to the car, we stopped by many street performances for more music (because NOLA!).

Day two was more of the same. Ruby woke up early again, but not as early. We hopped out of bed quicker so we could get a bigger breakfast. And by bigger, the big kids each got a pancake that was the size of their large plate. Ridiculousness.

After stuffing ourselves, we were at the gates, ready to go before they opened. On this day, we hit almost every stage, taking in so much great music with amazing weather supporting the whole thing.

Ruby got to drum in the kids area, all of them danced in Economy Hall, mango freeze was flowing freely... Eli and Maddux got to see Big Freedia and Snoop Dogg (which Eli referred to as "The Snoop"), so we've officially earned the Parents of the Year award. I'd like to think we made up for it by ending the day with Rockin' Dopsie. Another day of shutting down the fairgrounds at 7PM, only to walk through the street musicians to our car.

While her early morning wake-up call frustrates me, she does wake up because she has to relieve herself (she rarely wakes up wet anymore). And she did an AMAZING job with bathroom habits over the weekend, communicating to us when she had to go and not having any accidents (quite the feat when the port-a-potties you have to use have a line or are far away).

 

First Dance

Eli's school held their annual middle school dance last night. I wanted to volunteer as photographer, but at that time, Eli had not yet brought the dance up, so I wasn't sure if it was even on his radar to attend. So I asked him, and he seemed fairly interested. I suggested that he might check with some of his friends to see if they were interested as well (since he was telling me that no one had talked about it). The week before the dance he said he was going, so I signed up as well. He had to convince his best friend, Drew, but they both got dressed up very willingly.

Eli chose red pants and a cool plaid shirt. He wore a white belt and skater shoes with it, and on the way out, he grabbed a hat. Not sure where he gets his style, but I like it. A lot!

The night of the dance, I drove the boys since I was going to be at the dance as well. I took them out for a burger first, and we ran into many other 6th grade boys at the restaurant (all dressed up). I think this helped get the boys a little more comfortable with the whole thing (even though they both spilled food on their shirts). By the time we arrived at the school, they were chatty and excited.

The whole dance was very fun, very innocent, everything a middle school dance should be. So many of the kids danced the whole time, taking occasional breaks to snack, go to the photo booth, or play some random games around the room (corn hole, connect 4, etc.) Boys and girls danced, but not really together, but it was all ok.
As I drove the boys home, they both couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was. I think their first school dance experience could be considered a success!

Golf

Eli has dabbled in the sport of golf for many years. Usually in the spring, with the Masters and the warm weather, he will pick up a few clubs and create a course around our yard, we will take a family trip to the driving range to hit a few bucket of balls, and Lehr or Grandpa Jim will take him to play 9 holes once or twice before summer arrives. When we were deciding about middle school for Eli, golf was on his 'pro' list for private school. He was very excited at the opportunity to join a golf team.

Just after the holiday break, Eli had to make some quick decisions regarding sports. He has always loved baseball, so he was interested in trying out for the school team. Given how sporadic and full the rec league that he usually plays in is, we told him we would not be able to do both school and rec. The kicker was, registration for the rec ended before the team tryouts for his school. Eli made the choice to take a chance and hold out for his school team.

Then we found out that it would not be possible for him to participate in both baseball and golf at school, given their schedules. So if he made the baseball team, he wouldn't be on the golf team. Another hard choice, but he decided to go ahead and try out for baseball. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. It was a long week of tryouts, following a few months of practices with the team. Instead of being disappointed though, Eli smiled and said, "Now I can play golf!" We were super impressed with how Eli handled this; I know he had to feel at least a little deflated. His best friend made the team, making it even more difficult, but that day they walked out of school (after having just found out), arms around each other, joking and laughing. They tried so hard to make the other one not feel bad about the way it turned out...best friends indeed.

Golf started up a week or so after baseball: Eli has one practice a week and one match a week. There are 12 kids on the roster, and each match only needs 4-8 players, so we knew Eli would not be playing in many matches. Being a new member to the team meant that he could earn spots in some matches, but likely not many. However, he was able to participate in the first three matches, based on his work at practice and a last minute schedule change for one match. During his last match, the score was kept off of the best team ball each hole, and Eli had several of his balls counted for the team score!

Eli is nothing if not passionate about his sport de jour. It was very evident to me this week as I drove him to his practice in 32degree weather and 17mph winds. He loaded on some warm clothes, hopped out of my car and started swinging his clubs outside while he waited for his coach to arrive. (I would have waited in the car until the last second!)

Good Week

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. - Psalm 34:8

This last week was good. REALLY good. Ruby had a few good days at school where she continued to call to her classmates by name (as best she can say them, which she is improving on daily). Ruby had speech with her myofunctional therapist and continued to improve on her 's' articulation. Ruby pulled out several words in her daily life without any prompting. (She focused intently on saying 'blueberry' as she ate blueberries this week, she said "come" to me more than "mum", she told me several times: "mom. come. sit.", and she has tried to tell me about events that just passed (like someone just putting on their shoes or coming home).)

But the best thing about this week was playdates. Ruby had three playdates! We had no school on Tuesday due to voting, so Ruby and Maddux were home with me. We invited friends over, one of Ruby's best friends, and played for a few hours in our front yard. The girls had a blast, and it was so fun to Ruby in action with her friend. The two of them took turns pushing each other in one car and then they rode together in another car.

The next night we had friends over for dinner; they have a little girl just a few months younger than Ruby. Ruby was an AWESOME host to her, inviting her to play with all of her things and doing her best to interact. Two days later, she (the other little girl) asked her mom if Ruby could come over to play at her house. The girls had a blast playing kitchen and legos and dress-up.

Cannot adequately explain the coolness of this. My girl has friends.

Beach Babies

We snuck away to the beach for an extended weekend by waking the kids up their first morning of summer and telling them to 'pack a bag'. It was so so so fun to surprise the kids with the trip...Eli said, "Wait, cuz my head is still not awake yet...are you serious?"

We arrived just after lunch on Thursday and headed straight to the ocean. Ruby LOVED the sand. She kept scooping up a shovel full and walking somewhere to dump it only to repeat the process. And she walked up to the waves on her own several times. When they rushed in a little too quickly or roughly for her, she would wave her finger at the water and say, "NO!"

Speaking of that, Ruby is the queen of 'NO' right now. No matter what you say or do, she will yell at you tell you "NO!"

The first morning we woke up, the kids were set for the beach again. Ruby was at least as enthusiastic, but even more independent (cue more 'NO!') Eli and Maddux had so much fun using the Beater Board (a smaller, foam surf board) and the boogie board. They spent the entire morning in the water.

After lunch, we put Ruby down for a nap and the big kids and I rode our bikes to play shuffle board. They love the 'hidden' court and the shade it provides during nap time.

Once we got Ruby up, we took an extended bike ride ending at the food trucks. Low and behold, we met friends there! (This was planned also, but the kids didn't know it.) We ate dinner and hung out on the green until a family movie started. Lehr even took the kids to get ice cream while we waited. (Best dad ever) Ruby was a really good sport and stayed up until about 9PM, fairly interested in the movie. At that point, I rode the two of us home because she was getting a little antsy. Before that, she was find, but she did like to play musical laps.

The following morning we loaded the car up (very unusual for us at the beach) and drove to the Marshall's condo so we could spend the morning with them. THe weather was overcast and a little chilly, surprisingly. Eli and Drew took turns on the boards and occupied themselves with getting pummeled by waves. Maddux and Davis and Emmaline built sand castles, and Ruby did a bunch of sitting. We drove home for lunch and then met them at the food trucks much later for dinner again. On this particular evening there was a live band on the green, so again we stayed and enjoyed the night.

Maddux and Davis and Emmaline also got very into collecting sea shells. They spent hours at the edge of the water, waiting for waves to break and then go back out so they could find pieces of sand dollars and other cool shells.  

The next two days were spent at the beach and pool and on our bikes. Davis and Maddux built a whole village of drip castles one day, spending almost the entire morning under an umbrella. Lehr rented a yolo board and took turns with each kid (except Ruby) on it out past the waves. The five of us had a really nice traditional last dinner of pizza on beach at sunset. One day during Ruby's nap, Lehr took Eli and Maddux around to each of the Watercolor pools (five?), riding their bikes inbetween them all. We found more music at sunset in a park one night, complete with strangers giving the kids their beach ball to play with. We may have indulged in more ice cream. We definitely got more than our share of sun and sand!

The day before we left, Lehr took Ruby to the park outside of our condo while the big kids and I got ready for dinner. He introduced her to the (for looks, not play) fountain, and she promptly went in. It might have been her favorite part of the trip.

We left after lunch one afternoon, making it home just before midnight. I had to drag the kids out of bed for their 9:45 swim practice the next morning, but they agreed that it was worth it.