Sunday, March 31, 2013

New Life

Benjamin was released from the hospital March 1st. Today, 31 days later, he is doing so well.
 
 
He is a sound and peaceful sleeper. Benjamin is a content little baby who loves to be held and rocked. He still swims in his little newborn outfits, but we hope that he will soon grow out of them.


 
In the 31 days that Benjamin has been in our care, we have watched his eyes open more and more often, little black beads of alertness. We think that his cheeks have filled out a little bit too... don't you?
 

 
Today is a day for celebrating new life, abundant hope and everlasting joy. For Benjamin, teeny tiny little Ben, this is a tangible reality.
 


Friday, March 29, 2013

Meeting their Needs

I still remember the day Nathan arrived. He was a sad, sick little boy. He needed heart surgery and he needed to know that he was loved.


Well, all of those needs have been met! A little over a year ago Nathan had heart surgery, and just last summer he was placed into a foster family. Nathan has grown tall, he's gone from crawling to walking, he's learning new words to say and he's discovering the big world outside.


Nathan loves to play ball. He's all-boy with an extra measure of sweetness thrown in.


Today Nathan is thriving and he is loved. All that's next for this handsome little guy is a forever family, which we hope will come soon for him! It's amazing to watch a child who was abandoned at a hospital when he was only 3 months old transform into a strong little boy. We can't wait to see what's next for Nathan!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

NDSouth: Easter

This month we have been focusing on Easter and spring in our preschool class. And what is one of the first things you think of when Spring or Easter is mentioned? Bunnies! Therefore, we decided to have our little ones make bunny ears in class. 

They have this obsession with putting things on their heads so they were all for posing for some "bunny pictures!" Have you ever seen such adorable bunnies before?!

This is Sammy's first Easter spent with us. Is he a cute bunny or what?


 Those eyes... don't they just melt your heart?


Apparently Cooper thinks he may be a bit old for bunny ears. "What are these things on my head?"


 We have a small class but a fun one down here!


Happy Easter from New Day South!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Talley


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Forever Home: Helping Out


The girls are always happy to help around the house.  In fact, they often ask "Can I help do that?"  Here, Holly separates the family's clothes so each can take theirs and put them in their closets.




Zoe is helping snap some green beans for the evening meal.  Though it may not seem like much, it sure makes them feel good to know they are doing something to help out around the house.  It's something they all love and need to learn too!




Even Camilla is feeling like such a big girl!


Monday, March 25, 2013

Hair Cuts!

Hair cut day for the foster home... such a bitter-sweet day. Some of the children love it, and some of them can't stand it. Henry was one of the excited ones today. He's been wanting a little trim, and with a crowd of complimenting adults surrounding him, he was eager to look as handsome as possible.


Jonathan, on the other hand, was far from eager to get his hair cut. He was third in line, after Henry and Colton, but Jonathan would have none of it and ran out screaming. We tried offering him candy. We tried telling him about how handsome he would look. We tried pretend hair cuts to show him that it wouldn't hurt. We had him sit in to watch a few other children get their hair trimmed and we had each child tell him, "No, Jonathan, it doesn't hurt! You don't need to be afraid."

Nothing worked.

Jonathan sat through Henry's hair cut...


And he sat through Michael's hair cut, which probably wasn't the greatest idea, because Michael hasn't been around long enough to know that hair cuts actually don't hurt and that there's no need to squirm or cry.


He sat through Lucy getting her bangs trimmed.


...and he watched her cheer with joy over her new look, and her delicious blueberry lollipop!


Corrie didn't cry or fuss during her hair cut either, even though it was probably her first. Precious Corrie really needed a little trim, and we're so happy with how it turned out!


Finally, however, Jonathan allowed himself to get a buzz cut.  He was the very last of all of the children, and he sat on Amy's lap with a tantalizing lollipop before his eyes... and he didn't cry one drop.


Phew! That could have been much worse! Check out more pictures of our haircuts on the scrapbook and on facebook! We also put together some video footage that you probably want to take a look at. It's really adorable.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Science of a Giggle




Saturday, March 23, 2013

A Beauty Queen

Carpenter He was repainting part of the playroom last week. After cleaning his brushes, he came back into the playroom to say goodbye to the children. When he saw Rachel's beautiful face, he had an idea. Gently, with his wet paintbrush (wet with water, of course!) he painted make-up on Rachel.


He didn't want to make Rachel anxious with the paintbrush, but she didn't want him to stop! Tipping her little chin up and pursing her lips, she asked for more.


He gave her some painted eyebrows...


...which she accepted with much grace.


The paint under her eyes tickled a little bit!


After Carpenter He finished, Rachel felt as beautiful as could be! She couldn't wipe the smile of of her face.


Of course, Rachel needs no make-up, real or pretend, to make her look pretty. But it's always fun to play, isn't it!?
Friday, March 22, 2013

Eliana's Elephant

When Eliana opened her package last week, she was thrilled by the contents.
"My elephant!" she cried, scooping the big-eyed stuffed animal into a bear hug. 

 




Eliana is adorable. She is social and encouraging. This morning she was encouraging Andrew as he tried to juggle some nuts. "Gege zhen bang!" she cheered. Big brother, great job! She is also great at loving on her friends, "Baobei" she called Noah. Little baby. Eliana is always the first person to welcome visitors. "Ni hao, wo ai ni!" she'll say to them. Hello, I love you! 

Prancing and dancing, our little Eliana is a perpetual fountain of joy for all of her teachers and friends. And we are extremely excited to announce that she has been matched with a family. There is a family working hard to bring Eliana home right now - isn't that wonderful?

Lucy's Blanket

In a package from one of her sponsors, Lucy received a huge, rainbow-colored blanket.


She opened it up in the playroom which meant that, of course, all of the other children decided that they wanted to play with it too.


One of the nannies helped them play "tent" with the blanket. As you can see, the game was a big hit.








It's amazing how much fun one blanket can be. Thank you, Kate and class, for such a fun gift!

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

 We just wanted to stop by and wish you all a...


Happy World Down Syndrome Day!


From our special extra-chromosone owners to yours!


Thursday, March 21, 2013

NDSouth: Telephone

Sammy attends preschool each morning where he works on his colors, numbers, alphabet, and English. One of his favorite toys is the stacking cups. He loves sorting, stacking, and building with them. The other day, he decided to turn them into a telephone!

"The reception doesn't appear to be too good here..."
"Hmmm.... maybe if I try them on both ears?"
"No, this yellow one is no good... must be too small!"
"There we go, this other yellow one works much better! I can hear you loud and clear now!"
Oh Sammy, you are always making us smile with your lovable personality and sweet spirit.