Extra Smiles... Extra Giggles... Extra Love...

Max First Day.

2011-11-21T12:02:00.001-06:00

max's first day of school was today. he was so, so excited! i don't think i was giving him enough credit on everything he knows... i didn't think he really understood that he was going to school or that lilly actually goes to school everyday. i'm not sure why i thought this, maybe because he's not able to communicate all that he knows in the big, brilliant brain of his...

he loved putting his backpack on just like his big sister:)

the early childhood kiddos start a little after the rest of the school, so a few minutes earlier we dropped lilly of by the door she always goes in, and got back in the car to wait till it was time for his class to start.

this was the moment i got it, i got how much that little boy of mine is taking in everyday. he always finds a way to surprise me:)

anyways, we got out of the car and we put his backpack back on. i said "okay max it's time for you to go to school," and he just turned and started to run to the doors that lilly gets to go in:) he was telling me he knew why he was there and the biggest thing he was ready... not so sure if i was, but he was and that's really all that matters!

max running into school on his first day.

max and miss heidi.

max is on his to start his great education, we are so lucky to have such wonderful people like miss heidi to start this journey with:)

My boy is three!

2011-11-20T09:21:00.000-06:00

today is max's third birthday. this morning was different then other mornings. max woke up first, before grey and lilly. nick and i brought the fully awake birthday boy into bed with us. he sat between nick and i, the first thing he did was point to me and say "mom" and then to nick and say "dad" with a huge smile on his face:) since he was in the talking mood, i asked him to say other family members names and he did! he tried every time and was so proud of himself:) he then signed "drink, milk, please" i responded "okay max lets go downstairs".... he then with the sweetest face signed "cookie"! how could a mom say no to that!

max and daddy! i could just tell max was cheering wake up daddy, lets celebrate today's my birthday!!!

max and his cookie and milk for breakfast. oh, and i loved this picture because i asked him who's birthday it was and he pointed right to himself!!! what a big boy:)

i just wanted to make a note that we did have yogurt and crackers with cheese (max's favorite things) after his cookie!

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!

goodbye for now.

2011-11-14T13:05:00.001-06:00

today was max's last visit with his physical therapist lisa from birth to 3.

thanks for a the love and support you have given us lisa. we are going to miss you.

Grey's first haircut!

2011-10-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

Before

After

what a handsome boy:)

Down to earth:)

2011-10-17T12:32:00.000-05:00

at the end of summer a Down syndrome group called Down to earth located in oshkosh invited us to their annual picnic, we have gone the last three years and it's always a good time:)

lilly and max loved the music... they both really got into it!

max and lilly busting a move:)

nick and grey watching the great entertainment.

the weather was beautiful, and we were able to meet a few new families from their area.

smiles.

2011-10-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

lilly.

2011-10-07T18:31:00.000-05:00

in august lilly had eye surgery, i was a little nervous about that. i think anytime any of you children have to go under it’s a scary thing. you might be wondering what was wrong with lilly's eyes? well she has/had intermittent exotropia it's nothing serious(it's funny because before having max i thought all these little thing were so very serious) it's just that the muscles in her eyes aren't always working together so, the dr. loosens up the lower muscles attached to her eyes:) but like i said it's not really the surgery that worried me, it was more the putting to sleep:(

lilly before surgery:)

nick and lilly:)

lilly after surgery:(

she did fabulous! her eyes were a little sore and was having double vision for about month. she needed to ware a patch on one eye for two hours every other day. now she is great! everything went perfect:)

time.

2011-10-03T11:50:00.000-05:00

over the summer nick spent time with just lilly and max up at the cottage that his family rents, and i was able to spend some quality one on one time up north with my youngest:) it was just what we needed, we took naps together, played, and went for quite walks. i was really able to appreciate the age of this little one of mine:)

the zoo.

2011-09-23T08:03:00.000-05:00

every summer for the past few years we try to make it a point to get to the zoo at least once.

we were waiting for this one little penguin to jump into the water... but it never did. lilly to was a little disappointed.

nick and the kids took a train ride around the zoo. max kept trying to climb out the side:)

for each of the kids first visit to the zoo we have gotten them a stuffed animal, lilly got a tortoise, max got a hippopotamus and for grey's first visit he got an alligator!

we were able to feed the giraffe, it was awesome. i don't thing i was ever that close to one before. the lilly and max love it:)

lilly feeding the giraffe.

i couldn't believe how long it's tongue was! that's only half of it in this picture! you can see max was a little stunned by the size too:)

it kept licking my arm trying to get it's food, max thought that was really funny!

max was telling him to go down by lilly.

to be honest the kids were a little crabby, i couldn't really understand that... their bellies were full, they had enough sleep the night before and on the way there, the weather was a little rainy but nothing that should have affected their moods... i just kept saying to nick "what's with these kids, here we are at what should be a wonderful place for kids... what's with these kids?" despite that, nick and i enjoyed our family time at the zoo:)

hugs:)

2011-09-17T19:34:00.000-05:00

normally every day when nick gets home from work max will run to the door and say hi to welcome him home... and then just go back to what he was doing. but on this day he must have really missed his daddy because he would let him go:) they were the biggest, longest, tightest hugs i have ever seen a child give:)

lilly and grey even wanted to get in on the hugging action after they saw how happy it made their daddy.

so cute.

grey and me:)

lots of hugs and smiles in the this house:)

wordless wednesday.

2011-09-14T07:55:00.000-05:00

silly max.

2011-09-12T15:01:00.000-05:00

max has turned into a little ham for the camera:)

i love this one:)

4th of july.

2011-09-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

wow! the forth of july feels like a really long time ago. we had wonderful weather, a lot of swimming, a lot of s'mores and a spectacular fish fry.

my littlest man playing in the water:)

before this weekend i would have never guessed how much max loves swimming! he was like a little fish and this life jacket was awesome, he was able to swim off on his own in any direction:)

riley and lilly.

max and daddy at the fish fry.

max and nick with the master fryer:)

just some of the minten family:)

max's first time keeping the headphones on in the car to watch a movie!

compassion project.

2011-09-10T15:33:00.001-05:00

our nephew jacob had a project at school about compassion, the kids leaned what compassion was and every child had a small plaque they had to decorate about what they have compassion for... jake made a "movin' for max" plaque. he wrote a little thing about how he attended the Down syndrome awareness walk for his little cousin max and how he has compassion for him and others with Down syndrome. how cool is that! i know max would affect his family in a positive way, but i didn't know it would be so soon. when jake told me he was going to do that for the project, i was so very proud of him... and max:)

jacob and max:)

jake's beautiful piece of art:)

lilly and grey.

this place looked amazing!

lilly's first day

2011-09-09T13:35:00.000-05:00

over the summer lilly took a pre-preschool summer class for three weeks. i thought it would be good for her, at times around other kids she can be very shy.

she ended up doing great! she made a few new friends and was very social. lilly enjoyed every minute:) the class was only an hour or so long and they were able to cram in story time, art, snack, and recess... what's not to love:)

Grey's Baptism.

2011-09-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

grey's baptism was on a beautiful day. mass was wonderful, one other itty bitty baby girl was baptised with grey.

during mass father took grey and walked around with him, he had the older members in the church bless him.

greyson with his God parents aunt val and aunt mel(nicks two sisters).

our family picture.

God Bless Greyson Jeffrey Pingel.

catching up

2011-09-07T18:05:00.000-05:00

so this is going to be my month to catch up on blogging from the months i have missed. the summer has been very busy around my house, but we still were able to enjoy the nice weather and great family time:)

in the beginning of june we attended little chutes annual cheese fest. the kids had a great time the weather was beautiful if i can remember correctly it was the first year in a long, long time that it didn't rain:)

grandpa elrick on the helicopters with lilly and max:)

daddy and grey.

lilly and max going into the fun house.

me going in after max... he was having to much fun in the ball pit to move onto the rest.

the kids at the parade.

grey was a little sad because he wanted max's sucker:)

like i said the weather was great... but all the food was even better:)

fun on the farm.

2011-05-26T11:27:00.001-05:00

this past friday we went to a local farm that also sells plants. lilly, max, aiden, jack and evan really enjoyed checking out the animals. with grey first look at the cows you could just see confusion on his face, but after a few minutes he was having fun with the rest of the kids! next time i will have to get pictures feeding the goats and horses.

wordless wednesday.

2011-05-25T08:48:00.007-05:00

wordless wednesday.

2011-05-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

mother's day.

2011-05-08T20:10:00.000-05:00

the outside of the card lilly made for me! i'm sure you can tell but just in case you can't, that is a beautiful flower with a butterfly on it:)

the outside was great but i thought the best part of the card is her thoughtful message inside..."happy mothers day mommy i like getting you drinks. i like when you let me eat your sandwich. love, lilly, max & grey" nick asked her what she wanted to write inside... and that was her exact response... i like getting you drinks. i like when you let me eat your sandwich....ha! so cute:)

and this was my gift from the kids... the coolest birdhouse ever!

happy mother's day to all you moms out there:)

our very own.

2011-04-29T08:05:00.006-05:00

i was in the kitchen when i heard max and lilly giggling from the living room. lilly yelled "mom come see this...our very own mr. potato head."

wordless wednesday.

2011-04-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

Easter:)

2011-04-25T12:50:00.000-05:00

Easter was a fun filled day with family:) lilly was the first one up, then max and grey.

Easter morning, the kids were so excited to look for their baskets!

the Easter bunny brought a floaty for max and lilly:)

it was impossible to get a good picture with all three kids with their baskets, but the ones that i did get were pretty funny:)

lilly was the only one who posed for picture:)

grandpa elrick and grey.

max sitting by the window:)

Easter presents at grandma and grandpa elricks!

all of the kids were wanting to take a nice group picture because we said it had to be done before the Easter egg hunt(bribery... not always the worst way to go!).

our family with grandma minten:)

baby grey and lilly with grandma pingel.

i hope everyone had a happy Easter:)

wordless wednesday.

2011-03-30T08:56:00.001-05:00

snow fort.

2011-03-26T14:42:00.000-05:00

lilly and nick spent hours outside building a snow fort together:) the next day lilly couldn't stop telling me all about the fun her and her daddy had outside in the snow.

this picture was taken just before they came in from outside:) lilly(and nick) were so proud of the fort they made!

World Down Syndrome Day!

2011-03-24T09:45:00.000-05:00

monday was World DS Day, we were very lucky to celebrate with so many of our special friends and their wonderful families:) our local group planned a great party at wild air! we never were there... and it was awesome! we had such a great time visiting with others and playing on all the inflatable.

my mom was so kind to watch baby grey for us so we could both have fun with lilly and max:) thanks again mom:)

max had a blast on the giant slide... he laughed to whole way down them:)

lilly made a new friend named madison:)

Happy belated World DS Day!

wordless wednesday.

2011-03-23T18:40:00.000-05:00

winter up north.

2011-03-07T10:31:00.000-06:00

our family really enjoys up north in the winter, it's our time to get outside and breath in the fresh air:)

baby grey all bundled up in his snowsuit.

i was laughing so hard after i took this picture!

a family picture:)

grandpa elrick giving grandma, lilly and max a push down the hill.

after the fun of sledding we took a ride around the lake on the snowmobile, then took a nice walk on the road... lilly and max had a blast running in their snowsuits... they looked like little penguins wading down the street:)

with all that fresh air baby grey was out for hours:)

grandma and baby grey taking another cat nap.

boy, it was a lazy weekend:)

lilly just hangout on the bunk beds.

come on max give your mom a smile:)

oh, there it is:)

max is all about doing the things his big sister is...

no bunk bed is going to stop this little man from following his big sis:)

max giving his daddy a five for making it to the top!

lilly is so excited to have him playing on the bunk beds with her... and

max was happy to be there with her:)

wordless wednesday.

2011-02-23T09:53:00.004-06:00

lilly.

2011-02-10T11:20:00.000-06:00

this morning i received this email from nick, i thought it was pretty cute and wanted to share:)

Last night when I was putting Lilly to bed I said "Man I can't get that Sesame Street song out of my head". She slapped me in the side of the head and I said what was that for, she responded "I'm getting that song out of you head for you". Hilarious., I forgot to tell you when I came downstairs. -Nick

wordless wednesday.

2011-02-09T08:35:00.000-06:00

our kitten.

2011-02-03T10:47:00.000-06:00

last weekend our family adopted a kitten. nick and i have been thinking about this addition for awhile now, and decided now was the best time for our family:) now i'm sure many of you are probably thinking... "they are crazy, they just had a baby!" but we have truly thought it through and it is the best thing for our family. nick and i both feel that a pet is a huge commitment especially when it is a family pet, when your children are involved and get emotionally attached. there are many reasons for wanting this kitten but have to say that they are all for my children.

lilly is at a great age for responsibility, not that i am relying on her to feed her or having her clean the litter box, but i am having her help. another reason is lilly loves baby grey, and it is wonderful how much she loves him.... but there comes a point where i think she needs to focus her love onto something else, we thought a family pet would be perfect:) one other big reason is that lilly is so good during max's at home therapy. in the beginning when max was tiny she would sit and watch the therapist play with max, but now they are doing some really fun things and lilly would try to get involved:( i feel bad because she just wants to play and sometimes it works out where she can but most of the time... it's really is max's time, it's his time to work on new things and i think that is a hard thing for a little girl to understand. so for the past year that time has been her tv time... now it can be her special time to play with the kitten(she is really excited about that)!

onto the reasons for max, it was funny i told max's therapist about getting the cat because i wanted to make sure none of them were allergic, a few are and said it shouldn't be a problem. but they all were really excited. They all shared the reasons from each of their specialties how having a family pet was going to help max. from the first day we have had the kitten i have seen the things that they told me. it is the cutest thing he sits down right next to her and just talks, i'm not sure what he is saying to her but he talks and talks and talks:) he follows her everywhere under the table, under the chair, up and down the steps:) most of the time i am seeing he is very gentle with her, she will just lay there and let him pet her... and he loves hearing her purr. he is seeing that when he is not as gentle she gets up and walks away from him, he is learning that cause a reaction that he doesn't like.

oh, and i can't forget about baby grey, having a family pet would be that he has less time with his big sister kissing on him:)

max holding the kitten for the first time.

lilly's first time holding the kitten.

lilly letting the kitten play with her toys:)

max lying down talking to the kitten.

it's pretty cute, he tells her something then he laughs, it must have been something really funny:)

we are enjoying our newest family member!

four!

2011-01-31T09:53:00.000-06:00

my oldest turned four last week. she seems so much older to me at times, i need to remind myself that she is still just a little girl. i think part of the reason why lilly seems so old to me is because she is my oldest child, with her i am always pushing her to be more grown up and independent. i push her because i know she can do it, she is a very bright, sweet, loving little girl!

lilly the birthday princes:)

lilly wanted a princes themed party, she helped me make the cake and was so proud of it.

lilly with the elrick cousins:)

lilly with her Godparents.

lilly with the pingel cousins:)

a few things that lilly loves to do are;

draw people, she can make a circle for the head and puts a face in the center with eyes, a nose and a mouth, she then attaches arms and legs to the circle!

she is learning the alphabet, she can pick out the letters if we ask her where they are!

she is also learning numbers,

loves barbies, playing her leapster, playing with the new family kitten, her brothers, her cousins,.. oh and anything with princesses!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY LILLY!!!

wordless wednesday.

2011-01-26T20:35:00.000-06:00

growing fast.

2011-01-21T12:36:00.001-06:00

i have been thinking about how i wanted to write this for about a week or so now. i decided that it's just something i have to do and hopefully i'll be able to write it down the same way it's in my head. my baby grey rolled over from belly to back last week on tuesday at my mom's house while i was at work. i am upset that i missed it but i think the thing that was keeping me from sharing this more then wonderful news about this milestone that he has accomplished is that he is just three months old. he can already hold his head up and sit in the bumbo, smiles, laughs and now he roles. i truly am proud of this newest little man of mine, but on the other hand it makes me a little sad. he is growing up way to fast. i am really happy with the pace max is growing at, i am able praise him for the things he does for a good amount of time before he moves onto the next thing. with baby grey i am realizing things are going to be very different. please, i don't want to be misunderstood that i am not happy, because i am, so, so very happy that my youngest is doing all of these great things:) i would like to end the post with a Way to Go baby grey!!! your dad and i are so proud of you:)

baby grey sitting in his bumbo:)

here comes big brother max!

max joining baby grey on the floor:)

max is the best big brother any little boy could ask for:)

max teaching grey the little people farm animals. it is the cutest thing, he goes through each one.

he holds each one up for his little brother to look at, then moves on to the next:)

baby grey is loving this attention from his big brother max:)

they are going to learn so much from each other.

wordless wednesday

2011-01-19T08:19:00.002-06:00

Mama!

2011-01-17T08:35:00.001-06:00

this morning i woke to max yelling uuuuuuuuuup just like every other morning. i walked into his room reached into his crib to get him and he looked right at me and said MAMA! as clear as could be MAMA! today is my 28th birthday.... this is the best birthday gift a mom can get:)

The New Year.

2011-01-07T10:29:00.000-06:00

we celebrated new years eve up north this year! grandma and grandpa elrick, the kilgas family and our family all brought in the new year together:)

the little kids making a fort on the bunk beds.

the bigger kids and baby grey watching a movie in grandma and grandpa room:)

this is such a funny picture because grandma and lilly are smiling so nice... evan on the other hand was just about to yell "it so cold on my back!"

nick and me.

baby grey all decked out!

max and his new year hat:)

max and grandpa elrick.

max making sure grandpa is smiling for the picture.

lilly and grandma elrick:)

a family new years picture.

it was a great weekend we had a tun of fun and all of the kids got along the entire weekend. oh, and i surprisingly stayed up late two nights in a row.

Happy 2011 Everyone!

packer game.

2011-01-06T09:59:00.001-06:00

for sundays big game nick had the kids all decked out in packer apparel. he even found a hat for max... it didn't stay on for to long:)

max in his little cap.

all three just hanging out on the couch:) they are getting so big!

lilly thinking she needs protect baby grey from his big brother max.... and all he wanted was to kiss his little brother on the head, he is really so sweet to his little brother.

lilly and baby grey.

if you don't follow football the packers ended up winning on sunday, that made nick think kids clothes are a good luck charm:) so my guess is they will be wearing the same thing this sunday.

Christmas eve and Christmas day.

2010-12-30T20:02:00.071-06:00

Christmas eve we spent the night with the minten side of the family. before we left the kids sat by the tree for a picture.

great grandma minten with baby grey.

lilly and max playing with the new train set at grandma and grandpa elricks.

the family gathering around the food!

more food.

lilly's gift from great grandma minten:)

max reading the card great aunt jenny made for the family:)

grandma elrick holding baby grey.

max opening his present from great grandma minten.

a car... he loves it!

jenny, max, annie, ashley, and baby grey. this picture was really funny because max would climb down and then back up and wedge himself right between jenny and annie and look back and forth at the two of them! (writing it down doesn't seem to show the true humor...but, it was hilarious!)

cousin ashley and annie were very smart at the end of the night they sent lilly around with a tip jar while they played the piano... lilly's cut was three dollars! big bucks for a three year old:)

max on Christmas morning, we got a late start because the kids slept in to 8:30.

max's big gift from santa.

lilly got a leapster explorer that she loves.

baby grey got diapers from santa oh, and a pillow pet.

lilly and max had such a good time opening their presents, they were so sweet and took turns and shared all of the things they got... it was a great Christmas morning.

max and the family gift from santa.

baby grey exploring his newly found fingers!

for the last few years we have been picking names on the elrick side of the family. big cousin riley picked greys name and she came up with this gift all on her own. she made a book off of shutterfly for him! every page has a different cousin on it and it tells what their favorite color is. i think this might be my favorite gift the kids got.

max and his great big smile for the camera.

lilly and her new princes costume.

aunt dana and uncle adam giving lilly a big kiss.

max got a tun of animals from aunt jess and uncle ben!

grandpa elrick and baby grey.

grandpa pingel and max:)

lilly showing of her gift she got:)

a few of the pingel cousins.

max and his new mickey mouse!

baby grey and his new finger puppets:)

we had a wonderful Christmas with our family:)

Merry Christmas.

2010-12-24T08:24:00.001-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

from the Pingel family

streets of Bethlehem.

2010-12-23T08:29:00.001-06:00

last friday night nick, lilly, max, baby grey, aunt mel, jacqui, jake, and myself walked the streets of Bethlehem. it was a really neat experience for all of us.
this advertisement explains it perfectly,

As you enter you will travel back in time to 3AD and experience the sights, sounds and smells of a busy street in Bethlehem the night Christ was born. Your family and friends can actually walk though a live drama and interact with people who lived in Bethlehem. Realistic dwellings, a quick taste of village life, live animals, Messianic dancing, Roman guards and a most important, a visit to see the new born Savior, Jesus. Visit the Streets of Bethlehem and create special memories this Christmas for the whole family.

the streets of Bethlehem is put on by a local church, i suggest if you live around here you go next year:)

max and aunt mel waiting in line:) i know that i mentioned before, but max is the biggest ham around a camera... on a side note he had a dr. appointment today and he was not a happyboy, he wouldn't even look at her until she took out her ear checking thing with the light in it, he then gave her the biggest smile he could make... i think he thought it was a camera:)
jake, jacqui, lilly and max. before we were able to walk the street(that is all inside.) we all had a short movie to watch about baby Jesus and his birth. when you first walk in you are greeted by the three wise men and this sweet baby camel.
people asking us where we were traveling from, and how many days it took to get to see the new king... the baby Jesus.
at the start when we were waiting in line they passed out coins, we were able to buy things on the streets of Bethlehem. lilly bought a bracelet for three coins... it was a little like the farmers market the things were more expensive at the beginning then at the end:)
lilly and max petting a tiny miniature pony:)people were dancing to music under a huge tent. a girl passed out instruments to play,

the kids loved it.

people were washing clothes and weaving baskets in the river.

at the end of the night i went back to look at the pictures i took and this one was in it. i have no clue how or why it was taken like this i didn't do anything different with my camera, i just thought i should share it:)

the kids petting rabbits.

you were able to buy food with the coins you were given, max really enjoyed the dried cranberries.

nick took a picture of me and baby grey... just so we remember we were there:)

max and lilly petting the donkey.

jake and jacqui smiling for the nicest picture:)

max wasn't up for one more picture and lilly didn't care to smile:)

that was our trip down the streets of Bethlehem:)

wordless wednesday.

2010-12-22T09:37:00.003-06:00

friday to sunday:)

2010-12-12T09:16:00.006-06:00

friday morning we went over to grandma mintens for a visit.

max and great aunt jenny, max is getting really good at smiling for the camera:)
lilly, great grandma minten, and baby grey.
we were home by lunch time and spent the rest of the day in the house. on saturday we had our monthly DS gathering at the mom and pop place, it's a cafe that also has a toy store on the other side. it's a great place to meet because they have an area for the kids to play all the different toys they sell.

we got there an hour late because there was the first snowfall here and the roads were a little slippery, but not to bad... oh, and we woke up late, i would have to say now that i think of it was more about the waking up late then it was because of the roads. so we get there and not one other person was there! not anyone from the group or any other family just there to get coffee.

we did miss our friends,

but it was really fun for max and lilly to have the whole toy area to themselves.

this is the loudest toy they had there, it is a little wooden alligator that snaps different pieces together as you pull it. lilly loved it and ran it all over the store:) the lady working there mentioned maybe we should get one for her...all i could say was "no way!"

max loved playing with the train set:)

we stayed for about an hour or so, then headed home.

max fell asleep on the way home and took an early nap, lilly played outside with her dad while he shoveled. they built the first snowman on the block... we didn't have a carrot for his nose so it's a piece of asparagus!

great aunt lynn was home from milwaukee and stopped over to say hi and give the kids their annual singing Christmas cards:) and they love them.
lilly and baby grey sunday morning on the couch.

we are snowed in, it's a blizzard out there this morning! we plan to stay in the house and drink hot chocolate and play games.

saint nick.

2010-12-08T10:38:00.007-06:00

saint nick came this last week, and brought a few new toys and a new movie for the kids! we didn't yet see the princess frog, and we were lucky enough that was what he brought for baby grey. that night we watched it and i can say it is a wonderful disney movie, right up there with beauty and the beast. it had a great story line and really good songs.

it was strange to see five stocking hanging up on the fire place this year... our family of five didn't seem like a big family until i saw the amount in stockings.... five, wow:)
max and lilly laid down on the floor and watched the whole thing(first time)! baby grey didn't think it was that interesting, he dozed off a few times throughout the movie.

it's been awhile since we had a family movie night.... after every time i think we should do them more often. maybe i should put it on the calender and then it would actually be done:)

wordless wednesday.

2010-12-08T10:07:00.004-06:00

lilly and santa's list.

2010-12-03T12:11:00.010-06:00

lilly and i were sitting at our kitchen counter yesterday looking at an american girl catalog when she came across a page with her doll kit (who she calls little lilly because it looks a lot like her:)) on it. kit was in her pj's sitting on her bed. i always thought that would be a great gift for santa to get her so for the past few months i been saying to lilly wouldn't it be great if little lilly had her very own bed to sleep on. then this is how our conversation went.

lilly: "mom look, look a bed for my lilly!"

me: "oh, yeah look at that."

lilly: "we should ask santa for a bed for lilly."

me: "that's a great idea" (so i got out her list we have been writing to santa and as i wrote it i said it out load... "a bed for lilly.")

lilly then sat there quiet for a second just looking at me.

lilly: "mom, maybe we should put down a bed for little lilly so santa doesn't bring me a new bed."

me: "good thinking lilly."

lilly holding baby grey.

wordless wednesday

2010-12-01T08:24:00.000-06:00

max is 2!

2010-11-29T09:42:00.004-06:00

we celebrated max's 2nd birthday yesterday! he had a packer themed party, since he loves watching the game with his dad:)

max in full gear.

touchdown maxers! it's time for cake.

we finally found out what max's favorite flavor cake is,

and he inhaled it! yum:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!!!

happy thanksgiving:)

2010-11-27T10:53:00.005-06:00

happy late thanksgiving:) we had a wonderful family filled day. we started be having a thanksgiving lunch at my mom and dads, then headed over to the pingel side for supper:)

lilly, max, and baby grey.

the elrick family, all 18 of us sitting around the table.

the other half of the elrick table:)

five of the pingel side cousins eating together:)

and the newest two just hanging out with their dads on the couch:)

there is a a lot to be thankful for this year, but my number one is my family.

wordless wednesday.

2010-11-24T08:01:00.001-06:00

never forget:)

2010-11-18T08:02:00.000-06:00

throughout life you get these moments, usually time passes and we forget.... this is one that i pray i will never. i have posted in the past that max's language has really picked up. but for some reason this event truly hit me, let me explain;

it all starts that i got a 30% off at kohls so my mom and i went after work to shop. by the time i got home it was dark. normally anytime that i get home and the kids are already there max and lilly come running to the door, lilly normal saying your home! and max normal yelling some type of cute gibberish. but this night it was different max greeted me at the door silent. he looked up at me and then did the sign for "na-night" (to sleep) no sound, no noise, no yelling, just a sign. i said to him "no max you don't need to go na-night you play." he just looked at me, it's hard to find the right words to describe it. it was a look of... you understand me:) all this time yelling i did this, and you finally understand me! then he just smiled turned around and walk away.

now, i know that he has asked for "more" and has done all of these other signs that i am very proud of. for some reason, this to me seemed like my first conversation with him:) sure, it might have been a one sign conversation, but to me it felt like we were really connected with words:) i've been waiting to have this moment, and i thought i would have to hear him vocally to feel that connection but i was wrong and that is why i hope i never forget it.

here is max signing na-night.

a visit.

2010-11-16T16:32:00.005-06:00

this past weekend we had one of nick's closest friends over, it also was the first time we got to meet his daughter. dallas(nicks friend) and his wife windy live out in colorado, so it's always a special occasion when they come home for a visit, but like i said it was extra special we got to finally meet skylar:) max loved having a friend smaller then him:) he followed her while she crawled around on the floor. he was just so fascinated by her, he wouldn't take his eyes off of her:)

she seemed to like him too, as long as he wasn't pinching her:(

we were lucky enough to capture their first kiss:)

a bug.

2010-11-11T17:04:00.005-06:00

the flu season is here and it hit us fast and hard. today i had three sick little ones:( this morning i found it challenging to cuddle all three at the same time, but we found our way through it. by one o'clock max was off the couch up and walking around. baby grey slept most of the morning and afternoon, oh, and i am pretty sure lilly watched enough tv for a week but like max, now is up playing again!

my littlest one:)

2010-11-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

this little boy is six weeks today. i am noticing he is not as quiet as little max was when he was a baby he is more like lilly. he is not sleeping though the night (i know that is normal but i forgot how it can affect you during the day, not getting that sleep.) and just like lilly was, if he is not being held he is crying. i can say the difference now is that i know it doesn't hurt a baby to cry. so there is a lot more noise in the house:)

he is just so small, it's hard to remember the other two so small. he is most definitely growing, a few of his sleeves are getting short on him already! but he is still fitting perfectly into newborn diapers:)
lilly and max are loving taking turns to hold him, and just the other day lilly wanted to help with a diaper change! it went well, she just kept saying "oh, you have such a tiny little butt, cute."

the whole family is truly enjoying the newest member of the family:) (even with less sleep and all the extra noise:))

happy belated halloween

2010-11-04T16:22:00.009-05:00

here are a few pictures of our halloween.

max, lilly and baby grey.

the elrick cousins and two neighbor friends before trick or treating on sunday.
grandpa and grey.

our little bunny:)

sorry for the spill aunt dana.

there was a hotel that had trick or treating for kids and families with for any child with a different ability. i knew i wouldn't be able to take all three kids by myself so my mom joined us:)

lilly with cat in the hat. lilly and max with the spooky skeleton!

max.

standing like a true super hero:)

lilly with scruff mcgruff:)

wordless wednesday

2010-11-03T12:24:00.003-05:00

and then there were three.

2010-10-28T08:29:00.000-05:00

i can say it's been an adjustment to go from two little ones in the house to having three. it has been four days now that i have had my children home with just me (during the day while nick is at work), and i can say i am so very tired by the end of the day!

i'm am trying really hard not to wish these day to go by fast,
because in all the chaos there are these moments,

that i am so happy to be able to be here to see:)

wordless wednesday

2010-10-27T11:54:00.001-05:00

it's crazy to think!

2010-10-25T10:16:00.004-05:00

i can't believe in less than a month my little boy is going to be two! since max has started walking (19 months! go max go!) he really has been picking up lots of other things,

he is signing consistently

"more"

"eat"

"bye"

"na-night"

"all done"

over the weekend he was playing with my dad, max kept putting his shoe on my dads head, then my dad would say wheres your shoe max, max would then take it off his head, he would do this over and over. then with out being prompted after my dad said shoe max did the sign! all by himself! it seems to be all coming together for him,

and today lilly and i were reading a book on the couch, max climbed up with a toy dog and handed it to lilly and patted his own chest over and over. i realized he was trying to sign dog, just in his own way(with signing, dog is normally patting your leg)!

he has vocally said the word more a few times now:)

he shakes his head back and forth for "no",

and up and down for "yes",

he copies almost every sign if he is in the mood, and now will hum along with you:)

max is always on the go, but we have found with his therapists is that if he is a little bit tired he can focus more on tasks like shape sorting(he is getting very good at shapes and sizes).

he has figured out how to open the gate to the upstairs so we had to come up with a way to jimmy rig it.

max now knows what gentle means, he seems to be kinder to his big sister, he no longer bites and only occasionally pulls hair.

he loves to hold his little brother, he looks at him in such a sweet way, then i ask him if he wants to hold him he needs to sit in the corner of the couch, he climbs up in the spot and holds him:) only for a second though and then seems to get board with him and pushes him away (we are working on signing all done for that).

here is a picture of max sitting on the stool. the last few weeks he has been climbing up and down them, but now at dinner time he wants to sit with the rest of the family to eat(not in his highchair). it's so cute he just sits and eats like a big boy!
you can tell he is so proud of himself:)
yes, he is still the trouble maker with climbing onto the counters!

i can say the whole family is so proud of this little boy who is almost two:) to think back two years ago and the things i read about having a child with DS, and the things a 2 year old would do "could do", it makes me wish i could find every new mom out there and say, don't read those things, don't believe those things. your child is going to amaze you by everything they do:) i feel the moments seem even more special because you can see how hard he tries to do something, how he doesn't quit and continues to try. so then when he gets it... wow... like i said AMAZING!
great job max! keep it up:)

fall at the cottage.

2010-10-23T18:39:00.006-05:00

we went up north this past thursday night, nick had taken off of work on friday so we were lucky to have a nice long family weekend:) my mom road up with us on thursday, my dad joined us on friday after work:) lilly and grandma elrick in one of the many leaf piles!

max outside having a great time:)

daddy and greyson:)

lilly and max were having such a great time in the leaves.

daddy and max.

family picture in the big leaf pile:)

grandma and baby grey:)

baby grey wide-eyed.

lilly liking the bowl after making brownies...yum:)

now that's one messy face:)

wordless wednesday

2010-10-20T07:44:00.000-05:00

fun on the farm.

2010-10-19T12:20:00.009-05:00

on saturday nick, the kids and i spent the day with three of the cousins, aunt val, uncle nate grandma and grandpa pingel at a local farm/petting zoo:) the kids had so much fun together:)

lilly and her cousin admiring the yummy carmel apples:)

lilly and grandpa!

to cute:)

max in the chicken coop.

yes i caught that with my own two hands! those things are fast.

lilly was a little scared at first but then she took charge and wanted to hold one on her own! go, lilly go:)

max walked the almost the entire time on his own:)

next up was the sheep.

and there are two little goats:)

then there was a hayride.

max and daddy:)

lilly on a pony ride:)

max got his turn:) doesn't he look like a little pro holding onto the handle like that:)

and at the end of it all we got to pick out our pumpkins:)

wordless wednesday

2010-10-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

you would never guess!

2010-10-12T09:20:00.005-05:00

i'll give you three chance to tell me how or what you think i woke up to this morning.

1. full of spit up from baby grey?.... nope.
2. on the floor?.... nope.
3. with a sucker stuck to me forehead?....nope.

i woke up to this...

a police officer in my upstairs hallway out side my bedroom door yelling... this is how our conversation went...

police officer #1: "is anyone in there?" in a very firm voice.
at this time is when i actually woke up.
me: "umm... yes"
police officer#1: "this is the police department is everything alright in there?" "i need you to come out" again, in a very firm voice.
me: "everything is fine, just wait a second i need to put something on." not that i was fully naked but i'm pretty sure the little chute police department wouldn't like to see a lady that just had a baby 2wks ago in her underwear.
police officer #1: "i need you to step out right now."
me: "just a second"
police officer #1: "now mam."

i opened my bed room door and sure enough there were two metro cops in my house... in my upstairs hallway... right outside my bedroom door! our strange early morning conversation continued.

police officer #2 "is everything alright mam?"
me: "yes, it's fine?" at this point i was really very confused, i thought maybe there was a gas leak it was really cold and smelt strange outside of my room, kind of like... umm, if you live around here the way kaukauna smells.

at this point baby grey is making some noise back in my room, police office #1 looked very concerned like he was going to pull his gun out!

me: "that's just my baby." i went back in the room and picked him up.
police officer #1: "mam we are her because a neighbor was concerned your front door has been open for a very long time this morning."
me: "oh, i'm sorry my husband must have left it open when he left for work." i then felt like i had to explain more, for taking up there time. "see i just had a baby two weeks ago and nick, that's my husband has been bringing the kids to my mother-in-laws or my moms in the morning... see it's not his usual thing to do... so he must have forgotten to shut the door." i felt like i was in school trying to grasp at any logical excuse that i could think of.
police officer #2: "so, everything is okay here?"
me: "yes."
police officer #1: "we just need to get your information, then we can go."

wow! what a way to wake up:) after they left i never laughed so hard!

my neighbor a crossed the street then called to apologise. she said that she left to bring her kids to school and the door was open, and after an hour or so she came over and knocked and yelled for me but i didn't hear her. she was concerned that something happened to me and possible max and lilly got out of the house. then she said she thought that maybe i was mad. told her no way and i appreciated her watching over our house and our family like that.

she then went on about how bad she felt, and told me that when the first cop got there he went around the outside of my house checking things then went back to his car and put on gloves then another cop car came and she saw them get there guns out! she felt so bad that they brought guns into my house. she didn't think they would take such precautions, but i can totally see why they did.

over all i feel safe that i have such a close neighborhood:) and now i have a great story to tell!

little mommy:)

2010-10-09T18:56:00.004-05:00

lilly has become quite the little mother with baby grey. she is there to help every second of the day.

here is a picture of his first bath at home.

he did not care for it at all:)

such a sweet big sister:)

wordless wednesday

2010-10-06T10:30:00.005-05:00

(i know this is supposes to be a wordless wednesday.... but i have to point out max's big smile that he is giving his little brother.)

movin' for max!

2010-10-04T12:13:00.019-05:00

this past saturday Oct 2, 2010 was our first annual Down syndrome awareness walk for the fox cities! it was a huge success! we had over 1,000 people there and we raised over 60,000 dollars!

i would like to say a special thank you to our team Movin' for Max, we had a total of 70 people register to be on max's team:)
i wasn't able to thank everyone on the day for being there, or at least to share with them what it means to nick and me, i am hoping that they all know. it shouldn't amaze me that max has such an impact on so many peoples lives, to have that many people want to share this wonderful event with us,... but it truly does amaze me. i am so overwhelmed by how much love and support we get from our family and friends. i feel so blessed to have all of these wonderful people in our lives, especially the one that share this day with us:) i have to also thank those who have helped me raise over $2,500 in max's name. wow, that just blows me away!

i was not as organized as i wish was on this day and didn't get a group picture of our team:( but here is a list of all of our teammates that joined us!

val coenen
nicole coenen
lexi coenen
Cindy Dakin
Nathan Davis
Wilson Davis
jeff elrick
connie elrick
lynn elrick
Rachel Galloway
Kyle Galloway
Carter Galloway
Kathy Hank
Erica Hanson
Corey Hanson
Luke Hanson
Olivia Hanson
Adam Kilgas
Adam Kilgas
Noah Kilgas
Wyatt Kilgas
Evan Kilgas
Dana Kilgas
Tina Kloehn
emily kolasinski
CHAD kolasinski
Jessica Lesselyoung
Luke Lesselyoung
Ava Lesselyoung
Chloe Lesselyoung
Gwen Lesselyoung
Jacob Malm
Jacqui Malm
Melanie malm
nancy metcalf
bridget metcalf
glady minten
jenny minten
Bill Murphy
Diane Murphy
Gloria Nienhaus
Clark Pingel
Connie Pingel
Clair Reynebeau
Kristy Schreiber
Jessica Schultz
Ben Schultz
Riley Schultz
Aiden Schultz
Jack Schultz
todd van hammond
jennifer van hammond
olivia van hammond
emily van hammond
Debbie Van Handel
Dan Van Handel
Lauren Van Handel
Eric Van Handel
and
tim wendlandt

our family at the walk:) baby grey sleeping. max sitting at the picnic table like a big boy, munching on some chips:)
eating a hot dog:)they had prizes for the top ten teams that raised the largest amount.... we took 5th:)
the kids awaiting the walk:)
team movin' for max winning the largest team award. yes, that is me in the wheel chair. i remind you that i just had my 3rd c-section 5 days earlier:) that's max sleeping in the stroller. he fell asleep as soon as the walk started. so sweet:) it was kind of nice just sitting back and letting my mom push me:) max sleeping with his new sign, we decided that next year we are going to be team "movin' with max" since he is up and moving now:) lilly and daddy:)max and his 2nd cousin carter:)

lilly in my chair:)

at the end of the walk when the petting zoo was packing up we went to say goodbye to the animals:)

and our new friends asked us if max would like a ride! his first pony ride.... and he loved it! the second he sat on the pony he started to bounce up and down, like he was saying giddy up pony,... giddy up!

so sweet.

the family with the petting zoo has a granddaughter with DS, it was so neat how she had an instant connection with max... it was so sweet:)
lilly even got a ride:)

it was a great, great day:)

Greyson Jeffrey.

2010-10-03T12:09:00.008-05:00

we welcomed baby Grey into the world on

September 27, 2010.

6lbs. 13oz.

20.5 inches

Greyson Jeffrey Pingel
first picture with mommy and baby grey.
this moment was so amazing, my heart was so filled with love... but then had a small amount of sadness thinking that this was more than likely going to be the last time i have this feeling, the feeling of love at first sight... the feeling of instantly know i would do anything for this child.

everything went great with the c-section, besides the fact of the anaesthesia didn't fully take, the most important part was baby grey was health and able to breath on his own. he was 3 days shy of being 38 weeks.

daddy holding the newest member of the family:)
the first time i held baby grey:)

our first family picture:)

max gave baby grey so many soft kisses,

lilly didn't want to stop holding him.

such a sweet little face. grandma and grandpa pingel with the 7th grand baby,

grandma and grandpa elrick with their 10th:)

lazy day.

2010-09-28T08:07:00.001-05:00

i'm not sure if the last few weeks have seemed so hectic and crazy to me because of this (very big) little guy in my tummy, or because it really has been extra busy? but, this last friday we had nothing to do, and no where to go:) we had the nicest day of being lazy, i thought the picture below of max sums up the whole day!

sleepover!

2010-09-25T18:23:00.005-05:00

lilly had her first sleepover with her cousin riley on thursday night:) the two of them played with dolls and my little ponies, and to top the night off had popcorn and watched the new tinkerbell movie! lilly had so mush fun and i could tell she felt like such a big girl,... except for the fact that she still had to wear a pull-up to bed and riley did not:)

birthday party... take two:)

2010-09-14T09:08:00.001-05:00

on saturday we helped our friends noah and aaron celebrate their birthdays:)

aaron and his mom:)
noah and his mom:)
max was not enjoying the birthday hat:(
lilly waiting patiently waiting for her ice cream treat.

this was the best picture i could get with max and his hat actually on his head:)

daddy's new toy!

2010-09-12T22:03:00.006-05:00

this was something that nicks been wishing he had for a long time:) and he finally found the perfect one... a 1983 jeep! (it's as old as me!)

we picked it up this last sunday, i think this day was better then x-mas for nick... he got his jeep, and the packers won their first game of the season:)

lilly was excited the second she saw it come down the street, max on the other hand had to think about it for awhile....

with the wind in their hair there was nothing but smiles:)

to cute:)

by night max was sleeping and lilly was counting the stars while we drove.

goodbye adenoids, hello tubes.

2010-09-10T08:03:00.001-05:00

a week ago today max said goodbye to his adenoids and hello to tubes in his ears:) i was on the fence for awhile, should i put max through the surgery for something that might actually not help anything? the reason the dr. felt that it was necessary was due to how many "sinus infection" he had last fall, winter and spring. it seemed like he was on antibiotics every other week. when i spoke with his ent he explained to me that very rarely do infants/toddlers actually have a "sinus infection" that it is really their adenoids are the things that are causing the problem. so that is when he recommend we take those puppies out, and at the same time place tubes in his ears. the tubes were not needed to be placed for any other reason then after they remove the adenoids there seems to be a lot of drainage and more then likely he would have more ear infections from that. up until this point max has been very blessed with his ears, i know that a lot of kiddos with DS have tiny little canals that the dr.s have trouble even seeing in(not in max's case). so far max has only had 3 ear infections(and from my understanding that's not normally enough to consider have tubes placed). like i said it was what his dr. recommend and it's hard to put your trust in someone else, but sometimes you have to go with your gut and trust it's the right thing to do for your child. max had to have a neck x-ray and everything was in the clear for that, i wasn't aware that was an issue for people/children/baby's with DS but it is. what they are worried about is that the first and second vertebrae will shift during anesthesia. once again we are very lucky, it looks like max is in the clear for that.

the night before his surgery we made him his favorite dinner... spaghetti:)
that of course required a bath:)
he was scheduled first thing in the morning, so when we woke lilly up she said "why is the sky purple?" this picture was taken 5:30 in the morning.
lilly giving her little brother a good luck hug:)

the flash was to bright for his little eyes, this was how all the picture turned out:)

his surgery was a success, his dr. said that his adenoids were taking up 75-80% of his airway. it was the right thing to do. he did say that for the next few weeks he will seem worse then he was before, but it will get better. and he was right about it being worse, his little nose is so sore from all the drainage:(

but he still is giving us all those smiles:)

two kids in bibs:)

2010-09-07T09:01:00.002-05:00

Down to earth.

2010-08-28T08:52:00.002-05:00

every summer a near by local group in oshkosh, Down to earth puts on a really nice picnic. they invite all families from DSAW- fox cities. when i called to rsvp i first gave her my name...

me: "hi my name is sara pingel and i was just calling to let you know that our family is planning on attending the Down to earth picnic."

her: "could you please hold on i'm outside and my phone is to far away from the receiver.... okay, sorry... what did you say your name was?"

me: "sara pingel"

her: "oh, i thought you said sarah palin!"

that made me laugh:)

a group shot of the picnic:)

lilly, max and me enjoying the entertainment.
nick and i were so surprised when we told lilly to go and join some of the kids up front with the man that was singing songs.... she did! she ran right up and wasn't shy, or quite when some talked to her. lilly really came out of her shell this day:)

max and his friend ashley:)
lilly at the front of the train:)

max pointing at his big sister lilly when she walked by:)

the park had a great sprinkler area, it seemed like every family brought their kids swimming suits, it was a perfect day to play in the water.

the kids had so much fun playing in the water:)

wordless wednesday

2010-08-25T10:55:00.004-05:00

camping.

2010-08-22T22:28:00.004-05:00

over the weekend we went camping at hartman's creek, it was a great weekend. jessie and the kids joined us:) it was really neat to go with the kids to this campground because i have so many wonderful memories of being there with my family camping when i was little:)

max and daddy getting ready for bed.

nick, max and aiden watching the fire:)
lilly finishing her breakfast:)
max having one of aunt jessie's treats:)

saturday morning they had a nature guy come to the park and show different animals to the kids.

they all thought it was really neat:)

none of the kids pet this thing.... it was a little scary, when it was time to put it back in it cage it bit the nature guys helper!

on the walk back to our campsite max took a nice nap, all that excitement of those animals tuckered this little guy out.

lilly and aiden roasted hot dogs for us all for lunch:)

we spent everyday at the beach. the water was so cold, perfect for hot summer days:)

aiden collected shells every day:)

riley swam:)

jack played:)

riley and lilly covered their feet deep in the sand:)

max ate a lot of sand.

i thought this was a cute picture... don't worry it's a empty bottle:)

wordless wednesday

2010-08-18T21:26:00.001-05:00

bugs and more!

2010-08-17T10:19:00.008-05:00

sunday we spent part of the day at a local nature center:) the day was beautiful, but i can say with all the rain we have been having the mosquitoes were crazy!

max thought the large fish where pretty neat:)

lilly liked the snakes and turtles:)

not sure if you can see there is a white label on the side of this tank that says please do not touch the turtles,... oops.

next time we will follow the rules little turtle:)

lilly was very concerned about the "stuffed" animals, especially for this little deer:(

lilly can't walk by a bubbler without getting something to drink:)

so many places to run...

next year max:)

lilly found an apple that fell off a tree:)... it looked really good... until we saw the worm that made a home in it!

they had a huge nest for the kids to play in.

max had more fun climbing on the ladder:)

i thought this was a pretty picture, but it also is where all the mosquitoes are coming from!

the baby.

2010-08-12T08:40:00.006-05:00

on tuesday nick and i had an ultrasound "just to check everything out... no surprises," my dr. said. well, he did not let us see his face, we have no pictures of this little one in utero:( i can say since with both of our last pregnancies we had so many ultrasounds, with this one i was able to read all of the measurements and actually know what they meant. so i knew everything was on track with baby gray:) he is already head down, and there is still the right amount of "water" he has to swim around in:) it was nice to know right away instead of the scary unknown wait to see the dr. after.

after that our appointment nick and i were in the elevator to leave... we had this conversation,

nick: "this is a really easy pregnancy"
me: "no, dislocated hips like lilly!"
nick: "no, Trisomy 21...(DS)"
me: "this baby is being way to easy."
nick: "i bet he's going to be a little hell raiser when he gets out!"
me: "i hope there is no truth to that, we got really lucky with lilly and max:)"

this pregnancy has been a piece of cake! my friends have asked me if i am tired of being pregnant?

um... nope.

i could spend time dwelling on my pinched nerve in my back, or how very, very tired i am, but what i have found is to have an emotional roller coaster of a pregnancy is the worst thing to go through, to think of losing the life of your child... i say please God i will take the back pain and the tiredness with no complaints:)

i think i could do this (be in this pregnancy) forever. i am in no rush to hurry along this growing process:)

‎31 weeks the baby now weighs as much as four navel oranges. (length: over 16 inches, head to heel.) i wish we were able to get a picture of him to share at our appointment but this will have to do until he's here.

fun with friends:)

2010-08-11T10:30:00.003-05:00

i'm sure many of you in our DS blogging community are aware with the zoromski family and their recent adoption of their child lily. over this past weekend we were lucky enough to celebrate little lily zoromski homecoming at our house with many of our friends:)

michelle, lily, karly, braden, brian and ruby:)

below are just a few pictures of our friends,

we had a really nice hot, hot day. thanks again to everyone who made it, i thought it was a wonderful turn out to welcome this new little girl into our DS family:)

go, lilly, go!

2010-08-07T08:07:00.002-05:00

what could bring such a huge smile to this little girl?

her first bike!
go, lilly, go!

children's parade!

2010-08-06T08:42:00.000-05:00

last week we attended the children's parade to promote our Down Syndrome Awareness Walk in oct. we had a really big group, since both of my sisters are on the walk committee with me,... jessie and her kids came along to walk in the parade:)

getting ready for the parade to start.
it was tough getting max ready while he was sleeping but with the kids help we got it done:)
the kids were very excited to walk in a parade:) especially because they knew grandma elrick, great grandma minten and aunt jenny were waiting at the end to wave to them:)

they had fire trucks for the kids to climb in (we will too at our walk!)

hi max:)

more fire truck fun!

we then pass out save the date cards for our walk (OCT. 2nd mark your calendars), and got a hamburger and hot dog. (make a note at our DS walk you can get a whole meal for $1.50)

alright enough plugging for the our walk, her is a cute picture of lilly in front of a new store on the ave.

TEAM MOVIN' For MAX!

2010-08-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

Family and Friends,

This year, Team Movin’ for Max will be participating in the 1st Annual Fox Cities Down Syndrome Awareness Walk at Riverside Park in Neenah, WI. It will take place on Saturday, October 2nd 2010.

We are so excited for the 1st Annual Down Syndrome Awareness Walk this year! To be involved with creating such a wonderful event has been a big part of my life this past year. I can't wait to see it all come together. There is going to be a ton of fun carnival games, face painting, a petting zoo, live entertainment, food, and I can't forget a booth of educational information on Down syndrome!

Our first goal for the 1st Annual Down Syndrome Awareness Walk is to raise awareness. I want everyone one in this community to know that Max in so many, many ways is no different then any other toddler his age... he takes pride in the things he does, he is almost walking and looks around the room to make sure everyone is watching and clapping, he gets hurt feelings when his sister takes his toys, he loves to play, laugh... and right now loves, loves Mickey Mouse.
Our second goal is to raise donations. Whether you decide to walk with us in Neenah and/or make a donation to support Down syndrome awareness, you will be making a difference for Team Movin’ for Max and the Down Syndrome Association of Wisconsin – Fox Cities.

Your donations will be making an immediate impact on the lives of families in our area who receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome. Your pledges will go directly to DSAW-Fox Cities, a local volunteer-run organization that provides information, resources and opportunities for families of individuals with Down syndrome. DSAW-Fox Cities understands the value of those with Down syndrome in our lives and our communities. Our family is an active member of this group and we are greatly benefiting from their support.

Thank you so much for your support,
The Pingel Family

Donations/Pledges:

Please go to http://www.firstgiving.com/pingel to make a pledge to Team Movin’ for Max and DSAW-FC with a credit card. There is a sponsor me now purple button next to his picture at the top.

*To join Team Movin’ for Max on the right side of the page there is a spot that says join this team. Please join and walk with us on Oct. 2nd.

*To make a pledge by check, please write checks out to DSAW (with memo “Team Movin’ for Max”) and send them to:

DSAW-Fox Cities
P.O. Box 2232
Appleton, WI 54912

wordless wednesday

2010-08-04T11:03:00.003-05:00

brush away daddy:)

2010-07-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

working in the dental field i just thought this was too cute:)

max sits so well to get his teeth brushed, he loves every minute of it.

great job max!

Down syndrome, off the clock.

2010-07-28T14:35:00.003-05:00

here is a link from blog that posted wonderful words from a pre-teenage boy with Down syndrome. this boy explains that he doesn't have DS all of the time. if you haven't read it yet, please take the time it really made me think as a parent:)

wordless wednesday

2010-07-28T09:12:00.000-05:00

i'm (max) on a mission.

2010-07-27T08:46:00.009-05:00

lilly and me early this morning on the couch.

oh, wait something catches my eye.
and i go for it with out any concern for my big sister:)
the cereal!... but my arm is too short i can't reach the bottom of the box.
oh, then i remembered mom put some in this cup for me.

but it's empty:(

maybe if i try to drink it... something might be stuck in there?

jack johnson, and a girls day with lilly:)

2010-07-25T18:05:00.006-05:00

on saturday night nick and i went to a jack johnson concert! it was amazing, we had such a great time. we didn't get home until 1:30 pm and i had a big day planned with lilly in the morning. we went to a friends baby shower in the morning, then went to art in the park:)us two girls at art in the park:)

they had a place for kids to paint their own pictures, lilly wanted to first draw a flower then "rain and lots of clouds mommy." from this you can tell that it's tornado season here in wisconsin:)

lilly's finished masterpiece!
she was so good that she got to pick out a toy, this is lilly's new friend lizzie the pink lizard.

we ate lunch and played at the park.

this was one steep slide, i didn't think she was going to go down it.

but she did:) and boy did she scream! i thought she was going to be crying when she
got off of it and i think she would have been if i wasn't laughing so hard at how much static was in her hair. i showed her the picture, she thought it was pretty funny too:)

we drank a lot, i repeat a lot of lemonade.

we had an excellent girls day, just lilly and me:) we talked about a ton of things and it was really nice because i haven't had very much time with just lilly and myself. today made me realize how old she is getting. we walked the whole day, no umbrella stroller, no diaper bag, no little fits or tantrums. she wanted to look at all of the art, "look at this flower picture mommy, that's i could draw that!" i'm not sure the artist selling the painting appreciated that comment like i did:)

i also realized how small she still is too, she had her lizard crawl all the way back to the car (at least 7 blocks). she is too cute:)