Getting bigger....

All right, I am officially starting this blog! I was hesitant to do this, because I thought I would be all excited and say I'll write every day, but then lose interest. However, I have been reading a lot of blogs of parents who have kids with Williams Syndrome and it is such a great therapeutic rush for me. I read what the others are going through, some mirroring my life as well, and hopefully this blog will be a help to someone else too.

I have a few friends who have had babies after I had Brady eight months ago. Their kids have all surpassed him in weight (except for the one born three weeks ago... and he'll probably do that within the month), some have graduated passed him in eating abilities also, as well as other fine and gross motor skills. The funny thing is that... it really doesn't bother me. I thought it would. Maybe it does on some level... but I am at that place in my life right now that I am happy with the progress Brady has made so far, and continues to every day.

When my eight-year-old Michael was a baby, I used to be that mother who checked the What to Expect book for each month's progress and marvel at his abilities to be ahead of the book in every chapter. My girlfriend and I would jokingly talk about how advanced our children were and how they were learning Spanish at three months of age. How ironic now that I don't even open that book with Brady. The first month I checked it, by the second month we had a strong suspicion he had William's, so I checked the book to see how delayed he was. After that I didn't open it because I didn't want to know how delayed he was. At some point that changed. Over the past few months I haven't opened it because I finally realized it doesn't matter how delayed he is... Brady is who he is. He wouldn't be Brady if he didn't have William's. I marvel at his accomplishments now, even if in other children they happened months ago.

I do have one wish --- just a little smile. And the one he has in his sleep doesn't count!

I do have people stop me in the stores and ask how old he is (EVERYONE stops because he is so adorable!). I answer and wait for the expected, "Wow, he's so tiny! My son-daughter-grandchild-nephew-neighbor-third cousin's son twice removed- child was 220 pounds when he/she was that age!" I smile and just respond, "Yeah, but he's a cutie so we're keeping him." I have learned not to be annoyed --they aren't doing it on purpose-- and just move along.

I know I'll probably hit this again when he's at another learning level, maybe trying to walk, talk, learn the alphabet... and hopefully I will remember that Brady will make his acomplishments when he is ready. And I will be there with the camera.