This is Jadon. He turned 11 on December 2nd and like most kids was very excited to be having a birthday. He went around most of the week singing "Happy Birthday" to himself and telling everyone "Thank you" when they wished him a happy birthday. Everyone's birthday is exciting to Jadon and he loves to call brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews on their big day and sing to them.
In a lot of ways Jadon is a very typical 11 year old. He is in the fifth grade. He rides a school bus to and from school everyday. He loves to play wall ball or basketball (he has a killer throw and can out shoot most of the kids his age) at recess. He loves to swim (he especially likes to jump from the rope swing or go down the water slide at a nearby community pool) and ride horses. He enjoys music and loves going to scouts. Jadon loves to read books to anyone who will sit and listen and he enjoys writing, especially long list of his family members. He can spend hours looking at photo albums and knows exactly which picture goes where and heaven forbid anyone trying to change the order of his pictures. He will spend hours playing with his nieces and nephews and has to stop to look at every baby he sees when we are out. His favorite places to eat are Rainforest Cafe and Red Robin, but he will pretty much eat anywhere as long as they have pizza and apple juice. 
However, in one important aspect Jadon is different from his peers. Jadon has an extra #21 chromosome. Most of the time, more is better, or so we are taught to believe, but not in this case. Having that extra chromosome in each of the millions of cell's in his body creates a variety of abnormalities known as Down syndrome. It also presents some challenges to both Jadon and to us as the family that loves him. I hope that this blog can become a place to journal about our unexpected "Trip to Holland". The scenery is definitely different from what we had come to expect with our other children, but it is so beautiful in its own right!
No comments:
Post a Comment