Fun at Brandon's house

Yesterday we spent the day with Jimmy's friend Brandon and his family. His Mom Denise, and I are good friends and we love to get together with the boys. Jimmy calls Brandon BT (his initials). He always says "BT loves Toby Keith!". They have been friends since middle school and are now in the Young Adult Program together. Jimmy is 23 and Brandon is almost 22. These two get along great and are always being silly. We will be walking with them at our Buddy Walk so I am hoping to get some more pics to share then.
Jimmy entertaining Caleb and Elijah with his silly faces!

Of course, Caleb spent the entire time in the pool. Jumping in mostly! Elijah was busy running around and exploring, he wasn't too keen on the pool today.

Jimmy's Ride

This bike allows Jimmy to be independent in riding all over our neighborhood. We ride together sometimes but Jimmy really likes to ride by himself too. Most everyone knows Jimmy or is used to seeing Jimmy ride in our neighborhood, and that makes me feel good. He likes his independence and I love seeing the pride on his face when he takes off.:)

My little fishie

My boys

Jimmy was so happy when I bought him this shirt. I just love to see him smile.

Shhhhh, don't tell Ben I snuck his picture on here. Whenever I take his picture he tells me "And don't put that on your blog!" He didn't tell me this time though. LOL!




Caleb and Elijah love being outside and love the water. I thought it would be fun to add some bubbles to their pool and water table. They loved it! I think Caleb loved holding the hose more than anything. If I let him, he would play with it for hours and flood our neighborhood, I'm sure!

Jimmy's Groove

What is a groove?
A groove is a set pattern or thought in one's actions or thoughts. People with Down syndrome are particularly good at this business of having and following grooves in their daily lives.

One example of a groove that we see with Jimmy is:

Being quite meticulous in the care of his appearance and grooming as well as his room and his possessions. People with Ds often have a set place for furniture and other personal items in their rooms or living spaces. Items that are moved or disturbed by others are usually returned to the original location in short order.

The pictures below show different areas in Jimmy's room that are in order the way Jimmy wants them. Just because they may not look like they are in order to you and me,(toys on the floor) doesn't mean that they are not in order to Jimmy. Believe me, if I were to go in to Jimmy's room and move anything an inch to the left, Jimmy would realize it and promptly move it back.


The video below shows what happened when Jimmy recently went on vacation and I cleaned his room while he was away, including the rug that some of his trains are on. Afterward, I did not get them back in the correct order and as soon as Jimmy came home, he realized that and immediately sat down to put them in the correct order. I didn't realize that it would bother Jimmy as much as it did. Once he started putting his trains in the correct order, I decided to videotape him to show you what one of Jimmy's grooves look like. And next time, if I clean his rug, I will take a photo of the trains first to make sure that I put them back correctly.:(

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For more information, I recommend the book:
Mental Health in Adults with Down syndrome, a guide to emotional and behavioral strengths and challenges by Dennis McGuire, Ph.D. & Brian Chicoine, M. D.

2010 Buddy Walk

We are very excited to once again participate in our local Down syndrome Buddy Walk to help raise awareness about Down syndrome. Please won't you help Jimmy, Caleb and Elijah meet their goal of $500 by making a donation?:)
Thank you so much!

to donate. click on the link below:)

www.firstgiving.com/lucasfamily1