21 Things I Love About Sofia – Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

Today is World Down Syndrome Day. In celebration, I thought I’d list twenty-one things I love about my daughter, Sofia. It was hard to stop at only twenty-one.

Twenty-One Things I Love About My Sofia:

1. Belly laughs so big, it’s hard to believe they came out of a such a little munchkin
2. Azure, the color of eyes so bright they smile
3. Perky & pesky personality that is loads of fun & only sometimes Miss Bossy Pants
4. Miss Bossy Pants
5. Her two favorite songs are O’Christmas Tree (regardless of the season) & Old MacDonald.
6. She can sing twenty choruses of Old MacDonald, as an ode to the cow each & every time. (Old MacDonald must be a cattle farmer.)
7. Every time we put the leaf in our dining table to prepare for company, she automatically assumes it’s a birthday celebration, breaking into Happy Birthday & asking, “Birthday Cake, Mama?”
8. She LOVES cake, almost as much as her Mama.
9. In Sofia language, the words for chicken and kitchen are identical – “kitchken.”
10. In Sofia language, the words for fish taco and Chicago are identical – “itchtago.”
11. She loves the beach & lake, almost as much as her Mama.
12. She can make her big brother smile and laugh harder than anyone I know.
13. She loves her Daddy & has named him, “Shupe Daddy.”
14. She loves her brother & when she couldn’t say his full name, once called him “Ed” in place of Jared, which made him laugh so hard he nearly spit out his milk & panic at the thought of being called Ed for years to come.
15. Her favorite story in her Rhyme Bible is the one about Baby Jesus & she NEVER tires of it.
16. She loves to play, with just about anybody.
17. When I open her door in the morning, I find her sitting cross-legged, facing a circle of animals she’s lined up & is “teaching” from a book in her tiny hands, sometimes with finger wagging.
18. When I sit down tired & sigh, she gently pats my shoulder reassuring me, “No sad, Mama. It’s okay.”
19. Sometimes while eating dinner, she leans over and whispers, “I love you.”
20. When I come home with bags & bags of groceries, I have to drop them immediately upon opening the kitchen door, lest I miss out on catching her running at full speed with arms wide-open, smiling big & yelling, “Yay, Mama! Mama’s home.” Never want to miss out on full sprinted, knock you over, arms thrown wide-open hugs.
21. When she sleeps, she looks like a little angel, breathing softly after a full day of mischief.

Play Ball Anyone?

What d’ya mean I’m out?

Ugh!

It’s all good fun.

Aw, Shucks!

Run it off. Run it off.

Winkin’ at ya.

I’m so tired. Can I just sit on the bench?

In my opinion, Sofia rocks that extra chromosome.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!