Summer and Starting Playschool 💗
I used to daydream about the day when Maisie would start playschool and now with only days away that time has arrived. And boy is she ready for it! She’s been saying and signing “school” all summer and naming her friends and teachers. She’ll attend her new local Montessorri for three mornings and she’ll return to her playschool from last year for the other two; a school for kids with additional needs. She’ll get the best of both worlds by mixing with typical kids her own age and getting specific one to one teaching in a less busy environment in the other. Maisie has already come on leaps and bounds in the last year at her special needs playschool where the teachers are so incredibly supportive. I know she will thrive at Montessorri and we are all very excited for her.
Maisie is a busy toddler at 3.9 months. Like any typical toddler she loves to play with her toys and is curious in the world around her. She’s sociable, enjoying time with her siblings and us but is happy to play by herself getting involved in imaginary play. Baby dolls are still her favourite and she loves to bathe and feed them. Her confidence at climbing any apparatus in the playground sparks joy and terror in me. Her speech has come on so much and is something which we continue to help her with every day by providing her with plenty of opportunities to talk. My favourite new thing is listening to Maisie sing and it is the cutest! She has a Toni music box and loves to listen to The Lion King and Frozen and she has started singing “Let it Go”. She may not have all the words but the ones she knows she emphasises and she’s bang on with the tune. The song may wreck my head but I am in love with Maisie’s singing💗
Although Maisie has been in great form of late she did experience a few bad colds back in Spring which led to her needing antibiotics and during one episode she needed to stay in hospital overnight. She was running up and down the corridor and chatting happily to the nurses the following day so we were duly sent home! Having a child with DS can mean more hospital appointments and since Maisie’s successful heart surgery at 3 months old, she has hardly had any apart from having her eyes and ears checked for hearing loss. Incidentally she will require glasses for table top activities (how cute will she be in glasses☺️) and she’ll need grommets in the hope of reducing the occurring of ear infections. We feel fortunate to have no other medical concerns and she gets to spend most of her time doing what any typical toddler does.
A summer filled with fun, some sleepless nights still and the odd rainy day but we all have those, cheeky faces, too much ice cream and cake (she takes after me there) and so much to look forward to. Maisie you are a joy to your daddy and I and we are so proud of all of your achievements and we love you for being you.
One of the things we’re looking forward to is seeing Maisie in the Down Syndrome Centre 2025 Calendar which will be sold in Dunnes Stores across Ireland..watch this space!
