On November 18 2009 at 4:02 am William Alan Bartosch was joyfully welcomed into our family. He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 20 in long. We were stunned to discover that he was born with Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome. We love him unconditionally from the top of his toe-head to the tips of his toes. We know that this diagnosis will not define him. He is a happy, healthy little boy that just happens to have an extra chromosome.



Follow us on this unexpected and exciting journey as we learn how to live life Will's Way.



Tuesday, January 24, 2012

So far in 2012

I thought I should give an update on all that is going on with Will developmentally and medically.  First here is picture of Will and his new friend Alex:)


He is doing well overall but we have had some small bumps lately.  He had an eye and ear infection last month and has been fighting a cold via a snotty nose since Christmas.  He is STILL working on the same 6 teeth and has days where I can tell they really hurt.  In the past several months we visited the endocrinolgist, ENT and pediatrician.  The endocrinologist seems worried about his lack of significant weight and height gain and so am I.  His pediatrician has seen him over a longer period of time and is not concerned so I have put that one on the back burner, at least temporarily.  I know he will be small, its not that it bothers me that he is still in some 12-18 month clothes, it is that he is in the SAME 12-18 month clothes he was this time last year.  As with everything else I suppose we have to be patient.  My new favorite song is 'Fast and Slow' by Laurie Berkner Band.  It has become our theme song!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZgHeJ6yO1c
The ENT had to really clean out William's ears which is traumatic for both him and me since I have to hold him down while he screams bloody murder.  The doctor said that the tubes look good for now,  but might need to be changed in a couple months since apparently his ears are the thing that is growing!
Two year check went well as well.  We are still trying to find a solution to his eczema on his cheekies but otherwise we are relatively healthy.  I bombarded Doc Parsons with a bunch of crazy questions and Will got a shot and we were on our way.  Will tried peanut butter for the first time and loved it so that was the big 2 year old right of passage for him.  You can not live in our house and not like PB!

School and therapies are going well too.  We dropped physical therapy for awhile since Will is walking and can no longer be kept in one place to focus on a task!  We will need help in the PT world again soon but it is nice to have a break.  He is walking really well and keeping his balance too.  Next up is kicking, pivoting on one foot, stepping over things, stairs by foot and jumping.  In our time off we are focusing on speech since we need lots of work.  Will is going weekly now and has been signing more and more.  He tries so hard to imitate the sound but most everything comes out as a 'b' or a 'd'.  We just ordered a DVD that we have heard good things about and we really hope will help with sounds and object recognition.  Will's speech just isn't progrssing beyond 'b' and 'd' sounds and he has no real words.  It is a very simple DVD and book combo that is all based on repitition.  Shows the object and says the word and we need to watch it most everyday.  Since Will has a hard time sitting still I am not sure how it will go, so I just ordered the first one.  I really hope he likes it!  Others in our group have had great results!
He continues to do well at school.  Still wimpers a bit when I put him in Aunt Mere's car but once he is there he has fun!  He has been participating more and more and doing new things in the classroom and gym.  Here he is rolling out playdough!  So focused!
  

It is funny going to our support meetings now and hearing the new parents concerns and remembering being there such a short time ago.  Yet sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago that I was worried about those things.  My new mantra is 'just do what is next'.  So thats what I am doing with Will's challenges because otherwise I get overwhelmed and try to focus on too much.  Again the theme song fits here...we don't want to go fast, we'll go slow:)


Sunday, January 22, 2012

Dance Party at the Browns House

Will is dancing with his cousins to Party In The USA.  Hate that song but love to see him dance.  The boy loves music and loves to dance!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

December at the Bartosch House

 We were very busy for the month of December.  Here are some pictures from Christmas and some others.  I have said it before but I honestly have no idea what I did with my time before Will came along because I really thought I was busy back then.  Life is just a whirlwind!  We had a great holiday season and had a wonderful time seeing family and friends!

Will getting on his new bike!


I get 50 miles to the gallon on this hawk!


OSU basketball game with mommy and daddy!


Watching intently as the king of Indiana basketball walks on the court...


Bob Knight!




Enjoying WildLights at the Zoo!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Will's New Year's Resolution

Since Will's New Year's resolution was to get in shape, he is taking a gym class:)  I think I wrote about this organization months ago.  They host gym and dance classes for special need kiddos.  The gym time is donated and all the instuctors are volunteers.  Most instuctors are either gymnasts or physical therapy students and they pair a volunteer with each kiddo while they do different activities at the gym.  Will did really well!  He walked on the balance beam (with help from his volunteer), rolled down the mat and jumped on the trampoline.  You could stay on the gym floor with your kiddo if needed but Will was such a big boy and did it all by himself.  I was really proud of him!  He had a lot of fun too.  He is workin out here with his buddy Evan.
http://kidneticenergy.org/index.htm




 Will has been very busy since the last post...more posts to come soon!