Superstar Parade: Bumblebee, bug, and bones

Braska was a friendly bumblebee, going to Trunk or Treat at her PaPaw's church.


Jack borrowed Braska's bumblebee "hat" for a while.

Jack, AKA Mr. Bones, and Kinlee the Ladybug were excited to be going to the Fall Festival!

Don't forget to send us your pictures of birthdays, holiday celebrations, or any other events that you'd like to share! DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com

Superstar Parade: Toy Story Halloween

(Don’t forget, if you haven’t completed the survey, please do! Click here.)

We LOVE to get pictures to share, and this is a GREAT time to send us your Halloween pictures to show off your kiddos!

Here’s Shane (Woody), Megan (Jessie), and William (Buzz Lightyear) showing some very marvelous smiles! 

Send your Halloween pics to DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com and we’ll share them with the group!

Your chance to help us improve!

Hopefully you’ve all received the email from Adrienne with the link to the survey that we have put together to try to learn what our StC group members are looking for in group events, resources, and activities.

Please take the time to complete the survey as soon as you can.  It will only take about 2-3 minutes and it will help us plan the future of the group in a way that will include and provide interesting offerings for the most people possible.

Click here to go to the online survey.  It is anonymous, so please let us know how we are doing and how we can improve!

Happy Birthday, Anthony!!

Our friend Anthony turned 3 last Sunday, October 17! Woo Hoo!

He had a super cool Buzz Lightyear party at the park and clearly had lots of fun.  Look at those smiles!!

We’re glad you had a great birthday, Anthony!!

(We want to celebrate with YOU, too, so send us your kids’ birthday pictures to share with the group! )

Pumpkin Patch this Sunday

This month’s meeting is being taken on the road!  We’ll be meeting at Eagle’s Fork Pumpkin Patch in Moscow Mills at 4pm on Sunday, October 24. 

Bring the whole family!  This is a great opportunity for fall family photos and great memories.  Join us!!

Eagle's Fork
65 Eagle Fork Lane
Moscow Mills, MO 63362
(636) 366-9825

They are located off of Hwy 40 and John Creech Road. If you are headed north on 40 you turn left on John Creech Rd and then an immediate right onto Eagle Fork Lane. It's right there up on the right hand side and visible from Hwy 40.

We did this a few years ago as a group and had a decent turn out! You don't have to pay to get in, only for pumpkins you buy, snacks if you choose and there are activities you can do to pay for but those are optional. We can just hang out and let the kids run around or even do a hay ride! If you plan on going, email Adrienne, (mommyto3oneds@yahoo.com) so she can get some sort of count of who is coming to keep an eye on families that show up. Thanks!

p.s. If it's raining that day, stay home! :)

Congratulations, Abby!!!!

Abby won her first Special Olympics medal on Sunday, October 17.  Hooray for Abby!!

(Please send your celebrations, birthdays, and announcements to DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com )

Mom’s Night Out 2010! Coming soon!

Mark your calendars now for November 12 from 6 to 8 pm.  It’s time for Mom’s Night Out at the Painted Pot again!  The StC Community Group will pay for your fee for the evening, you only pay for whatever pottery you want to work on.

This is a really fun night of laughs, good food, drinks, and lots of great friends.  We’ll be meeting at the Painted Pot, choosing items to decorate, and enjoying some moms-only time.  Last year this was a HUGE hit, and we are still talking about some of the super cool things that were made. 

This is a GREAT opportunity to do some very special customized Christmas gifts, so be sure to plan to join us.  Bring a yummy appetizer or dessert to share, too.

The BONUS is that Family Therapy Solutions will be having a "Parent's Night Out" Respite night that night so if you need a sitter and/or respite provider for ALL your children, this will be avail through them. MORE INFO TO COME SOON!

September group meeting

Our September group meeting was lots of fun, especially for our younger attendees… the kids!  We had 8 families and about 30 adults and children.  It was a nice cool fall evening, perfect for sliding and swinging, and plenty of visiting between the parents.

We were most wonderfully pleased to meet sweet little Leah, one of our newest group members.  She was a hit with all ages, and she was happy to oblige with tons of cuteness.   Welcome Leah and family!!
 

We practically had the park to ourselves, so we took advantage of a “group swing” time!

Our next meeting will be October 24 at 4pm at Family Therapy Solutions.  We hope to see a really good crowd that night, too!  Come and join us!

Preschool playgroup next week!

Our next preschool playgroup (weekday) is next Friday, October 15, at City Centre Park in St. Peters at 10 am. This has been a great place for kids of all ages the last few times we’ve met there.  We hope for beautiful fall weather! 

All birth-through-preschool kids, parents, and siblings are welcome!  We hope to see you there!  It’s a really great opportunity to get to know and visit with other parents in a relaxed environment.  And sometimes we go to lunch afterward, too!

We are also trying to get weekend dates on the schedule for the preschool group.  If you have ideas of a place that would work, please email DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com.  We’re working on a couple of dates for October and November weekends.  Details as soon as they’re available.

September preschool playgroup fun

We had a good time at the park last month!

Anthony showed off his driving skills.


Jack explored the area next to the playground, showing off his well-controlled high step!


Braska and Kinlee love the swings!

We worked up an appetite, so we went to get lunch afterwards.  Chicken fingers and french fries were very popular!

More dates soon! Stay tuned!  If you would like to host a playgroup date, please let us know!

Preschool (or anyone!) park playdate

Since the weather is super nice—finally!—we’re doing an impromptu playgroup at the park on Friday, September 17, 2010 at City Centre Park on Mexico Road in St. Peters.  We’ll meet at 10 am and just have time to play and visit and enjoy the gorgeous sunshine with nice temps!  This is an adaptive park with baby swings, toddler and older-child areas, and benches for chatting moms and dads.

Anyone is welcome, though we understand that many are in school or working.  Especially for those that might have preschoolers who would like some outside time, please join us!

Email DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com if you have any questions.

See you there!

First Fall Meeting Tonight!!

We will be kicking off the season with our first monthly meeting tonight at 4pm at Family Therapy Solutions in O'Fallon. You may bring your child if you need to, but there will not be childcare specifically. Feel free to bring snacks or a brown bag supper if you would like. It will be a casual environment. We'd love to see you!!

IMPORTANT: Do not bring anything with PEANUTS or NUTS due to allergy issues. Thank you.

Meetings from this point forward will be on the 4th Sunday afternoon of each month at 4pm at the same location, Family Therapy Solutions.

Email DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com if you have any questions, or you may call or text 636-395-0110.

Sign language night

Family Therapy Solutions hosted an evening of information and beginning signs last night for families, and there was a good turnout!  There were a few families from our group represented, and it was great to get to visit with others and make new acquaintances.

Here’s a list of online resources for signing that was handed out last night.

http://www.dawnsignpress.com
http://www.signingtime.com
http://www.babysigningtime.com
http://www.handsofexpression.com
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm
http://www.babysigns.com
http://www.signingbaby.com
http://www.toddlerinterpreting.com
http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com
http://www.simplysignin.com

Here’s a link to two of the kids from our StC group showing some of their signs last year. Click here.

If you have more questions about signing with your child, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or email DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com and we can share experiences with our local families and connect you to resources if you’d like.

Thanks to the gang at Family Therapy Solutions for hosting this great event!!

Pictures from Zachary’s Playground

We received pictures from the school-age playgroup at Zachary’s Playground in April.  Clearly, fun was had by ALL!

Don’t Miss This! Family potluck!!

If you haven’t RSVP’d yet for our Family PotLuck, make sure to do it right now!  We are SO looking forward to this afternoon with all our families!

There will be entertainment for the kids with a clown and balloon animals and face painting, too!  And there will plenty of space for the children to play and get to know each other. 

We’re really excited about the opportunity to use the Family Therapy Solutions space, and we’re very thankful for their generosity toward our group. A safe place to bring your kids and visit with other families.

These events are great for connecting with other parents, and that is the #1 request we get from new and “old” families in the area.  So make sure to plan for this afternoon event and come out to join us!

New pictures for background please!

It’s time to freshen things up!  And this weekend is the right time, since the Pujols Family Foundation is hosting a Picture Day full of scrapbooking on Saturday!  I’ll be doing digital scrapbooking alongside all of the moms who do it the “real way.” Ha!

(There may still be space available, Moms, if you’re interested!  It’s going to be great!  Call Jen at 314-878-2105 if you’re interested.)

So if you’d like to have your child and family highlighted in the blog background, send one or two pictures to DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com.  Be sure to include the child’s name and age, please. We’ll use as many as we can fit in there, and the rest we’ll use in a new edition of StC SuperStar Parade! 

We’d love to see the older bunch, the newborns, and everyone in the middle!  Be watching for the new background early next week.

March Preschool Playgroup Pics

Today we had a great meeting of our preschool playgroup. Joanna, Julianna, and Taylor were great hosts!  We had 15 in attendance, 5 families represented: 5 moms, 5 kiddos, and 5 siblings. 

Little Adam was snoozing when he arrived, so Braska and Jack decided they’d check him out without waking him…one on each side.  Too cute!


Taylor was happy to share his toys.


When Adam had enough nap, he was all about finding fun stuff to do!


Anthony checked out the bunny with dancing chicks.


And Joanna had yummy pizzas and mac ‘n cheese for lunch, a hit with everyone!

Thanks, Joanna, for hosting!!  

Our next playgroup meeting will be at Kristin’s house on April 24 at 10 am.  RSVP for the address to DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com Hope you can join us!

Fun at the Funfest!

The funfest last month was a GREAT event! Thanks to Hope High School for hosting and doing a wonderful job! There was a really great turnout of families who enjoyed the day. We weren’t able to catch pictures of all the kids there, but we did get a few to show some of the cool things the kids got to do.

And here's a little movie clip just for fun...look at those girls go!

Pizza Street Playdate

The 5-12 playgroup invited our whole group to join them at Pizza Street in December.  They had a pretty good turnout, and as you can see below, everyone had a great time!! 

Upcoming monthly meetings: March and April

This coming Tuesday, March 9, is our monthly group meeting at 6:30 pm. We’ll be changing things up a little bit and meeting at the St. Louis Bread Company near Mid Rivers Mall in St. Peters. (Next to Pier 1)

We would love to see you, catch up on what’s great, what’s frustrating, or how we can help you, because that’s what we are all here for! To share the good and the tough and encourage whenever we can. If you’ve never come to a meeting, this would be a GREAT time to meet some new friends, catch up with an old one or two, and relax with others who are walking this journey with you. Tuesday, 6pm, be there!

For our April meeting, on Tuesday the 13th at 6pm, our group and United Services are coming together to offer a resource evening!

(Click on the image above to see it larger.)

“We want to invite you to participate in a resource fair. United Services is working in conjunction with the St. Charles Down Syndrome Community Group which meets monthly at United Services. We will have information on a variety of community resources that provide therapy, family support, case management, respite, recreation opportunities, advocacy, and more.”

So mark these dates down right now, and make a point to take advantage of these times to connect with others in the group. Everyone has something to contribute that will help someone else!

Playgroup dates for preschool group

We finally have a couple of preschool playdates set! Yay!!! 

Saturday, March 20, we will be meeting in the morning at Joann’s house, where we met a few months ago.  She has graciously offered her home again, and we’re excited to get together! 

Then in April, on Saturday the 24th, we’ll be meeting at Kristin’s house in the morning as well.  I’m sure Shane and Megan will be wonderful little junior hosts!

If you plant to attend and/or want details of times and address, please email DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com . We’d like to have  a general idea of how many to expect for each date.   (We want to respect privacy, so we don’t share too many personal details like last names and addresses in this public realm.)

We hope you can make it! It will be FUN!

PS… Be watching for more details about a very exciting weekend May event for ALL our StC families, together, having a great time!

Don’t Miss the FunFest!

The Hope High School Leadership Class and Fort Zumwalt Early Childhood Education is hosting a

FunFest

For the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis and their St. Charles Community Group.

Come enjoy…
~Face Painting
~Games and Activities
~Pictures with Ruffy the Rascal
~Prizes
~………and much more!

Where?
Hope High School, 307 West Pitman, O’Fallon, MO 63366

When?
Saturday, February 27, 2010, 10 am to 12 noon.

Please note: Event is limited to the first 50 children. RSVP requested.
(Siblings are welcome.)

RSVP—Call 636-281-9815 (Fort Zumwalt Early Childhood Education) or 636-751-8388. Or you can email tratcliff@fz.k12.mo.us or mommyof3oneds@yahoo.com .

Be sure to get spaces reserved for your children right away! Let’s have a great turnout to thank them for this great event for our kids!

Superstar Parade—Holiday Edition!!

At long last, here are the pictures we received of our holiday fun!!

Anthony and his brother Braden

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Gwenith and her sister Jordyn


Illyanna

Shane, sister Megan, and family

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Regina (a special Parade guest!)

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Braska, her sister Kinlee, and a cameo by Jack!

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Jackson and his brother Tyler

If you have holiday pictures that you’d like to share, please send them to DownSyndromeStC@gmail.com and we’ll have part 2 of our Holiday Superstar Parade!