Congratulations! Your life is going to be different and better than you ever imagined! You have just won the lottery and have been selected for a wonderful adventure. What do you do now that you have received the life changing news that your baby has Down syndrome? Simple, enjoy your beautiful newborn baby! Be the best parent and spouse you can be. Each day when you wake up focus on the positive and have a plan for what you are going to do each day to make today better than yesterday. I love the mornings and I love the opportunity to get to wake Gabe (and his little sisters!) up each morning. Gabe is the most beautiful and wonderful son, the best big brother, and proof that a child can change the world. Your new baby will bring you more love, joy, and happiness than you ever imagined possible and all you must do is accept your unexpected journey with a smile on your face. Before Gabe was born I didn’t know anything about being a parent (thank God for Kristie, she is a natural!). I honestly had no idea when a child would learn to walk or crawl, when they would start talking, or when they would hold their own bottle. Kristie would laugh at me whenever someone would introduce their children to us and she would ask how old I thought the children were. My age estimates for children were usually 2-3 years off, which was comical for her and babies all just seemed like one general age of “baby.” I had absolutely no idea when Gabe “should” be doing things. What little I had read from those depressing books, I had gathered that Gabe would probably be developmentally delayed, but whatever, Gabe is going to be Gabe and he will do things when he is ready. I never had a timeline to compare him to, so I never thought he was delayed. Honestly, it made things easier for me because with I had no preconceptions for when Gabe should be doing things.
As Gabe is growing up and learning to be a little man, I am learning to be a father. Gabe 
was the first diaper I ever changed, the first baby I rocked to sleep, and the list of these precious moments continues to grow. It is a wonderful experience to be a parent. Each day there are wonderful and exciting new things to learn and do. One of Gabe’s many amazing attributes is his ability to find wonder and enjoyment in any task. This is a one small example of how Gabe has had a positive impact on my life, his awe, joy and amazement for life is completely engulfing and inspiring. Eastern cultures have known for hundreds of years the value in finding joy in the fundamentals of life. Gabe doesn’t need meditation or training to find joy in life, he just does naturally. Gabe is perfect and I know the world can learn a few things about loving life from him.
We started selling t-shirts for Down syndrome awareness. You can check them out here and remember to check back weekly for new posts!