All about Tyler

Tyler has recently hit his 18 month mark. I realized I don't take nearly as many pictures of my boys as I do of Maddie, so I tried to capture some cute shots of Ty. Tyler is doing great. He is still a super easy going and happy little guy. Last week we went to a Down syndrome specialist who agreed that he is doing fantastic. I think I take it for granted how good he really is. Last week I met a mother with a 4 year old with Down's who still can not eat solid food. Her child's mouth is smaller than normal, (which makes the tongue appear too large) and so it is hard to chew food. She also said that her son did not walk until he was three. (Which is also normal for a child with Down syndrome.) So there are two major blessings: Tyler is eating all table foods and walking at just 18 months. Tyler has lower muscle tone than a normal child which also means he is super flexible. He is extra wobbly because there is not as much stiffness in the muscle. To help take the wobble out of his knees and ankles, he is going to get some custom fit braces in two weeks. She said with his braces (they fit under his pants and inside his shoes) he will be running in no time.
Josh and Maddie are wonderful big siblings. Josh now understands that Tyler is going to be different, but at this point it really makes no difference to him. Josh said the other day, "Mom, I just want Tyler to grow up faster." I asked him why and he said, "I need Tyler to be bigger and stronger so I can wrestle with him more." I have no doubt that Tyler is going to be a good match for Josh in a few years.