Oh, Right. That.

Leo pushes the boundaries, even in his sleep.

You may have noticed a rather glaring absence in my posts lately.

Down syndrome.

Right. I haven't said much about it, have I? In honor of "31 for 21" I am...apparently NOT talking about the good old 21.

Obviously, the arrival of two babies has overshadowed a lot lately. I mean, let's face it. Cute baby picture posts are way easier than longish, heartfelt essays about what a major birth defect has meant to our family.

But I think there's more to the fact that this year I haven't been writing about Down syndrome.

It's that I'm not sure what to say anymore.

I'm obviously over the shock. I'm not grieving Down syndrome anymore. I love my boy and he is who is he is. I don't know him any other way than having Down syndrome. His little quirks? Hates haircuts, loves to love, fancies scrambled eggs and grapes, Ellie, Lucy and Harry above all else: Who knows if they are because of Down syndrome or just because. Everything happens for a reason and at the same time? I also think that, as my dad says, nothing happens for any reason at all.

Here's a little Down syndrome story from today. Ellie and I went to the mall to get some needed items for Leo's Halloween costume. We had a few extra minutes before we had to go home to meet Leo's bus, so we stopped to play at the indoor playground. There was a toddler there, big for his age to not be walking and my "special needs" radar was up. Something was just not quite "right" with this little boy. I examined his profile and noticed he had the telltale flat head (one of the traits of Down syndrome).

And then it dawned on me that it was hard for me to tell if he had Down syndrome because to me, Down syndrome is "normal." I see it every day in Leo, and so I sort of feel like I don't see it at all, if that makes sense.