Francesca 7 months

These were taken at the cabin on July 7, Francesca's 7 month birthday.

At 7 months, Francesca was:

• 16.2 pounds
  
• 26 inches long
  
• head circumference of 42 centimeters 
  

How bis is Francesca? SO big!

Rolling over was brand new

Sunday Salmon - July 26

Last Sunday my Dad grilled a delicious salmon he caught on Lake Michigan. We had a really sweet afternoon.

Mateo climbs a tree for the first time

Cousins

Buddy Walk

There is a special event Francesca would like to invite you to join.  

It's called Buddy Walk and we're really excited about it!  

Check out her Buddy Walk page at:

www.firstgiving.com/buddywalkwithfrancesca

With love,

The Cogua's

Pirate Cove with ODSPN

Yesterday we went to our first family event with the Omaha Down Syndrome Parent Network (ODSPN) at Pirate Cove in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  It was a great evening for us for many reasons. First of all, it was a water park - who doesn't have fun at a water park?  Mateo loved the water slides and the pirate ship.  Francesca even dipped in the water for a little bit.  But it was who was in the water with us that was the most enjoyable.

At the park were many families with children with Downs.  For me, it was so encouraging to see the older children playing and interacting - it filled my heart with hope for what lies ahead for our family.  We had a chance to talk with a couple of families with children around Mateo and Francesca's age, but there wasn't any real organized introduction of new families, which was kind of a bummer.  All the same, we all left feeling hopeful and happy.

Raspberries

Francesa made "raspberries" for the first time today!  This is a BIG DEAL for her speech/language development and I am so, so happy!  During her recent evaluations, all the "experts" asked if she is making raspberries yet.  If you don't know what a raspberry is, just stick our your tongue and blow air between your lips - you made a raspberry!

From Wikipedia: In the terminology of phonetics, this sound can be described as an unvoiced linguolabial trill [r̼̊]. It is never used in human language phonemically (i.e., to be used as a building block of words), but it is widely used across human cultures.

Yea, Cesca!

Lipstick

Mateo got into my purse the other day ... he ended up with my lipstick all over his eye. I think he looks like a hard-rock rock star from the 80's.

Eggs

BEFORE...

... and AFTER!!!
Francesca had her first egg last Monday.  She just eats the yolk, and she loves it!  

Francesca this afternoon

Scooting

Rolling