Bridget Did It

Nike's hugely successful ad campaign has been telling us for quite some time now to just do "it".

It's about time the Ds community came back with our own slogan. Our own ad campaign.

Three simple words that mean so much. Accomplishments that are celebrated and cherished. All the simple little things and the big things too. First smiles, first steps, first words. Things we used to take for granted and never will again.

-Jennifer of Three's a Charm

Jennifer had the great idea to take "this small little phrase that means something so big" and make up a limited quantity of infant and toddler tees (in sizes 6/12 mo, 12/18 mo and 18/24 mo) with the slogan "i did it" on the front. If you'd like to help Jennifer and her son Joaquin get the word out that kids with Ds can achieve (and often end up opening many eyes in the process), buy one of these adorable baby tees from Jen for $21 (in honor of T21). She'll use the money to purchase a copy of the book Gifts 2 and donate it to a local hospital, geneticists office, or pediatrician's office to help spread the word to new parents that their child will do it, too. For more details, check out the post that began it all: i did it.

Miss Bridget wears her shirt for all the things she's accomplished. What did Bridget do? What didn't Bridget do :)?

She covered all the basics in her first couple of years: she learned to nurse after four months of bottle feeding (and needing thickened milk); she learned to pass objects from hand to hand; babble; wave; clap; make her needs known; sit; put things in containers; pull to standing; cruise and walk. In her first couple of years, Bridget also learned to steal hearts and to steal make-up off my vanity. She learned to console, to climb out of the bathtub and to cough into her arm to reduce the spread of germs. She learned to fake a cry, burp and sneeze. She learned to use sign language, do a great "shoulder shimmy" and draw "dots" with a pen. She learned to blow bubbles, feed herself with a spoon and drink from a straw. She learned how to put on a hat, a tutu and a Darth Vader mask. She learned how to take off all of her clothes.

Recently, Bridget has learned to: string beads on a necklace, erase her Magna Doodle and turn on her radio. She's now able to march, walk on her tiptoes and kick a ball. She has used the potty successfully. She's learned to say, "STOP" and hold out her hand like a traffic cop. She's learned to say "Aw, CUTE!".

She has made friends in the neighborhood, made her family proud, and made believers out of people who thought or said she couldn't.