Best of All – ANDY!

This little guy may be small, but his personality is anything but! Andy brings joy, determination, and just the right amount of sass every time he walks through the doors of the Playhouse. Whether he’s giving side-eye before a hug or showing pure love to his amazing parents, Andy knows exactly how to make his presence known. He’s been working hard on his independence and building skills through Music & Movement, LMNOP, Speech Therapy, and GiGiFIT. We’re constantly inspired by Andy and by his parents, who advocate for him with fierce love and unwavering commitment. We invite you to get to know Andy a little better, through the beautiful lens of his mom, Haley.

Which programs does your loved one participate in at GiGi’s Playhouse Cleveland?

Andy has participated in Music & Movement, LMNOP, GigiFit Preschoolers, and the Amina Grace Speech and Language program. 

Tell us about your amazing loved one!

Andy is in the toddler phase through and through right now, so he is extremely particular with his likes and dislikes! Right now, he absolutely loves slides, his nugget couch, and Ms. Rachel. If we let him, he would probably eat scrambled eggs, rigatoni, and peanut butter crackers all day. He loves reading books, riding elevators, visiting the Children’s Museum, and going to the pool.

What has been your favorite moment at GiGi’s Playhouse?

During his second session of Music & Movement, Andy learned to crawl and took full advantage of his newfound freedom by and crawling up to Mary as she played the guitar during class. For a few weeks, he just wanted to watch her strum those guitar strings up close and personal while all of the other kids dutifully participated in the activities. On one particular day, he finally took up Mary’s offer to run his hands over the guitar strings, and I loved watching him babble and strum as Mary sang and let him explore the instrument. To this day, he is totally transfixed anytime he sees someone playing the guitar, and I always think of those Music & Movement days. Andy absolutely LOVES music now, and it’s the number one way to bring him a sense of peace and relaxation in the most stressful or overwhelming environments. I’m so grateful that he had so much time to develop his passion for music at GiGi’s, and I will always be eternally grateful to Mary for letting him discover the beauty and self-expression of music.

How has Andy grown while attending programs at GiGi’s?

Andy has grown up from just a squishy little baby to a whole toddler at GiGi’s! From our very first LMNOP to our last GiGiFit class, Andy has learned to sit up on his own, crawl at lightning speeds, and walk through any space with total confidence. We watched him perfect his three-point “hitched” crawl in Music & Movement and develop his own “strong” personality in GiGiFit (he’s never afraid to tell Erin or a volunteer that he’s not interested in trying out whatever new exercise they’re trying out). 

What has your loved one taught you? 

Like so many other toddlers, Andy has taught us a lot about patience. He is the writer, producer, and director of his own life, and we’re just the happy spectators cheering him on from the sidelines. As a mother to a child of Down syndrome, I wanted to be able to give him every opportunity to hit his milestones, and I absolutely beat myself up every time I felt like I wasn’t doing enough to support his growth. Ultimately, we’ve learned the hard way that, like every child out there, Andy will do what he’s capable of doing whenever he’s ready, at his own speed. I can buy all the recommended toys and all the recommended therapy tools, and I can take him to see every physical therapist, occupational therapist, aquatic therapist, speech therapist, but I can’t talk or run or jump for him. Andy loves to be independent, and we’ll just be the patient parents who are there to provide him all of the love and support in the world while he navigates his own abilities. 

How has GiGi’s supported your entire family?

We received Andy’s Down syndrome diagnosis the day he was born, and one of the first resources we were encouraged to seek out was GiGi’s Playhouse. Within hours of signing up for GiGi’s e-newsletter, Lizz emailed me with the most beautiful congratulatory message and an invitation to tour the playhouse whenever we were ready. While those first few months were both so exciting and so overwhelming, I’ll never forget our first time visiting the Playhouse and meeting the whole crew of staff and volunteers at an LMNOP program. We felt so at home and so welcomed immediately. Everyone at GiGi’s has become part of our family over the past two years. Every staff member and volunteer has cheered Andy on like he is their own, and we feel so lucky to call them friends. The village we’ve created at GiGi’s makes us feel so much less alone in this big, wide world of questions and concerns about the future and the big decisions we’ll need to make for Andy as he gets older. 

What is your favorite part about being Andy’s parents?

Being Andy’s parents has come with so many unexpected blessings and surprises, but our favorite part is seeing the joy he brings to the people around him–especially strangers. I’ll never forget the first time we took Andy on a family vacation and had to take a flight. Before boarding, Andy walked around 5-6 different gates at the airport, stopping to smile and clap with everyone seated. We watched him approach so many tired travelers and were mesmerized by the light he brought into so many eyes. After doing a few rounds of the boarding area, he had everyone’s attention, confidently walking up to different groups one at a time and clapping with them, even trying to sweeten up the airline reps to sneak behind them and try to board the plane early. Since then, I’ve seen him do this countless times: walking around restaurants, the zoo, museums, the pool. He has the most beautiful ability to look someone in their eyes and bring them to life with his clapping and smiling, and it overwhelms me with gratitude every time. 

What is one hope for your loved one?

It sounds so simple, but we just want him to lead a normal, happy but boring life. I want him to have the chance to do anything he wants: sports, art, music, gymnastics, going to amusement parks or visiting different countries. At the same time, I also want him to do the normal life stuff too: mess up his favorite shirt trying to do his own laundry, get frustrated trying to understand something in a math class, miss a flight because he overslept. I want him to have every chance to lead a life where he has lovely, wide-ranging opportunities to be his truest self, and experience the full range of human emotion from disappointment and heartbreak to joy and fulfillment. Our real hope is that we get to make sure he has the tools and support system necessary to care for him in his lowest moments and make his biggest dreams a reality when we can.

Through every giggle, round of applause, and musical moment, Andy continues to grow into his independence, reminding us all to slow down, cheer loud, and lead with love. We are honored to walk alongside Andy and his incredible family as they navigate this journey with fierce advocacy, endless patience, and joy that’s absolutely contagious.