![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/files\/2023\/08\/Annie-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>How did you hear about GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Cleveland?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite living about a football field away from GiGi\u2019s Playhouse and watching the space transform, (our brother-in-law did electrical work for the Playhouse), I thought it was an early childhood center. We didn\u2019t even walk in until one Saturday of the Lakewood Art Festival. Annie\u2019s Grandma, aunt, and cousins were with us, and we were all amazed. We were greeted by the most enthusiastic director and band of volunteers \u2013 many we recognized from school and Lakewood. We signed Annie up for anything we could fit into her busy schedule. Since then, GiGi’s has been an amazing addition to her and our lives! <\/p>\n\n\n\n What programs is Annie involved in?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie participates in Book Club, Fantastic Friends, (she even snuck into a few Teen Tastics), Project Pulse, GiGiFit, and Games with Friends. Honestly, it\u2019s all about what we can squeeze into her daily schedule. There\u2019s not much she misses!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Tell us more about Annie!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She is an avid YouTube watcher and a scary movie enthusiast. She loves to sing loudly, all the time and always off-key. She has unbelievable time management skills and a keen memory. She is very, very self-assured, and she is in tune with EVERYTHING. She speaks about getting her own apartment, getting rid of us (her parents), and marrying and birthing\u2026which, of course, we need to temper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie has elaborate conversations with her Barbies. Boy, does she hash things out with them. Full-out conversations, many of them referencing \u201cPete and Janette\u201d, as she no longer calls us mom and dad, but by our first names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What would you like people to know about life with Annie and how can that change the community around us?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie has always been welcomed and requested to be part of the \u201croster\u201d. I\u2019d assume no one ever thought much differently than including. She\u2019s always been there and surrounded by teams of sporty guys and a huge family of cousins. Truthfully, no one knew any differently as she\u2019s always been a great part of the package. Whether it be soccer, skating, softball, dance, swimming (Annie High School lettered in), or Special Olympics basketball – Annie has always been included. She\u2019s definitely gifted with athletic genes, so I\u2019m sure that\u2019s part of it, too. A funny story about Annie, at her very first day program (ages 2-3, I believe), Annie still holds the record for using every piece of gym equipment at the school. Physical Therapists have always been impressed with her! <\/p>\n\n\n\n All that being said, Annie had no choice but to strap on the seatbelt and come along for the ride, She was born right after her 2nd<\/sup> brother. Both older boys were as busy as she is – it\u2019s kind of how we roll. At a super young age, Annie was carted to any court, field, and rink the boys’ schedules took us. It was only a matter of time until she could participate herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s another funny story: One Speedskater family requested we get Annie a jacket that read, \u201dIf missing, please return to Lakewood Speedskating Club\u201d. At every match, she would manage to drift off at the exact bang of the starters\u2019 gun. We would travel miles to watch her brothers skate for about a one-minute race. It never failed that Pete and I would find ourselves saying “Arghhhhh \u2013 where\u2019s Annie????” Despite her constantly wandering off on her own accord, we somehow survived!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n What did inclusion look like for Annie?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie was always a part of our adventures. We never thought any differently. It wouldn’t have made sense and would have been much harder for us not to include her. It\u2019s just how we all grew up, always including friends and family, which definitely contributes to her inclusion. Annie doesn\u2019t think any different either. Annie is gifted with great friends \u2013 from kindergarten, believe it or not! She was lucky enough to be in a community and school system that is very old, very experienced, and very diverse. It worked for all of us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n What “words of wisdom” do you have for new parents?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I recall not being able to read everything handed to us the week she was born. We were so busy and just could not wrap our arms around all the advocate groups, meetings, socials, and reading materials. It was way too much for us. We just attended and participated where we could, without disrupting the growth of our older kids. (Not unlike any other family addition, but SO MUCH thrown at us.) Weeding out and being selective worked for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As any other child does, Annie has bettered and busied all of our lives. Not just any child can put you in your place and get away with it, right? She definitely has grounded us, for the good.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are interested in sharing your story, please email our Operations Manager, Mary at: mmakulinski@gigisplayhouse.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you’ve ever been to our Playhouse you’ve more than likely met Annie. If you attended our 2022 Brew Ha Ha, you more than likely witnessed Annie end the Project Performance with the splits. If you\u2019ve ever been to the Cleveland Clinic, you\u2019ve more than likely seen Annie in action at work. If you’ve ever…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1730,"featured_media":141767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[22,27,21],"class_list":["post-141765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-acceptance","tag-downsyndrome","tag-inclusion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1730"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cleveland\/files\/2023\/08\/Annie-2.jpg\")
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