{"id":68882,"date":"2014-10-06T07:04:30","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T11:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/?p=68882"},"modified":"2014-10-06T07:04:30","modified_gmt":"2014-10-06T11:04:30","slug":"taking-moment-guest-blogger-patti-rice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/uncategorized\/taking-moment-guest-blogger-patti-rice","title":{"rendered":"Taking in the Moment | Guest Blogger Patti Rice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We have a special treat today! Have you had the privilege to &#8220;met&#8221; Patti Rice? \u00a0I am sure most of you have just shaken their heads yes with a smile on your face, but in case you have not let me introduce you! \u00a0Friends Patti is a mom to 11 (yes 11) amazing kids. Her 10th baby, Lily happens to have Down syndrome. Patti shares her family&#8217;s adventures and what Down syndrome has come to mean to them over the past (almost) 5 years. Grab a cup of coffee, tea or whatever your favorite is and be ready to camp out with the <span style=\"color: #9900ff\"><a style=\"color: #9900ff\" title=\"A Perfect Lily\" href=\"https:\/\/babynumber10.blogspot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rice Family<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #666666\">If you are on Instagram we strongly suggest you go find Patti (@aperfectlily) and follow her, the pictures will just make you really happy and if you need an extra boost be sure to search #lilydancevideo. You will thank us, promise \ud83d\ude09\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We will now hand the mic over to Patti as she offers us some precious advice&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">&#8220;As I was going through old photos the other day, I found one of Lily as a baby. She was maybe nine months old and she had just learned how to sit up independently . She was smiling her classic smile &#8211; wide open mouth with her little tongue peeking out, her almond eyes twinkling back at whoever was making her grin for the picture .<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-68883\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily2.jpg\" alt=\"Lily2\" width=\"489\" height=\"489\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily2.jpg 738w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily2-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 489px) 100vw, 489px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">And instantly I had a thought &#8211; I want to go back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">I want to go back to that moment when she was a baby, and scoop her up in my arms and kiss her little button nose. I want to go back in time and feel her tiny hands and soft skin and smell her babyness. I want to hold\u00a0 that sweet little baby in my arms again and feel her melt into me &#8211; her &#8220;low muscle tone&#8221; making a hug last that much longer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">I want to go back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">I want to go back to the mama I was and tell her &#8211; enjoy this moment. Soak it all up, and don&#8217;t worry about one thing. Stop thinking about the what-ifs, don&#8217;t give your thoughts to hurtful things people might say, stop projecting yourself down the road and worrying about what the future holds. Don&#8217;t waste your time thinking about what you have or don&#8217;t have, who she is or isn&#8217;t, don&#8217;t try to figure this all out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">Stop and enjoy this moment right now. Savor this baby right here in your arms, because before you know it she&#8217;ll be almost five and you&#8217;ll wonder where the years went. Don&#8217;t miss one single blessed moment of who she is, worrying about who she will be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">Enjoy her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">Just relax and smile and enjoy this little gift right here in front of you, and trust that everything is going to be okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #f58220\">Because it IS.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-68884\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily.jpg\" alt=\"Lily\" width=\"469\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily.jpg 732w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Lily-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 469px) 100vw, 469px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What a great reminder! Thank you Patti and thank you Lily!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #7ac143\">We want to help kick this week off with some extra fun, how about a giveaway?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-68885\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Ilove.jpg\" alt=\"Ilove\" width=\"493\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Ilove.jpg 570w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/files\/2014\/10\/Ilove-300x216.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #666666\">\u00a0We have a beautiful<\/span>\u00a0I Love Someone with Down Syndrome Two Piece Adjustable Bangle Set with Hearts and Crystal Accents<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #7ac143\">\u00a0Rules are simple&#8230;. 1. Go to our<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000\" title=\"GIGi&#039;s Playhouse Syracuse \" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/GiGis-Playhouse-Syracuse\/109144175881375?ref=hl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><\/span> <span style=\"color: #7ac143\">page (make sure you &#8220;like&#8221; us and then share the post that is promoting this\u00a0Blog post. 2. leave us a comment here or on facebook about what you are enjoying right now!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #7ac143\">A winner will be drawn Wednesday 10\/8 \u00a0Good luck everyone!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t forget to check out our calender of programs and get signed up today for the one that meets your families needs \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/syracuse-calendar\">https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/syracuse-calendar<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #7ac143\">educate.inspire.believe\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have a special treat today! Have you had the privilege to &#8220;met&#8221; Patti Rice? \u00a0I am sure most of you have just shaken their heads yes with a smile on your face, but in case you have not let me introduce you! \u00a0Friends Patti is a mom to 11 (yes 11) amazing kids. Her&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}