a Presidental trip to DC...

Chasing Fireflies...a first for Max n Maddie

Room Service -- yummy!

Chad being presented with the Presidential Education Award in Math and Science...So PROUD of him!

Max holding a Triceratops horn!

digging for fossils...its hard work

getting her groove on!

sweet music at the Smithsonian Folk Days Festival

follow up...American Girl

I did write American Girl...here is what I wrote and here is there response not sure I am satisfied with there response! I will ponder what my next move is! 

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Hello! my name is Kim Sharpe and I have a daughter that is 3 years old.
I was under the impression that every little girl could find a doll just
for her. Maddie my daughter was born with light brown hair and ALMOND
blue eyes. the eyes are significant. she was born with Down syndrome and
there is not a doll to represent her and many of her friends. when I
visited a store I was told there was a bald doll. fortunately my Maddie
has not endured leukemia but for kiddos with Down syndrome it is a
probable diagnosis. many of her friends have survived this diagnosis and
I am thankful you have thought of them. however, I would like my little
girl to have a doll that represents her beauty and her uniqueness. she
fully understands the world around her and would love to play with a
doll that shows her how beautiful she is. thank you for your time. I
have posted a post on my blog about this subject and you are welcome to
check out my Maddie to see what a GReAt girl she is. http://chromosomallyenhanced21.blogspot.com/



From: American Girl
To: lionsdenchildcare@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 7:48 AM
Subject: Re: Comment about American Girl or Our Site

Dear Ms. Sharpe,

We certainly understand your desire for a My American Girl® doll with
Down syndrome for your daughter, Maddie.  Over the years, we have
received many requests for characters facing various medical conditions
or physical challenges.  We realize that girls want a character to which
they can relate.

All of these requests are important to us, as well as to the people who
are asking to create specific characters.  Although we get our ideas
from our own staff, we sincerely appreciate requests such as yours as
they help us determine if we are meeting the needs of the girls we
serve.  We will continue to do our best to bring you products and
services of the highest quality.  Please watch for new developments in
our catalogues and on our website at americangirl.com.

Again, we thank you for sharing your request.

Sincerely,

American Girl Customer Service
Phone: 1-800-845-0005 or 608-831-5210
Fax: 608-828-4790
Available Monday - Sunday 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. Central Time


--------------------------------------------------------

This message (including any attachments) is only for the use of the person(s) for whom it is intended. It may contain Mattel confidential and/or trade secret information. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not copy, distribute or use this information for any purpose, and you should delete this message and inform the sender immediately.

dollies...

American Girl...I was so looking forward to going to this store...I was so excited to show Maddie all the dollies love...and I had heard that there was a doll for EVERY girl...so this put me over the top...we were at the Mall of America and Maddie and I headed to the American Girl store...Max and Chad headed to Lego land...I could hardly walk fast enough...I have been searching for a doll that looks like Maddie since the day she was born...I have searched the internet for dolls went to little stores, big stores and never have I found a doll like Maddie...it is in the eyes that I have been searching...I have found Down syndrome dolls on the internet but they do not look like Maddie they are wrinkled around the eyes...and they exaggerate Down syndrome traits...and not in a beautiful way...my Maddie is beautiful and deserves a doll that is her and reflects her...I had a blonde hair doll when I was younger and the doll even had green eyes...I loved her...but finding a light brown blue eyed doll with almond eyes has been VERY challenging...so this was it...I just knew I could find the doll...of course Maddie is as excited as me! so we enter the store and I am immediately overwhelmed...by the people the dolls...off in the distance I see a doll with no hair and in a wheelchair...so I thought for sure there would be a doll with light brown hair and blue almond eyes...we walk past the hair salon for dolls...past the coffee shop for dolls we go up and down the escalator...and learn there are a variety of dolls and babies...but in my search I could not find one doll with light brown hair and blue almond eyes...so a sales associate stops me and asks if I need help...I ask if they have a doll with Down syndrome...I am not sure why time goes into slow motion at this point but it does...she says no but we have a doll that has no hair! I giggle at her and say Maddie has hair! I need a baby with light brown hair and blue almond eyes...she said no but maybe someday...someday does not work for my little girl...today I need a doll that looks like her...her favorite doll is on its last leg! she is a Japanese doll with almond brown eyes and black hair...which she has successfully eaten...I know gross but it is a habit we are trying to break...her other fav doll has bright pink hair also that she eats quite frequently...i know Maddie does not care...but I do...I bought her a cabbage patch doll with light brown hair and blue eyes, glasses and cute dress that matches her...but she has not taken to this doll...the love of the cabbage patch doll -is not...I love cabbage patch dolls when I was a kid...so we left the American store with no doll...with no representation of Maddie...I will not settle for a doll that is not perfect...I have this thing about dolls...I love them and I want my daughter to have the perfect doll to love and help keep her safe...I am not sure if American doll can call themselves American doll when it does not represent all American girls...really it would not be hard to make a light brown blue eyed doll...with a touch of almond...

mini me...

“you know I don’t want a baby like yours”…yeah someone said it! to me…offensive as this sounds…it was not…I just shook my head and rolled my eyes…for sometime now I have been struggling with bigger issues…my ego…who am I, where do I fit in…when Maddie was born I tried to grasp and cling to people I could trust…people who had been a part of my pre-Maddie life…when I became a mother for the first time…I was so proud of myself…I thought I could do anything…I help create this beautiful person…Max has been handsome since the day he was born…a great physique, smile, long eye lashes…perfect health…and now that he is older he is smart, funny, likable…and a great big brother…I have always looked at him and thought…how great I was because of him…I helped create him…I helped raise him…he was a product of me…when he misbehaves I internalize this and wonder what I did wrong in parenting him…becoming a mother consumed me and I began to identify with only being a mom…so when I had Maddie…my ego was gone…I created--no longer was there a –we- created…it was a me issue…I created a person I could not understand…that I could not empathize with…someone I could not look at and identify with … this is not a mini me…I felt I did something wrong and was less of a women...I have always wanted a little girl just like the little girl I was…precocious, naughty, cute, funny, full of drama and wit…and then I had Maddie…all these things I just thought would never come to fruition…I remember thinking to myself…I will never be fulfilled or challenged in parenting Maddie…because she will always be sweet, kind, nice, well behaved, she will just sit there and look like she has Down syndrome…as ruthless as this sounds…it was my truth…and the voice in my head…I have had some time to think lately…to gather some perspective on my misconceptions of mothering Maddie…for a lack of a better words…I was wrong…dead wrong…Maddie has and is the most precocious child I have ever met…she is not what I would call nice…I would not call her happy…I would call her impatient…I would call her annoyed at my existence on a regular basis…she is 3 and already I get on her last nerve…as she grunts at me and stomps her foot…with a turn of a hip and head and a eye roll to top off her utter disbelief that I have told her no or tried to help her…Maddie is a mini me…but better…she can make grown men weep and talk like a baby…she makes old women squeal…and she has captured the hearts of almost every person that has come in contact with…she is not forgettable…or just a person born with Down syndrome…so the other day when we were at the Doctor…the nurse was asking questions and getting annoyed with me and Maddie…neither one of us was giving her much attention...I was not in the mood…everything is in her chart…just read it and you will understand! and then she asked “how is she doing?” I know a pretty standard question…but one that pisses me off…how is Maddie doing? I asked again…then followed up the question with --in what context are you referring to? her health and if so what part of her heath? heart, esophagus, thyroid, acid reflux, etc..her development? physical, social, emotional…what is --how is she doing mean it is a very loaded question…they want me to say fine…but fine is not good enough or it really does not tell the story of Maddie…with the nurse not liking me questioning her…she asked if I was even her mother…now that question pissed me off…that question offended me…because I get being scared that you can not cut it as a mother to Maddie and wanting to “try” to prevent "it"…but to be asked the question if I am her mother…as I am holding her in my arms…that is when I call foul…that is when mama bear rises…Maddie is a mini me…she talks like me...she walks like me…she looks like me...and she is comfortable with me...we are inseparable...if anything Maddie is the best thing I have ever done in my life…and to question me as her mother is just offensive…and it is with out question inappropriate...I wanted to ask her why she would ask such a question...but once again you can not fix stupid…