Children with Down syndrome are so loving....??

When we meet new people and they say things like how loving all people with Down syndrome are, it seems a stereotype that isn't at all how I see Jessie.  She is very loving but those would not be the first words that come to mind in describing her.  I wonder, "Have YOU met my Jessie?"  She is such a spunky, stubborn (she fits that stereotype!), fun, funny, girl with her own personality.  Jessie has such a *"Hall" sense of humor. One of the things I've always loved about my husband is his ability to make me laugh.  He is truly a funny guy. Sometimes goofy, but mostly funny.  After all these years, his sense of humor has rubbed off on me....and then the kids.  We don't play truly mean pranks, but we love to play jokes on one another.  Our humor often is sarcastic but without meanness.  We love to be silly and take each other off guard by doing something unexpected....just for fun.  I think it's a sign of her intelligence that Jessie, too, is funny this way without copying exact things that we've done in the past.  She comes up with her own humor that mimics our style.  If I had to use just one word to describe Jessie, I think it would be fun. Of course, everything about her isn't fun, but if only allowed one word, fun would have to be it.

 I've started trying to write down some of the funny things Jessie says and does. Here are a few of Jessie's most recent times of entertaining us:

I KNOW that Jessie greatly prefers fried chicken, not baked chicken. I had already told her that our supper was going to be baked chicken, not fried. It had been a while since I had made baked chicken so I wasn't really sure if she would remember what the difference was. 

Me:  Do you want some chicken?
Jessie: Yeah!
Me:  It's baked chicken.
Jessie: uugggghh, gross. Disgust dripping from her voice.
I do not know where she picked up this phrase to use so appropriately, but she's been using it a fair amount lately when I'm serving anything that isn't fried or contains vegetables or fruit.  Maybe this one was a "you had to be there" for it to be funny. 

Jessie has a fascination with money.  She doesn't understand the concept of "how much" where money is concerned, but she does know that dollars are better than change.  She will take change when it is all she can get, but she prefers "dollars". She has been known to take money from our wallets, Jordan's bedside table, etc.  She is a very cheerful giver at church with OUR STOLEN MONEY.  One Sunday, her Sunday School teacher was commenting on all the change Jessie had brought with her....I had known nothing about it.  We later decided the money had come from Jordan's nightstand.  She also loves to "pay".  She wants us to give her "dollars" so that she can pay with her own money from her wallet when she wants a snack/drink at gymnastics or a "shwushwee" (slushee) at Target. There are many funny, and many not so funny, discussions about money at our house.

Jessie:  Hey Mommy. Smiling so sweetly.
Jessie:  I love you. I know she wants something....
Jessie:   Give me a dollar.   I'm a sweetheart.......She really meant, "I'm your sweetheart" or "I'll be your sweetheart". She clearly understands that money is desirable and her affection is a tool for negotiation!

Jessie sleeps with her older sister, Jordan, in Jordan's room. Usually Jordan sleeps nearest the door and Jessie sleeps on the side next to the wall. Recently, Jessie usually lays on the couch to go to sleep, then later wakes up and goes to Jordan's bed during the night.  Some of the time Jordan has started just moving over and Jessie climbs up on the outside edge. One night that they laid down to go to bed together rather than her falling asleep on the couch Jessie started this conversation:

Jessie:  Please, Jordan, can we switch sides tonight?
Jordan:  No, I wanna read so I need this side (by the lamp).
Jessie:  Come on, you.....me...together....best friends. She smiles, angelicly, irresistably (Jordan's words:)
Jordan:  No, sorry Jessie, maybe another night. Jordan moves Jessie over.
Jessie:  Then you pay me my dollar!!
Jordan thought this was all so cute and wanted to be sure to be able to tell it to me so she rolled over and typed this into Notepad on her phone.

Jessie has gone through a phase of calling Evan "boy".  This is NOT just that she knows he is a boy.  She meant it to be funny.  For several days, every time she referred to Evan she would just say boy.  We were in the restroom at coop. 

Jessie:  Where's Jordan?
Me:  She's in her class.
Jessie:  Boy?
Me:  Evan's in his class too.  We don't know how or why this started but it was downright hilarious.  Then, as suddlenly as it began, it was over.  Moved on to something new.

Hope my funny girl has made you smile :)


*For those of you that know us online and not in person, our last name is Hall.