Win a Festive Frugi Family Hamper with Natty the Pyjama Poster Girl

As you know Natty has been modelling for fabulous organic clothing company Frugi for a while now and we’ve teamed up with them to offer you a chance to win this fab Frugi Christmas Hamper. 

All you have to do is click here https://www.welovefrugi.com/frugifamilycomp and enter your details to be put into the draw- it’s easy! 

The competition is open from today until Thursdays 15^th Dec 2016 at midnight. The winner will be drawn on Friday 16^th Dec and contacted by Frugi via email, they will then pop the hamper in the post in time for Christmas. 

Natty, the Frugi Pyjama Poster Girl

What's more, the Frugi elves are offering to wrap your last minute Christmas purchases in a gorgeous gift bag for only £3.50. 

Frugi gift bags 

It will delight the recipients as much as it excited Natty when she opened hers live in our nightly Facebook broadcast Chatty Natty, which you can watch here. 

Better still, our pyjama poster girl found a peachy soft pair of festive polar bear Poppy pyjamas inside (RRP £25) which happened to make the perfect 10th birthday gift as well. *Sings happy birthday Natty*

Frugi Poppy Pyjamas make the perfect Christmas present 

What a treat! Thank you #FrugiFamily. 

You can now pop across to Global Mouse Travels to see which gift she received.

Model Natty Strikes a Pose: Frugi Hannah Reversible Dress

You know that thing when you're a top fashion model, working toward inclusive advertising so that all your peers can see themselves represented in the media. Yes, that. 

It's hard work isn't it! All smiles and poses and fun, I can't just switch that on at the drop of a bright cotton sun hat you know.

It's even worse when your Mum is really busy and forgets that she is supposed to have taken a photo of you in a gorgeous new dress that one of the companies you represent has sent you. She'd promised them a review by all accounts and this snazzy Frugi frock has been on her pile of things to do for days apparently. News to me of course *eyes roll to the sky*.

So what does she do on review post deadline day? She puts you in it and makes you pose for the camera. Just like that, no warning. Right after your breakfast and just before brushing your teeth. Most inconvenient I say! She really should organise herself better...

Striking a pose in Frugi reversible dress

To make matters worse she had the nerve to make me take it off straight away and put on my boring school uniform. I wanted to wear the pony pocket dress to show my friends.

I mean, I ask you! I wanted to keep it on all day! She really should stop horsing around (get it?).

Natty G x
(Words imagined by Mummy G)

p.s. There's also a blue one with an owl. Twit Twoo!


This gorgeous Hannah Reversible Dress is made from soft organic cotton, with popper fastenings at the back of the neck for easy dressing. One side of the dress has a sweet Frugi character applique and the reverse has a cute embroidered pocket, two dresses rolled into one! It retails at £32.

Frugi Hannah reversible dress also available in 'Owl'

Head over to fellow #FrugiFamily member Globalmouse Travels for their review of the Lulu Jumper Dress.

Natty Celebrates the Arrival of the SS16 Frugi Collection in her own Inimitable way

Do your children pinch your mobile phone and fill it with selfies and silly videos? 

No? 

Is that just my crew? 

Natty celebrates the Spring Summer 16 Frugi collection!

Well, last week Mia discovered the time lapse video button which made us all giggle heartily. The two partners in crime spent hours fast forwarding through their daily routines and recording it all for posterity.

Giveaway: Wild Bangarang Luppo Leggings

Our friends at Wild Bangarang sent us a gift of possibly some of the funkiest leggings I have ever seen this week, and we have one pair to give away on the blog!

Win a pair of Wild Bangarang leggings for your mini rock chick!

Let's see Adults with Disabilities in Advertising?

The tide is shifting. More and more companies are following the lead of household names such as Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury's and including young models with disabilities in their marketing campaigns. Hoorah!

Seb fronts Marks and Spencer campaign

Natty joins Sainsbury's Back to School Campaign

This week our little Natty's face once more peeked from the pages of Frugi's catalogue, as she advertised a glorious yellow cotton cardigan. 

UK's Biggest Selling Glossy Feature Model Natty: Why it Matters

The media communicate to the masses what is acceptable, what is 'the norm'. The fact that the UK's most widely circulated glossy magazine has featured a child with a learning disability as an angel in their Christmas edition is very important news indeed

Natty features in Good Housekeeping Magazine, photos by @Katie Wilson 

All children love a cool outfit and who doesn't love sparkles and glitter, even if they did happen in August for Natty and I. 

It was an amazing day in London, we were spoit rotten, we met incredible women, but most of all, we were helping to bring Learning Disability into everyone's homes, into all areas of life. No longer should anyone be hidden away from view.

The Perfect Christmas Dress from Frugi

When a girl has a birthday on the horizon, and Christmas party season is just around the corner, she needs a frock that will take her from leaf-kicking in the park to supping squash with friends and on to showing off her latest dance moves when the celebrations really get started.

The perfect Christmas dress from Frugi

The Frugi AW15 Collection and Why First Impressions Matter

When Natty as born, I had images of greying knee-length socks teamed with threadbare kilts and Mickey Mouse T shirts in my head. I saw a 'national health' haircut and glasses to match in my mind's eye. It sounds ridiculous, but that is what flashed through my head.

Natty and sister Mia model some vintage Frugi

I was wrong. My stereotype was born of ignorance and fear, and very quickly Daddy Downs Side Up and I vowed that Natty would always have the very best hair cut, clothes and glasses that we could find and/or afford.

This may sound superficial. 
It is superficial. 
But first impressions count. 

And they count 50x more when you have a learning disability and the whole world forms an impression of you before you have walked into focus, or even opened your mouth. When the most people think they know what your personality is based on outdated and narrow stereotypes, then perhaps sometimes your 'look' can be the first flag that causes them to reassess their thinking.

This is exactly why I wanted to show the world that our children with Down's syndrome are beautiful, can model funky clothes which they adore wearing, and can lead the way in the world of fashion.

Natty puts her Isobel Frugi cardigan through its paces

Fabulous organic kids clothing company Frugi were the first to take Natty onto their books over 4 years ago and she is still featuring in their colourful catalogues (*Klaxon* Watch out for the SS16 edition). We are very proud to be a part of the #FrugiFamily and are huge fans of their durable, gorgeous, soft, washable, so-great-you-can-hand-them-down-time-after-time clothes.

So a huge thank you to them for wanting Natty to model their Isobel cardigan this season (RRP £30). This gorgeous knitted cardigan is made from organic cotton, making it super soft, warm and durable. With a sweet front pocket and contrasting button fastenings, great for wrapping up this season.

Also available in Navy

Leggings, swing tunics and cardigans are Natty's staple look as they compliment her shape perfectly. They skim over rounded tummies and adapt to shorter limbs. She's just grown out of a yellow favourite, so we were delighted that they sent us this soft cotton cover-up in Ladybird red to review. It definitely got a thumbs up from Natty.

Thank you Frugi!

Do go and visit the rest of the #FrugiFamily bloggers on this blog hop, stopping off chez the intrepid Globalmouse next, with her post Embracing the cold with Frugi's Autumn Winter Collection.

Natty's New #FrugiFamily Fleece: A Firm Favourite

Natty has been a model for our favourite kids' clothing brand for a few years now. Frugi make scrumptious soft organic cotton gear, made for the way modern kids live. They wash and wear well and are roomy and comfy enough for all kinds of adventures.

Natty models her Frugi beach cover up

Frugi Shoot for Downs Side Up Model Natty: Under Wraps

Over three years ago a little model with Down's syndrome burst onto the scene! This was such an important step for inclusive advertising and you can read more about the Pioneers for change here.

Inclusion: Natty and big sister Mia in the Frugi catalogue

During the Easter holidays we were super excited to be asked to return to our friends at Frugi for another photo shoot. 

Fabulous Funky Frugi Turns Ten

Frugi! Just the name puts a smile on my lips!

When Frugi offered Natty a little outfit to try as part of their tenth birthday celebrations, we jumped swung at the chance.

Natty, 7, models Frugi's SS14 range

Natty for Face of Kinder 2013

I know that ad inclusion is a very important part of what we campaign for here at Downs Side Up. Natty and a team of others across the UK have been getting their faces into catalogues, brochures, websites, films and commercials, showing the world a different kind of beauty, acting as role models for others and encouraging the the PR teams to look at representing every one of us in their marketing strategies. Read about the pioneers who are changing attitudes here. 

I have to admit though that writing around to companies and attending castings was a very time consuming process, but happy in the knowledge that increasing numbers of companies were opening their modelling criteria to those with disabilities and others parents were forging ahead, I guess I relaxed the pressure a little. I also found myself caught up in other writing and media campaigns which took all my focus.

We decided not to go all the way to London for a recent Boden casting and were on holiday when Urban Angels needed someone for an ad, but we were excited to see our friend Kostas in the latest Co Op commercial. There is also a new model Julius hitting the headlines in Australia and a little boy Adam in Ireland is working for Marks and Spencer so it is happening.

But actually I am left wondering if companies really are employing a long term policy of inclusive advertising, or simply engaging in one offs for whatever reason...

So, I shall start looking around for more modelling opportunities for Natty, our model with Down Syndrome. Locally as far as possible, as it can be slotted into our day so easily that way, taking little away from school time. If everyone did a little bit here and there for a local tourist attraction or shop or company we could cover the country in a network of inclusive advertising. 

For now we've entered Natty into the Face of Kinder 2013 competition. If you would like to vote for her you can do so here. (Vting has closed).

Just type Natty (there's only one) and follow the instructions. It takes around a minute.  You can vote for as many children as you like, so enter your child too and we can all vote for each other's children.

                                                      

So go on, dust off your keyboards, get voting and get writing to those companies! 

Together we can make a difference and get disability into the media.

Blending CVC Words and Making Biscuits!

Learning to read and write through cooking. What better way to a little girl's head, than through her tummy. Here's what Natty and I got up to on our latest home school day.

1) We looked at pictures I had downloaded of ingredients for our cookies. (Constipation busting ones of course!) We said the words aloud together, shouted and whispered them, giggling.

2) I gave Natty 2 copies of each picture and she did a little matching game all by herself, finding 'the same'.

3) Then we took the pictures to the food cupboard/fridge and using the visual prompts, Natty found each ingredient.

4) We assembled the ingredients and together weighed and mixed them.

5) After rolling out the dough, Natty created her own shapes and I cut freehand letter shapes, which we then baked.

6) Then the really fun bit. Natty made words from the cookies and drew around each letter with her finger, using the Ruth Miskin flashcards and chanting the rhyme to remember how to write each one.
p - down the plait and round the pirate's head
i - down the insect's body and a dot for its head
n - down the net and around the net
t - down the tower and across the tower
s - down the snake
a - round the apple and down the leaf

Natty traces round the letters with her finger.

7) We ate our words!

Cookie recipe from the BBC adapted to bust constipation!
I usually mix flaxseed/ crushed linseeds in with the seed/nut element of the recipe as this is a gentle but powerful laxative, and replace some of the flour with wholemeal flour. I have been known to include some prune juice too. You can add cocoa powder to make chocolate cookies if your children like that.

Here are some we made earlier!

Make Your Keyboard Child-friendly

All children learn to form lower case letters first. 

Children with Down's Syndrome might need to use programmes such as Clicker to assist them in the early stages of writing. They can't hope to equate the capital letters shown on a keyboard with the symbols they are learning to form themselves. 

Enter an inexpensive set of lowercase keyboard stickers. We bought ours from Amazon at around £5, but many SEN sites also sell them.

Be warned... you need a steady hand to complete the lowercasification task!

Gorgeous Models - One with Downs Syndrome

My head is spinning with fabulous blog posts that I can't quite find the time to sit down and craft at the moment: 

Breastfeeding a baby with Down's Syndrome part 2

Tips to alleviate constipation

An observation on a mother and son with Down's I met by chance in town 

The consultant that diagnosed Natty's condition at birth revisited and re-evaluated...  

They'll all have to wait. School hols and lots of lovely house guests are taking precedent, and that's how it should be. 

We blog about life, not live through our blogs, after all.

Beauty Comes in Many Forms

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, 

for beauty is God's handwriting -- 

a wayside sacrament.
Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every flower, 

and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

But in the meantime I'd like to share a proud little moment with you all. Seemingly frivolous perhaps, but huge for the future of Down's Syndrome, the way our children are perceived.

Today, Frugi launched their Autumn Winter '12 collection. Natty and her sister Mia are there, amongst the other beautiful models. Just 2 happy little girls having fun with others, and enjoying dressing up in pretty clothes...

Getting Natty's face into catalogues was always one branch of my idea for gently changing perceptions of Down's Syndrome, alonside the blog, media appearances and article writing. 

In one small photo, a simple shot of a girl wearing pretty clothes, lies a hugely important message. 

The message conveyed is that children with Down's Syndorme are beautiful, love gorgeous clothes, deserve to be well dressed. That they are just as important as any other child, they are capable of the same activities, enjoy life to the full, can work as clothing models, are loved by their siblings and friends. They too can woo a camera person, make a marketing team giggle and are role models for other children who see themselves represented in mainstream media for the first time.

I hope Natty has gained an immeasurable amount of confidence from being accepted as a model too. She beams from ear to ear whenever she sees her face in print.

Put simply, I hope that other beautiful small people with an extra chromosome simply look at Natty in those pages and see a girl who looks a bit like them but who doesn't really stand out at all. She is just one of the gang. She looks natural and at home amongst the others.

And that has been our family motto since the day Natty was born... she is just one of the gang.