Welcome. Come meet our Jon.
If you are here because you are raising a child with Down syndrome — or because you just got a phone call, or a diagnosis, or a name — I want you to know you landed in the right place. This is the page where our son Jonathan lives. Jon is sixteen. He came to us through adoption, he has Down syndrome, he has had three major surgeries, and he is, without exaggeration, the most joyful person in our house.
I started writing about Jon because somebody wrote about their kid first, and reading it in the middle of a hard night was the thing that helped. So this is ours. Not the medical version, not the inspirational-poster version — the real one, with the hospital chapters and the flag football medals and the morning he changed his outfit three times before he would leave the house. If any of it is an encouragement to you, then it did what I hoped it would do.
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How Jon Came Home
We found out about Jon while his birth mama was still pregnant, all the way across the country. We knew there would be medical needs. We did not know what they were until the call came that he had been born. He spent five months in the hospital before we could bring him home, and he came home on a medical jet — a detail he has never once let us forget.
- Jon’s Adoption Story — Down Syndrome, Big Surgery, and the Baby Who Changed Everything — the whole beginning, including what his big sister Hannah said when she was six years old.
- Jonathan Was Fighting for His Life While the Roof Came Off Tropicana Field — the hospital chapter, and the day years later when we walked back into that same stadium.
- Esophageal Atresia, Two Years Later: Jon’s Check-Up and Why We’re So Thankful — two years past the big surgery, and the appointment that left us counting blessings.
Jon’s Seasons
Jon is an athlete. That sentence took me years to be able to say without qualifying it, and now I say it flat out. He has played Buddy Baseball with the Cyclones since he was eight — sixteen seasons — and he competes in Special Olympics basketball and flag football. Every season he adds something. This section grows every single year, which is exactly the point of it.
- Special Olympics Flag Football — Jon’s Game Day, Big Throws, and That Smile — his newest sport, and the medal he wore all the way home.
- Jon Scores THREE Baskets at Special Olympics Basketball — his first Special Olympics season, on the court, and we are still cheering.
- Jonathan’s Last Buddy Baseball Game of the Season — Three Hits and a Home Run — he saved the best for last.
- Buddy Baseball Hits — Jon Knocks It Out of the Park! — three at-bats, three hits, and lunch with his Buddy afterward.
- Jonathan’s First Hit of the Season — Opening Day with the Cyclones — the comeback game after his surgery, and a glove signed by his surgical team.
Everyday Jon
The sports days are the ones that make people cry on the internet. The ordinary days are the ones I would keep if I could only keep some. Haircut day is an event. Thrifting with his big sister is an event. Choosing an outfit is very much an event.
- A Day in the Life of Our Sweet Son Jon — Down Syndrome, Big Heart, Best Life — the whole routine, start to finish, including the parts nobody asks about.
- Jon Loves Haircut Day — The Smile That Stopped Us All — haircut day is a whole production and that fresh-cut grin says everything.
- Family Thrift Haul — What $140 Gets You When You Shop With Jonathan and Hannah — an afternoon out with Jon and his big sister, and a very full trunk.
What We’ve Learned Raising a Child with Down Syndrome
I am not going to tell you it is all easy, because that would be a lie and you would know it. There have been surgeries and hospital stays and a lot of nights I did not sleep. But the thing nobody told me, the thing I wish somebody had, is that the hard parts and the joyful parts are not taking turns. They are happening at the same time, in the same day, often in the same hour.
Jon does not care about things. He cares about people. He wants his people around him and that is the whole list. Sixteen years of watching him has rearranged what I think matters, and I do not think I would have gotten there on my own. If you are earlier in this than we are, the National Down Syndrome Society keeps a resource library that is a good place to start, and your local Down syndrome association is usually better than the internet at finding you actual people.
Questions We Get About Raising a Child with Down Syndrome
We just got a Down syndrome diagnosis. What would you say to us?
Congratulations. I mean that plainly, and I know it may not be the first word you have heard. You are allowed to feel scared and you are allowed to grieve a picture you had in your head — I did, and I am not embarrassed about it anymore. That feeling is not a verdict on how you will love this child. Find one family a few years ahead of you and let them show you their ordinary Tuesday. That did more for me than anything I read.
Did you know Jon would have Down syndrome before you adopted him?
We knew there would be medical needs. We did not know it was Down syndrome until the day he was born. There was a moment of fear, and it was not fear of him — it was fear of me. Whether I was enough for him and for the girls we already had. Jason never wavered for a second, which is a good thing, because I needed somebody not to.
How do Jon’s siblings handle it?
When we sat down to explain Down syndrome to our girls, Hannah was six. She listened all the way through and then said, “He needs me.” They have been inseparable ever since. I do not have a better word for that than prophecy. All four of his siblings are fiercely his, and none of it was something we engineered.
How do I support a friend raising a child with Down syndrome?
The same way you would support any friend with any child. Ask about their kid by name. Celebrate the wins without calling them inspirational. Show up on the hard days. And please do not assume the family is sad — most days we are laughing at something Jon said. The best gift you can give is to see their child the way they see them: funny, opinionated, beloved, fully a person.
Why do you share Jon’s story publicly?
Because somebody else’s story helped me when I needed it, and this is how I pay that back. We share what is Jon’s to share — his wins, his ordinary days, the parts of his medical history that might help another family recognize their own. He loves the camera and he loves being celebrated. The day that changes, we stop.
📬 Come to the table on Saturday
Every Saturday morning I send a printable meal plan and full grocery list — the whole week, formatted for the fridge and the grocery run — plus new recipes and whatever’s happening at the Longstreth house, Jon very much included. Drop your email below and I’ll save you a seat.
💛 Want to see Jon’s picks?
Jon has his own corner of our house — the things he loves, chosen by him, in his own room on this site.
Visit Jonathan’s Corner →Child with Down Syndrome — About Stephanie Longstreth
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.