Scampering around the living room of her family’s Berwyn home, it is clear that Samantha Mirabelli is quite the little ham.

Dressed in her red turtleneck, a jean jumper decked out in little red hearts, and matching red tights, the 2-year-old blonde clambers over chairs eager to show off – and play with – all of her toys. She giggles and grins, posing and dancing around. She is a calendar girl of sorts.

Born with Down syndrome, Samantha is one of the models in the 2009 calendars for GiGi’s Playhouse, an awareness center for the condition. Calendar sale proceeds benefit programs, support groups and education efforts for children and families affected by Down syndrome.

“Not only is it giving her a little bit of a keepsake down the road, but I see the difference it can make,” said Samantha’s mom, Deb Mirabelli.
Deb and Joe Mirabelli learned at birth their youngest child had Down syndrome.

“Here you’re calling everybody to say you had the baby, and they’re saying they’re sorry. At (the center’s play group), they’re saying congratulations,” Deb Mirabelli said.

Samantha’s older siblings , Joey, 8, and Kerilyn, 5, do not have Down syndrome. Experiencing the array of new challenges and child development hurdles with Samantha left the couple with many questions. Deb Mirabelli said they learned more from other parents at GiGi’s Playhouse activities than from their doctors and gained much-needed support.

After Samantha’s birth, “my husband’s biggest concern was ‘is she gonna be able to walk,’” she said. “We went into that (GiGi’s Playhouse) play group and there were these 3- and 4-year-olds who were throwing and playing. She can do everything my other two kids can do. It’s just delayed.”

Her development also started off slower than some other children with Down syndrome. Born at 5 pounds, 7 ounces, with a slight cleft palette, Samantha could not gain weight and develop as other newborns did. Although the cleft palette was not extremely pronounced externally, it posed feeding challenges.

“She couldn’t handle formula with her food. It would come out her nose,” Deb Mirabelli said, adding Samantha would not eat baby food.

But doctors would not correct the cleft palette until she weighed more than 10 pounds, she said. Samantha did not hit that weight until she was 13 months old. She now is 30 pounds and will be 3 in December. Preschool also is on the horizon.

Deb Mirabelli said she wanted her daughter to pose in the calendar to help raise awareness of the condition, and to aid an organization that has helped her family so much. Families can see that children with Down syndrome are not limited in what they can accomplish, she added.

“She’s going to be our Olympic swimmer,” Deb Mirabelli said.