On May 16, 2012 my brother and sister-in-law became parents to a beautiful baby girl, Abril Alejandra Padilla. Throughout the entire pregnancy the doctors never told them that there was anything wrong with the baby, and when asked if they wanted to do the tests to determine what the chance of the baby having Down syndrome was, they said no. They thought, "well if we do find out if she has Down syndrome it’s not going to change anything, we’re not going to love her any less." So when she was born and they found out she had Down syndrome they were in shock. It was such sudden news that they didn’t really know how to cope with it. As I lay in bed thinking about my niece, I couldn’t help but to cry. I thought to myself "why her?" I started of thinking about her getting older and stories I’ve heard about kids making fun of other kids because they don’t necessarily look like them. I didn’t want Abril to go through any of that. Little by little I noticed that she is just like any other baby. Down syndrome doesn’t define who she is. Nobody in our family thinks of her as the baby with Down syndrome, to us she’s just Abril, our sweet, happy little angel. She’s so smart and she’s always smiling; it’s one of the most beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen. I believe that God knows who he sends babies to. He definitely sent Abril to the perfect parents. She is just as lucky to have them as they are lucky to have her. They talk to her with so much love and kindness. Just about a month and a half ago she had heart surgery and they said she would have to be in the hospital for two weeks, but my Abril wasn’t having that, they let her go home in five days! She’s so strong and brave. She surprised all of us, especially her doctors. They said that out of all the babies that had heart surgery that day she was the one that was doing the best. She's six months old now, and she continues to amaze us. I can’t wait to see her grow up and achieve all her goals, I know that with our support she can do whatever she sets her mind to. I am so grateful that God let me be in her life, I couldn’t see our lives without her, she is the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to us, and I wouldn’t change her for anything in the world. In my eyes she’s perfect just the way she is.