End of Year

This school year flew by like nobody's business!! Matthew finished 5th grade and next year will go to Middle School. I can't talk about that, though. Maybe after some therapy, I'll be able to post about the whole middle school thing. Anyway, back to this pre-therapy post. Matthew was one of 6 kids in the fifth grade who was awarded the "Hope of America" award in their end of year awards assembly. We were very proud -- of him for getting the award and of me for not making a bawling fool of myself.

We always take a photo of Matt on his last day of school.  This one just happens to be of him after we attacked him at the front door with silly string.

When we moved back to Logan (the summer before Matt started 2nd grade), we began a family tradition of having a big celebration dinner the last day of school.  We choose a country or region and build our dinner around it -- food, decorations, activities, etc. So far we've had a Hawaiin luau, a Mexican fiesta, and a Southern soul-food picnic. Matt knows we do this every year, but we don't tell him our theme until the dinner--so it's a surprise.

This year we chose a British theme with a fish fry.  Steve nor I had really made fish and chips for real before, so it was a little bit of an adventure.  It turned out pretty darn well, though.

 

The kids loved the British crackers even more than they did the meal. :) It was pretty funny watching them break them open. Rachel was laughing her head off.  I wish I'd been able to capture the look on their faces as they were really in the act of busting them open, but I was laughing too hard to remember to take photos. The only thing I can think of comparing it to is when you are opening one of those little cylindrical cans of Pillsbury rolls. Ya know, the ones where you tear the paper then push the seam until it pops. You find yourself pushing that dang seam with the dumbest look of anticipation and fear -- knowing it's going to pop, but then jumping and squealing a tiny bit when it does burst. (Please say that happens to other people too...)  They loved popping them open, and then playing with the little toys and hats inside.

We wore our lovely crowns while eating our pudding for dessert and watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" - which has nothing to do with English culture, but it's funny and we love it.

Matthew had a super year and we couldn't be more proud of him. He's a great student and a pretty darn good kid. :) I'm certain that next year will be as wonderful and that we have a lot to look forward to.  

Run!

We love the end of the school year. Yes, we love that it means that summer is just minutes away, but we also love the activities that come with the end of the year.

The end of May brought the Logan Fun Run. This is a mile run that involves all the fourth and fifth graders in the school district. It was great! Matt did a super job! We were a bit worried as he'd stayed home from school the day prior with a touch of a stomach bug. He was feeling fine the day of the run, but was concerned that his time wouldn't be as good because he was still lacking a little bit of energy. His goal became to just finish the race. He did it -- and did just fine with his time. I don't remember his exact time, but I guarantee that it was waaaaayy faster than I could have done!





Matt with a couple of his buddies.



...And with his biggest fans.





The 2nd of June brought the school's annual Wild Cat Run. Our principal (who rocks the world) started this tradition 5 years ago. It's also a mile run, but it's for the entire school. The kids have to train for 8 weeks or so before -- running so many miles so many days a week. They keep a log of their training time and have to turn it in before they can participate in the run. This year the school tried something different. They didn't do any fund raisers all year and used the run as the sole fund raiser. The kids asked family and friends to sort of sponsor them for the run. People donated money for the 30 miles of training and then the race. The so fantastic part of this all was the 100% of the money went straight to the school. The whole student body did amazingly well and they earned A LOT of money for the school. The day of the run was the best part, though.



Now, for real, we LOVE the WildCat Run. Steve asked for the day off a month before to be sure he'd be there. There is just something about kids setting a goal, working had, and accomplishing it. These kids run their hearts out -- and cheer each other on while doing it. ...I cry every dang year.

Below, the tall guy with the freaking leg muscles, he's the principal. He runs with each grade, so he runs over 5 miles; with the lead runner of each grade. Apparently he said he was worried about keeping up with the fastest runner by the time 5th grade ran. (The kid did like a 6 minute mile.) Yah, well, I am a witness that he not only kept up, but did it with gusto. One of Matt's best friends was the 5th grade winner -- and made a new school record. Nicely done!




There's our boy! I'm not joking, when my kid rounds that last corner, I'm choking up. I've done it every year since we've been in this school. This year was especially poignant as it was Matthew's last year.



Matt and his friend who didn't just break, but completely obliterated the school record. He's a great kid -- and lightnin' fast. Just a little sidenote: Bailey is completely obsessed with this friend. She adores him to say the least. He's so sweet to her when he comes to play, that she truly just loves him. She asks about him every time we go to the school. He and Matt were on the same soccer team and Bailey cheered just as loud and as much for him as she did for Matt. It's pretty cute.



Once again, Matt's biggest fans. (Rachel was actually pouting about something and wouldn't look at the camera for this photo. Nice.)




What a super way to bring the year to a close. We were so proud of our Wild Cats!!

Soccer

Once again, soccer season has come and gone. It really zipped by this year as the season was a little shorter than usual. Matthew had a fantastic time playing and we had a super time watching him. They were a great team!




One thing we can always count on during soccer season in Utah is crazy weather. The kids played some games in the freezing cold. Some games were played in pouring rain or even a little snow. A few games even required sunscreen. :)



The girls enjoyed watching and cheering for their big brother. They even scored some new Disney Princess chairs with the deal.



We're always a little sad to see the soccer season end. Matt's team had a great season and it's always fun watching the kids play hard. We've been really fortunate the last few years and Matt's been on good teams with great coaches and fun teammates -- with fun parents. It's been a good ride, and we'll look forward to next year!

Disneyland

Last month we went to Disneyland! We so seldom take vacations and are in love with all things Disney, so we had a fantastic trip. We completely broke tradition and had a perfect vacation where everything went smoothly and perfectly.



The kids all chose their own "Mickey ears" hat. Bailey even wore hers more than a few times. Rachel would have slept in hers if she'd had the chance.







We had an autograph book which the kids really enjoyed filling with characters' signatures. They loved the characters -- okay, Matt and Rachel loved them. Bailey loved them from afar. Matthew, however, was the only one who would get close enough to Cruella DeVille to pose for a picture.








One afternoon we stopped in at a great little cafe in Orleans square to try some beignets. Rachel adores Princess and the Frog and wanted to try some real beignets like Tiana makes. They were shaped like Mickey Mouse heads and tasted delicious so Rachel was one happy gal.








Rachel LOVED the princesses - and Bailey actually really liked them, too. She did better with them than the other characters, I think because they look like real people. (Notice the big wad of food in Rachey's mouth. Nice.)






Steve with his favorite princess.



Okay, Steve really does like Belle, but these are really his very favorite princesses.














We had the best week! I could have really filled pages and pages with pictures and stories. We really do adore all things Disney, but just as amazing as being at the "Happiest Place on Earth" was the fact that we had time -- just time with each other. We had no deadlines, no agendas, no real life stress. We just had each other, time, and tons of wonderful things to do and see.

Happy Birthday, Bailey!

On the 3rd of April my baby turned 2! I seriously don't know where the time went - I just blinked and it happened. We had a fantastic weekend celebrating our little princess!
It was the first Easter weekend in 3 years that Steve had off work, so we really just enjoyed being together. We started the day with a little Easter egg hunt with some friends. We then came home for birthday presents. Rachel gave Bailey her first pair of princess shoes and Matt gave her a bubble machine. Bailey loved both gifts! We put the unearthly amount of batteries in the bubble machine, fired her up, and the girls spent seriously like the next hour dancing, playing, and popping bubbles.



Our gift to Bailey was a Radio Flyer wagon. We put it together (but not fast enough for Bailey's liking), and took the gals out for a walk. Notice the girls' hair in this picture. It was sticky and nappy - covered in bubble solution from our bubble dance party.




That evening we had my sister, her husband, and their boys over for ice cream and cake.



On Sunday afternoon, we went to my brother's house in Ogden for an Easter/B-day party. Bailey had a ball -- she adores her aunts, uncles,cousins, and grandparents. She received some of her very favorite things as gifts; a baby doll, baby accessories, and bubbles. She got some darling clothes and lots and lots of attention. :)










I can hardly believe that my baby girl is two! She is such a sweet and fun little gal. She has experienced so many weird health issues in her short little life, and has proven herself a fighter. She is a strong little girl with such a big personality. Bailey is such a blessing to our little family and we are so grateful for her. Happy Birthday, Bailey! We love you!

Date to the Ballet

We have some wonderful friends who have children who dance with the Cache Valley Ballet. They gave us some tickets to see Firebird in which two of their children were dancing. I had planned to take Rachel to the Saturday matinee. I'm still not really sure how plans changed and how Steve agreed to it, but it was decided that Steve would take Rachel on a date to the ballet instead.



Rachel felt so special getting all dressed up to go out with her Daddy. They had a great time. Rachel LOVED the ballet and Steve said that he enjoyed it also. It just goes to show that this Daddy would do anything for his girls.

Progress

Today is a bitter-sweet day for us here at the Foster home. This morning we have a meeting with some people from the Up to Three program at Utah State University to sign Bailey out of their program. For the past 10 months or so, an occupational therapist from the program has been coming out to work with our little gal. Let me back up a little. Most of the two people who read this blog already know this, but to re-cap, Bailey has had eating issues. She just wouldn't eat any solid foods. When it came time to introduce solids to her, she wouldn't do it. That's an understatement; she'd gag, heave, cry, choke, etc. She had a huge aversion to anything coming even close to her mouth. She would only nurse, which was becoming a problem as time went on because she was always hungry and wasn't getting all the nutrients she needed. She was anemic for quite a while and, of course, wouldn't take the iron supplement that was prescribed -- if I forced it in, she'd promptly vomit.
Thanks to a great doctor, we got connected with this fantastic program at the university. They came out, visited with us, observed, and tested her. She was right where she needed to be or above in every area, but eating. A theory is that Little Bailey spent so much of her first year sick, that it caused some sensory issues. She had so many respiratory problems and struggled to much to just breathe, Poor Baby. So, Amy, an occupational therapist, started coming and working with us. She is amazing! She gave us so much support and so many great ideas. We just adore her.
It's been a bit of a long road, but Bailey is now doing so amazingly well. It's kind of funny to look back now and realize how much I took for granted with my other kids. They just ate. They just drank. Sure, it was messy, they had picky days, but they did it. Bailey was 19 months old when she drank out of a cup for the first time. (It was a sacrament cup at church and on my birthday. Happy birthday to me!)
Fast forward to today. Bailey is eating like a champ. When compared to most kids her age, she's still got a little way to go, but she's doing awesome! She has met and exceeded all the goals we made for her with the Up to Three program, and she did so well in follow up evaluations, that today we are meeting to sign her out of the program. It's been so good and such a valuable support to us. We are so grateful for them and so thrilled that Bailey is doing so great, but we will sure miss our Amy. I guess our consolation is that we will still have the Mii that Rachel made of her on the Wii. :)


We went to Angies last month and the kids enjoyed a free ice cream cone with their meals.



The noteworthy thing here is that Bailey was actually eating ice cream. She's actually become quite the fan. For the longest time she wouldn't touch anything of that texture or anything cold. Yay, Bailey! Hooray for progress!