It's A Wrap

We had our very last class party last week, what a great year it's been.  We couldn't have asked for  better teacher for Riley and it was a really great group of very sweet kids.  I loved being a class mom, I only wish that I could have spent more time in the class.  In honor of summer, we moved the party outside.  I even cooked hot dogs in the crock pot, which came out surprisingly well.  I am super sad that the school year is over and the class must move on, the moms volunteering today all tried to convince Riley's teacher to move up to 1st grade (she used to teach 1st) and to keep the kids together, while she agreed it would be a great class to move together, it's not going to happen.  So sad to move on from such a great teacher.  Fingers crossed that Jacob gets her!

Open House

Riley's class had Open House a few weeks ago and Riley was SO excited to show us around and show off her work.  Her teacher also had a "Guess How Many Starbursts in the Jar" and guess who won...little dude!  He sure does love his Starbursts!

It Was A Good Day

Today was another whirlwind day but it ended up a good day, at least in the eyes of Riley. 

We started the morning off with Riley's first report card parent/teacher conference.  Riley got a very, very good report card and update from her teacher, we were very proud!  I got to pick her up after school because she had a 2:00 appointment with Dr Hoffinger. 

We grabbed a quick lunch at home before heading to her classroom so I could meet with her teacher to plan the Thanksgiving Party for her class and then we headed up to Walnut Creek for an appointment with Dr H.  I was pretty nervous, Riley's right foot has seemed a little stiff so I was concerned we might be heading down a relapse path even though I haven't seem any curvature.  While I was meeting with her teacher, Riley colored a picture for Dr Hoffinger thanking him for fixing her feet.  We also brought a kindergarten picture for Beverly.  We got there and luckily they weren't too busy so we only had to wait a few minutes before going back.  Riley handed Beverly her picture, which she LOVED!  Bev has always loved Riley, even when Ri was a baby, Bev used to scoop her out of her car seat and walk her around the office before Riley had her casts removed and re-applied.  Riley always calmed down in Bev's arms.  And of course we can't forget when Bev came to visit Riley in the hospital after her tendon transfer.  She's equally important in Riley's treatment as Dr H is. 

Then it was time for BossyMan.  He came in and Riley handed him her picture, he loved it and gave her a huge hug and then she told him about her Dashing Dolphins and her 6 dolphin tails.  He couldn't believe that they had a running club for 5 year olds but was very happy to hear about Riley's excitement over it and her participation.  He did the usual inspection and after watching her walk said he saw absolutely no turning in on either foot.  I let out a big sigh of relief and told him I was concerned because that right foot seemed tighter than usual and he said he felt that it was tighter as well but the position was good and there was no turning when she walked.  (Sad, that I can feel the tightness in her feet like a well trained orthopedic surgeon).  He also said that at this point (2 months before her 6th birthday) that it would be extremely rare to have an issue at this point on that foot.  He felt like we would have seen any issues if we were going to see them.  The surgery seems a success, the right foot looks good without surgery so there might just be a light at the end of this long journey that we've been traveling.  I am cautiously optimistic that we may be finally putting clubfoot behind us.  She's come so far and I'm so proud of her strength and the way she just lets it all roll off of her.  She could very well use her clubfoot as an excuse to not participate or do stuff but Riley has never let clubfoot get in her way.  I often wonder how a child who spent the last year and a half in casts and AFOs ignores all that and is able to run around and participate as if she's never been through any of this.  It blows my mind!

That's Riley and Dr H on the right side together

Check out the flexibility on those tootsies!

Miss Sassy!

Our traditional picture!

Since we were in Walnut Creek, Riley wanted to go to my office.  So we headed over there for a little bit, enough time for some Kellogg's treats!  There were only a few people in the office but Riley still enjoyed herself.

And I wonder why she likes coming to work with me!?!

Like most days; it was busy, chaotic, and exhausting.  But it was a good day!  I'm so proud of Riley's great report card, thrilled that her feet are looking good, and happy to spend the afternoon with her.  Work has been awful lately and Friday was a good reminder of what is really important in life!

Walk and Roll to School Day

Today was International Walk and Roll to School Day, as luck would have it, I didn't have any meetings today so I was able to work from home and walk Riley to school.  Last year, Riley's school had 93.5% participation and this year they wanted to beat it, we did not want to be that family to not make the goal, so we strapped on the helmet, grabbed the scooter, some neighbors and walked to school.  What a fun event!  Riley's school is BIG!  I think there are over 700 kids there, and to have 94% walking, the streets were full of neighbors.  We walked with the usual suspects, Ryan, Preston, and Noelle (Drew and Lucas had to go early) so it was a fun morning.  Teachers were set up on the corners giving out snacks, juice, stickers, buttons and raffle tickets.  Ri of course ran to her teacher when she saw her and got her ticket from her.  Music was playing, overall it was a super fun event and I'm so glad I got to participate.  I feel a tremendous amount of guilt because every Tuesday and Thursday they do Dashing Dolphins, where the kids run laps and get tokens for each mile they run.  Ri so desperately wants to do it but I can't make it happen when I work. Reason #1000 why I hate working, letting my kids down and missing out on all of these fun activities.  So today, I was SO happy to be able to participate today.  I love taking her to school and meeting the other moms, most of them are super nice. 

Little Artists/Back to School Night

Jacob's school had a Silent Auction Art Sale on Thursday and all of the kids made art projects to be auctioned off to raise money for Bright Horizons.  Jacob's class did canvas paintings and I must say, I was quite impressed!  I especially liked the title of his piece: "I Like Blue"  Bwahaha!  SOOOOO Jacob!

After the Silent Auction we had Back to School Night...Elementary School just got REAL!!!  Did I mention that Riley spiked a fever the first night of school and had to stay home sick Thursday and Friday???  Poor girl was so sad!  She really wanted to go to Kindergarten.  At Back to School Night her teacher saw us and came over and asked how Riley was, that she was worried and to tell her that she didn't miss much.  SO SWEET!  She also sent home the art project that they did on Thursday so Riley could do it at home.  The principal and vice principal did a presentation and we were super impressed with them, then we headed over to Riley's class and learned all about the homework, class, schedule and etc.  We have heard great things about Riley's teacher and so far we are SUPER impressed! 

Nothing Says Official Like...

A teacher and room assignment! 

I went over to Riley's elementary school on Tuesday and finished registration and as a prize we found out who Riley's teacher would be.  I really can't believe my little preemie is starting Kindergarten in 6 days!  It turns out she's in the same class as her buddy across the street, Ryan, another little boy from our street, Lucas, and a friend from EDCC (we also have a mutual friend) Quinn.  I can't believe that there are 3 kids from our neighborhood in her class, poor teacher!

I took the afternoon off because apparently every year we have to do fall check-in to confirm that we still live in the neighborhood so the lines were long, I got there at 2:30, the doors opened at 3:00 and I was done by 3:45!  I decided to get Riley early since I was off for the afternoon and I took her by her classroom so she'd feel more comfortable next week when she starts.  I was getting ready to pick her up to look in the window and the door opened, her teacher was in there and invited us in and showed Riley around.  It was super sweet!  It turns out her teacher is the teacher who assessed her for kindergarten.  There are 5 kindergarten teachers and 2 of them are fantastic, she's one of them.  Lucas' brother had her last year and they loved her and my couple interactions with her were awesome!  She was great with Riley.  So I am VERY excited that she has her!  The downside, she does everything alphabetically, and well, Riley doesn't like to be last.  Sensing this, the teacher told Riley that she would rely on her to make sure no one got behind her in line.  She needed Riley to be her helper and that was her important job for the year, suddenly being last wasn't so bad!  :)  I also warned Ms. Kiernan that Riley should probably be in the front of the class so she could easily be reminded that she shouldn't be talking in class, especially with Ryan in there. 

Kindergarten is SO real now!  Ahhh, what happened to my baby!?!

First Week

Well Jacob survived his first week at Bright Horizons, he more than survived, he thrived!  So far he is doing so well!  He still talks a lot about his friends from his old school (luckily he went to a birthday party this weekend with all of his buddies so he got to see them and he as another one this coming weekend) but he is doing fantastic at Bright Horizons.  He's playing well with other kids, he's more social, his verbal skills skyrocketed this past week (our neighbor even commented on it and we even skipped speech therapy last week), and he just seems lighter and happier.  He loves to show me all of the different things that he does there and drop-offs are still hard but they aren't as hard as they've been before KinderCare.  On his 5th day when I picked him up, his teacher told me that he loves to dance, whenever they turn music on he runs over to dance, I never knew this about him or else I would have turned the music on more often!  So far all signs point to this being the right place for my little man!

They make up Daily fliers every day and Jacob made two pictures the second day and got called out for playing well side by side with another friend doing trains, this never happened at his old school!

The infamous marker table on the way out, at least there are no crackers at this school so my car is much cleaner.

Mr Man's cubby

First Day Jitters

...for Mommy that is!  Jacoby started Bright Horizons on Monday and I couldn't have been more nervous for him.  But it all went very smoothly, despite him having to start the day in Pre-School and he had never met that teacher.  Fortunately, for me that class has a guinea pig in it so he was fascinated by Lightning the Guinea Pig and I was able to leave without him getting upset.  I called at lunch to see how he was doing and they said he was having a really good day, that he cried for me a little especially when he got bumped on the playground but overall he had a great day.  He loved taking his big boy lunchbox to school like Riley does and he told me the next morning that he had fun.  He also went the whole day without an accident!!!  Fingers crossed we made the right move!

I Don't Know Where She Gets It From

I've always said Riley has been my hero, her strength and confidence are astounding.  She continues to leave me in awe.  Riley's only complaints of her new school were that a) people kept asking her what her AFO was and why she had it and b) she got asked her name a lot.  Her new program has about 60 kindergarten and first graders in it.  It's run through her elementary school and is on site (have I mentioned that my mind is still boggled that she is in an elementary school???).  I explained that 35 of the 60 kids there are kindergarteners like she is and they are all new to the school so it would take a while for everyone to learn everyone else's name.  On a side note, when we walked in the program director said "Hi Riley, where's your cast?"  They met Riley at orientation in March and haven't seen her since then and they remembered her, they've also greeted Marc and I by name each time we have walked in.  I am super impressed!  And for having 60 kids, even the chaos is more organized than her pre-school ever was. 

So to address the AFO issue, I asked if anyone was mean about it, she said no, they just kept asking and it was annoying.  I totally get it, she doesn't want to be different.  So I asked her if I spoke to her teacher and it was ok with her did Riley want to get up at circle time and just tell everyone about her AFO so she didn't have to keep telling people about it, she could say it once and be done.  She said yes, so Marc dropper her off on Tuesday and talked to the teacher about our idea and she loved it.  I wondered about her all day and if she actually got up and spoke about it or if she got shy at the last minute.  Well I walked in and she actually did it.  Riley stood up in front of 60 5 and 6 year olds and told them about her clubfeet, Dr Hoffinger, her surgery and her AFO.  I was in awe, she also learned that one of her teachers wore the braces also which was cool for Riley!  I am in awe and so proud of her for being able to stand up and talk about her birth defect in front of all of those kids.  It makes me feel pretty silly that I get nervous for my business presentations or that I am dreading my upcoming training for work next week where I will have to be video taped and watched by my peers (I'm literally dreading it!).  If Riley can get up and talk about her feet, why can't I talk waffles???

And as if all of that wasn't impressive enough, Wednesday she had a field trip to Chuck E Cheese and she decided on her own that she was going to wear her AFO because they would be doing a lot of walking and running and she didn't want to hurt her foot. 

I've spent so many years wondering why us?  Why her?  when it comes to her clubfeet, surgery, etc and now I know the answer is simple.  Because she can handle it.  I know it's not fair because she deserves to have it "easy" like most of her peers but I know without a doubt that she was given this challenge because she can handle it, because she can face with without fear, and she can overcome it.  I am so incredibly proud of her the last few days.  Not only is it hard and scary to start a new school and make new friends but she got up in front of children she doesn't know and educated them.  I hope that she always embraces her difference and is never ashamed of it. 

 

In The Blink of An Eye

Well it seems in the blink of an eye, Riley has grown up.  She successfully has had her first day of camp at her elementary school.  She's still a bit shy at drop off and hasn't make a ton of friends but once she gets warmed up and engaged, she seems to be having a lot of fun and she's been coming home exhausted and hungry!  I was so happy to hear that she had a "very very very good day!"  She was so worried!  Her only complaint from the first day was that people kept asking her about her AFO when she put it on to go outside.  She seems so much taller, older, and more mature now.  I can tell she does miss her friends and teachers at KinderCare because she keeps asking to see her teachers and tell them about her camp and wants me to pick her up before Jacob so she can go and see everyone.  I know she'll adapt in no time though!

 

Kindergarten

It's hard to believe but my 4lbs of Fury is officially registed for Kindergarten.  We had to get her in the system the day after her surgery but then last week we had to go to the elementary school, turn in more paperwork and sign her up for an assessment.  So she is officially registered for kindergarten.  So hard to believe.  We took her with us and she was so well behaved, I never thought I would say this but she was the most well behaved of all of the other kids that were there.  Not sure if it was her cast or what but she was calm and listened the whole time.  She saw 2 kids that will be going to her school from her current pre-school plus the kids we know from the neighborhood.  They couldn't confirm her acceptance but she was #12 on the list and the administrator said she never saw a #12 not get in.  So April 22 we go for an assessment and June 16 she starts the before and after school care there to hold her spot for the school year.  I can't believe how fast Ri is growing up!

After registration I brought her to see Mr Peabody and Sherman which was SUPER cute!

Winter Gala Part 2

This year they split up the performances for the school's winter gala, the younger classes went on Thursday and the older classes went on Friday.  I had mixed feelings about this.  While it nice having less crowds, it meant going there twice which was a pain but I think it worked out ok.  Riley DID AWESOME!  She was in the front row and she smiled and sang the whole time.  She's matured so much since her last performance and had 0 stage fright this time around.  Her friend Joseph's mom leaned over and told me how adorable she was doing her performance.  And Marc grabbed Jacob and he loved watching his big sister on stage!  They sang a Santa song and then "I Have A Little Dreidel" and she was so proud singing the dreidel song, and Marc and I were happy because this is the first time that they've done a Hanukkah song!

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A Moment To Brag

I am way behind on my blogging, we went to San Diego for Thanksgivukah (more on that this weekend) and I need to do some catching up but I wanted to take this moment to brag about Riley-Roo, I often complain about how difficult she is, her temper tantrums, and how she doesn't stop talking but she has had a fantastic week at school and I am so proud of her, I just need to take a moment and put some positivity out there on her!

Monday I picked her up and she showed me a reward certificate that she got for being a big helper, listening, etc.  It seems her teachers are now rewarding positive behavior (can I get a hallelujah!?!)with certificates and it is having a HUGE impact on Riley, they can pick (from what I understand from Riley) their reward, being lunch helper, first in line to go outside, etc.  For Riley it's all about outside and so she chose to be the first to go outside.  I was super proud of her and even better, she was proud of herself.

Yesterday I went to do pick up and the Asst Director was in the office so I popped in to tell her I scheduled Riley's surgery (more on that later) and we started chatting and she told me that she doesn't know what it is but Riley's behavior has improved significantly lately.  No more major tantrums, listening has improved and overall better kid.  Music to my ears!  Then I walked into her classroom to pick her up (Jacob was busy with a snack so I took the opportunity to get her first) and she comes running up and I told her what Miss Brenda had just said and that I was SO proud of her and she whips out yet ANOTHER reward certificate.  I was bursting with pride, 2 in one week and she told me she maybe will get another one today. :)

There may be a light at the end of this difficult tunnel we have been in for so long!  Hopefully I didn't just jinx her behavoir with my public recognition but she's overall been a much better kid since Thanksgiving (minus the meltdown yesterday morning because we couldn't find her AFO), maybe there is something to be said for some quality vacation times!

More later on what's been going on and fingers crossed for another positive day!

First Day

Yesterday was Riley's first official day of Pre-K, aka Pre-School C! 

 

 

Click here to see Riley a few days before she started at KinderCare!  My has my looked 4lbs of Fury grown!

One Happy Casted Girl

Riley tried very hard to stay home with me on Tuesday from school.  She knew I was working at home and tried everything in her power to convince me that she needed to stay home with me.  I on the other hand, I thought Tuesday was a great day for her to show off her cast at school since I was working at home and I was close if I was needed.  She was super emotional going to school.  She was worried that her friends wouldn't like her cast, I was heartbroken, 4 is way to young to be worrying about what you're friends were thinking!  I told her I thought the opposite, that they were all going to go home and tell their moms and dads about her cool green cast (with sparkles).  I think she was also worried about getting around, she had gotten pretty comfortable at home moving around but I think the floors at day care worried her, she was worried she would slip and fall.  I sent her with some tube socks to put over it when she went outside, a marker for signing, and an extra blanket to wrap around it for nap so that it wouldn't bonk her other leg.  We said a very tearful goodbye, I was truly heartbroken for her, and her bestie is on vacation! :(  I stopped at the directors office on the way out and gave her a heads up that Riley was super emotional and she said she would make a big party about signing her cast.   Oh and if you didn't believe me about Riley's meltdown of epic proportion, 2 people from Dr H's office called Tuesday afternoon to check in on her.  Beverly of course called first from the Walnut Creek office and then someone from his Berkeley office (where he is on Tuesdays) called to make sure she was doing ok!  I don't know if I should be embarrassed or touched that they checked in on her! 

Marc left work early and actually offered to go get the kids with me, I think we were both super eager to see how she did at school.  Her teachers said she had a great day, their only concern was that she was running ALL OVER the playground and was that ok!  Phew!!!  Then we went over to get Jacob and his teachers asked me what happened to her foot so I gave my 30 second clubfoot elevator speech.  They smiled and said "That's what Riley told us but we didn't know if she made it up because she told us it was a crooked foot and not clubfoot!"  Haha!  I'm so proud of her for telling people about her clubfoot, I really didn't know if she understood or not!  So she had a great first cast day and I think she is settling in, she did try to negotiate out of the next 3 casts and when I told her she had to get them she tried to negotiate their duration, she wants the next one to last 4 days, the one after that 3 days and the one after that 2 days.  Oy that girl!

She got signatures from all of her teachers and she's so proud of it!!! 

So we're all adjusting to her being back in casts, it's definitely bringing back a flood of memories from her infancy.  Both happy and sad but we're managing!  I had to dust off my 30 second clubfoot elevator speech which I have mixed emotions but we're settling back into having clubfoot a part of our lives again. 

Jingle Jam

Riley had a winter concert at school almost 2 weeks ago now, I'm quite delinquent in posting, I know.  It was absolutely adorable, the kids had been practicing for weeks and they were so adorable.  They did a snowman poem and then sang Jingle Bell Rock, they were so adorable and we've all been singing it since they began practicing!  I even catch the teachers walking around her school singing it out loud!  They had the song choreographed and the kids did all of the moves straight down to the booty shake.  So cute!

 

The video is too big to post here but here is a link to YouTube where Marc posted it:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjmT8nRrQSA
 



Happy Halloween!

What a week this has been!  Our Halloween celebrations began on Tuesday with a party at the kids' school.  I put the kids in their costumes and headed over.  It was great fun as usual with a ton of crafts.  I got lucky and got a spot in the lot, especially since Marc was meeting us there and it gets really crowded.  There were tons of arts and crafts and lots of princesses, Transformers and Super Heroes!  I had a monkey and an owl on my hands!  (We asked Riley what she wanted to be for Halloween and said an owl, seriously.  I was fully prepared to purchase her a princess outfit but she insisted on being an owl again, so thus the repeat of costumes from last year.  It still fit so we got lucky!)

My crazy animals!



This girl loves Halloween

Riley and Bella

Checking out the toys in the toddler room

Ready for arts and crafts

Halloween night we went to my friend Elisabeth's to go trick or treating with the usual crowd.  We had yummy pizza and then hit the streets for some trick or treating.  It was a beautiful night, we got lucky and missed the rain!

My mommy dogs

Jacob was not into pictures

The trick or treating gang!

Jacob joins the group, not very happy about it

My Chunky Monkey

Not so impressed with trick or treating, maybe next year!