P.R.I.D.E

Today was the third grade Pride assembly.  The kids sang a bunch of patriotic songs and did a great job!

And here is the zombie crew of 3rd grade.  Any idea how take pictures at a distance without the creepy, glowy zombie stare?

Syd also earned a Pride pin (a paw print) for being "Always patient and positive with classmates."  And with some of the kids in her class, that's a tough thing to accomplish!  Way to go Syd!!!

PS:  Insurance denied our visit to the specialist for Alex :-(  Back to dr here to go over our options---again.

Perfect timing...

Syd came home last week excited that her class is going to be writing to a pen pal.  I vaguely remember writing to a pen pal, my memory of it is one of fun and excitement as I waited for that next letter in the mail!

I ask Syd who her pen pal is and where do they live?  "It's C from Mrs W's class."  

Huh?  

My definition of a pen pal is not a kid in the other 3rd grade class that Syd's known for a few years.  

By chance, I came across this wonderful website, China's Children International.  It's run by two Chinese adoptee high schoolers and all content is specifically for adoptees.  There's a lot of great info on the website: a kids page teaching Chinese words and songs, cultural information, a blog, resources for Chinese language and my favorite--a survey to hook your child up with a pen pal.

A couple of days after we filled out the survey, Syd got an e-mail (through my account) from her new pen pal!  Syd is soooo excited to be making a new friend!  She comes home from school asking if she got any new messages from M and writes back to her immediately.  She was kind of bummed that this was all being done via e-mail, so I told her that once they know each other better they can exchange addresses and send actual letters or postcards to each other.

What a great way to meet someone new that has a similar life story.  M lives in a different state, in a different part of the country and Syd is really excited to learn about where she lives.  I'm excited for her and I can't wait to watch this friendship develop.

Twick or Tweat

My little man figured out the trick or treating thing pretty quickly this year.  Last year, he was still in his brace 23 hours a day so we just carried him to a few houses around us.

This year, he went with Syd and a big group of kids and brought in a ton of loot.

Alex's full pumpkin, and it's a big one too.  Not one of those puny ones.

 

He'd walk up to the door and say Twick or Tweat!  

Always said Thank You!

and then would look sweetly at the candy giver,

hold up his finger and say

"I get just one more, please."

Seriously, who could say no to that?

Poor kid got pretty pooped so Syd and her friend kept loading him up with more candy so he didn't have to walk up any more driveways.

Harry Potter, puppy and Chiefs player.

Syd raked in quite a TON of candy too.  We'll have candy floating around in this house until Easter I think.  I am liking that big pile of Reeses though :-)

High Plains Cube Heads ROCK!!

Pretty much since school started this year, Syd has been going to the Rubik's Cube Club (which was nick-named Cube Heads).  They've been working toward competing in the Rubik's Cube competition in the Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival.

All of the hard work these kids have done in the past 2 months, meeting 2, sometimes 3 times a week paid off big time today!

The Cube Heads with coaches Mrs. K and Miss Smith.

Chillin' out before heading into the competition

The High Plains table.

The MC of the competition was Chris "Birdman" Andersen from the Denver Nuggets.  He signed t-shirts, hats, jackets and Rubik's Cubes for all the competitors.  He did a great job rooting the kids on and joking along the way.

Pep talk before starting.

All hands on the table before starting!

Chris Andersen was very impressed with our kids!

 

 

 

Our kids had been practicing with 15 cubes for 6 kids, finishing them in a little over 7 minutes.  Right before the competition started, we found out that we were to have 25 cubes and supposed to have 8 kids.  Our coaches scrambled around and filled in 2 of the spots with students that had come to watch.  Yeah!!!

Our awesome students finished in FIRST PLACE at just under 10 MINUTES!!!  The next team that finished was about 10 minutes after us so our kids ROCKED the competition!!

High Plains won $500 toward our new STEM Program (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and they each won a trophy!!

A HUGE thank you to Mrs. K and Miss Smith for working so hard to get the kids ready for this. They really love seeing our kids succeed and have fun!

Yeah, High Plains!

Future Cube Head?

Tired and hungry.

 

 

 

 

By the way, Syd's best time is 2 minutes 3 seconds :-)

The fastest person was a high schooler that finished the cube in 12 seconds!
Unbelievable!

Glad we have it, but today I hate it...

3 days before Alex and I were to leave for St Louis for a second opinion with Dr Dobbs, we found out that our lovely insurance denied our visit.  

Insurance had told me several weeks ago that Dr Dobbs was in network. Come to find out, he's covered for the PPO holders, not HMO- which is what we have.

So I have our case in the appeals department to see if they'll overturn the denial and let us have at least one appointment with him.  I'm hoping  that since they gave me incorrect information and the fact that Dr Dobbs is one of the top clubfoot drs in the country they will approve us to see him for a second opinion. 

So we're back to the waiting game, so frustrating.  And hoping in the mean time, little man's feet are doing ok.  Keeping him in the brace at nap/bedtime and lots of exercise (he actually never stops moving!)

Not that I'm complaining about a 14 hour drive by myself with a 2 year old being canceled, but I really want to get a clearer picture on how Alex is progressing, or not.

I have no idea what we'll do if insurance won't cover the visit. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

You know you need one...

The wonderful non-profit, Henan Kids International, has put together another great calendar for 2012.  Last year, over $4,000 was raised to help orphanages with much needed supplies in Henan Province, which is where Alex is from.

Syd and Alex were in last years calendar and just loved seeing themselves along with all of the other adorable kiddos that are home with their forever families.

Go HERE to check out all the great things HKI does and to order a calendar!

Pumpkin Patch...

Today we headed down to Canon City to Diana's Pumpkin Patch.  The weather was perfect for exploring the corn maze, going for a hay ride, going down a giant slide and of course, picking the perfect pumpkins!  Hidden in the corn maze were clues you had to find, if you found them all, you got a yummy prize at the end.