Feet first.
Alex saw our orthopaedist last week for a routine check up and x-rays on the tootsies.
His feet are PERFECT!!!
His x-rays show that all those little bones are still where they are supposed to be.
He showed Dr S how he could walk on his heels and walk on his toes, something he could never do before. I highly recommend gymnastics as a form of physical therapy, it has done wonders for his feet, strength and balance!
To be honest, I was really nervous about the appointment because his feet still curl a lot and I was sure the dr was going to say that he needed more casting or surgery. But since the x-rays and his flexibility are excellent, we figure that having his feet curled is just habit.
The dr said we could stop the Ponseti Bar and AFO's when Alex turns 4 in March but I told her no thanks, we'll keep him in them until at least 5! No way I'm stopping now and risking a relapse :-)
On to fourth grade.
There is nothing in the parenting handbook that says this is the age that kids start becoming cruel.
Kids who Syd has been friends with since kindergarten have started making fun of her eyes, hair, being small. Kids with whom she has always gotten along with are pulling their eyes back and asking her how she can see with such small slits for eyes. Always petting her hair.
Each month, the school has a different character trait that they have to write about and October's was respect. Syd's letter talked about how those comments hurt her feelings. How her friends don't respect her or think about how their comments might make her feel.
I talked to the teacher about it a few weeks ago, I told her that racism in general needs to be addressed with the students school wide. She said she would work with the school counselors so they could come up with a plan to address the issue. Our school is very diverse and Syd is not the only student that has been on the recieving end of racist comments.
So far, nothing has been done. I'll give it a bit more time before I bring it up again.
I've always known that something like could happen but I wasn't expecting it from Syd's friends. We've always talked to her about how to handle these kinds of comments so she has told her "friends" that there is nothing wrong with her looks, "I'm Chinese!".
It's hard for her to ask them to stop because they are her friends and she doesn't want to make them mad. She knows that she needs to tell them that it hurts her feelings but it's so hard for her to be confrontational. So we just keep giving her the tools to have more confidence in herself and to know that it's ok to tell them to stop.
Now, I've known these kids for a while too and they are good kids. I know and Syd has said that they don't mean to be hurtful. They just don't realize that these kinds of comments can be hurtful.
This is the reason for a school wide "lesson" on how comments about someone's race or curly hair or glasses or braces or weight etc... can be hurtful.
And this beautiful girl is to special to be hurt.
