last day of school

Brett had his last day of school this week, so this post is all about Brett's year of preschool.

Brett's First Day of School

Brett's Last Day of School

We ended the year on a high note.  For the first month of school, I had to physically put Brett on the bus, sometimes kicking and screaming, while the bus driver would quickly closes the door before he could escape!  By the end of the year, I could say good-bye to him at the door, and he would trot down the driveway to his bus on his own.  I'm so thankful Brett ended up having a great year, with great teachers.  It would be pretty sad if he didn't like school as a 4-yr-old.

We have had two team meetings this year.  He had his IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting in January and a progress meeting this past month.  Bryan and I are so pleased with the team Brett has to support him through school - his teachers, special ed teacher, speech therapist, and occupational therapist.  Next year, his school and teachers will change, but he will hopefully still have the same specialists.

In May, the school had a "Mother's Tea" where moms (or someone special) were invited to participate in part of their day, and the kids put on a little program.  It was a big highlight for both Brett and I!  (Check out how tall he is!)

On the last day of school, Brett brought home a scrapbook with pictures and memories from the past year.  One page of the scrapbook was an interview that was pretty entertaining:

When I grow up I want to be a horsey.

My favorite food is peas.

I am special because I like to play with Lexi.

I feel happy when mom says yes to play with Lexi.

When I am at home I like to play with my brother and sister.

My favorite color is blue.

My favorite book is all of them; I have a lot of books.

My favorite toy at school is the puzzles.

My favorite day at school was the apple orchard.

I have only heard Brett talk about Lexi one time; I know peas are not his favorite food; and I clueless where he came up with the idea of being a horsey.  But the rest is probably pretty accurate.  I'm surprised he didn't say anything about rocket ships, as his fascination with space continues.

The scrapbook also included a self portrait from September and one from May.  I love this!

September

May



I'm so proud of my son, for overcoming his fear, for trying so hard, for growing is so many ways...and all the other great stuff about him!

april

I love spring!  Spring arrived a month early after a mild winter, so it has seemed longer than normal.  There are so many landscaping projects for us to tackle, I'm already realizing plenty of it won't get accomplished this year.  But we have been busy putting in a vegetable garden.  I don't have a good full-sun spot in our backyard, so I'm going to experiment with some shade tolerant veggies like lettuce and see what happens.  I decided to do raised beds, so Bryan got to build boxes and we had a load of dirt delivered. Nothing planted yet though!  Our yard came with some rhubarb, which we have no idea what to do with, but we've been doing a pretty good job on giving it away!  It looks like my strawberries survived the transplant last fall, so I'm excited to see what our patch will produce.

Reggie and Lydia helped stake out the garden; Brett decided which bed would be the "kids' garden".



April was so busy starting with Easter.  We went to Bryan's parents' for a change - we usually go to my parents.  I'm still kicking myself for forgetting the camera!  So, all I have is a picture of the cake I made.  I remember Grandma V. always making bunny cakes when I was growing up, so I was excited when I came across a recipe for this cake.  My grandma always made the ears with ribbon and covered the cake with coconut, but I used construction paper and white chocolate instead.  Lydia looked so cute in her pink fluffy dress, but I have no pictures! 

I got to tag-along on a short business trip with Bryan to Dallas.  We stayed at a really nice resort that had several restaurants right on the property.  The night we arrived we were so hungry but Survivor was coming on (we have NEVER missed an episode!) so we decided to order room service.  Other than maybe a pizza, we have never ordered room service before, so I was amused enough to take a picture of the cart when it was wheeled in!  The resort also had a spa, which I fulled enjoyed - something I've only done one other time in my life! 

 Per their recommendation, I got a yam and pumpkin face peel.  It actually smelled like yams and pumpkins, but it was fun to be pampered!  On the last day, we finally ventured out of the resort and went to the Ft. Worth Stockyards.  Bryan bought himself and the kids cowboy hats.  Can you tell from the picture they are all saying "cowboy cheese"?  My mom stayed with the kids while we were on our "really long date".

The following weekend, we met my brother and his family at a hotel with a water park for some cousin fun!  The kids really enjoyed the pool, and with 8 kids between us, the parents really enjoyed the on-site restaurant where kids ate free!

Lydia is half-way through her 6 week intro dance class.  The first 2 weeks, she was too timid to participate much.  I understood because the class was very full and all the parents (and some curious grandparents, extra sibs, etc) stay in the room.  Last week, I set out with a game plan.  I brought Reggie along and asked the teacher if it would be okay for him to participate.  I also bribed her with the promise of ice cream, and, as an added bonus, they decided to split the class in half.  She did such a great job following along - I'm so proud! (Reggie sat in my lap the whole time.)  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be stopping for ice cream every week now!

In other April news, we painted the master bathroom (I haven't taken pictures yet).  I really want to do new tile, but that project will wait.  I'm just glad to be rid of the ugly rag painting and awful border! 

Our church is doing a sermon series on church history and doctrine.  They set up a midweek discussion table session and, since child care was provided, I signed up to participate (it is the same night Bryan takes Brett to swimming lessons).  I've enjoyed the discussions and got matched up with some interesting ladies!

Brett and I went to visit the preschool his case worker suggested for next school year.  It is another church-based program.  I was impressed with the program from what I can tell.  It seems like it might also be a possibility for Lydia and Reggie in the future.

Title change note: That I changed the title of the blog back to "Wedan Family Grows" does not mean we are growing in number - the kids are growing like weeds though - no more babies here!

march

The highlights for March were having both Bryan's parents and my parents come to visit us each on separate weekends.  When Bryan's parents came, the weather was perfect and we decided to go to the zoo.  We purchased a membership for this year, so we are looking forward to it being a regular field trip.  I guess I was too busy having fun to take any pictures!

When my parents came, we just hung out close to home.  My dad got very sick in February and was still working on gaining back his energy.  It was another great weather weekend, so we grilled some delicious steaks and ate on the deck.  In the above picture, the kids are fighting over my dad's lap at snack time, below, Dad is pushing them on the swings.

Lydia finished up her session of swimming lessons and Brett started taking swimming lessons.  Reggie will probably take swimming in the fall.  It is amazing to see how they can go from being scared of the water to having confidence in just a few weeks.

Lydia will be taking an introductory dance class.  A couple weeks ago, we had a "girls night" and I took her to the mall to buy ballet shoes.  Doesn't she look like she just loves shopping?  I'm in trouble! Brett had a special outing when I took him to a friend's birthday party, and we didn't want to leave Reggie out, so Reggie had a special date with Daddy.  They went to "Benards" (Menard's) and the dairy queen.

We're gearing up for planting a vegetable garden, so we got a couple books to learn about gardening and planted bean seeds to watch them grow while we're waiting for it to warm up.  I also started composting.  There was a bin left here when we moved in, so I might as well give it a try!

Brett is enjoying school, and it is always fun to hear what he has to say about his day - he is a man of few words.  One day, he told me they were watching caterpillars turn into raccoons!  We are looking into a different preschool for next year - but not because of the raccoons.

We celebrated Bryan's birthday.  We made him a cake and a poster and decorated with streamers and balloons.  I had the kids hide behind the couch and when Bryan came in from work they jumped out and yelled "surprise".  Later, we joked that even his birthday was all about the kids now!  But I made it up to him and took him on a proper date the following night.

blog shift

I'm going through a season where I lack motivation and inspiration to blog.  Life is busy, but not eventful, if that makes sense.  I started blogging just shy of 5 years and 500 posts ago.  The kids are glowing and changing, and this blog is my only record of it.  I don't keep a personal journal, am bored with facebook, don't have photo albums, don't scrapbook.  The kids' baby books are shamefully incomplete.  This blog started out as a way to communicate with people about our adoption and adoption in general, and there were many readers.  But it has changed.

This blog is for me so I can look back and remember.  There are a few family members who still appreciate the updates and picture, so I will keep the blog public.  I have an aunt who sends out a monthly email to friends and family.  It included birthday wishes and news about the past month.  In the coming months, that is my goal.