On Red Fish's 8th Birthday we celebrated at home. One of her BFF's brought over a cake she had made for Red Fish. We also had an ice cream cake as requested by the birthday girl so there was more than enough cake to last us for quite awhile.
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2nd grade has been going very well for Red Fish. She is definitely a very smart girl. She is very good at math and very interested in science and how things work. She LOVES National Geographic kids books. She is still doing the french immersion program and it seems to be going well. She likes both of her teachers. Actually Red Fish likes just about every one. She is friends with kids of every age, both boys and girls in our neighborhood and just seems to naturally make people love her. She has a lot of friends at school and makes new friends every place we go. Ten minutes at the park and she has made new friends. She is more shy around adults and takes awhile to warm up. She is very sweet tempered and exceptionally kind but she won’t put up with crap from anyone. I’m glad that she won’t let people walk on her or push her around. I used to worry that she was so kind that she would get walked on but being seven has really brought out a new side to her. If anyone tries to pick on her or her friends she is a force to be reckoned with.
Red Fish is getting so big. I can’t believe she will be baptized this year. My Mom is in the middle of sewing her baptism dress. Red Fish has been working on reading the Book of Mormon before she gets baptized. We have been doing it all together as a family. It is a big goal but I think she is going to make it. She is in Mormon right now. I’m not sure how much she understands but we are trying to follow each few chapters up with a children’s version of the Book of Mormon to help explain everything. She is a great reader and is also reading the third book of Harry Potter right now- pretty big stuff for a 2nd grader. She does very well in school.
She has been dealing with some tough things medically this year. I felt like the shape of her feet was changing this summer so I took her in to see a specialist for a consultation and we ended up walking out with two leg casts and a plan for serial casting over the next six weeks. She is now in ankle and foot braces that she will use for a few months. Her ankle cords were too tight and needed to be stretched and now it looks like she has skeletal bunions. We are hoping to avoid bunion surgery by have surgery on her growth plates in six months to a year. These challenges combined with some stomach issues have made things difficult. These things are never easy to deal with but Asia is so resilient and takes it mostly in stride. She knows that she can do really hard things and she is definitely a silver lining kind of girl. She is able to see the good in everything, even when I can’t sometimes. On the upside I think we are almost done with speech therapy for good. She has worked SO HARD for so long. Most people can’t hear anything off when they talk to her. The stuff they are working on in therapy is incredibly nit picky at this point. She goes to an amazing therapist who lives right around the corner from us and the therapist has all of these fun games and Red Fish loves her so much. We have been really lucky!
Red Fish is still playing the piano and she has gotten pretty good. She is moving along very quickly and she really has a feel for the music. She missed the fall soccer season because of her casts but she wants to play again in the Spring. She should be fine to ski this year and she is really looking forward to that. She has been taking a little hip hop dance class that she thinks is really fun. It’s the first time she ever showed any interest in dance and I was dubious but it has been great because they still let her dance in her casts. She wants to take horse riding lessons really bad so we are looking into that. The kid has too many hobbies and interests! It’s hard to keep up with and still make sure she gets plenty of time to play with friends. I think it is important to have plenty of time to just run around outside and be a kid. She has a list of everything she still wants to do including karate, violin, horse riding, more gymnastics, more dance, more art, rock climbing classes etc. I don’t mind if she wants to try different things as long as she sticks with piano and tries the other things one or two at a time. She is definitely not boring! Her mind is going all the time and she wants to try everything and do everything. She is always up for adventure and trying something new.
This morning Two Fish and I were waiting outside of her room waiting for her alarm clock to go off and we ran in and jumped on her bed to wish her a happy birthday. We had pancakes with whipped cream and candles and she got to wear a new outfit from her MeMine to school. I always ride to school with the girls and their friends. Red Fish rides her bike because it is easier in her braces. New Fish and I ride scooters because New Fish is still nervous on her bike with all of the big hills and I have the dog on a leash. We are quite a sight heading to school. Red Fish is a sweetheart and always walks New Fish in to kindergarten and makes a big deal about telling her goodbye. It makes New Fish feel really loved and Red Fish is always good about that.
Red Fish wanted me to bring her burritos and come eat lunch with her at school today and bring a treat for her class. Then we had to have fettucini alfredo for dinner. She is getting an American Girl doll for her birthday. We have a big family gathering planned for after her baptism. It should be a good birthday.