What a fun afternoon yesterday was. As most of you know, we reside in Indiana. With being a Hoosier comes the nostalgia of growing up with the Indy 500 and all of its festivities each year. Due to that, Kenidi and Brennen's school hosts the KINDY500 each year. It is an event where the kindergartners make a box car and participate in a relay race amongst the other kindergarten classes. We've known about this event for 2 months now and were very excited for the big day. They had one of the famous Indy car drivers (Scott Goodyear) there as the grand marshall, several of the Indy500 princesses, & two of the Indy500 Pace Cars (the new Chevy Camaro SS). The whole school (thru 5th grade) got to come out to the track and watch the event take place. So not only was Kenidi there participating, but Brennen's class got to come out and watch. It was a great afternoon to say the least. We are so fortunate for the school that they attend and all of the incredible events they are able to participate in due to being a part of that school and the school system in general. The above and below photos are of Kenidi in her box car with her aide from her Life Skills class (on left-Mrs. Jennifer) and then with her general education kindergarten teacher (Mrs. Karen) on the right. As most of you already know, we were missing her life skills teacher yesterday, Mrs. Alison, because she is out on maternity leave right now after having her first baby. Wish we could have snapped your picture too Alison. Missed ya girl!
As you can see, we went with a Tiffany & Co. related box car. I told Brent that I knew all of the little girls would have pink box cars and I didn't want Kenidi to have pink just for that reason. Sure enough...99% of them were pink. So luckily, we had some of Kenidi's bedroom paint left over and used it to paint up her box.
It was suggested to have a sponsor on your box car. Therefore, we went with the Kenidi & Co. logo for her sponsor. Too fun! Daddy even had a license plate made up for her car with her name on it when he had the other lettering ordered. I loved it. The wheels were wheels Daddy pulled off a dump truck toy and spray painted black. They originally had a dark blue on them that would have clashed with the color of Kenidi's car.
These shots below are of Daddy working on last minute adjustments to her car in the "pit area" before the race began. Ha ha! I loved seeing him in there getting down and dirty with his dress clothes on - straight from the office. There isn't anything he won't do for that little princess of his. :)
And below we have a few photos of the grand marshall (Indy car driver, Scott Goodyear). He hosted the event for the kids and seemed to be a really great guy. Like Brent said, he was such a little guy. Guess you have to be to fit into those Indy cars, eh?
Then we have some shots of the 500 princesses from the Indy500 Queen court as well as some candid shots of Kenidi's principal and Vice-Principal who participated as the makeshift "queen" and "princess" of the race. I told you this whole event was fun. Such a hoot!
Above...Kenidi's principal labeled with the sash as "QUEEN" and her vice principal labeled with the sash that reads "PRINCESS." Loved it!
And below I've included just some random shots of the race festivities with all of the kindergartners. They were all so stinkin' cute! And their cars were just as adorable.
This guy in the race car uniform (above) seemed to be just another parent who went all out with the event.
And finally a class photo from the whole event (below). This is just one of the 3 Kindergarten classes at her school. It's Kenidi's class. Shown in the photo are her regular general education kindergarten teacher (Mrs. Karen - on left side) again as well as her assistant teacher whom we love as well. (Mrs. Katie-on right side) These kids in this class are all so great with Kenidi. She is the only special needs child for the class and it is so comforting to see how great they are with her. The little girls in there just adore her. Kenidi's aide was telling us yesterday that they literally have to basically break them up when it comes to Kenidi because the little girls always run to grab her hands and fight over who will hold hands with her down the hallways and such. Because of Kenidi's special needs, she has an aide with her at all times throughout the entire day. Most times the kids will help lead her along as she goes to and from other classes or subjects with her aide during the day. (Gym, art, music, library, lunch, etc.) If only kids could keep that innocence and that unconditional - non judgmental - love as they grown into teens. I'm cherishing their support while we have it. These kids are phenomenal to her.
Speaking of being good to Kenidi, you guys know how much I rave about the aides and the teachers she has at her school. They all take such awesome care of her and are so patient with her. Look at the interaction (shown below) that I captured with Kenidi and one of her aides (Mrs. Jennifer) yesterday. It was a suddle moment but one that brought tears to my eyes as Brent and I witnessed it. It was even more emotional for me to see when I went back through my images from the day late last night. You can just see the love and the support in her body language when interacting with Kenidi. I sat back and snapped away. It really made me smile.
But never fear...Kenidi got to show off her stubborn skills amongst all of the love yesterday as well. This is where the "patience" comes in from her teachers and aides. You know like the moments where she drops to the ground and refuses to walk...? Well, she did that on the track yesterday. Alison, I captured these for you because once again - I know you can appreciate them - even while home on maternity leave. I knew you were missing the kiddo's and thought this would give you a good laugh and remind you what you probably "AREN'T" missing. Ha ha! The shots below are a step by step account via Big Papa (my camera). And no, she isn't hurt. She just lovesssssss to play this game of cat and mouse on the ground - no matter where you are. And although these pictures look funny and make us laugh now, we aren't usually laughing at the actual moment. Ha ha! It can be extremely frustrating and very tiring when she does this - especially in the middle of a store, the mall, a restaurant, etc. Take a looksie for yourself...
And Daddy swoops in to save the day with this episode...
In the end, she ditched the car, left it in the pits and went running. Dad had to pick her up and carry her to another area. Again, laughing here but most times we aren't. Wink wink! ;)
Poor box car. It was all alone and feeling neglected. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she tripped in it like 10 times because it was so big and decided she no longer wanted the attention from the Tiffany box car. Any boy did it draw in the attention. We had one Mom who came up to us and told us she was going to steal the idea for her soon to be kindergartner next year. Come on peeps...let's be original now. :) Either way, we just had fun with it. And everyone else seemed to as well. It was a great day and the rain held out for us until last night. YAY!
Believe it or not though, after all of these images were taken, Kenidi came home and took a nap after school but woke up miserable. She was very lethargic, couldn't hardly sit up straight, kept swaying like she couldn't gain her balance, etc. We almost took her to the emergency room because we were so scared. At the last second though, she pulled at her ear and said "BOO BOO!" I grabbed the computer and googled immediate care centers and luckily found one still open yesterday evening. Long story short, after sitting in the doctors office until 9pm, we discovered she has another ear infection and most likely strep throat again. The doc said that even though her ears cleared up before we flew last week, that the flights could have ignited a new ear infection. Poor thing! She just can't catch a break. Unfortunately, we fly out again in 2 weeks exactly and I'm worried it will throw her into another one. This is odd considering she has only had one ear infection in her life. To have two in two weeks makes me nervous. Ya know? I'm really going to have to keep a close eye on her while in Florida to make sure she doesn't come down with another. It's so sad to know that she can't communicate with us and tell us what hurts or what is wrong. Last night ripped my heart out. She went down for a nap as one kid and woke up as a totally different child all because of this issue. It was very scary. We'd never seen anything like it. She had a fever of 100.1 and I believe it broke in the night. Thankfully! Therefore, keep her in your prayers, will ya? I'm just thankful for the word boo boo and that she was at least able to point to her ear and communicate that much.
She melts our hearts - more and more - every second of every day.
Until the next post, have a great weekend. Brent and I are off for a night out with 2 other couples/good friends this evening so I hope to snap a couple of shots from that event. Tomorrow...we are maxin' and relaxin' at home before a crazy week ahead next week. I'll be back with a few more beach photos from our trip come Monday. Hugs, Angie
Well, today is a beautiful day - no doubt - here in Indy. And yes, us girls here at home just wanna' have some sun. (just like her shirt reads) However, we are watching that sun shine from indoors today. After a noticeable difference in Kenidi's demeanor this weekend and a loss of her voice on top of that, I decided to keep her home from school today and take her to the pediatrician for a check up. Low and behold, they confirmed a double ear infection with possible strep throat. They said they weren't going to torture her and swab her throat because they were already going to have to treat her for with antibiotic for her ears anyhow. Thus, if she has the strep, it will be treated by the antibiotic for the ears. Therefore, we walked out of there feeling horrible over the fact that once again...Kenidi's lack of verbal abilities have hampered her ability to be able to tell us when she is ill. She can't talk to us and speak up when under the weather. We really have to watch her body language and basically "over guess" just to be safe. It's so sad. I just hate it for her. After the doctor appointment, we filled her prescription, grabbed her favorite lunch, and then came home. She is now sleeping peacefully curled up next to me in Mamma and Daddy's bed. I feel so sorry for her. I can't bare the thought of how long she could've possibly had this without us knowing. Breaks my heart. Wide open!
So...we are enjoying the sunshine but yet doing so as it billows through the windows here at home. No matter how we get it, I'll take it. Indy is expecting rain for the next 4 days this week. I'm going to ladle up the rays as much as I can before the forecast changes again for the worst. In the meantime, say a little prayer for quick healing regarding our Kenidi Grace, will ya? We fly out to head South again next Thursday. Brent and I can't fathom what it will be like if her ears are bothering her on those flights. Poor thing.
(Images above were taken this past weekend in the wild and windy outdoors)
