our 2008 in review

So today is the last day of 2008..... Wow.. As I look back what a busy year it has been with ups and downs.. but mostly ups! As we leave 2008 on an upswing, I hope that 2009 continues with this momentum.

2008 in no particular order....

• Belle started taking ballet & tap - and loves every minute of it. She had her first recital in June 2008 and is busy practicing away for the next one. She also started pre-school which has been much harder on me than her. She is thriving in preschool, writing her name and working on improving her reading and writing skills.
• School for Alex has definitely had ups and downs in 2008. First grade was basically a mess with a teacher/kid combo that was less than idea. His behaviors reached an alltime high and things were very stressful. The good news was that his teacher went out on maternity leave and a sub came in that turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise. Things turned around quickly and he went on to have a really productive extended school year session. For 2nd grade I requested a specific teacher for him that has (fingers crossed) so far been working out for him. Alex continues to soar academically it is 'just' (yeah.. just, ugh) the social & behavior piece that needs work.
• Outside of school is where most of the fun stuff for Alex took place this year. In addition to music therapy and going surfing he also tried out the Challenger league baseball, and bowling which we will be doing more of! Alex also had a very positive experience at Camp Bridge summercamp.
• This year Alex got glasses, lost glasses and broke glasses multiple times. The much coveted eyeglass locator has arrived here for testing. Ironically, on the same day that Alex broke his glasses! He's been wearing his spares for a week or so and they have gotten bent beyond repair. It is only fitting that the last day of the year we headed to the mall Lenscrafters and bought him a new "good" pair. I've ordered some inexpensive spares from Zenni for him, but since they can take upwards of 3 weeks or so to arrive - I thought it prudent to go get some good ones in the meantime.
• I went real real public this year with how I feel about vaccines both on this blog but also by attending vaccination rally events with my kids in tow. I felt it was important to include Alex and Belle because they truly are the kids for vaccination choice. I will continue to share our story and stand up for vaccination choice issues.
• 2008 was a year of Mother Warriors and Child Warriors. Alex and I continue to fight this together and move forward one accomplishment at a time. Yay for Gluten & Casein free food.
• And on a fun note... 2008 said good-bye to my old mini-van and in with my new one complete with a Van Pan send-off.

I could just go on and on and on here.. but I'll stop. So much happened in 2008!

...Here's to even more fun in 2009!