The Buddy Walk

Last Sunday, Mia and I went to the 10th Annual Buddy Walk to support the Down Syndrome Association in Texas. One of my Special Olympic athletes walks every year with her family, and she invited us to walk with her family again this year.

Mia and I went last year for the first time, and she had so much fun! We had a fun time watching the helicopters land, petting baby farm animals, get our face painted, playing games, eating lunch, and dancing to Hannah Montana! Mia and Christina had a blast singing along to the look alike Hannah!!!

After singing we walked one mile with 3,000 people!!! We also rode the paddle boats before we went home. On our way home, we saw a field of Longhorns and had to take a picture for Daddy and Jack!!!

Daddy was so sweet to let us leave him on his birthday for a little while. Afterwards, we came home and cooked him dinner and had apple pie with ice cream for dessert!

A natural Teacher...

Mia recently came home with a project that she worked on at school. She was so excited to read it to us, and wanted to read it to you too! We are continually amazed each day by how much she is learning and growing.

Marathon Kids Kick-Off

Last weekend the Family headed down to the UT Mike Meyers Soccer and Track stadium to join the Marathon Kids Kick-off in Austin. Mia was so excited to see her PE Teacher, Mrs. Swope (2nd picture), and thousands of other kids ready to run their first lap of the Marathon.

By February the kids will have run a whole marathon 26.2 miles. Pretty cool! At the end of the lap Mia got a water bottle w/the UT Swimming & Diving athletes autographs, a place mat, and bumper sticker. When she finishes her marathon she will also earn a free T-Shirt! We are so proud of her!

Proud Parents

As many of you already know, Mia received a Pfire Ant Award from school for being a responsible student in September. What you may not know is that the school Assistant Principal called our house afterwards, and left a message for us! Sorry it has taken so long to upload and post, but you know how life can be. Hope you enjoy the message as much as we did!

Mia's 6th Birthday

Mia celebrate her 6th Birthday at none other than Chuck E. Cheese! She has been celebrating there for the past three years, but that doesn't seem to matter to her. Several of her buddies from daycare came, Danissa, Reiss, & Ciera. Family friends joined her too, Eddie, Frank, Sara, Hailey, Eli, and Kirra! They all had fun playing games, dancing, and singing with Chuck E. Cheese himself!

Mia thanks y'all for her treaures! She loved the phone calls too! She had a wonderful 6th birthday and we look forward to the coming year.

Ready, set, go....Kindergarten

Mia enjoyed her first couple of weeks of Kindergarten. She loves her teacher Mrs. Jones and is getting to know her classmates. Her class goes to art on Mondays, PE on Tuesdays/Thursdays, and Art on Wednesdays. The kids are adjusting to the schedule so they take a "rest" in the afternoons for a bit.

Mia was so excited the other day after school because she started to learn about Math. Daddy was very happy about that! Every day she comes home with a new project.

This past week we got a call from the Assistant Principal, because Mia received a Pfire Any Pride Certificate from Mrs Jones, for being a good helper in class. The school mascot are the Pfire Ants (everything in Pflugerville starts with a PF!!!) in case you thought we spelled it wrong! With her certificate, she also received a coupon for a free meal to a local deli, and they announced her name on Friday during the morning announcements. She will also get to stand up at the Pops Rally (monthly assembly) in a couple of weeks to get her award. We are so proud! What a great way to start Kindergarten!

Kindergarten here I come...

On Thursday Mia received a postcard from her new Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Jones. Friday night we all headed to Pflugerville Elementary School for Kindergarten Orientation. Mia got to meet the Principal, PE, Music, & Art Teachers. She also got to check out her new classroom, drop off supplies, and meet some of her new classmates. There are 21 kiddos in the class. Mrs. Jones is so excited to have Mia in her class. She has been teaching for 33 years, but you would never know it with all of her enthusiasm!

Thanks to mommy working at the school we got to get an early peek at the gym. Mia thought it was really cool that she would have her own "happy dot" to sit on during P.E. Mia was ready to run and play in the gym!

Say lots of prayers Tuesday! Mia will have her first day and Daddy and I hope to be strong. We will drop Mia off to her classroom the first day and afterwards the PTO is having a Boo Hoo breakfast for the parents in the library. We thought that was pretty cool! Remember to say lots of prayers!!! More pictures to come...