Special Olympics Success

This year Korban got to compete in the Special Olympics for the first time.  We were very excited about it.  There were actually two days of it--the first day was a few weeks ago at the bowling alley.  They let the kids bowl and then fed them pizza for lunch.  It was very nice and Korban loves to bowl.  He was super wound up that day though, and we had to end the day early when he got away from us and ran down the lane to the bowling pins (for the second time).  Scary and dangerous.  We had to go down there to get him and the second time he had to be carried back because was unwilling to come on his own.  Frustrating!!!  What's the saying?  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me so we just decided to call it a day after that.  We were almost finished with the bowling anyway and it was lunch time.  His teacher was very sweet and helped me get him to the car and brought him a "to-go" plate, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  Oh and he did receive a second place ribbon by the way so he did do good but had to just show off a little too much there by being the only kid to try and use himself as a bowling ball.

P.S.--I told my mom that I'm used to Korban having more trouble than typical kids in a group, but that we were in a group of kids with various special needs and he was STILL the worst behaved there.  She said "Well, somebody has to be!" Which is true, but I wish it wasn't always MY kid. 

Korban bowling.  After only having the bumpers out for a while and most of the kids still having trouble they brought out these cool ramps to help out.  He really seemed to like having it and did really well for the first full game.  It was during the second game that the wild set in.

Here he is after getting his ribbon...and then he threw it!

The track and field portion of Special Olympics was Thursday at the high school.  The kids had shirts and each school made a banner and they marched in a parade on the track.  It was a beautiful day and  Korban was so excited.  When I pulled up to park, Korban's teacher was waiting for us and she got him out of the car and he went right on with her.  So I just got to sit in the bleachers and watch and it was awesome.  He did so well.  He participated in all of his events and even jumped in a bouncy house and went down a big inflatable slide three times!  That's really major for him.  It was so nice to see him have fun and be involved with something so positive.  All the kids were just beautiful and it was so encouraging to see them compete and have fun.  The motto this year was "Big shots are just little shots who keep on shooting."  I like that.  Perseverance! 

So I have some super cute pictures to share--

This is Korban's school marching in the opening parade. (Korban is looking at me.)

 

This is one of my favorites, just because he looks so happy.  Yes, he refused to wear his shoes out on the field part of the day and yes, he toe-walks all the time.  :)

 

 

All of the athletes got their own water bottles to keep.  Korban was happy.  He's a big fan of "cold water."

 

 

 

 

Here's proof Korban was in the bouncy house!  The beautiful lady with him is his teacher.  How awesome is she for getting in the bounce house with him since he was too scared to get in by himself?

 

 

At the top of the bouncy house slide--I'm still amazed he did this three times.  So cool!

 

 

Giving the soccer ball a good kick!

 

 

The beanbag toss

 

 

The 50 yard dash.  I think this may have been his favorite.  He told me later "I ran and people cheered!"  I love it when he's proud of himself.  (Again, his teacher ran with him because he didn't want to do it by himself.  She's a rock star!)

 

 

 

Having lunch--I think he had worked up quite an appetite!

 

 

After lunch he just laid out on the bleachers.  He was so tired!  (And this isn't a very good picture, but his head was in my lap so I was having trouble taking it.  Ha!)

 

 

They had already given out ribbons for each of the events, and everyone got a medal at the end.  It was very sweet, but I didn't get any great pictures of that.  Mainly because Korban was so tired by this point that when he was presented with his medal he tossed it across the football field and then pulled his teacher's hair (just as a bonus event for him I guess, the toss and pull).  But, looking on the bright side, he made it for three hours and did very well, and he was just extremely tired by that point.  He felt bad about it--he told his teacher he was sorry without being prompted.  That's the first time he's ever done that.   And he kept asking me if she was okay after we left.  So we'll take that as progress.  His teacher amazes me--he's been very rough on her this year but she has hung right in there with us.  She loves him and he loves her.  We are so blessed to have her.  She also took the majority of these pictures (since I was in the bleachers enjoying the show) and then sent them to me and graciously allowed me to share them on here. 

 

I also wanted to say thanks to the special education director for having such a heart for our kiddos and for making the Special Olympics possible.  The whole day really meant a lot to me and it did to Korban too.  Like I said before, I just love to see him participating, having fun, and feeling good about himself.

 

Also a big thanks to my friend Shae who came to keep me company and help me cheer on Korban.  She has two sweet boys, and her oldest was Korban's good friend when he was in mainstream kindergarten.  I've never seen a five year old with such a heart for other kids, but he loves Korban and is so understanding of him and good to him.  Her youngest son is the same age as Selah and he came to cheer for Korban too.  Such a sweet family and we're so thankful God sent them into our lives this year. 

 

One more picture: 

 

 

Say a prayer for this funny princess.  She didn't get to go cheer for her brother in the Special Olympics because she wasn't feeling well.  I took her to the dr that afternoon and she was diagnosed with flu for the second time this season.  Not making me feel too good about her immune system.  She's starting to eat and play again, but 9 out of 10 things still make her cry, so we hope she is well very soon.