School Girl

Just had to take a minute to post Violet's first-ever school photo. And I know I am a little biased here, but I think it is one of the best school photos I have ever seen (and I have seen some good and bad, many of them my own).

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how this would turn out when I sent her into school that day. Part of me wanted to stick around that day just to see how everything went down. I think school photos must be a tricky feat at any traditional school, let alone one for kids with special needs, many of them preschoolers.

Don't get me wrong. Violet is usually pretty photogenic: sweet and smiley and flirty. But her nonstop Rett-related hand movements mean that she often has one hand hand in her mouth and another tugging at her ear. And if anything is off--like she's tired or hungry or has to go #2 (sorry, but poop is a hot topic in our house)--then she can quickly turn into a fidgety, crying, flailing handful.

I tried to stay positive, though. When I dropped her at school, her curls were neatly combed, she was wearing a cute top and had a bow to match (and had a whole backup stylish outfit in her backpack). I asked her aides to give her hair a once-over before she went in for the photo, wipe the slobber from her chin, and try to hide her armband (which she wears to limit the repetitive hand movements) so it wouldn't be too visible in the picture and mess up her whole look. And then they told me that photos weren't until the end of the day, and I really just gave up hope that anything I had planned for a cute photo would hold out until then.

They are pros at this though and waved me off. And they did not disappoint. What you cannot see in the photo is that one of her aides was crouched behind her, holding her on the stool so she wouldn't fall. And the other aide ducked down in front, holding her hands so she wouldn't block her own face. And voila! Perfection! Have I mentioned how amazing and hard-working her teacher and aides are? Well, they are!

And I have to give Violet full credit for the sweet smile and overall cuteness. I would say she worked hard for that, too, but it just comes naturally to her.

Surviving Halloween

I meant to post right after Halloween to show the kids in their costumes. But to be honest, I needed a few days to recover. My visit to Violet's school for her Halloween party was not quite as empowering as my fun outing with her class for their farm field trip. The truth is, no matter how hard I try to find the positives at her school (and to be sure, there are many), having to send your kid to a special-needs school just, well, sucks. And even though the staff there are just amazing and infinitely kind and patient with the kids, and there is much about the school that gives you warm feelings, sometimes, it is just sad to be there.

Like on Halloween. You have all these preconceived images of kids dressed in their costumes, flitting from one classroom to the next, happily trick-or-treating while gathering candy. And while that was true for some of the kids (especially in the higher functioning preschool classes), many of them don't walk, let alone flit. And it's really hard to come up with good costumes that work in a wheelchair or a walker. Many of the kids don't talk, so it's not unusual to see them with buttons or switches they press for an automated voice that says "Trick or Treat." Even when they get the candy, some of the kids can't eat it because they have difficulty chewing or are fed by tubes.

So it's kind of a tough scene on Halloween. At least it was for me. But I'm still a newbie to this. I'm hoping I can catch up with some of the staff, who do an incredible job of carrying on and creating a fun atmosphere, regardless the circumstances.

Violet had fun. She was adorable in her Minnie Mouse costume. And she was mostly smiles while we cruised the hallways:

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And she enjoyed some of the class games:

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She was pretty exhausted by story time:

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And this is how she looked after the party. (I should have dressed her in a Sleeping Beauty costume.)

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Later, I got to Calvin's school just in time to see this smiling police officer marching in the parade:

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Notice the box of Dunkin' Donuts in his hand? He wasn't allowed to bring anything "resembling a weapon" to school, which is pretty much all of the equipment that goes with a cop costume. So we needed another prop. His dad made the run for emergency munchkins, and they really made the costume. (Plus they were really yummy later.)

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But Halloween wasn't over yet. Later that weekend, we decorated pumpkins:

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And later, we did a little more family trick-or-treating. And the smiles from this duo made me love Halloween again:

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