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.