First day on the big girl van!

Today Lexie rode to school on the van. Was she nervous? No, she had no idea what was going on before this morning. Was I nervous? Heck yeah! I barely got any sleep last night. I thought I was totally cool with it, until right before we went to bed, when for some reason my mind started going to all those 'worst case' scenerios. Once that started, my mind couldn't stop. I was up half the night imagining her the next morning happily getting on the van, then totally freaking out when they pulled away from our house without mommy, and then she would start crying and hyperventilating and not be able to calm down without a binky (which is the only thing that brings her back to reality on the rare occation she has a total meltdown), but binkies aren't allowed at preschool, so she'd have to keep freaking out until they would eventually call me and have me come pick her up...
Anyway, apparently my sleepless night was for nothing. Wayne stayed home long enough to see her off, and I think she dug having daddy around for a few extra minutes. She got right on the van, and luckily there were already a few "friends" there already, which she loved. And then they pulled away. I watched the tinted windows to see if she was flailing around as they drove off, but I saw nothing. I called the school later and talked to her teacher, and she said that although she didn't know how she was on the van, she arrived at school happy and without any signs of a meltdown, so all must have gone well. I'll find out more from the driver when she gets home later today, I'm sure.

Above are some pics of her waiting for the van and then getting in, as well as some with her wearing her new new backpack, which I got yesterday. The little one she brought to school yesterday is too small for the paperwork she needs to bring home to us each day, so she has to have a fullsized one. It's hilarious because the bag is nearly as big as she is, but somehow she can keep it on her back.

Lexie's first day of school!

First note: Lexie's teacher spelled her name with an "ie" instead of just an "i", and I think it looks way cuter. We're going to have to do it that way from now on...

This morning we got up and while we got ready we watched the "School" Signing Time dvd. So when it was time to go and I told Lexie she was going to "School", she was so excited! When we got there, she got to put her coat and her backpack on her very own hook, labelled with her name and everything! Very grown up... Basically I just dropped her off and got the heck out of there, because her teacher said that's the best way to avoid tears, and it worked like a charm. When I picked her up, her teacher said she went straight into playing and didn't look back. At the end of the day, she seemed a little worn out, I think it was a whole lot of "new", but she still seemed to like school. In fact, she kept signing "school" over and over as I tried to usher her out the door. Tomorrow she will take the van to school instead of me driving her. This will be nice for me, as they'll be picking her up at 8:20 and dropping her off a little before noon. I think she'll really like driving with all the kids as well.

Sorry this post is so clunky, I ran a bunch of errands while she was at school, too many in fact, and now my poor body is completely wiped out, and it feels like it's taking my mind with it...

"First day of School! First day of School!"

(Brownie points for anyone who knows where that quote is from. Or sympathy points, as you've probably been forced to watch the movie over and over as I have...)

Today Lexi had her very first IEP, which stands for Individualized Education Plan. It's a meeting that happens once a year when you enter the school system, which for Lexi is at age 3, or for other kids their IEPs start whenever they enter the special education program. This is the kind of stuff I'm used to hearing about because my mom is a special education teacher, so for me it was exciting for her to start her "Big Girl" special ed stuff. We met with her teacher and the Utah School the Deaf and Blind preschool cordinator, along with a few other specialist, and reviewed where Lexi is right now and set goals for her for the next year. The best part was... Lexi is starting school! Her first day of USDB preschool is this upcoming Tueday. She'll go to school Tues-Fri from 9-11:30, until school gets out at the end of May. After that there will be some sort of summer school, but those details haven't been fully decided yet. Her teacher is AWESOME, and she has a Cochlear Implant herself. She believes in strong structure and expects a lot out of her students, which is exactly what stubborn little Lexi needs. We're excited to see what kind of progress Lexi will make in a school environment, and we have a feeling she's going to start shining.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate!"

Just now I was showing Lexi a picture of Cory O'Bryant holding little Tiger. I pointed at Tiger and said "Who's that?" to which she signed "Baby!", which is what she's been calling him. I made up a sign name for Tiger, since he's no longer a little baby, really, and certainly won't be when he's 2, 3, 4, 18, etc. So I pointed at him and signed "that's Baby Tiger". I then pointed at Cory and said "Who's that?" to which she correctly signed "Uncle Cory (Uncle C)". So I went back to Tiger, pointed at him and said "Who's that?". She signed "Baby". I said "Baby... what?" hoping for the response "Baby Tiger". Instead I got "Baby Brother". Uh-oh. Now I'm wondering if when we've been pointing out all the new blue clothes and blankets and bedding for Baby Brother, she's been thinking we just really really like Tiger and we're giving him a whole bunch of stuff. Oh, and it's his fault my stomach is huge. Very interesting...

To Do:

I've been thinking about ideas to scratch my "project itch". I've got a few now, some which I know what to do, others that need more research and thought, most with cost-efficiency in mind. I'm posting them here (in no particular order) mostly so I have a hard copy to remind me of what I want to do, but also so anyone who has suggestions can help me solidify my plans.

1. Done
2. Paint dots on Nameless Baby's blackout shade. (supplies bought. May be a fun group project)
3. Put up family pictures on Office walls.
4. Paint Lexi's walls (color picked out).
5. Done
6. Paint 2 large canvases for Guest Bedroom.
7. Paint wall in family room red.
8. Create 3D flower art for Lexi's walls (3?)

Look how big she's gotten!

I've been thinking about one of the pictures I took of Lexi with her "Big Girl Cochlear", because it reminded me of a picture we took of her forever ago wearing her hearing aid. Side by side, it's cool to see how much older she is now. The older picture was taken July 2006, when she's just over a year. The newer picture is April 2008, so just under three years old.

Second project done!

Yesterday Sharon (Wayne's mom) was nice enough to help me make the curtains for Lexi's two little windows. Because of their unique size, it was impossible to buy ready-made curtains, especially blackout ones. So I bought the same curtains we have up on her big window, and a big blackout curtain to hem down, and Sharon helped me literally every step of the way (I'm so lame, I have no idea how to sew) to make them. They look really simple, but I can't believe I actually got a sewing project done! Again, I couldn't have done it without Sharon, so big big THANK YOU to her. Now my two priority projects are done. So... the baby is supposed to come now, right? I need another project to pass the time, I think. It was suggested that I paint the other three walls in Nameless Baby's room the lightest blue from the dots, and I'd love to do that, but I think I should give myself a break for at least a couple of weeks before I dive into another big thing. I already have a flower stencil and stencil paint, so I may stencil-paint a flower border along the bottom of Lexi's big blackout shade. That should occupy me for a bit...

New Curtains

Here are a few pictures of my simple little curtains. I think they're pretty cool... for me.

Dots, dots, and more DOTS!

The project is done, yay! Wayne has been working a lot of hours this week, so I had a lot of time after Lexi would go to bed to get some painting done. It ended up taking about 10 hours to get this whole thing done, but I think it looks pretty darn awesome. There are a few nitpicky things that big me that no one else will notice, but I'll just have to get over it. Hope you're all impressed! Click the picture to see more!

Baby's New Room

Big Girl Cochlear!

Lexi is now wearing a Big Girl Cochlear! The other day I decided to see if her ear was big enough yet to support the Behind The Ear controller for her Cochlear Implant. That means everything is behind her ear, no more cord running down to a big controller, and no more harness to hold that giant controller. This is going to be so much nicer this summer! Click the picture to see more:

Big Girl Cochlear

Project COMPLETED!

Pictures to be posted hopefully tonight.

Project Update part 2!

I did the stencilling today. I penciled in a 1-1/2 foot band of randomly placed multi sized dots across the one wall. I have to say, now that that stencilling is complete, I can clearly see this is going to be a LOT of tedious work to paint. I ended up using a lot more dots and 5 different sizes instead of 3. However, when it's finished, it's going to look SO. TOTALLY. AWESOME!!! I'm really excited now, because it's turning out pretty cool. So, now the spare-moment painting phase begins. Anyone who wants to play with Lexi while I paint is MORE than welcome to! Usually I hate being a charity case, but for this I'm ok with it. Anytime anyone feels the need to get some Lexi time in, feel free to stop by anytime. This week is spring break, so no playgroups. Again, pictures will be posted when the project is done, and hopefully everyone will be in awe...

Baby's Room Project Update

Phase one: Complete (pretty much). The light brown base paint is done, with three little touch-up spots needed along the baseboard. After completing taping up about 80% of the room, including the door, window, and closet, I decided to just paint one wall. The color isn't all that dark, but I think on all the walls it would have been a little overwhelming. Sad waste of tape, though. Friday night we put Lexi to bed and got to work! The wall was painted in less than an hour, and Wayne did a quick second coat with the roller this morning. The color is perfect, I'm very happy with how it turned out. The next step is to stencil the outlines of the dots on the wall, which most likely will happen tomorrow (Sunday). The last step is hand-painting in those dots. Ah, there's the rub. That last "step" may take me quite a long time. But I'm determined to get it done, and get it done well. 'Slow and steady wins the race' is my motto. I'll just do a little every day until it's done. I bought the paint for the dots today, and seeing it in real life, I'm really excited for how it's going to look in the end. Look forward to pictures of the finished product, hopefully to be posted before the baby comes...

Save the Date!

Everyone who reads this blog is invited to Lexi's very first birthday party. We're thinking of doing it on Saturday May 3rd, around 11-ish. It'll be low-key, Signing Time themed with Signing Time movies to watch and coloring activities for the kids, and time to hang out and mingle for the adults, pizza and veggies for lunch, that sort of thing. So start saving the date, or let me know if that day is a big bad no-no for anyone, and we may want to change it.

Current Phase: Nesting!

I'm totally and completely in the nesting phase right now. Benefits: I have the motivation to actually to some personalization in our home, instead of leaving it a nearly balnk canvas as I usually do. I've always loved the idea of having our home really "Tomlinson-ized", but never really wanted to spend the time and effort to figure out how to do it, so the hormonal need to make things look nice is a great kick in the pants. Downside: We do not have thousands of dollars lying around, and/or a fulltime nanny to take care of Alexis while I research/shop/paint/sew/whatever. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to be happy doing what I can do when I can do it. The priorities right now are 1) painting Nameless Baby's room, and 2) sewing blackout curtains for the two little windows in Lexi's room. Today I got the paint for the base color in Nameless Baby's room. Turned out I could buy enough paint to cover every wall for the same price as it would cost to buy enough paint to cover just one accent wall, so I may just do that since I've got enough paint (top color in the picture). Then I'm going to paint a bunch of dots of various sizes on one accent wall, the wall with the crib against it (the other three colors). Wayne and I should be able to put up the base paint some night this week, and I'll do the dots little by little, when I have time. I was going to do them during Lexi's naps, but I can't really count on those anymore... Feel free to ask me how the project is going anytime you see me/talk to me. I really don't want to let my motivation die off before it gets done, but I can see that happening...

EDIT: on my monitor, the second color looks black, it's not. It's a dark brown. All these colors come from the baby's bedding.

Click. Scurry.

Sweet Freedom?

Lexi has now mastered opening doors. In our apartment we had handles instead of knobs, and that she had down. But when we moved, the knobs proved too difficult for her, expecially since the doors were new and the knobs sort of stiff. Well, that's no longer a problem, she's got it figured out. Part of me loves that she has learned this new trick; I always felt guilty having her "locked" in her room, especially since sometimes she wakes up from her nap and just lays in bed silently for who knows how long until I happen to check in on her. I love that now she can come out and play when she is done sleeping. But the key word there is "done". Yesterday she concluded that now that she can open the door, staying in her room and falling asleep is optional. There was no nap yesterday, just a cranky mom, a self-satisfied toddler in the afternoon, and eventually a very tired toddler in the evening. This morning she woke up with a cough and a fever, so I was hoping she'd actually want a nap, like I do when I'm sick. So far no luck. At the moment I got her to stay in by giving her a relatively new book to keep her occupied. But I await the inevitable 'click' of the door latch as it releases, followed by the quiet scurry of happy little feet...