What once was old is new again!

This dress was Jonathan's grandmother's dress back in the 70s I think. She is now in her 80s and Aunt Connie and Mimi were cleaning out her closet- They gave me this dress! I love it!!

Valentine's Day

Nola and I made cookies in a jar again for her teachers. Last year for Valentine's Day we made oatmeal-raisin cookie mix; this year we made chocolate chip! I was quite proud of how they turned out! I used my fabulous Cricut Expression machine to make the gift tags!

A close-up of Miss Mary Ellen's gift- Nola's speech therapist.

All put together!

Whiskers the Terrible

We always seem to get the crazy animals! Whiskers is no exception- here he is relaxing ...in the sink! Ahhh!

B.A.D.

So I have been B.A.D. about updating! Nola is sleeping in her own bed until the wee hours of the morning- then she comes into our room. It is a great start and I am thankful she now enjoys sleeping in her bed. We still need to work on the soothing herself back to sleep. I'm not sure how to teach a 3 year old that skill again. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

We have been invited to be part of a study through Washington University. They are looking at the language development of children who receive cochlear implants before the age of 36 months. Nola got hers at 26 months. I am excited Nola's was asked to be a part of this study!

I need to post pictures of her in her valentines outfit. She was SO CUTE!

Another Hydrocephalus Parent....

I enjoy reading blogs of other parents of children with hydrocephalus and hearing loss. These parents truly know how I feel, have felt, and will feel at certain points in Nola's journey. It also reminds me how lucky we are.

Sara is Owen's Mommy. I met her through a hydrocephalus support group online. Her latest blog post touched my heart. These are struggles that many parents of children with special needs go through. You can read it here.

American Idol

I don't watch American Idol anymore. The craze has worn off, but if I do watch - it is during all the auditions to see all the crazy people. Last week we got phone calls and texts that we needed to watch the girl who just auditioned. Her daugher has hydrocephalus and hearing loss- maybe this will raise alittle more awareness!
She was great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c9d_zMbEkVM

It Continues

Whew! Trying to get Nola back into her bed is like having a newborn all over again! Have I said that before? Nola is doing such a great job- now she just needs to learn to soothe herself back to sleep when she wakes up during the night.

Night #3: Nola woke up about every 3 hours. Yes, like a newborn. (insert tired Mommy face here.)

Night #4: Monday, January 24
8 pm: Alseep.
11 pm: Woke up, came to our room, and I put her back into her bed. She was asleep in 3 minutes flat.
6:30 am: Up again. Slept til 8 am.

Let's see how the rest of the week goes. If any of you have comments on how to get Nola to soothe herself to sleep, they would be greatly appreciated!

Our Big Girl

My last post stated we were going to start the transition out of Mommy & Daddy's bed and into Nola's bed in March. Well, we got a wild hair on Friday night and decided to give it a try. She cried and said "No sleep!" but not the sobbing, wailing fits I had tried to mentally prepare myself for! I sat in the rocking chair and put Toy Story 3 on while she sat in her bed.

Night #1: Friday, January 21
7:30 pm Nola finally lays down and falls asleep.
12:30 am She comes into our room. I take her back to her bed.
2 am Finally falls back asleep.
6:30 am She comes back into our room - We sleep until 8 am.

Night #2: Saturday, January 22
9:30 Asleep.
I wake up Sunday morning and find Nola in our bed! Evidently, she came into our room around 1:30 am according to Jonathan. He just let her sleep with us. Grr.

Night #3: Sunday, January 23
8:15pm: Asleep.

Let's see how tonight goes and the rest of the week! Fingers crossed!
Operation No M-Bop will begin March 21. I figure we will be in the big girl bed all the time by then. I don't want to traumatize her too much all at once. ( Or maybe it's Mommy that would be traumatized!)

Sleepless Nights Ahead...

There will be some sleepless nights ahead for the Bawcums. The countdown has began for Nola to no longer have m-bop (that's what she calls her pacifier) and sleeping in her own room. Yes, I can hear your gasps now and you cannot believe I would still let my child have her m-bop or sleep in the our bed. For my defense until this summer- Nola had a surgery about every 10 months. These were not easy surgeries like her eye these were BRAIN surgeries. When she would come home from the hospital she would sleep with us. It was easier for us knowing she was in the bed with us and wouldn't bump her fragile little head on the wood in her bed or if she got sick she wouldn't be alone. Same thing with the m-bop, but I will have to say she really only has it to sleep and in the car.
We will start this process during my Spring Break.
So send good thoughts our way - Operation No M-Bop and Sleep in Your Own Bed starts March 21!

First Snow in the New House!

Oh, Nola and I had such fun in the snow today! I might not make much- but one small perk of a teacher ....SNOW DAYS!! Jonathan even got to come home early and build a snowman with us! I will post those later. You might have to turn down the volume- It sounds like I am screaming- I'm not though. Maybe I do talk too loud like Jonathan says.....