Happy 4th
Birthday Emma Nae
We have been truly blessed with
another year with our precious Emma. A
big majority of this last year was filled with time spent in isolation in
preparation for procedures so we were unable to get out of house as much as we
like too, but we cherished all of our time spent together getting to watch Emma
grow and develop.
Emma has made tremendous strides in her
physical development this past year. Her
little legs are gaining muscle and allowing her to bear more weight, take
supported steps, and pull herself up from varying heights off of the
floor. Emma is also using sign language to
aid in her communication skills. She is
fascinated with animals and is quickly picking up those signs with the help of
Signing Time videos. Her comprehension
of vocabulary terms is growing daily. We
very rarely show her a flashcard that she cannot identify.
Emma
loves her stuffed kitty cat and takes her everywhere. Kitty cat even sports an NG tube, AFOs, and
glasses. Since Emma loves her kitty cat
so much, we decided to do a kitty cat-themed birthday party this year. I had a great time planning and searching for
items that resembled her kitty cat. We
got to have her party on her actual birthday this year and Emma once again got
to celebrate with family and friends.
Look below for a birthday story in pictures:
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| Holding my Big Girl at 8:44am! I did not get to do this on the day she was born so I get my time in every year since. |
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| Emma and Kitty Cat ready for the Big Party! |
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| Kitty Cat Cake made by Gramma and Aunt Joni |
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| Purrfect Party |
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| Kitty ears picture |
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| My Heart, Love, and Joy! |
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| PaPa and MawMaw (PaPa is being silly) |
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| Grampa and Gramma |
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| Uncle Tom Tom, Cousin Trevin, and Aunt Jones |
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| Aunt Randi, Cousin Rhett, Cousin Coen, and Uncle Caleb |
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| Auntie Stacey and Nana Jana |
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| Aaron, Smith, Lorelei, and Sarah |
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| Chad, Danielle, and Addison |
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| Grandma Estes |
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| James and Karla |
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| Dawson |
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| Dayton and Kasey |
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| Samantha and Rusty |
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| Party Room Set-up |
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| She loved hearing the Birthday Song |
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| Make a Wish |
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| What would I do without these two party helpers? |
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| Yummy Snacks |
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| Checking out her new clothes |
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| Playing Peek-a-Boo with her new kitty |
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| Emma loves books :) |
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| She loved all of her kitty cat toys and clothes |
So what is next on our list….well, we have
decided to move forward with surgery at Boston Children’s in Boston,
Massachusetts. With the counsel of our
current Dallas team and our new Boston team, we believe we have a plan of
action to address the area of narrowing where Emma’s pulmonary veins attach to
her left atrium. Scott and I have been
doing a lot of praying about wisdom in choosing the best surgical route and hospital for
Emma. The Boston team has been extremely
helpful in answering any questions Scott and I have in this process and the
surgeon called to speak with us personally about the procedure. We want to make something clear, we have the utmost respect and adoration for our Dallas team. They have been remarkable in handling Emma’s
healthcare and will continue to monitor her after this surgery; however, Boston
simply sees more of these cases and have had success in helping children like
Emma become Fontan candidates. They
would like to move soon on this, so we are waiting to hear from their
scheduling department this week. Please
keep us in your prayers as we take this HUGE step forward and move out of our
COMFORT ZONE to give Emma the chance for a longer life. We will keep everyone updated as we know more about WHEN the surgery will take place.
As always we appreciate your continued love
and support.
God is Good!
All the Time! God is Good!
