Happy 4th Birthday Emma Nae

Happy 4^th 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:

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.

Emma and Kitty Cat ready for the Big Party!

Kitty Cat Cake made by Gramma and Aunt Joni

Purrfect Party

Kitty ears picture

My Heart, Love, and Joy!

PaPa and MawMaw (PaPa is being silly)

Grampa and Gramma

Uncle Tom Tom, Cousin Trevin, and Aunt Jones

Aunt Randi, Cousin Rhett, Cousin Coen, and Uncle Caleb

Auntie Stacey and Nana Jana

Aaron, Smith, Lorelei, and Sarah

Chad, Danielle, and Addison

Grandma Estes

James and Karla

Dawson

Dayton and Kasey

Samantha and Rusty

Party Room Set-up

She loved hearing the Birthday Song

Make a Wish

What would I do without these two party helpers?

Yummy Snacks

Checking out her new clothes

Playing Peek-a-Boo with her new kitty

Emma loves books :)

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!