First Day of SCHOOL!!!

Hard for me to believe that my little munchkin is old enough to start school, but given she just had her third birthday, it must be true. We had to say goodbye to all her Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) therapists last week as it was the last time she would see them for therapy. It was bittersweet, as are most times of change, but it was nice that she got to see most of them that day to say goodbye. I can't thank her therapists (the ones she said goodbye to last week and all the others that she has worked with in these last few years) enough for all the support and guidance they have provided while helping Emma and I be the best team we can be.

The process for starting school is definitely one to mention, as the team of people we worked with did a wonderful job with helping make it a smooth transition! Emma met with and completed assessments with a diagnostician, occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist, orientation and mobility specialists, and her current Vision Impairment (VI) Teacher. I was able to tour two different campuses (one of which I attended personally) and see two different classroom options to decide which option would be the best placement for Emma. After much deliberation and several discussions with the diagnostician about the options, we decided the Functional Life Skills (FLS) classroom was the best choice for Emma. The student to teacher ratio was much better,  as well as the equipment they had readily available for daily use while at school.

After the decision was made, Emma and I made a visit to her future classroom so she could meet the teachers and they could meet her. Her primary teacher asked if it would be possible to come by our house and get to know her even better in her own environment to start learning her likes and dislikes as well as what motivates her. Thrilled with the enthusiasm of her teacher, we gladly had her over. It was so nice to start to develop that bond you have with your child's teacher and have that sense of trust and respect before Emma even started attending school. It really made the idea of my little munchkin not being so little anymore much easier to swallow, even if I did choke back some tears when I dropped her off this morning for her first day of class.

Playing with Elmo and her new teacher!

And, as no surprise to me, Emma had a wonderful first day! Her teacher sent me pictures of her interacting with so many new toys and textures - some more enthusiastically than others of course. Elmo was there with her, but she also found something new that she was interested in - a slinky! She was assigned locker number seven, which I told the teachers was quite fitting, since that was both her birthday and mine. On Thursday, she'll have her new backpack to carry her notebook back and forth to school. She would have had one today, but I didn't think she'd be having homework so soon! (No homework, it's just a way for her teacher and I to communicate about how things are going. But I had to make the joke!)

She is growing "UP" so fast...

For Emma's third birthday, I had another one of my crazy ideas of how I could go a little overboard on her party to make it fun and special. I am aware that my sanity could easily be measured with a yard stick at times, but this birthday was a big one for Emma Lee and me.

Before I had my daughter, doctors had very few comforting things to say about the chances she would have. I was told of the high likelihood that she would struggle, if she survived the pregnancy at all, and that there was little chance for her to even live to see her third birthday. Almost all of the things the doctors told me that she would be unlikely be able to achieve, she has done. This birthday marked the last of those predictions she had left to prove the doctors wrong on - and she did just that with the grace of someone far more poignant than any toddler should be at such a young age. I look at her and see her smile light up that beautiful face, and can't help but be filled with pride and love.

So when it came to deciding what to do for her big birthday, I had the idea of doing an "Up" themed party based on the Pixar movie that I loved and she enjoyed as well. I started thinking about how I could line the ceiling with balloons and put clouds on the walls to make it look like the movie. I started searching for more ideas and found myself on Pinterest where there were hundreds of pins. A bit overwhelmed, I began to search Etsy - a place I love to shop for wonderful gifts and special items. I found a couple of items there, and then my creative juices began to flow with other ideas of what I could do. I started to make a list so that I wouldn't forget any of them. Then it was time to see about putting all the ideas together and getting to work to make them a reality.

Lucky for me, I have a few people willing to help make my ideas a reality. We cleaned up the house and decorated a little all week, but we pulled it off. That morning, we blew up 300 balloons and set everything up and got Emma dressed in her birthday outfit just in time (with less than a couple minutes before guests started to arrive). Everyone enjoyed snacks and punch while taking turns putting their colorful thumb print on Emma's birthday canvas. Once that was done and everyone had their own personal "Ellie" badge, it was time to open the presents. 

Entry

BALLOONS!

Ellie Badges

Birthday Girl

Emma got lots of great presents and even wanted to see them when I unwrapped them for her. This is new for her as she has not always been so comfortable with new things. So we played with some tissue paper and some of the presents a little before it was time for dessert. In keeping with her "cupcake" theme from previous years, I opted to make different color frostings and make them into balloons. A few cotton balls for clouds, a blue table cloth, a print out of the house from the movie cut out, and a couple little characters, and the scene was set!

After the party, it was nap time... for both of us! Once everyone was rested up, or at least she was, it was off to Fair Park to see the Chinese Lantern Festival! She loved seeing the bright, beautiful lanterns - especially the ones that she recognized like the flower, the fish, and the bug.

Once we got home, half the balloons from her party that morning were on the floor and she wanted to play with them. So we started tossing the balloons on her and she would reach for them, grab one, and tell us what color it was. Then she would go after another and tell us what color it was. But after about fifteen minutes of balloon fun, it was time to go to bed. So we read one of her new books she got for her birthday, and one of her favorites as well. Then it was time to sleep.

I've just about got everything cleaned up now (although there are still clouds on the wall in the living room and banners lining the hallway), but I'm so happy it went so well. Even if my fingers still have blisters that are healing from tying balloons... I love making wonderful memories with my munchkin!

2013

This has been a crazy and fun-filled year (with lots of pictures)! Emma has grown up so much and is no longer my little baby girl, but I couldn't be happier about it! Back in January, Emma was learning concepts like "up/down" and what noises animals made. She was starting to pair words with objects correctly which was so exciting. That month, she also had her first trip to the Perot Museum which she loved. I loved watching her face light up when she got excited looking around at all the new things.

The next month was her birthday and we were ready! The day of her birthday, we went out to dinner with my step-mom, just us girls. We had a wonderful time and were looking forward to her party that coming Saturday. She was a bit apprehensive about her outfit for the day, but she was still the cutest little munchkin I've ever seen! But Emma surprised us all when she got her bilateral AFOs and stood for the first time ever!!!

March was not as busy as February, but she did see her Pediatric Neurosurgeon again to check on her shunt and see how she has progressed. He gave her the "all clear" for another year which was wonderful news! She had a few other doctors appointments and had some pictures taken for Easter with Mommy that turned out really well.

In April, our lives began to change as I began the process of moving us to our new house. There was lots of packing to get the house ready to put on the market so that it looked like a house and not Emma's toy room. But despite a month full of therapies and doctor appointments, we got it done and put on the market. And much to our surprise, it sold in less than twenty-four hours of being listed. Good thing too, because we needed it to move quickly since our new home would be ready soon. I also started the Dallas Hydrocephalus Support Group and held the first meeting.

May was a hard month for a multitude of reasons, but it didn't slow us down much. We said goodbye to the house Emma came home to from the NICU and she had her first seizure while with my ex for visitation. But she also got to start riding Peter Pan again at SpiritHorse (they close for the winter months) and set several new records of how many steps he could take with her riding without assistance before she needed a break. For everything she went through that month and continued to smile, tell me she loved me, and sing to me every morning; I could not ask for anything more.

June was a busy month as well. Emma had her therapies and doctor appointments and we moved into our new house!!! July followed with much of the same, but Emma got to see her first fireworks show on Independence Day! There were lots of people and so much to look at, so it was a bit overwhelming at first. But once the show started and the crowd settled down, she happily looked up at the beautiful pyrotechnics. Emma also visited the SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium and enjoyed looking at the pretty fish and big sharks. I love seeing her face so filled with curiosity!

August was a month of doctor appointments and painting (so glad that project is over). And yes, she still had all her therapies too. By this time, her progress really impressed all of the doctors she saw and she was loaded up with stickers. Emma was referred to be checked for scoliosis when she went in for her epilepsy check as the neurologist noticed a slight curve developing in her spine. Scottish Rite stated it wasn't to a point where they felt she needed their assistance, but her doctors are actively monitoring it due to her fast vertical growth rate. We also held the second Dallas HA Support Group meeting and met many new people that were very nice. Emma was featured in her first article in a newsletter for my dentist. I was so proud of her!

September was Hydrocephalus Awareness month and a busy one at that. Emma started up her hippotherapy again at SpiritHorse riding Peter Pan (they stop during the hot summer months for the health and safety of both the children and horses). She was also featured in the local paper in an effort to raise awareness in our community. We participated in the Houston HA WALK for the first time and raised $1355 which exceeded the goal of $957 (the number of days old Emma was on the day of the walk). I was overwhelmed by the support and will be looking forward to it again next year!

October was a fun month as it was the beginning of our first stretch of holidays in our new house. For my birthday, we went to a pumpkin patch and enjoyed a hay ride after feeding the animals in the petting zoo. Emma went to the Retina Foundation and her Pediatric Ophthalmologist at the beginning of the month as well and we decided to move forward and schedule her strabismus surgery for November. We also attended the Evening of Elegance put on by Denton CASA where Emma joined me on the red carpet. We were treated like royalty on a night where we supported an amazing children's charity that is near and dear to my heart. But the best outfit of the month was still her little "bat-erina" costume she wore to go trick-or-treating for the first time.

November started off a little nerve wracking, but I knew that Emma would do well with her eye surgery and her doctor was amazing. The procedure went well and she recovered very quickly after a nice relaxing day of snuggle time once she was discharged. Her vision was noticeably better almost instantly. I knew she would have six weeks of healing before we would see the full effect of her surgery. However, she got to use her newly aligned eyes for an incredible experience only a couple weeks later when she attended her first Formula 1 event at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Much to my delight, she seemed to be just as giddy as I was to hear the cars start their engines!

 
December has been a wonderful way to end a great year. Emma had a fun night out at her very first Stars game - and they won! At her six week follow-up to her eye surgery, her doctor was only disappointed to say that he had no medical reason to see her for the next year. He admitted she had become one of his favorites and would not mind a visit if we were in the area between now and then. Emma got to see Santa again this year, but is still a bit unsure about his beard. This year she sang Jingle Bells to him while sitting on his lap so he promised to bring her something special when he came. And he did! Such a lucky little munchkin!!!

 
Happy Holidays from Emma Lee and Me and we hope 2014 is a great year for everyone!