It's been 6 months since my last post and quite a few things have been going on in our lives and in our world.
First off, a huge hoorah for Emma. Why? She has passed some MAJOR milestones. Milestones that I wasn't sure if they were going to come any time soon and they did!! YAY!! Here they are:
1. Walking by herself without ANY assistance for 10 feet!! This is huge. However, Emma needs to know somebody is close by just in case she loses her balance!
2. She has BIG GIRL TEETH!! OMG!!! She has her permanent teeth coming in and this is wild! I honestly have not really allowed myself to think too far ahead since she was injured, just taking it all day by day, and seeing ADULT teeth coming in was a shock to my system. She is no longer my baby. Can I cry now?????
3. She is afraid of the dark, has imaginary friends (ok, her index finger is her friend and his name is John. Cracks me up!), and is doing all the silly things CHILDREN should do. I know it seems weird that these little things are a milestone and it's things we sometimes take for granted, however, when you have a child who is developmentally delayed the "normal" nuances of childhood are so important. Seeing her imagination bloom is so important.
4. She finished kindergarten.
5. She is going to get her skull repaired. We have waited a long time for this and then we finally get a surgery date. April 15 and guess what? Bless her little heart, but she falls sick. We get a new surgery date of May 13th and what happens? Bronchitis. It's so crazy because Emma isn't a child that is normally sick. So, hopefully in July. I cried and cried after the second cancellation. I feel selfish, but when you have been through what we have gone through every teeny tiny thing that bring a type of normal is important. However, Emma's health and life is much more important.
I just feel extremely blessed each day I have with her. In all her spunky gloriousness, I am very lucky.
I have been having a lot of insomnia lately. Just worrying about the future. Emma will be 6 in August and I am just concerned about what the future holds for us. Some days I want to move back home to Kansas where my family and a huge chunk of my friends are but there are not a lot of resources to help Emma in the small town I am from. The waiting lists are long. I hate Arizona. Every single bad thing that could happen, happened here in Arizona. My first 2 daughters born extremely ill and premature and dying, my oldest brother being murdered and the criminal never caught, Emma being a victim of abuse, the list can go on and on. However, the major plus to Phoenix? Emma's doctors and therapists. I would be a fool to remove Emma from the quality of care she receives here.
So, Arizona we stay. Hopefully, I will find a new job in August when Emma returns to school and my new semester of school starts. I hope to be able to save up enough money to go home to Kansas for a visit. Who knows? Oh and most importantly, when Emma is walking 100% independently and stable, we have to make a trip to Disneyland!!! She would faint from seeing all of her Disney friends!! She falls over from excitement when people from Make a Wish are at the medical clinic dressed as Mickey Mouse, Minnie and Donald Duck!!
Til next time, take care of yourselves.. with love, peace and a positive future..
Jaime and Emma
PS Enjoy the photos from Disney on Ice
