Amelia turns 2 (from Omi)

On Sunday we celebrated Amelia’s second birthday and she had a great time. There were more than twenty people at the party and she took it all in stride. She worked her way all around the crowd mooching appetizers and managed to eat a good part of her hamburger too. We all tried to sing “Happy Birthday” in sign language, but we’re not sure that she actually saw us, because she had her eye on the chocolate cupcake with a candle on it. She signed “dessert” and “chocolate” and then dug in. What a mess! Then it was time for presents and once she got the hang of opening them, she became quite good at it. She didn’t let all the other little ones (who wanted to help) intimidate her. She got some lovely gifts and everyone really made an effort to buy things she would enjoy and which would keep her challenged. Her favorite present was a doll that wears glasses. Amelia loves to play with glasses and always tries to put her own glasses on her toys. So now she has a pair of little glasses to play with. We really can’t believe that she is two years old already.

Considering all that she has been through and the constant frustration of scheduling her visits to doctors and therapists, it has been a long two years. But in other ways the time has flown by and our family and friends have loved watching Amelia grow and learn in spite of her challenges. She is a true miracle in the things she has achieved and she continues to amaze us with her love of learning and her eagerness to attempt new things. You’ll be surprised to hear that Amelia will be going to Palomar Community College later this summer. (I did tell you she was smart!) She’ll be going to their preschool program two mornings a week. We’re excited for her, but also a bit nervous.

Kristina is in the process of trying to schedule some surgery for Amelia on July 8th. Since the doctors usually try to group the surgeries to make good use of the sedation time, this was to include tubes in her ears (ENT), a CAT scan and unclogging her left tear duct (eye surgeon). As usual things are not going as planned. The pre-op appointment with ENT revealed that the tubes are not needed at this time. This is a very good thing, except it messes up the scheduling for the operating room, since the eye surgeon is not part of the Rady Children’s Hospital staff. For a while it looked as though the whole thing would be cancelled, but we seem to be back on track and now the cardiologist want to include an echo-cardiogram. Amelia’s heart murmur still has not gone away and although it is not giving her any problems the doctor wants to see exactly what’s going on in there.So, I am again asking for your prayers on behalf of Amelia. Even minor surgery is always risky and we need the Lord’s help and guidance throughout the whole process. And since Amelia is getting older and more aware of her surroundings she might not put up with everything as easily. Fasting before the anesthesia will not be fun.

Erika