Parties

     This weekend we were invited to three parties, but only made it to one of them. Amaya had to skip her friend's party. We usually don't let Amaya's fixator limit her or keep her from doing things. But we decided that it wasn't the best idea for her to go to the party because they were going to have a water slide and the water wouldn't be the best for Amaya's pins not to mention she could bump it on the slide.  It wasn't worth the risk of infection or getting hurt. Amaya said she wouldn't mind going and not getting wet, but that wouldn't be fun for her or her friends. The party was for the friend who pushed her on Friday, and I worried that Amaya would get knocked over again under a party mood where kids are more excited. In the end Amaya was okay with skipping it. In the afternoon we went to Josh's co-worker's end of summer party. We all had a great time. There was a pirate, macaws, and friends. 

   Before we left I noticed Amaya talking to one of the adults at the party. I saw her lifting her skirt to show him her fixator and the mark on it to show how much new bone she's grwon. Later I talked with him and he said he was impressed with how well she explained everything to him. He said that she told him about her plans to be an orthopedic surgeon to help other kids like her. I showed him her x-rays and he was very impressed. 

   Yesterday I received two sweet messages from some dear friends. I can't explain how much their love, empathy, kindness, encouragement and prayers mean to me. It's so nice to know that they follow along, that they care, that they pray for us, that they understand Amaya's pain, challenges and courage. Thank you Cara and Terry. Your letters meant a great deal to me and Josh. I'm so grateful for all who read our blog, who check in on Amaya and us, who think about us, who pray for us, who wish the best for our family, who love us. Thank you. 

Here's Amaya holding one of the macaws. 

Amaya with two macaws. She loved holding them, and kept asking to go up and hold them. 

Both the girls holding macaws. 

Lidie holding one after being shy and hiding from them under a table for a few minutes.

Amaya showing off her "Nanny McPhee" tooth that's about to fall off at any moment. 

Lidie and our friend Alex watching the macaws from a safe distance.

     I found this in one of Amaya's books. It asks a lot of questions and on this page it asks what things you're good at, what's easy for you to do, what do you like to do, etc. Under what takes work she wrote, "tharapy" aka therapy. I love her honest answer. She knows its hard work, but not impossible. She can do it, but with some effort. Under qualities of a good friend she wrote "Mason." Mason is her best friend, who is one of the sweetest kids I've ever met. I thought that was pretty sweet.

     Here is some video from today's swimming class. Today was a very "off" day for Amaya at swimming. She was fine until we walked over to the pool. As soon as it was time to get in she started crying and saying that her knee hurt. It came out of nowhere so I wasn't sure what to make o fit. She had Tylenol in her system already so I thought maybe it was less pain and maybe more nerves. Last time she swam she worked so hard that her knee hurt a lot. I told her that she could try swimming without using her left leg as much. Her teacher said she could use mostly her arms. He taught her the breast stroke and worked on other ways to swim using her arms. Her teacher said he likes teaching her because she learns so quickly. He said she's one of the few to learn the breast stroke on their first try. I kept encouraging her to try, to not give up, to go for a few more minutes. She cried as she did things or would stop, but then cry as soon as she was done. She continued to cry for the rest of the lesson. I felt so mean for keeping her in so long and having her try. It was hard to know what was really going on, but I could tell it wasn't all pain. And I felt bad for the instructor. 

    Once she was out she was fine. After we washed her pins she asked if she could stay in the shower for  a few minutes (it ended up being almost fifteen minutes). She stood under warm water and that seemed to calm and soothe her. As I was helping her get dressed I apologized for keeping her in so long, and hoped I didn't push her too much. She said it was okay, and that "I wasn't the meanest mom in the world." That made me feel a little better. She never really told us why she was so upset in the pool, but her "knee pain" went away after she got out of the pool. She's got one more lesson to go, so hopefully she'll enjoy that one a bit more than today's lesson.

We had a packing party with friends today. We helped them pack while the girls played. Amaya held Amelie.