Normal

Yesterday was such an incredible day!!!  The culmination of a dream and planning and preparation and a brave leap of faith.  A birthday party for a 3 year-old attended by eight 2, 3, and 4 year-olds accompanied by moms with a few dear friends.  An Abby Cadabby themed party

 as Abby was the first character who captured my granddaughter's heart and attention through a video screen and still does.  Other than a few visits with 2nd cousins, the birthday girl has not had the privilege of play dates or Sunday School.  She has been living the life of a shut-in especially during the winter months.  This summer was just too hot and humid for her to be outside much and she was so sick the month of July.  So, yesterday really was an incredible leap of faith.  A guest list was made, invitations mailed, and then lots of praying.  Would Grandbaby girl be healthy or would we have to cancel?  Would the invited guests be healthy or would no little ones be able to come?  Would the day be too hot for the birthday girl or rainy and we'd have to be inside where her toys and air-space would be compromised??

We were just incredibly blessed!  A blue-sky, breezy, cool day!!  Outside it was with canopies for shade and plenty of open space for little ones to run. Grandbaby girl was healthy!!!  Only one little guest had to cancel due to possible illness and her other grandparents and Aunts will be coming for their own visit next week.

The other fear ~ how would the little ones respond to the birthday girl?  She looks more like a baby than their peer, she is on oxygen, she can't sit very well, can't walk without a special gait-trainer, can't "talk" understandably, can't blow out her own candles, can't eat cake.  How would the birthday girl respond to all the commotion of a party and all the little ones??

She was in her element and as I carried her around to greet her guests (down on one knee at their level), she smiled and did her special kissy greeting, and the girls got a one-on-one look, but most did wave or say hi or blow a kiss in return.  She sat in her specially decorated little booster seat on a blanket on the ground with the girls sitting around her so they were all the same height.  Candles were lit on cupcakes for the girls and they each blew out their own candle so the birthday girl could see lit candles but did not have to contend with one of her own.  While a clown was face painting, the birthday girl wanted to lay down on the blanket and gab with one of her guests.

 Pretty soon two or three were sitting around her, one brought a book she and her mom had brought for a card (we had said no gifts) and another one was trying to read it to grandbaby girl.

  When most of the guests were running around with their tutus and wings and wands, we decided to put the birthday girl in her gait trainer.  She is not strong enough to really move it well on grass, but Grampa moved her near to the action, and one of the 2 year-olds decided to push her around!!

  It was just the most precious afternoon ever!!!  Party guests seemed surprised at the no gifts request, but what they didn't realize was that they were the gift!!!  I do not have a vocabulary big enough to describe how I felt watching her face throughout the afternoon.  An afternoon to just feel normal.  Simply amazing.