Pump it Up!

As promised I am sharing some pictures from Julianna's birthday party at Pump it Up!  It was a huge success!  I think everybody, young and the young at heart...had the time of their lives.  

It was the first time Julianna ever blew her birthday candle by herself.  This was something Jeff and I had longed to see and it was really, really hard not to get teary-eyed.  She had always been scared of the candle on her birthday cake...probably a sensory issue.  I believe that after 4 years we are winning our fight against Julianna's autism.   I know that there will still be some bad days, but good ones like this make us keep going.  

Thank you to everyone that came to join us on this special day!  More special thanks to everyone that brought donations for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.  I will be posting more pictures of Julianna giving her gifts to the "sick children".  She is very excited!  She said that their "bugs will go away then they can go home because I shared my gifts with them."  

Enjoy the pictures!

Mommy and the birthday girl

With Nona

Julianna and her bffs Mina and Mari

With "boyfriend" Sammy

Welcoming Morgan, Amelia and Landon

Watching the safety video

Pretty Amelia is ready to go!
Pin the Tail on the donkey game.  Amaria won the Disney Store gift card!
Climbing wall fun
Bouncy fun!

Everybody enjoyed going down the giant slide!

Reunited with her beloved Miss Ellie

Trying to keep everyone still for the group picture

Enjoying her birthday cake

Yummy pizza and cake!

With Tito Paul and Rani, Tito Dave and Yigo, Tita Ferly and the very pregnant Tita Monica

I'm not tired yet Mama...

...just hungry! 

Julianna's 6th Birthday

Our little princess turned 6 today.  *Sniff!*  It seemed like it was just yesterday when we first took her home from the hospital.  She was so tiny!  She has now blossomed into a little girl, full of life, love and intelligence....Just as I always imagined she would be and so much more... Three years ago I was told by a Child Development Specialist that Julianna would probably never learn to talk because of her autism.  I always believed in my heart she would talk someday, and she did.   It made me choke back the tears today when she said that although she is 6, she will always be my little baby.  *Double Sniff!!!*

We celebrated her birthday at P.F. Chang's today, her favorite restaurant of the month.  We also opened presents from family members.  We will have her birthday party tomorrow at the Pump it Up in Brentwood, but for this year, Julianna has decided to accept donations for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital instead of receiving presents from guests.  This is very atypical for a child with autism to do, so Mommy and Daddy are very supportive of her endeavor.  She really, really wants to "fix" the sick children, especially the ones with "lots of bugs" in their blood.  She believes that if she shares her toys, these little kids can go finally go home.  How I wish that it was that simple, and it is very hard to explain to her that despite her help, it will still take a miracle for some of these kids to go home.  I really hate to dampen her spirits, so I told her that it will really help them feel better and help them go home faster. 

On to happier things, Julianna blew the candle on her cake today and made a wish for the first time in 6 years!  She has always been scared of the birthday candle.  I know I will really cry tomorrow if she blows the candle on her cake at Pump it Up.  I have waited for that moment for so long! 

I am going to share a few pictures from our special day today.  Stay tuned for more to come tomorrow!

Presents galore...

Julianna with her much coveted Littlest Pet Shop toys

With the Littlest Pet Shop city she built

Mommy and baby

Preparing to make a wish

The family at P.F. Chang's