Life with the Quinns: 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!