The weekend before her first birthday, we got the okay to take her helmet off for good! It was close enough to her first birthday, and her head shape is a lot more rounded. Not perfect, but that’s okay. It’s so much nicer now- she isn’t as sweaty, she can look around easier, and we can move her around better too. She also loves getting her head rubbed. That evening, my parents and grandparents came up to visit. I already got her birthday decorations up so we decided to have a pre-party with a huge chocolate cake. Emma wasn’t too thrilled tasting the chocolate frosting. She then opened her presents, and my grandma was so tickled with Emma moved her fingers with the hand puppets she gave her. My mom also made an observation that one year ago today, my family was all together eating at the Olive Garden, and I was showing them the 3D ultrasounds. Little did I know that the following week, I would be giving birth to her! That following Wednesday was Emma’s actual first birthday! We had a party that night with pink and gold decorations. We had pictures of Emma and descriptions of her each month of her life around the kitchen, so when people got their food, they could see how she grew up. People came and went, ate, and socialized. At the end of the party we gave Emma cupcake to play with but she didn’t care about it. We lit the candle and she blew it out with her exhalation port! She didn’t like the buttercream frosting either. She loved her presents though! I can’t believe that she is one. A whole year has passed that I went into early labor, had to quit my job, and I went to live at the hospital. It is such a miracle that Emma made it through her first year of her life. That is a huge hurdle! I can’t wait to see what kind of person she turns out to be. I am so proud of how much she’s fought so far. Also, on her first birthday, I had stopped pumping. I gradually weaned myself off up onto this point. I made my goal to provide for her for one year, and I did it!

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To celebrate Independence Day, we had Emma’s first zoo trip! It went great! She got really hot and sweaty, and by the end she was cranky and tired. She hated the sun in her face. She loved looking at the huge polar bear and the crazy meercats. Later that week, we had another appointment at Seattle Children’s to try a behavioral hearing test. We went into a sound-proof room, so deadening it hurt my ears! Emma sat in my lap while they played sounds from lit and moving toys on each side. She looked once. She was really just angry to be sitting up, and I don’t think she was hearing anything anyway. They didn’t get any data, so they said they would have to try another test under anesthesia, as this type of test wasn’t going to work for her. Not sure when that will be though.

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That summer we had a really good crop in our garden! We harvested tons of peas, so I decided to make pea puree for Emma. She really didn’t like it- made a great sour face for us!  At the end of July was the Lakefair parade and fireworks in Olympia. Emma loved watching the floats and flag twirlers, especially when they had sun-catching streamers. In the middle of the parade, it apparently was a little boring for her, because she fell asleep- sitting up in our arms! Not for long though. It was pretty exciting, because there was a group of bagpipe players and she could hear them! She turned her head when they were close and loud, and once they got too quiet for her, she lost interest. That was pretty neat. Now we know her threshold for sounds. Also, at the end of the month, we decided to put her helmet back on- nights only though. The back of her head was looking flat again! We were a little frustrated, as the orthotic doctor said her head will be hard and not loose its shape after she’s a year old, and she’s’ not even a year corrected yet. Oh well.

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She now had her hearing test under anesthesia. It’s always a little scary, having her go under. They let me be with her up until they wheeled her back. After about an hour and a half, they paged me. The doctor let me go back to the recovery room and watch her wake up. The results of the test were the same as 6 months ago. So, they said that she is now eligible for a hearing device next month! I am so excited! This month was definitely one for doctor appointments too. We went back to the gastroenterologist, as she was still throwing up constantly. She prescribed omeprazole. She took it the next day and BOOM- no more puking! It was the cure! I am so amazed that something worked, and fast! That drug prohibits the movement of the stomach valve from easily opening- again, another “floppy muscle”. Things are starting to make sense now. Two weeks after that, Emma had a swallow study done. I had to feed her this thickened barium like I was feeding her purees. A big x-ray machine was doing a recorded video. She actually didn’t mid eating the barium. Afterwards, we got to watch the video. The doctor told us that she has no problem swallowing and that she is doing it fairly frequently. The toughest part for her is getting her tongue coordinated to collect the food and get it to the back of her throat to swallow. But it’s not getting stuck anywhere or into her lungs. Not bad for a trach baby with no oral feeding!

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On August 1st, Emma had her last taste of breastmilk! It was a sad day. I finished pumping on her birthday and she was having half milk/ half formula from the freezer until now. It’s got to end sometime. Although, now she’s constipated and won’t go anymore without a suppository. Hopefully we can get that fixed soon. Also, in August we went to the Thurston County fair. We were worried about the dust and dirt in the air for Emma’s vent, but it was just fine. She loved walking around, seeing the animals (cows especially) and we toured this cute farm food-making tour. I love being able to take her out and go places!

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Mid-September was pretty eventful- Emma got to see the Prophet of our Church, Russell M. Nelson, his wife, and another apostle- Henry B. Eyring. They were coming to visit the people of Seattle to speak with them at Safeco Baseball Field. We were able to get tickets along with Dustin’s family. We were amazed at how many people there were! I had to stand close to the side of her stroller so no one would bump into her circuit or vent. We were so packed getting into the stadium- shoulder to shoulder. It took us 20 minutes to take the elevator down one floor. We were so stressed about finding an outlet and a spot to park her stroller. We ended up finding a perfect spot right away. It was a little noisy and hard to hear, but it was such a wonderful devotional. We finally got home exactly at 10 for the night nurse to come in. What an amazing day.