Emma gets a certificate!

Emma and her certificate

The last Friday before school holidays Emma got a certificate for good use of capital letters and full stops!

Way to go Emma, she must have her fathers genes for good grammar, as I missed the boat somewhere along the line, (I was much better at maths than English). Now thanks to Niki I (sort of) can put apostrophes in the right place, I still need a bit of practice though.

Every Friday Emma's school has an assembly where all the kids go to the hall for songs, and certificates. It is really good the way the children get into the singing, and it is great the way the school encourages the children to learn and do well by them receiving certificates. In my book competition is a healthy part of growing up, I know in this PC world we live in, 'no one' should be better than the other, but I don't agree with that.

I digress..... John and I were the proud Mum and Dad, (along with lots of others), and Emma was as pleased as punch with herself!

Just to explain......

I have put a few links on our blog and I thought I would explain why I have put them there.....

Firstly Fibula Hemeimelia, this explains much better than I ever could on Paddy's condition, she has Type III which is total absence of the fibula.

Then we have Kate Horan. She is a NZ athlete who has FH, she is currently training for the Paralympics, I think she does the 100 and 200 metre sprints. Kate was one of the first people I talked to when we found out about Paddy and having seen her on T.V I think she is awesome.

Next are Madeleine and Max, they are gorgeous twins living in Seattle with their Mum and Dad, Niki and Michael. Madeleine has FH in her left leg, she had her foot amputated when she was one year old. Madeleine is doing wonderfully, and I have to say thanks for all the support Niki gave me when coming to the decision about Paddy, without Niki and the rest of the crew on our FH forum I think I would have gone bonkers!

Sarah Reinerstsen is an American athlete who has PFFD, a condition very similar to FH but it involves the femur bone as well. Sarah has an above the knee amputation and she competes in the Iron man. I just have to say the word Iron man and I feel exhausted, I think Sarah is just incredible and an inspiration to all of us.

Then we have Sarah Walsh. Sarah also has FH, she lives in Australia with her Mum and Dad, Patricia and Tom and her two little sisters Laura and Kate. Nothing stops Sarah she gives everything a go! Thanks Patricia for the phone call, it was fantastic to talk to you and to hear how well Sarah is doing, I tell you we could have talked for NZ and Ireland! Will speak soon I hope.

Lastly I would like to say thanks to Claire, Mark and Buzz for taking time to see us and share your experiences with us, you made a huge difference in our decision making and made it a lot easier for us. Also to Carol and William for coming to see us, and everyone else who has taken time out to chat to us and help us along the way. Geez it sounds like an Oscar speech, but I don't think John and I can thank everyone enough for all their support and advice, everyone has been just fabulous!

Emma is six!

Birthday cake at Nannys

Our baby has turned six, I still can't get my head around the fact that she is no longer our teeny tiny baby but a six year old who has lost two teeth (very big news in the life of a six year old) and is in her second year of school, and loving every minute of it. Emma has a great network of friends and she seems to enjoy the school work as well, but at the moment I really think school is all about catching up with her mates!

So for the big party we went to 'clip n climb' which is an indoor climbing gym, and the kids just love it. It kind of looked like hard work to me, but the energy children seem to have is endless.

I have to say I was so proud of Paddy, we were unsure whether she would be able to do it with her smaller leg, but she was up there with the best of them, you have to say that Paddy is a trier and really what more could you ask for, the fact that she managed to get part way up the wall even better!

Then it was back home for a few games and some party food, I thought the kids would be knackered after climbing up walls for an hour but they went CRAZY! I think we had 16 hyper children running around like they had never been to a party before, I think I just went and hid in a corner somewhere and hoped for the best, (I thought they are supposed to settle down the older they get?)

Anyway it was a great party (honestly), the kids had a ball which is what it is all about!

Paddy giving it a go!

Emma

Swimming anyone?

Last November the Walsh Family went on a well earned holiday to Fiji, on arrival Emma spent approx 8 hours a day in the pool, I think it took a week for her skin to recover when we got home!

Well I have to say the twins were a different story, they wouldn't go in without their arms in a death like grip around John's and I necks, as for putting their heads under, not on your nelly. We worked on it, and by the time we left they were jumping in to us. Excellent!

So on our return to Auckland we thought while they are feeling confident lets start swimming lessons and boy do they love it.

A couple of weeks ago I took Georgie and Paddy along, I hadn't been in awhile as John normally takes them (good Dad that he is), and before I knew it they were in the pool and Georgie was doing rolly pollies (I couldn't believe my eyes), when did this happen?

Big thumbs up, you bet!