I want to start by thanking all of you for your generosity and thoughtfulness for Gwendolyn's birthday. We are continually amazed and honored at the love and support our little girl receives. Your kindness means so much to us.
Gwendolyn thoroughly enjoyed her 6th birthday celebration. She is such a funny little girl: silly, mischievous, opinionated, creative… and we are relishing Miss G's cute little personality and interests. For her 6th birthday we asked her what she would like to do to celebrate: have a party or do something special with Mommy and Daddy. To our surprise she picked the latter. We then combed through options, specifically looking for something she's never done before, which is quite challenging for our Little Miss Adventure. Bill casually mentioned that the new Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Wizard of Oz was going to be in LA on her birthday and Gwendolyn immediately perked up, “Guh, guh!” We were somewhat surprised because although Wizard of Oz was an enormous passion for Gwendolyn, it was some time ago. Gwendolyn has always been loyal though; her love of horses and the color purple pretty much began from birth. Well, add Wizard of Oz to the list because she is a SUPER FAN! Gwendolyn was very clear about what she wanted for her birthday celebration: stay in a fancy hotel, get dressed up in fancy clothes, go to a fancy dinner, and go see Wizard of Oz at a fancy theater. Miss Fancy Pants also asked to invite Gramma and GrandPa. The party was set (with a few surprises up our sleeves)!
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Bill booked a room at the famed Beverly Wilshire and Gwendolyn's fancy weekend quickly came together. Gwendolyn has always loved staying in hotels and I think this one is the most spectacular hotel she's ever been to. When we arrived, Gwendolyn's eyes were huge and she wanted to see every inch of the lobby, every chandelier (and they had dozens), and every gorgeous flower arrangement. The Beverly Wilshire definitely appealed to her love of sparkle. And we even had a doorbell to our room, which brought lots of childhood delight. Once we checked in, unloaded all of our gear (we make the Kardashians look like they travel light), we headed back down to the bar for happy hour. With views of Rodeo Drive, she sipped her Shirley Temple and soaked in the scene — we all did.
The next day was her official birthday and Gwendolyn woke bright and early at 4:30 am!!! A very excited little girl. We snuggled for a bit longer but soon were all up and at 'em, showering the birthday girl with birthday fun. We listened to birthday messages, talked to family, read all the wonderful Facebook posts and emails to her, and opened her gifts all morning long. Gwendolyn even got asked out on her first date! (More on this later.) When Gramma and GrandPa arrived we finished opening her gifts: a fancy red dress to wear to the show with matching red dresses for her American Girl doll, Willa Claire, and her new Bitty Baby doll from Gramma who Gwendolyn named Fiona Alice. (Yes, both of these dolls were named exclusively by Gwendolyn. We go through a long list of names and she gives very clear no's until she gets to the one she likes. And she always wants a first and middle name for her dolls. We think her name choices are quite sophisticated for a 6 year old — especially since she doesn't know anyone with either of these first names. Maybe we will let her name StrongBaby2. 
to bring — all of which were given to her or made for her by family and friends for a previous birthday and she still treasures them: a Dorothy cloak with a sparkly sequined G on it, a reversible Wizard of Oz purse with a G on it that was filled with all the Wizard of Oz dolls, a Dorothy inspired hair clip, and lastly a pair of sparkly ruby slippers that fit over her orthotic boots. Little Miss Fancy Pants was ready! With us all gussied up we headed to the hotel restaurant for a nice dinner before the show. They were so sweet and brought Gwendolyn a medley of desserts at the end and Gwendolyn wanted tastes of each one.
Bill and I both grew up in LA and as it would happen I actually went to the Pantages Theater with my family when I was a little girl so this felt really special to get to take Gwendolyn there. It is such a gorgeous theater — Art Deco details to the nines. And from the moment Gwendolyn saw the bright marquee, she soaked in every last detail. I spoke with them at length about seating ahead of time, but we were still a little nervous about the disabled seating options since it is an old theater. It turned out they had a whole elevated section, behind red velvet curtains, that was perfect. When the show started, she was riveted. I think all of us loved watching Gwendolyn watch the performance as much as we loved the show. Her eyes were bright, she tapped her little fingers through the whole thing, she sang along to her favorite songs, and, even though it was way past her bedtime, she was up and excited the entire time. She LOVED the show! She said the Cowardly Lion was her favorite and she really liked that Toto was a played by a real dog. She also really liked the Wicked Witch — she said she's a little scary but giggled every time she came on the stage and Gwendolyn does a great impersonation of her cackle. 
It was 11 pm by the time we got back to the hotel — the latest Gwendolyn has ever stayed up and she thought it was pretty funny that it was past Gramma and GrandPa's bedtime too. We said goodbye to Gramma and GrandPa, put on her Wizard of Oz pajamas, and she was sound asleep sweetly cooing within minutes.
The next day Bill and I had one last experience for Gwendolyn before we headed back up to Santa Barbara. With the re-release of Little Mermaid, Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood had a special 3-D show. This theater is also from Hollywood's golden age and the boulevard is lined with the famous stars. Gwendolyn was super excited to see the Muppets star right in front of the box office. Once again we had incredible seating in a slightly elevated box behind velvet curtains. Accessible, private, and fancy = awesome. Gwendolyn had all three of her special dolls with her and settled in with her 3-D glasses ready for the movie. What she didn't know was there were a few surprises: Sophia the First sang and danced live before the movie and then Ariel came out and lead all the children in an “Under the Sea” sing-a-long at the end. Yep, those surprises were toppers to an already awesome weekend.
Seeing Gwendolyn happy is everything to us. Gwendolyn was clearly very pleased with herself and her celebration this 6th birthday — and we love that. We perhaps put pressure on ourselves for her to have extra special and new experiences. But, we know we have been given the gift of time. With an SMA diagnosis, each milestone, each birthday, each day is one more than many, many others — and we don't take that gift for granted. So, thank you for helping to make Gwendolyn's birthday extra special. Thank you for encouraging her and celebrating her journey. Thank you for loving our little girl with us!