Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Jack's 5th Birthday

Last Sunday we had a birthday party for Jack. We invited 2 families over - two of the boys were in Jack's preschool class last year - and we had a great time. We had a bbq and the kids played outside and Jack opened presents and we had cake. Last years' birthday party was kind of a disaster...mostly because of the number of people we had over. Jack was completely overwhelmed and melted down. So we knew that this year we had to keep it a little simpler.


A view of the inside of Jack's birthday cake. So fun!


Jack's actual birthday was today, the 28th. He woke up at 5:30 am and bounded into our room saying "it's my birthday!" We quickly came to the conclusion that Jack was a little confused about his birthday. And we are still confused as to what his expectations were. He was upset right away that we weren't "doing" his birthday and he couldn't "eat his birthday." My best guess is that he was talking about having cake, presents, and party all over again - even though we had explained multiple times that he was having a party on Sunday and then we were just hanging out on Wednesday - when he would turn 5. We still did special things - we went to the store and let him pick out toys using his birthday money, we went and got ice cream, and we had cupcakes after dinner. But today was one of the more stressful days with Jack. He was so upset about his "birthday" all day - and we just kept missing the communication piece.



The morning of his birthday - before 6 am. :)



He had therapy this morning and had a pretty difficult time doing very simple tasks. We also found out that Jack's occupational therapist is leaving. This is heart-breaking for me. We absolutely love his therapist and she was one of the reasons we were looking forward to staying in Minnesota. He doesn't know yet that she's leaving. I think he'll have a very hard time dealing with this transition.

He had friends come over for a play date...so that was a good break in the day. Then when Lonnie was done with work, we went to Target to let Jack pick out toys with his birthday money. He had a good time picking out toys, but also had difficulty deciding which toys to get (who wouldn't?!?). We then went to the ice cream place...where Jack wouldn't eat any of his ice cream. He likes this particular ice cream place because it's near the rail road tracks and we can see a train every once in awhile. But now he has become so focused on the RR tracks that he refuses to eat his ice cream. All he can do is stare at the tracks (or at the cars going by on the street).

We knew that the rest of the evening had to be spent at home - he was done for the day! So we just spent time at home and let him play with his new toys. Had mac & cheese for dinner and watched Bee Movie. Jack and I were planning on going to the running track with Lonnie, where he was going to start training 5 people for their first 5k. But, Jack was so tired and worn out from the day that we decided to stay home so he could go to bed early.

Today was one of the days when I was reminded that my child is different. He is DIFFERENT. We can't do things with him that other parents do with their kids. Our lives are structured around his temperament, sensitivities and abilities. I am constantly under pressure to have the next 24 hours planned out in advance.

What a bittersweet day. It seems that most holidays are starting to bear this "bittersweet" feeling. We are blessed with an amazing son that we love very much. But we are most reminded on these holidays that things are different for us.

Either way - my baby is FIVE! He has accomplished so much in the past 5 years. We are so proud of who he is and who he is becoming. The past 5 years have gone by so quickly...I can't imagine what the next 5 years hold.


EXACTLY 5 years old - showing me his muscles. :)


This was the face we saw most of the day. :)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Awesome things my child has said today...

J - "There was a bug."
Me - "Was it bothering you?"
J - "No, it was just saying hi to me."

"When I grow up, I want to be a doctor. To help people."

"Today is Tuesday. When I wake up, it will be [thinking] Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, WEDNESDAY."

As he's stretching - "I have a big belly. A big belly full of food."

Monday, July 19, 2010

Fresh Start


I would really like to start using the blog as a record of our days here at the our house. Jack says and does a lot of funny things and I find myself wishing that I could keep better record of them. I wish I would've done a better job recording things when he was a baby and toddler - but I hope that late is better than never. :) So...my blog posts will be more boring. More about Jack. More about our mundane life. But I am doing this more for myself than anything.

Lonnie is out of town this week - again. So, Jack and I are on our own - again. With Lonnie working from home, I think that it's somewhat of a blessing in disguise that he travels every now and then. We all just might go crazy if we had to be around each other all day/night without the travel breaks. But, we really miss him when he's gone!

The hardest part of being home with Jack all day by myself is trying to find things to occupy our time. We go to the park or play outside at home when the weather permits, we go to the library, and we go to the water park about once a week. And we try to get together with friends when we can. But, that's about it! I have to admit, I'm more than a little bit ready for school to start. Not ready for the summer weather to go away, but ready for fall to get here! :)


(Jack and friend flipping backwards off the couch)

Jack had a friend come over today. They were in preschool together last year and they have become pretty good friends. It was great to watch them play together and laugh together. Jack was pretty wound up while his friend was here, so we had to have some down-time after the friend left. I think it was then that Jack realized exactly how tired he was. We took Lonnie to a hotel last night so he could get to the airport super early this morning. We didn't get home until late, so Jack didn't get to bed until around 9 pm. And, he was up before 6 am today. I think the sleepiness really hit him hard this afternoon. So after running a quick errand and eating an early dinner, it was bedtime! He was asleep by 6 pm. We'll see how that plays out overnight.

So...here goes another shot at blogging regularly. I am looking forward to keeping up with it!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Laura's Kitchen

I entered a contest on a new food blog that I love - Laura's Kitchen. She has some awesome recipes and they all look amazing. Check her out!

Laura's Kitchen