It’s been a while. I could go into the details of all the things that have kept me away, but let’s just summarize it in really cool hashtags:
#iwassuperpregnantforawhilethere
#thenihadanotherbabyandallthatjazz
#henryturnedtwoanditisveryevidentinhisbehavior
My baby boy is surely growing – Henry turned TWO (!) the first weekend in November! We celebrated him with a baseball themed party since baseball is nothing short of everything important in his world. The day was perfect as Henry was so genuinely happy and flexible the whole day. Leading up to his birthday however was a really difficult time for me. The typical emotions of concern I face daily were suddenly amplified to an all new level. The reality of my sweet boy turning two with a non-verbal autism label was unbearable at times. A birthday is supposed to be a beautiful celebration, and I was a little too caught up worrying about the yet to come. Parenting is this delicate balance of having to prepare for every aspect of the future, while trying viciously to still live in the moment. I struggled intensely to be present, to fight away the gloom, and to embrace the magnificence of having spent the last year with my incredible son.
On his birthday I succeeded in being genuinely optimistic and happy. When he awoke Brandon and I excitedly entered his room and explained it was finally HIS BIG DAY! He seemed to truly understand all we had been talking about to him in the weeks leading up and was instantly giggling and clapping his hands eagerly. Any semblance of worry I face can always be easily diminished by my boy’s laughter and happiness.
His favorite parts were:
The gigantic bunch of balloons! They had been too tangled in transport to spread around the house like planned, but he liked the large bunch better and he would tug at the strings until they would all come down at once and back up. This went on for days after his party.
He ate a couple of sugar cookies before his party even started, but refused the ones with icing.He also wouldn’t eat cake. So his birthday consisted of icing-free cookies and broccoli, and he thought that was pretty awesome.
He opened presents with excitement, although once his new train set was unwrapped he kept exclaiming “mmm mmm” (like choo choo but with mouth closed) and going back to look at it before opening the next gift.
When he opened up a band in-a-box present filled with instruments I passed them around so everyone was playing something, and he moved to the rhythm joyfully.
This year, there were no tears when he was sang Happy Birthday too, as he was gladly the center of attention! Together, we blew out his candle.
Some moments are too perfect for words.
