Today was Gavin's birthday party! It was a fun day and our superhero was in a great mood.
The cake - an homage to Gavin's favorite part of this year. His time on the beach...in the ocean...he was so happy when those waves would crash up around him.
I tried to plan it out so the boys had naps before the party - but neither of them fell asleep. Gavin was in a great mood - and so happy to see his Granny and Pop!
Brian, however, was not himself. He was shy with the other kids...acting out...and a bit of a cranky pants.
Gavin got to see his Godmother, Aunt Bean!
And also Uncle Jim, Shannon and Claire. The only one missing was their brother, Brendan! We missed you, Brendan!
Gavin and Brian's buddy, Eli, came with his Mom, Lauren. Miss Katja is now their nanny!
And our neighbor friends, Patti and Patrick also came by with their twins, Seamus and Molly. Seamus shared a moment with Gavin that was so sweet. I can't tell you how happy I am when Gavin interacts with other kids - even if it's just long enough to take a photo for proof that it happened. He even looked right at Seamus and smiled - I think it was one of the highlights of the party for me.
And Molly was adorable - she enjoyed the little favor bucket that I gave to everyone. Well, the kids - much to Ed's dismay, there were no "Slinkys" for the "big" kids.
Cake time was rather hilarious, thanks to Brian.
Brian seems sweet and ready to go as we waited for Daddy to bring over the cake. I anticipated him trying to sing along to Happy Birthday - we have practiced twenty times a day all week...complete with clapping at the end. Well, it didn't quite go as planned. I had to make a decision - let this incident stress me out during Gavin's "moment"...or laugh and know that years from now I'll still be laughing at this classic memory. Take a look and tell me what you would have done!
(Admittedly, it was pretty funny!)
Gavin had a few bites of cake and loved it!
It was a nice afternoon. Gavin received some really fun presents which was so thoughtful of everyone. He's so loved...and we are so lucky to have such nice friends and family!
As I make the finishing touches on Gavin's birthday video, I can't help but feel overwhelmed with admiration for this child. The year started off terribly with an extremely traumatic eye surgery and a long, painful recovery. Anyone would have understood if he regressed...if he resisted therapy...if he wanted to slack off. Gavin did just the opposite. The progress he made despite all he went through was remarkable.
I am doing my best to have this video ready to show tomorrow. Ironically, the boys and I will be headed to DuPont hospital in the morning to visit his eye surgeon for a check on his eye. We spent a lot of time with her this year - there was a period that I made that hour drive to the hospital every single day for her to see Gavin. I know she'll be happy to see Gavin doing so well.
I am the mother to a Superhero. How did I ever get this lucky?
Happy Fourth Birthday, Gavin!!
ha ha ha... awesome video!
ReplyDeleteI loved the video! It looks like Gavin had a wonderful birthday. I read your blog every day and love hearing about your kids and how Gavin is doing. I also think that Gavin has a superhero for a Mom :-)
ReplyDeleteme and my little buddy are having this kinda day today!
ReplyDeleteI am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
This made me cry...
DeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAVIN!!!!
ReplyDeleteSure looks like you had a great day!!!
Hugs, Miss Barb