The day has finally arrived! Josh is three! For how much we've been through this year, I have had to take a step back several times and remind myself how young he is. He is still a baby. Since Emma was a baby, we have attended several birthday parties for her and her friends. I always thought a birthday party at The Little Gym was the perfect place for a three-year-old party, and pictured that was where we'd celebrate Josh's third birthday. Well, the Little Gym by us is closed now and my vision of a perfect birthday party for Josh was different than I had planned. However, my expectations were far exceeded. The months preceding Josh's birthday, I kind of dreaded him being three. I worried that the gaps between him and typical kids would be widened and more obvious. I worried that he wouldn't get the idea of a birthday party and I pictured him screaming when we sang Happy Birthday to him.
I worried a lot for nothing. Josh has progressed in so many ways and far exceeded my adjusted expectations for what he would likely accomplish by three. His party was at our house and we had my family and Danny's family over. After church, we stopped at the store and got balloons for him and told him we were having his birthday party. He said "party cake" and "tummy hurt." When we've gone to other birthday parties, I've given him his treats and told him that the birthday cake would make his tummy hurt. So, I explained that I would make him a special cake that wouldn't hurt his tummy. I bought the Thomas the Train decorating kit from the grocery store bakery and made his special cake. I had visions of it looking perfect, but the frosting barely held together and I had to forgo the double layer cake for a goopy single layer cake. It didn't matter. Josh was thrilled for his day. He loved his Thomas cake and squealed with delight as we sang to him. He opened his presents and was happy to play with is new toys.
Josh's birthday was perfect. He's worked so hard this year and I am so proud of every single accomplishment he's made. This year, he started to say "Mommy" again to now starting to initiate and engage in simple conversations. We've gone through so much together to accomplish these things and each are like little miracle gifts as our expectations changed. This year might not have been what I had envisioned it to be, but I now take greater joy in the things I previously took for granted or assumed would be. Seeing Josh so happy brought us much joy. We have grown in so many different ways thanks to Josh. He's a blessing to our family and we look forward to what the next year will bring for him and our family.
"This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17
No comments:
Post a Comment