Happy 4th Birthday, Josh!

We celebrated Josh's 4th birthday before Thanksgiving.  He had a great birthday.  We had my parents, brother and grandmother over in addition to Danny's parents the evening before his birthday.  Josh had his usual "pancakes" for dinner with an extra side of meat and an extra banana to eat.  I made him a diet-compliant cake from baked butternut squash, honey, cinnamon and a duck egg.  I baked it and made frosting from a mashed banana.  He was SO excited to have a cake with a number 4 candle on it!!!

As we sang "Happy Birthday" to him (or hacky birkday, as he says it), he looked around at each person singing, beaming.  He soaked it all in and was very clear to answer that he was 4 when we asked.

He loved opening presents and was amazing checking out each gift and saying, "thank you" to the giver.  He geniunely enjoyed the day.  When he was done opening presents, he said, "Happy Birthday all done!"

One of my highlights of his birthday was the morning of.  He goes to the neighborhood elementary school for group speech therapy two mornings a week.  His speech teacher coordinated with Emma's teacher to bring him to Emma's class and have her class sing to him.  She said he was ear-to-ear smiles and when they finished he said a big, "THANK YOU!"  She also said he kept saying hello to Emma, but Emma, who follows all the rules, didn't think she was allowed to talk, so she only waved back at him.  He persisted saying hi to her until he got one back.  This story brought me such joy because he loved it and felt so special on his birthday.  It was also heartwarming for Emma to come home and tell us about it and the joy she felt, too.

We have recently found a special-needs gym in the area, started by an occupational therapist.  We have enrolled Josh for weekly classes to help build his core muscles and give him some social opportunities.  We had a birthday part there the following weekend and invited some of Josh's friends from behavioral therapy school, as well as a few family friends.  They had a great time!  We didn't do cake or presents, just a fun play date with his friends.  Our challenge was that Josh viewed it as another birthday party and since we had one at home during the week, he assumed that another party meant he was another year older.  It took us about 4 days to convince him that he is still 4 and not 5.

Six months ago, I dreaded Josh turning 4.  It seemed that each time we took a few steps forward, the bar kept getting raised and even though he was meeting his therapy goals, the goals kept moving on him.  I didn't want a day to think about all he had not accomplished.  But his birthday was a happy day.  Josh has progressed so much and I feel hopeful for his future.  My dad is always wonderful at helping me keep perspective.  He reminded me that my hopes were that by the time Josh was 4 he would be potty-trained and that he could have a basic conversation.  He accomplished both by far!

Happy Birthday, sweet Josh!