Here's Luke while the class sang to him. So proud. He and another little girl in his class both turned 5 on the same. Seriously. What are the odds of that?
Mrs. Jenny let Luke pick a surprise out of the birthday box. He said, "Hey Mom, is there a DS in there?"
The morning of the school party, we went to the grocery for cupcakes ingredients. Luke spotted the already prepared Superman cupcakes and begged for them. I told him they would be better if we made them (likely a lie) but he insisted he needed the Superman ones. There were only 6 Superman ones though, so we also got some Madagascar cupcakes. And he was right, they were a big hit. I loved helping Luke pass out cupcakes to his friends.
And last week I finally got our playroom/therapy room cleaned out. Since we no longer have ABA therapists coming to the house, and the "therapy" we do is very much just built into regular daily activities, the therapy room was pretty much going unused. And had become quite a junk heap. So after donating a lot of toys to church, a couple to school, and taking a lot of clothes and toys to Goodwill, Luke was all set to move into his new room. And I am very excited to have a guest bedroom again.
It's pretty packed in that little room, but works well for him. We kept the very utilitarian shelves for toys and games.
The bed needs work. I was planning to do kind of a sports theme, but then the sports phase kind of faded. And I'm not going to do a game show room. So likely I'll just find a stripe or plaid or something like that.
We made the room moves just in time for Grandma and Grandpa's visit. They came for Luke's 5th birthday bash. And they were happy to make his very special cake. Well, they at least acted like they were happy I roped them into making his cake. :)
Grandma and Grandpa were in Arkansas on Thursday watching another grandchild perform in a play. They arrived at our house around 7:00 p.m. on Friday and were a whirlwind of activity. They brought all their supplies with them, including a Kitchenaid mixer. I know everyone is simply shocked I don't have one given the vast amount of baking I do. Ha!
Luke had been asking and asking for a Deal or No Deal cake. The pictures don't really do it justice. I did make the little Howie sign there. My one contribution.
He was a little bit pleased with the cake.
The masterminds behind this creation.
Luke begged to have his party at Pump It Up. This is the first real birthday party Luke has ever had.
The first time Luke went to Pump It Up was for his friend Maggie's birthday last May. He cried a lot of the time. He didn't want to try any of the slides. He eventually went into a couple of the jumpy things.
We've been to several parties there since then, and with each one his confidence grew and loved it more and more.
And at his party when they opened the door to the first playroom and Luke charged in like he owned the place, I teared up.
First trip down the slide with Andrew. Andrew is his very favorite friend at school. And Andrew is so brave on the inflatables it really helps Luke to follow him and try new things.
While jumping and sliding, Luke saw Mimi come in and ran over to give her a hug.
More birthday fun and silliness.
I actually went through this obstacle course with him, but threatened the life of anyone who attempted to photograph my trip.
The party crew, minus Camden and Scott who had to leave early. Look how red Luke's face is. He played so hard.
I really wanted to invite Luke's entire class and more church friends. But I know that Luke doesn't handle huge parties really well. And every person we invited was able to come. Wow! I suspect that's because Christmas festivities are over and January is usually a slower month. But I prefer to think everyone wanted to celebrate with us.
Just a few months ago, Luke was pretty terrified of blowing out candles and everyone cheering. But he marched to the front and had this little shy expression on his face while everyone sang.
He blew out his number 5 candle with gusto and smiled when everyone cheered. He hugged my legs at the loud noise, but was so brave. More tears from me.
Luke and his best buds, Andrew and Cooper. I was attempting to get everyone to look at the camera. See how well that worked out? I think this is cuter anyway.
Ready for some present opening. Love this photo.
That's Luke head you can barely see through the crowd. I just think it's pretty amazing everyone crowding around did not bother him in the least. He loved it.
Luke and his new prized possession. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa. He was very clear that he wanted a gray DS. Grandma and Grandpa had to return their first purchase, a blue DS. And thank you Mimi and Papa for the great party at Pump It Up.
I've made many comments about birthday parties being overly extravagant. But watching his little face, seeing all the kids having so much fun, I think I kind get it now. It was one of the happiest days of his life. And to see my boy understanding and loving his party and his friends was one of my greatest joys too.
2 comments:
Amy - Loved the post. And thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of the special day with "birthday buddy." After we left, Brian and I both talked about just how neat it was because of what an achievement it was for Luke, and we only have a small idea of how far he's come. I teared up just reading this post! Oh, and I REALLY hate we missed the cake. That is just hilarious!!
I teared up reading this post, too. God has brought Luke so far, and I know it is an answer to many, many prayers. He is so faithful! :)
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