What a wonderful day. I had been pretty tormented over Jake's birthday. I wanted to honor it somehow, yet I didn't want to have a big party, with the stress of family and a lot of kids, and then have Jake be in full attack mode or wanting to hide in his room. I finally decided, in the middle of the week, to ask two of our closest families of friends to come over and help us celebrate. Both families are very understanding of our situation and know Jake well, so there was no pressure for him or us. April and Nick came with their three boys and Heather brought Bridget. It was just the right number.
I ordered an organic cake from Greenlife Grocery and we had organic hotdogs and hamburgers and chips. Nothing fancy or difficult.
We all played outside, and then when it was time for lunch. Jake was too riled up to eat much, but when I mentioned birthday cake he was all over it. A boy who usually yells "NO!" and hides when people sing to him, grinned SO big my heart almost melted when we all sang happy birthday. Then he blew out the candles like a pro even though he's never done it before (I guess he's seen enough America's Funniest Videos to get the idea). He munched on the most delicious cake I've ever tasted, and then retired to his room to rest alone for a few minutes. Then it was back to playing and he opened his present from Mom and Dad... a handmade wooden treasure chest with real "treasure" inside. The kids had fun making a robot head out of the box and playing with the bubble wrap before everyone went home.
I am so glad that I decided to do something for him. Sometimes its hard to know what Jake is thinking, but I really think that he realized that today was for him. I am so grateful for our friends who helped us celebrate. They are really two truly special famlies. Of course, I was so busy the whole time that I only got two pictures.. just before he blew out the candles. The dude in the picture is Nick, who was in charge of the cake and pyrotechnics... Steve was busy consoling a sleeping baby.
Happy Birthday Jake, we love you.
