What can I say...

about my little Bear. This birthday tribute is a little late, but just as heartfelt.

This is one handsome fella!! Is he not the cutest thing?!

Little J has the cutest smile (if you catch the dimples, they're from me) and most contagious giggle. This is one of my favorite things about him. It's infectious. He is a kid who wakes up early and chooses things to do like play quietly, unload the dishwasher, practice piano or read books before the rest of us make an appearance. He also follows the rules of staying in bed at night but looks at his Where's Waldo books in the dark until he's ready to sleep. We let it go because he stays in bed. My little buddy is not a complainer either. At least usually. For his birthday lunch I took him out to a place that has a pager. I told him all about watching for the lights to come on in a circle and that will tell us our food is ready. He was really excited about that! We sat waiting patiently for our food to be ready. He held on to that pager, barely taking his eyes off it while we chatted.

Getting silly while waiting for our pager

I started to notice a plate up on the counter that hadn't been taken by several people and continued to sit there. I finally began to wonder if it was perhaps ours and our now much anticipated birthday lunch pager didn't go off. I went up to the counter and sure enough it was ours. A manager happened to be right there and I don't like to waste food so I tested the food and it was still warm enough but mentioned that we were disappointed our pager didn't light up. Well, we went back to our table and ate and he acted like nothing disappointing had happened. But here I was trying to gauge how he felt and thinking, man this is his birthday lunch! We almost never go out to eat and never just me and my little man and he's going to go home and say, "our pager didn't light up" even though he never showed typical 5-year old disappointment. Well, I decided that just couldn't happen. I asked first if he was sad about our pager not lighting up and he said yes so I suggested we ask if someone can't help us out. He was all for that. I guess in some ways I'd hoped he wouldn't be. Complaining isn't my strong suite either. But, I guess my desire to make my little birthday boy happy outweighed my anxiety to get out of my comfort zone and ask for a favor. I went back to the same manager and said he was disappointed our pager didn't go off and asked that if we could perhaps get a pager that would just light up for him then that would make his day. After she agreed we thanked her and told her that would make him happy, especially because this is his birthday lunch. She came back with a pager and said that she put a to-go mac and cheese on the house for him. Boy, did that make his day!! And it made mine too to know that me going out of my way to make him happy was appreciated by him. That it did indeed make him happy. And our beeper did come on that time and the smile and excitement on his face made it worth it! Now hopefully he won't think that kind of treatment always happens; but it is fun when it does!

Leaf fight!!!

First day of school, first day of school!

Little J is always surprising me. I worried about him starting preschool this past fall. In fact, if he were too much younger I wouldn't have considered it because it is full day every day. I spoke with the teachers, the same from B's year, talked to the school nurse about him and thought A LOT about it. But, he's done very well with it and has made a lot of new friends. Boys! He has sisters at home, girls in his church class and he does really well with that and likes them but this gives him a chance to play with someone who may think a little more like he does. The first day of school I hovered a little during lunch time. I worry with his allergies that he may feel different or not included. And obviously at the same time I worry about his safety. The nurse and I had spoken several times about him, so she had it more in her head who this kids was mostly, and I had talked about wanting him to safely eat with the rest of his class. They were kind enough to come up with a solution that seems to work pretty well. They wheel over a desk every day and put it at the end of the table so he can sit with his class but still maintain at least a nut allergy safety zone. Well, I was in the cafeteria when his class came in and he right away sat down and he just opened his bag and started eating. No big deal mom. We went to an orientation a few days prior and he seemed to really want to be in the right place at the right time. He didn't want to miss anything important that he needed to know. Every day he comes home and tells me about his day and at least for several months and still sometimes he held my hand walking from the bus stop to home. It is so sweet. He craves my attention when he gets home. He'll often quickly volunteer if I ask if anyone wants to help do dishes or set the table or play a game. I hope he always likes to hang out with his momma!

My little birthday buddy

The Community Pool for lessons. Not his favorite summer activity.

At the Jersey Shore Beach

At the zoo

Sometimes it seems like birthday celebrations around here last for weeks. Celebrating on the day with a choice of food, streamers, etc. with just our fam, birthday party with friends, birthday lunches, cards and phone calls, and now school cupcakes. It's never ending. But, at the same time, I truly celebrate each day I have with kiddos and this time of year especially my little buddy and his sweet presence in our home. I guess with him I do think about this more. Every day he goes off to school I have to give myself a pep talk, "no, he's not going to be exposed to one of his allergies, not tell anyone and have problems". Every time we go out to eat I'm watching him like a mother hen I suppose, seeing if there are any allergic reactions. Every time he gets winded running or coughs or says he has a sore throat I worry that it's possible we have a hospital bed to get to soon. Thankfully, nothing big has happened in the last 2 years but it's a chance that could happen any day. And trying to balance my feelings on it to be appropriate (not crazy lady and not apathetic either) can sometimes be hard. I suppose seeing him suffer so much and complain so little has given me a special place in my heart for him. I love my little bear dearly and think the world of him. Happy Birthday little man!!!