31

I recently celebrated my 31st birthday. Which is weird, because I swear I'm only 25. Ha.

I had these big plans to meet up with friends at a local (huge) corn maze... at night with flashlights. I just knew it would be so much fun and was looking forward to it for weeks. Only for Noah to get strep throat the day before.

womp womp.

So yeah, we of course cancelled it and spent the weekend trying to figure out how to get Noah to actually swallow his antibiotics instead of squirming, crying, and spitting it out (we eventually opted for a shot instead).

But it's okay. I think I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that birthdays don't like me. Last year, if you remember, was probably the worst birthday ever. Nobody was around to go out with me, and I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks. We tried to make the most of it and go to the beach, but Noah refused to sleep the whole weekend. That and he pooped all over Brad in the ocean. Super fun.

However, I ended up spending my birthday with those most important to me. On my actual birthday, Brad cooked me an amazing dinner. Chase also came over and brought cupcakes from a local bakery. While we were hanging out upstairs later on, he went downstairs and came back with a cupcake, candle, and sang happy birthday to me. I swear sometimes guys really do make the best friends.

The next day, we went to my grandparents for dinner with my family. Chase came too and got a few family pictures of us. I'm trying to be better about asking people take pictures with me in them. Sure, there are bound to be blurry ones, but I don't even care. I've been documented in moments with my family, and that makes me really happy.

So no, my 31st birthday wasn't quite what I'd pictured, but it was still perfect.

Last birthday post, I swear

Normally, since it's already September (yay!), I would just skip over this last birthday post of Noah's. Except that a moment at this party caused Brad and I to want to cry (for a good reason). So I have to document.

We meet at my grandparents' house with the majority of my dad's family once a month to celebrate everyone's birthdays. In August, we have Noah, my little brother, and my uncle.

This is my dad's "baby" brother. He's about 6'4" and the youngest of the four of them. Crazy, huh? haha

 

After dinner, we usually gather around in the kitchen and sing happy birthday. All Noah wanted was some ice cream, so my dad had already gotten him set up in the dining room when it was time to sing. They went ahead and sang to my uncle and brother. And instead of just moving on and assuming Noah would be fine, they picked up his cupcakes, gathered around him in the dining room, and sang happy birthday again, just for him.

 

He just looked around at everyone, amazed that they were singing to him. It was such a sweet moment. My family is awesome.

Outside, they have a wooden porch swing attached to my granddaddy's workshop/garage. We've been working on strengthening his core muscles. He hates to use them, but that swing? It's the best workout for him, and he doesn't even realize it. He no longer leans back the whole time. He now holds himself up, even when it changes direction.

And he's finally letting some of the family members love on him beyond just a quick hug and kiss. My cousin's wife Breanne soaked this moment up for sure. She told me how she's been waiting so long for Noah to let her love on him and this totally made her night.

So now you see why I couldn't just skip this one. There's just too much sweetness to ignore. My family has just amazed me with how much they love Noah and accept him for who he is. We're all pretty country, and several of them didn't know anything about Autism when he was diagnosed. But instead of being weird around him, they've done the exact opposite. Even my granddaddy, who is a total strong-Southern-man type, tries to interact, love on, and encourage Noah anytime he can. It's really sweet.

My family is awesome.

Noah's Birthday Outing (in lieu of a party)

Once we decided not to do a friend party this year, I knew exactly where I wanted to take Noah for his birthday. I used to take my little brother and sister there when they were kids, and they always had the best time.

The cool part is that you don't have to be a member to swim. They offer day passes for non-members. It's not super cheap, but definitely affordable. Fortunately for us, Noah had on his autism shirt. I usually put it on him when we go out to potentially crowded places, just so people are a little more aware of him. Add that to the fact that he's so cute? Well, apparently that equals a big discount. Like almost $20 off the price that we should've been charged. Score.

This was the Best. Decision. EVER.

Noah had such a good time. We ended up staying for four hours, only for a brief 10 minute break to eat a snack. Other than that, he was in the water. Little man couldn't get enough.

 

I think one of the best parts of this place for me was the fact that I didn't have to play lifeguard the whole time. I mean, we act like his bodyguards constantly anyway, but because it was so shallow, I wasn't panicking every few minutes trying to keep him alive. haha.

He ended up having such a great time, that I almost feel bad for not taking him sooner. There are only a few more weeks to take him, so we've already planned on taking him at least once a week until it closes.

He's not spoiled at all...

:)

Birthday Day

We do birthdays big around here. It's mostly because we have so much family... I mean, we haven't even seen Brad's parents for Noah's birthday yet! I'm blessed that my grandparents live a really long time, and that we have so much family nearby.

It ended up being a little cloudy and cool on his actual birthday, so we decided to just hang out at home. Keep the day simple... play with toys, eat a cupcake... just be together.

The day started with his annual birthday balloon wake-up call. Pretty sure it was a total Pinterest idea, but I started doing this two years ago. It was a huge hit, so I kept it up. :)

 

 

The cute part was that he seemed to get it this year. For those of you who have kids that watch Curious George, there's an episode where they're throwing a surprise party for the Quints. One of the characters is blowing up balloons, and George yells (in monkey talk), "surprise!"

 

Well, Noah acted out that scene with the balloons. Over and over. :)

 

Downstairs, we had his birthday presents waiting for him. It took him about .3 seconds to get from the stairs to the one thing he's been obsessed with for weeks...

 

 

He got lots of practice outside, but I think we're going to have to take him to a big parking lot and let him go for it. All that turning around gets old.

 

 

And of course no birthday of Noah's would be complete without some dirt...

 

 

At one point, Noah grabbed both our hands and asked to go for a walk. So we did.

 

 

And once we got back, it was apparently time for a wagon ride. So we went.

 

 

It ended up being a perfect day. It probably helped that he got to do basically everything he asked us to do, but still... awesome awesome day.



4.

Four years.

It's been four years since this little guy made us a family.

At four years old, Noah has brought us more joy, more sweetness, and just more... everything. Everything good and right with the world can be found in my little guy's soul. He wears his heart on his sleeve, cuddling up when the mood strikes... getting a perfect frown when he scrapes his knee, whimpering, "okie, okie"... or throwing a fit when he hears his least favorite word in the world right now, "wait".

But I like that fighting spirit that's slowly showing itself lately. While it's not much fun to deal with as a parent right now? It's going to come in handy one day for him.

This little boy is amazing. While he sometimes struggles with expressing himself through verbal communication, he excels like a champ in areas like science and math. Hearing my (just now) four year old suddenly count, "three-six-nine-twelve"? Blows my mind.

He's now learning to put on his own shoes, sit up for long periods of time without leaning or propping himself up, ride a bike, make great eye contact, follow simple directions, learn "first and then", and other awesome accomplishments. Lots of small things, all adding up to big things.

Noah has taught us more about perseverance, patience, faith, and hope in these last four years than anything else. I adore this kid. I'm so happy he is who he is, and I'm forever proud to be his Momma.