We celebrated Joshua's birthday, surrounded by family and friends that are just like family.
I woke up the birthday boy about a half an hour before the party began. He is so snugly and precious when he is waking up. He loves to have his cheek squished next to mine, his thumb in his mouth and his fingers stroking my cheek. Those moments are priceless treasures.
It did not take long and he was peaking out the front door waiting for his posse to arrive. He was very excited!
As our house began to fill up, he did get a bit overwhelmed. He did really well, but made sure to keep close to mommy. (I celebrate that sentence.)
The only downside of that need is that I do not have many good pictures of him opening gifts or of our guests. Daddy was busy visiting and watching the Packers game, Mommy was busy helping Joshua.
So I will give you a visual.
My boy is into detail. He likes to explore each detail of a new treasure before he goes onto the next treasure. I found him "hiding" in two different locations with his new four wheeler. He was trying to find a quiet spot in the house so he could hear what noises the four wheeler made! Poor baby is just like his mommy, he loves quiet! (Unless he is the one making all the noise that it!)
In our house we have non-traditional birthday desserts. We are just not a cake family. Joshua chose brownies! "Joshua no I love it cake! Frosting g-ross! Joshua, I love it brownies!"
So brownies it was! Before the party began, Joshua chose his favorite brownie to poke his candles into. He then hid this brownie in the pantry, to "save it for later." (He has learned that the yummy stuff disappears quickly around here!)
Near the end of his party, he was ready to eat his brownie. He did NOT want anyone to sing or look at him. He did want to blow out his candles. Then he wanted to blow out his candles again.
Finally when he had almost eaten all of his brownie, he whispered, "It OK sing Joshua. Joshua b-low candles more too.)
So I relit his candles and we sang to him.
His reaction to a group of people singing to him could be described as a "warm rock" - eyes closed to block out the too-much attention but wanting it just the same.
He knows the birthday song well by now. He popped his little eyes wide open when it came time to blow out the candles!While Joshua enjoyed his party, his favorite part of the day came when everyone went home and he could explore his gifts all by himself. (If you were here to party, do not take that the wrong way. He loves each of you. Big social gatherings are just a bit stressful and he was much more relaxed when playing by himself. Not to mention he had much more room.)
(With the addition of the basketball hoop to our family room, Joshua has dubbed it a gym. He told me, "No basement! This is Joshua gym!")
Eventually the little cowboy with new spurs had to hit the hay. It took a long time for him to fall asleep. At one point I heard him fake crying in his bed. I went to check on him asking why my baby was crying. He responded, "Joshua crying! Joshua no touch four-wheeler! Joshua need touch four-wheeler!" I reassured him that the four-wheeler would be here in the morning and told him to go to sleep. He then suggested that the four-wheeler come with us when we drive his sisters to school in the morning. So... I guess I will have an extra passenger in the morning!
Happy Birthday, sweet boy!
