Birthdays. We all have them. And our kids have them. For parents, we love to celebrate these milestones. We see how much our children have grown. We see them continue to blossom into their potential. Even when we have problems with developmental delays and issues, we STILL get to watch and amaze in the wonder of their development.
Ballerina and Music Man are turning 5. A whole hand. Half a decade. And this is happening TOMORROW!!!!! When they were first born, they were each in an isolette. They both required breathing and feeding assistance in the forms of machines and tubes. But they were still two of the most beautiful creatures that Dad and I had ever seen.
Now they run around. They taunt each other, big brother, their parents and teachers, everyone. They laugh and play. Music Man can read. Ballerina loves to dress up in her fancy dresses and shoes. We have so much to celebrate. So, this year we will!!!
Yup.....we're having a birthday party. And we are having it at the kids' gym (The Little Gym of Germantown) on Sunday afternoon. We have invited all of their classmates at both schools (plus two other children in their schools that aren't in their classes but with whom they share other school activities). We also invited the two other girls in Ballerina's dance class. When we sum that up, that totals 20 children, including our 3, all but 1 fall somewhere on the spectrum. Thus far, we are still waiting on several RSVPs (which is really annoying because I have no way of contacting those families that I haven't exhausted already), but given the numbers we know for sure, we will have upwards of 18 kids ages 3 through 6 (actual current count 9 kids, all but Big Brother on the spectrum).
I am very happy that we are doing this party outside of our home. I am already going crazy trying to think everything through and plan for everyone to have a good time with minimal meltdowns. We will have 2 cakes, one for each twin. Ballerina's will be a Princess cake made using a standard mix (or 2). Music Man's cake will be a chocolate GF/CF cake in the shape and design of a piano keyboard. Both of these will be decorated by our resident cake expert, Dad (watch for my post about the party and I'll be sure to include pictures). Whenever I speak with parents about the party, I warn them about the "Air Track" (it's like a bounce house without the house). It's one of Ballerina's FAVORITE things and we can't be without it for the party, because it is HER birthday after all. But it's LOUD. So, we are warning parents so they can be prepared (and we're ready because Music Man isn't too fond of it either). We have also made it clear that for every child there, there must be an adult staying with that child. The staff at The Little Gym is NOT trained to deal with a special needs population. But we have lucked out with the person running the party. The person taking charge of our party will be the teacher who knows both of these kids the best. She also knows Big Brother. She doesn't do many parties anymore so we didn't think it would work out like that. But she managed to get ours and we couldn't be happier about that.
And, at her suggestion, we are bringing in our own music. And when we do that, what do you think that will be? Why, LAURIE BERKNER BAND of course!!!!! We purchased the CD of their latest DVD (Party Day) and between that and several other songs that we have downloaded from amazon and iTunes over the last couple of years, we have a very happy and upbeat mix. I will be burning this compilation onto CD and bringing it to them either this afternoon or tomorrow so that the teacher can listen and work it into the party.
We've done all we can. Now we just have to let it happen. We know that we can't avoid the meltdowns -- not in our kids and not in their friends. But we have tried to fix it so that there will be as few as possible. And the gym has really been helpful at giving us suggestions and helping us make all the necessary decisions. All we can do now is sit back, relax and enjoy the party.
Yeah, relax.....right!!!!!
The only way the Freak Show Mentality, that Others have, is going to go away is for Parents to Say that their Children are (tell Others WHO your Child Is) and then say, "They have Autism."
ReplyDeleteAutism isn't your Child's First Name.