Train Party Success!!!

So, this started out as just a regular train party, not Thomas the Tank Engine. Then I realized just how hard it was to find coordinating items for a basic train theme, so Thomas it was. I did, however, take it upon myself to create a train out of cupcakes, what do you think??

Birthday recap...

Disclaimer: Yesterday I decided not to be a photographer...instead I became a MWAC (Mom With A Camera) so please excuse the quality of these pics!!

Yesterday was a pretty good day for the new 2 yr old in our house. That morning, we watched his favorite movie, Finding Nemo, and had a picnic style lunch on the living room floor...



Sweet potatoe fries for lunch...his favorite and one of the only things I can be sure he will eat. FWIW, He had V-8 Fusion in his sippy, so he did get a serving of fruit and veggies, unbeknownst to him ;) I was going to let him skip his nap if he wanted, but when he started to get irritable and bang his head on things, I knew he needed his nap, so to his room he went and I went to the kitchen to bake his cupcakes...



Daddy got home soon after. J usually takes 3-3.5 hour naps (lucky me, I know!!) but I thought it would be sad for him to sleep so long on his birthday, especially since he went to sleep at 1:30 meaning he probably wouldn't be up until 5. I figured a 2 hour nap would be enough for him, so I decided to wake up a child who HATES having his sleep disturbed, thinking that the sight of cupcakes and gifts would take away the sting. Well...you be the judge of how that worked out...











So, I did video some of the scene, but I will spare you the footage b/c it's full of crying!! He wanted to be happy and smile, but his sleep was interrupted and he was just not a happy camper. So I hope my mom sees this b/c she thinks I'm joking when I tell her to leave him in his room, even if you believe he's been napping too long!! He gets up when he's ready, even on his birthday! lol!

So he played with his new train set for about an hour before we got him dressed to go to Santa's Wonderland at The Bass Pro Shop. After a small mishap and a fall from the dining room chair (which was miraculously healed by some Nemo fruits snacks) we headed out the door to Santa's Wonderland. It was BEAUTIFUL.

First, J wrote a letter to Santa...





Then Daddy helped him to mail it to Santa...


Then he got to sit on the big guy's lap!


Then he just ran free in that beautiful wonderland! He played games, hid in tents and even got to sit in Santa's rocking chair.



Then he caught a ride on a 4 wheeler, which I warned Daddy I will never allow at our home!



Finally, to end a perfect night, we took J to Cracker Barrel for some pancakes for dinner! He cleaned his plate :) His tummy was so full that he barely made it home with both eyes open. What a great day! Today we head out to my parents' house for his big train party on tomorrow!! Happy Birthday J! Thank you for filling our lives with so much joy!

Happy 2nd Birthday J!!!

Remember....

Santa's watching!!

Birthday Preview...

Can't believe my baby will be 2 yrs old on Thursday!! I ordered this storyboard to decorate his cake table with. He will be dressed in that attire...our little Conductor!!

Our little family

Gingerbread family that is!! We decided to start our holiday family traditions now that J is old enough to participate and help out. We go out and pick a tree on the day after Thanksgiving and the head to the store for each of us to get a new ornament. Last year we did the same and the plan is that eventually our trees will be decorated with our own personal ornaments, which all have some sort of personal meaning to us. Last year, J's ornament was Elmo of course. I'm sure you can guess what it is this year...Choo Choo!! Well, then we head home to set up the tree. Turn on some christmas music...and bake gingerbread men!! Talk about fun! And J was so happy to help out...









And here is his finished product...



And all of the cookies together :)






Before bed, we all sat on the couch to eat a cookie. J was so happy to play with his creation but was confused when we started to eat ours! He just kept looking at us and looking at his cookie. He got a taste of the icing and that was that! LOL! I can't wait for the time to come when J starts looking forward to our traditions!

Now an update on his SI...GREAT NEWS!! He was FINALLY referred to an occupational therapist who specializes in SI. PRAISE GOD! The SLP was coming weekly and soon noticed his sensory behaviors. In fact, every single session has gone exactly like this one went. So this morning when she came in, she noticed the HUGE blisters all over J's fingers. Last week during therapy, it was nice outside so we decided maybe a change of scenery would help him a bit so we went to the backyard where he found a little elmo car he'd lost a while ago. He picked it up and walked over to the porch to play with it. Then he bent down and started counting. The therapist and I walked over to see what he was doing and there were ants all over both his hands (they were coming out of the car). I was so confused b/c I didn't think they were red ants since he wasn't screaming or brushing them off him. He just sat there counting them, as they OBVIOUSLY bit his hand up. I brushed them off him and threw the car away and J never ever complained about his hands. A few days later his hands had blisters all over. Now they are huge and filled with fluid, in fact, you can see some of them in the pictures above. The therapist asked me this morning if he's been complaining about the blisters. I told her I don't even think he notices them. Now if you've ever been biten by an ant, you know it! He was bitten several times and is not bothered. That screams sensory...along with his excessive need to chew things, his head banging, his tantrums when he sees food, along with other issues he's been having lately. So the speech therapist told me that she spoke with an OT last week about J and she will have the OT contact me to set up times to come by and work with J. I am so relieved. I think this will also help with his speech therapy b/c he will probably be able to concentrate longer and not tune his therapist out after 10 minutes. I am so very hopeful for his future!