Our Dream Come True: Baker is Three!

Showing posts with label Baker is Three!. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Meeska Mouska Moo - Baker's Third Birthday Celebration!

We had the best time celebrating Baker's third birthday!

With James Barrett being due the week after Baker's special day,

we decided to celebrate a few weeks early.

Our goal was to make the day a perfect celebration of our boy and for our boy.

Meeska, Mouska, Moo - ission accomplished.

I called on my dear friend Toodles (aka Pinterest),

and had a blast throwing together a special party for my favorite Mousketeer.

After finding a similar invitation I loved on Etsy that I'd have to sacrifice one of my boy's college educations to fund, I decided to make the invitations myself.

They were one of my very favorite parts of the party planning.

I used a black sheet of poster paper, a Mickey Mouse stencil, red felt, white buttons, and party deets printed on white cardstock.

I just love how cute they turned out!

My friend Leslie, who blogs over at Lamberts Lately,

had a similar-themed party for Emma Ramey last year.

She had several printables that made creating the menu, printables, and party décor

easy peasy!

We served Hot Diggity Dogs, Plutato Chips, Daisy's Garden Veggies, Donald's Cheese and Quackers, and Clubhouse Cupcakes.

Friends and family make all celebrations more special.

We are so thankful for the ones who make our lives a little sweeter.

May all of your wishes forever come true!

After each gift he opened, Baker acknowledged the giver and signed thank you.

Oh my heart, be still.

We continued the celebration with family, friends, and Baker's buddies at school.

He loved the almost-month-long birthday hoorah!

And I loved seeing his joy each time Happy Birthday was sung,

each candle was extinguished,

and each wish was whispered.

Happy Birthday, Baker Boy!

Monday, May 11, 2015

Happy Birthday Baker!

You were my first.

My first midnight lullaby.

My first feeling of my heart beat outside of my body.

My first breath of a scent so sweet.

My first slobbery baby kiss.

My first sweet pea sneeze.

My first drowning gaze into the most captivating almond eyes.

My first translation of a perfectly understandable jibberish jargon.

My first celebration of wobbly steps.

And then my first "Oh my God, he can walk. Our lives will never be the same."

My first time to be called the name I want to be called for a lifetime of forevers.

My first one, two, three, jump! And my second, third, and four hundred thirty-seventh.

My first "lub oooo."

My first experience of loving someone so much my heart threatened to burst.

Our second will be arriving soon.

We will love him. We will celebrate him.
He will be the perfect addition to our little family.

Oh how our hearts have grown to make room for two little boys.

But you, my three year old Baker Boy, will always be our first.

And today, we celebrate the overwhelming joy that is all of you.

Happy Third Birthday!

From the top of your head,
to the tips of your toes,
and all of your sweet spots in between,
your mommy loves you.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Differently-Abled Toddler Gift Guide - Three Year Old Style

As a little girl, I remember curling up in front of the fire with my brown-haired, pink-lipped Madame Alexander doll, Lucy, in one arm and the Sears Christmas catalog in the other. My hair was probably wound tightly in pink curlers and I was likely wearing some type of flannel pajamas. I’m sure I was draped with my tattered blanket and my blue pillow was tucked somewhere nearby. A parent or sibling was surely within earshot, as I often squealed in delight and shouted with glee with each turn of the silky printed page.

Christmastime was my favorite. I loved dog-earing the pages (don’t tell Mrs. Hudson, my elementary librarian) and circling (certainly don’t make her privy to that part) the items perfectly perfect for all of my people. I’ve always loved the hunt for the just right gift.

As Baker’s birthday draws near, and as he is one of my most very favorite people, I delight in scouring books and Internet sites, talking to his teachers and therapists, and determining the perfectly perfect gifts for him.

It’s hard to believe he’s almost three.

The more I research, and the more I learn; the more I observe, and the more I inquire, the more I realize he wants what every almost three year old wants. He desires what every almost three year old desires.

He desires play.

He desires unhindered, all out, hurt your belly laughing, get the hiccups for days, make you bust a move, pink cheeked fun.

Here are some things I know. Baker has Down Syndrome. He has different abilities. Baker is a boy. He is wild. He is a toddler. He loves life. Baker is silly. He loves to play and have fun. He is mine.

But that’s way out of order.

Here’s how it really goes.

Baker is mine.

He is a wild and silly almost three year old boy who happens to have Down Syndrome.

Some of his abilities are different, but that doesn’t change his love for life, for play, for fun.

In fact, I think it allows him to love them more.

When I shop for a gift, or look for the perfect toy for my boy, I go to Target.

Or Amazon.

Toys 'R Us is our jam.

And don’t even get me started on the lovefest I have with consignment sales.

We go to the museum and zoo together.

We order the same Starbucks delicacy and read the same books off of the shelves and then are distracted by the same train table at the same Barnes and Noble.

Baker is like any other child, he has just been blessed with a little something extra.

For that reason, sometimes, unbeknownst to him, our play is purposeful.

He doesn’t know we’re doing anything any differently.

And by simply watching, you probably wouldn’t either.

When I think about buying for Baker, I use a real scientific method. It’s fourfold.

First.

I rate its fun factor. If it’s not fun, it doesn’t matter how practical or skill-building or purposeful it is. If it isn’t fun, it is not coming to our house.

Second.

I test its durability. Seriously. He’s almost three. And “childproof” has proven time and again not to be Bakerproof. I have already put a call in to a few key distributors, as he would be a phenomenal product tester. I kid you not. The kid can unscrew the unscrewable, break the unbreakable. If it cannot withstand the strength of mine, it can stay on the shelf.

Third.

I consider the price. Children are children. They break things. They lose things. They learn how to unroll the car windows and throw things out of a moving vehicle only to be squished to smithereens by another traveler on I-459. They become disinterested. They feed their toys to the Golden Retriever in the backyard whose stomach is the Bermuda Triangle.

Fourth.

I assess its ability to progress his mental, physical, or emotional growth. Some things we buy, don’t. But most toys, especially if you get creative, can be used to enhance a child’s development.

These are some of my favorites for my favorite almost three year old.