BIRTHDAY BOY!

Yes, Casey turned 1 today.  Wow - a whole year has gone by!   He quite enjoyed his little boy birthday cake - made with love by Kim Case.  He gobbled it up in no time.

It was a great day altogether.  We spent the morning at a park in Newcastle where our church had a community barbeque.  It was great - my niece Krissy and I took both boys (which is no small endeavor!)  Everyone helped out - we had hot dogs, hamburgers, had our faces painted, and Casey got lots of birthday hugs.  Such fun. 

Then it was 3 hours of ABA therapy for Cody - who did great, by the way!  He's working on pointing to "elmo's" picture and identifying that's Elmo!  He's also working on stacking rings, pushing buttons of musical books (we covered the buttons with velcro so he'd have a tactile sensation when he pushed it.)  He also working on the first shape in a shape sorter.  And much more...the cool thing is that he no longer needs edible rewards (cookies, granola bars) to do his work!  Now he does his "work" (stacking rings on a ring stacker) just because he knows it's "work time!"  He gets little sensory rewards throughout - beads to play with - a koosh ball to handle.  But he's really moving right along! 

After ABA Kim dropped off a yummy birthday dinner of teriyaki chicken and salad - with the above mentioned cakes!  Yummy home made frosting with powdered sugar.  Thanks, Kim!!  Here's a photo of Kim, Krissy, and the b-day boy!

So we had our great dinner, Casey had his cake and ate it too, and now the boys are asleep (almost) and I finally have a minute to myself to write this entry!   

I wanted to add that our church will be having a free barbeque the rest of this week!  There's hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, drinks...face painting...a lego booth...puppet shows...stage shows...it's so much fun.  And the best part?  FREE!  :)

We'll be there Friday and Saturday.  It's just a no hassle, free event for anyone at the park.  I'd love to see you there if you live in the area!  Tomorrow it's at Robinswood Park in Bellevue.  Friday at Newcastle Beach Park.  Saturday at Lakemont Park in Bellevue.  This link has directions and details:  www.calvarychapeleastside.com.  If you come on Friday or Saturday please say hi to us - we'll be there friday from about 11 - 1:30 and saturday about the same.  We just hang out - feed our faces - push the boys on the swings - dip our toes in the water - and enjoy. 

That's it for now.  Today we are celebrating Casey - and thanking the Lord every second that he's so healthy, happy, and that he's ours!  His big brother even kept the big seizures away for Casey's birthday!  Now THAT'S a cool present!

with love,

shawna