Birthday Adventures

So, this is more than a week late, but Teddy is 6!

Birthdays are a gamble with Teddy. Will they be joyful occasions, celebrating all that he's accomplished and the fact that we've been blessed with another year of life with Teddy? That's what each birthday should be because the medical research we got with his diagnosis had a prognosis of not more than 3 years for life expectancy.

The reality, though, is that sometimes birthdays are hard. Sometimes, they're a reminder that he's another year older, which means the gap between him and his peers only increases. He's now 6, and I've still never heard the words "I love you." (Trust me, he communicates that loud and clear in other ways.)

Then, there's other years, where he's struggling to sleep, so we're all frustrated and stressed, which makes the thought of a birthday party less than appealing. That was this year. But, we still had a fantastic day, and both David and Teddy got naps, which helped greatly.

For Teddy's birthday this year, we spent his actual birthday on our land riding around, checking out the scenery and making the most of the weather between storms. For 6 hours of driving in a day, we had a great time with nearly 5 hours there playing and exploring. For Teddy, riding around in vehicles is the best thing ever, so it was a pretty cool birthday.

The birthday boy doing one of his favorite things. 

We did his party a week later, and we had a bit fewer folks than normal due to trips, work schedules and life being busy. The great thing is that Teddy is excited enough for presents, but what he really loves is all the people. He was eating up all the company and the opportunity to play with his cousins. When it came time to open presents, he wanted to direct everyone else to help open his presents to make sure they were included in the fun. That's one of the things I love about him--not that he's a little dictator--but that he loves to share his joyful experiences with others.

Teddy tries our patience daily, particularly now that he's mastered escaping out the front door through two sets of locks in less than 10 seconds. But, he has such joy for life, such determination and the ability to live in the moment. There's plenty of times that I need to channel my inner Teddy because there's so much awesomeness in that little boy who's not quite so little anymore.