Happy 4th Birthday Matthew!

I have been wanting to get this post together now for a few days, but it’s taken me a little bit to recover from celebrating my little boy’s 4th birthday! That’s right, I said it – Matthew turned FOUR on Saturday! Wow….where did the time go? It’s amazing how birthdays bring such a flurry of emotions, ones that I never knew before I became a Mom. Chris and I were busy preparing for Matthew’s party all week last week, as well as finishing painting OUR bedroom and trying to get ready for starting in Hope’s room. On Friday night, Chris and I took a break from cleaning to look through some pictures of the journey we have taken with our son. It was amazing how we reflected on his 2nd birthday (first one home with us) and how we see pictures and smiles but yet we knew how broken our hearts were because we were grieving Matthew’ hearing loss. We also were sad because we weren’t with him on his first birthday, and we especially thought about Matthew’s first mother and how she must feel thinking about her son and what she had to go through in her life.

We have been very blessed in our lives to have friends who are so understanding AND who have taken Matthew in and loved him since the very first time they met him. You see, Matthew has that way about him. And he touches lives every single day. He may not be able to talk to you, but he knows WHO you are and how important you are in his life. He doesn’t forget anyone or anything, and his little giving heart just keeps on giving day after day. People in our lives (friends and family) have gone out of their way to figure Matthew out, to know him for WHO he is, and to walk through life beside him and beside us. We are so blessed. Of course, there are some people in life who are scared of Matthew being deaf and the fear of getting to know him because they can’t “talk” to him, but we hope hearts are changed and people’s minds are opened up as they can spend more and more time around this amazing little FOUR year old boy!

OK, so back to Friday night and Chris and I sitting together as Matthew was sleeping on the couch next to us…..we chatted about how much he had changed, had grown, and how different and wonderful our lives are now! We went from his 2nd birthday not knowing WHO Matthew was and only being his parents for a short period of time to his 3rd birthday where we had decided to invite those closest to us that helped support us through his first year home. Planes, trains, and automobiles was the theme last year – and he certainly hasn’t lost his love of those things! His playing has just changed so much now, and it’s amazing to us what he does WITH the toys now – interactive playtime vs. just running a car back and forth.

Matthew has been into Thomas the Train for the past few months, so of course we had a Thomas themed party this year – although it probably could have been a close race with Toy Story as that is up there high on Matthew’s list too! One thing that Matthew loves is balloons and we had lots of balloons there for him! In fact, Chris and I put a few Thomas decorations up Friday night when he was sleeping and he noticed them right away in the morning of his birthday. He woke up with the biggest smile on his face and lots of hugs and kisses for Chris and I. Then, he came downstairs with us and was so excited to see things hung up and his little Toy Story party blowers. He grabbed one and he BLEW IT! That’s right – he could do it this year! We had worked on blowing as a goal in speech for almost a year and he’s pretty consistent with it now! So very cool!

He helped us get ready for the party (and we were saved by Mom-Mom coming) so we could finish things up. I ran to the party store to pick up his balloons and his expression was priceless when he walked into the kitchen and saw them after I came in. He LOVES balloons! Mom-Mom also made him a special train cake with Uncle Dave and she brought his other birthday cake from home (best bakery around!) – His little eyes lit up with every little detail! Yep, we didn’t know how to say it’s your birthday, but we didn’t have to! He KNEW it was a party for him!

The weather was very cold on Saturday but the sun was shining bright! We let him go on his tricycle for a bit before people starting to trickle in! Then, the fun began! The first people there were his “big brothers” Josh and Cole and it’s so amazing to me how much of an impact they have on Matthew and have had since Matthew came home. What other 10 and 13 year olds do you know that invest their hearts in a little boy and are SO compassionate when they are with him? They know they need to get right in Matthew’s face to talk and communicate with him and they “get” him! It’s hard to describe but it melts Chris and I’s hearts and we are so lucky that Matthew has them in his life. Matthew surely loves them too!

Before we knew it, Matthew and a bunch of kids were outside playing in the back yard even though it was so cold. My brother, brother in law, Matthew’s “adoptive” grandparents and their 2 grandkids, and others were all out there having the best time. Inside, the house was filling up quickly as well. We don’t have a big house at all – and we were a little stressed about where people were going to go, but there isn’t a single person we would have left out as everyone is so important in Matthew’s little world! The food turned out great and I was proud of myself that I let other people bring some things and I ordered some food because it allowed me to not worry so much about that part of things. And, I could watch Matthew and his little expressions as he enjoyed his party.

I loved how he sat next to the other kids and interacted including “sharing” strawberries, “sharing” with other kids (it’s interesting how he’s a great sharer but not with his toys  - really, it wasn’t that bad, but him and little Ryan were funny how they interacted. And my dear friend Monica was there with her daughter Carly, and her and Ryan are both 2 ½. Matthew let Carly “help” open presents, the three of them played in the box of peanuts that our friends filled a box with! ( We WILL get them back for the mess that made Matthew got very special gifts and he even went to the extent of wearing his Thomas undies on his head and he also got new swim trunks, hat, sandals, and a swim vest and he was wearing them for the end of the party! We didn’t get it off until bedtime that night!!! With all fairness, Aunt Megs did tell us not to let him open the bag with the new swim vest in it!
So, I can’t write about his birthday without talking about his cake time – Matthew was able to blow candles out for the very first time, it melted our hearts and he was SO very proud of himself!!! What a huge moment it was for him! And we had been looking forward to that so much! Was so glad he could get them out! All that hard work in speech paid off! After he blew them out, he grabbed a spoon and helped himself, and then the other 2 little ones grabbed spoons and did the same thing – it was priceless and we all laughed so hard! Kids are amazing!

We wish the day went on forever and that we could have spent more one on one time with everyone that was there – but it was perfect. We are so very thankful for the people that love and support Matthew so much. It’s been a tough road lately for him, and what a fun way to forget all of the “labeling” and just enjoy our son turning 4!

Here are some fun things we were thinking about our new four year old:
-You can blow bubbles and candles and there is less and less spit with each attempt
-You LOVE riding in your Daddy’s truck, and would do anything to ride with him!
-You love playgrounds and can sit on a regular swing by yourself, now we just need to work on pumping those legs!
-You have gotten so tall and have had a huge spurt in your height recently! Mommy noticed most of your pants are “floods!”
-You can match colors and you know all the parts of your body!
-You can throw a temper tantrum like crazy, and then transform back into an angel like-
-You LOVE Mr. Potato Head and creating different characters with him.
-You could play with trains and match box cars all the time.
-You love to help me bake and cook – and you made some awesome cupcakes and special brownies for your IU and daycare friends!
-You love your stuffed animals and the stuffed fish at school. You have to hug him and tuck him in every night before we leave school.
-Toy Story and Veggie Tales make you giggle out loud.
-You study pictures so intently and don’t miss any details.
-One of your favorite foods is still cheese, and you love your ice cream cones!
-You love books, and enjoy signing objects from the books to us.
-You get SO proud of yourself when you do things, and you love to look at us, clap for yourself and wait for us to clap too.
-At night time, we share kisses with those big purses lips of yours, and you sign “Love you” to your Daddy and I before we leave the room

We are so proud of the precious 4 year old boy that you are, Matthew! You work so hard every day and you are such a fighter!!! We hope you had the best birthday in the world, and we loved spending time celebrating you on Saturday - and then our quiet family time on Sunday. Happy Birthday little man – you have made us the happiest parents in the entire world, and we can’t wait to see what this year holds for you!