Spencer's B-Day Party: A Person's A Person No Matter How Small

I got some crummy news this morning. I considered keeping it to myself but I was concerned I wouldn't be able to show proper enthusiasm for Spencer's birthday party until I got this all off my chest. When I got to work, I had an e-mail from Spencer's speech therapist. I had inquired if he was on track and it turns out he's delayed, which surprised me a little. In expressive speech (talking), he's lagging. There are several things he should be doing around now that he's not, including saying 1 or 2 words meaningfully. In receptive speech (listening and understanding), he has all the skills of a 6-9 month old and shows constant improvement.

Now she did note that she can only go based on what she sees in therapy because she doesn't know what goes on at home. And she also noted that his vocalization improves at each appointment. But there are some things that she hasn't seen or that are just starting to emerge that cause her to say he has delays in expressive language. This breaks my heart. I know that he's behind physically as he can't sit up unassisted yet, hasn't really crawled, and his muscle tone is still weak. I know this. But I was hoping that with anything mentally linked, he'd kick ass. And I thought we were kicking ass by doing everything we're supposed to be doing. I guess we just have to work harder. This has really started my day off poorly and to say I'm disappointed doesn't even really cover it.

I'll try and keep it light now regarding Spencer's 1st birthday party.

Spencer has a Dr. Seuss themed 1st birthday party on Sunday with about 100 of his friends and family. I'm sure we could've invited many, many more but we had to be choosy based on the ginormous size of our families...so it was relatives and friends who visited Spencer during his 10 days in the hospital a year ago. There was a lot of food and a lot of fun. And luckily, after a quick morning shower, the weather was good and the kids spent most of the day in the pool.

And Spencer was a gem. Besides one little freak out when a stranger took him into a room full of strangers, he was a peach. He was passed from person to person, he sat pleasantly during his gifts (and touched each and every one, which means he liked them), and he thoroughly enjoyed his smash cake...or the frosting, at least. He was so spoiled and is one loved little guy. He is very lucky to have the people he does in his life. And we are very lucky for the exact same thing.

None of this would've been possible without my parents who helped way more than they should've had to. We really appreciate everything they did...everything everyone did to make it a great 1st birthday party. And it was nice for people to see Castle Grayskull for the 1st time. We've done a lot of work over the past few months and are proud of our home. But next year for Sullivan, PARTY HALL all the way! Ha!

And now for the party in pictures...

Party Boy getting his game face on (in Sully's room).

Everyone who came to the party was asked to sign this book. People wrote really cute and sweet things and he'll have it forever. My favorite message being from his 7 year old niece Molly which read, "Spencer: You're a good man". So true.

The candy buffet where the kids made goody bags.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes. Do NOT attempt if it's going to be even slightly above room temperature in your house. 100 people cause Thing 1 and Thing 2 wigs to melt!

We made that little guy. Not bad at all. What IS bad is that 4 cameras were going off at once so there is not ONE picture where we're looking in the same direction.

Bros.

Taking a minute before the chaos ensued!

He had a LOT of loot and was pretty pumped about everything he got. Here, he just opened "Here Come The ABC's" by They Might Be Giants. And thank Buddha because I need a break from "Here Comes Science".

Awesome rain poncho from cousin Brian. Not sure if it's a platypus or a dinosaur or a monster...or a hybrid. But it's awesome.

Happy family. 

Smashing some cake!

Having a meaningful conversation post-party with his giraffe (just like the one she had when she was little) from Aunt Bizzle.

Having an Elton John moment the morning after.

So there you have it. Spencer's 1st birthday party has come to a close. We accomplished everything we wanted to and now, we officially have 7 weeks (well, 6 weeks and 6 days, to be exact) to try and relax. Tomorrow, my baby boy will officially be 1 year old at 3:53pm. He has to make a pit-stop at the Oncology clinic and then he gets to have a fun day with mommy and daddy. I'm really looking forward to it. It's been a Hell of a year. Thanks to everyone who has been a long for the ride!