Jaren, I'm your # 1 fan!

Jaren turned 7 on Saturday. He has been anticipating this event since Christmas. My son has a Lego star wars obsession to put it lightly, and he just couldn't wait to get his hands on some more Lego sets. Jaren has always been like this with his birthdays. And I would always try to make it more then just about presents. I thought by having a party with friends and games and birthday festivities it would take the focus off of the one thing he couldn't stop thinking about. Sometimes I would insist on the guests not bringing gifts. It didn't seem to matter either way. He isn't really a social butterfly so he really never had any true friends to invite. They were always his Church primary class because I was friends with their moms. And as hard as I would try he never seemed to have fun on his birthday until the gifts were opened and it was time to play with them. This year was different, FINALLY!! He still doesn't have a lot of friends but the two he has are good ones. Ones from church and ones from school. He wanted both of them to come to a big birthday party at our house. But two friends doesn't make for a big party. So I suggested going somewhere. Unfortunately, the only place open around here for kids on Saturdays is Chuck-E-Cheese. A parents worst nightmare. But kids love it.So we picked up his friends and headed down to north little rock. It was fun to hear him laugh and socialize with his friends. Really this is something new for us. And it turns out he's quite funny. He had a blast with his friends and all the kids enjoyed Chucks place. When we got home it was time for presents. It used to be all that he could think about but this time he was content to wait until the end of the day. This is really a big deal. The fact that he could focus on being with friends instead, was huge for him. This is true progress. He's getting older and I think is starting to deal better with his obsessions and self soothing tendencies. I'm so proud of him and glad that he had a great time. I think it's safe to say this small, dinky birthday was the most successful one we have had. And I know his favorite so far.

I wanted to get other presents for him to open that wasn't Lego's because it just doesn't seem healthy to feed his obsession. But if we spent a lot of money on things he is not interested in then it's a waste. So I decided to just get small, inexpensive things like..... a BIG candy bar, his very own cup, some stickers, some star wars PJ's, things like that. And he couldn't open them all at once. He could only open one every hour until we left for his party. At first when I told him he had presents starting at 9 am and going all day I could see the (oh so) familiar excitement in his eyes. I had to prep him by saying that these things were not Lego's but small gifts just for fun. And that his big gift was coming after his party. I was proud of myself for thinking of this because I think it helped him to keep his focus off of what he knew was coming. I think it also helped him to wait as long as he did. It helped him but it was still him who accomplished it. I'm just so proud.

My dear sweet Jaren. I know that life can be hard sometimes. That you have things consuming your mind to the point where it is hard to focus on anything else. I know this is a struggle for you. But I am truly proud of the way you are dealing with it. You have come a long way Jaren. I am so happy with the way you are growing and improving. I hope you never forget how special you are. How you put a smile on my face when you walk into a room. How your hugs fill my soul with joy. How important you are to this family. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make your life as easy as I can and as fulfilling as possible. You deserve all that I can give and more. Your our sweet Baby J still, no matter how old you get. And we will love you always. Happy Birthday.