Five Years Old!

January 29th marked Jonas's 5th Birthday!

Thankfully we chose to do much of the celebrating the day before because as his birthday progressed Jonas became increasingly lethargic. It took effort just to convince him to open his presents and eat his dinner. In fact, this is how he spent most of the afternoon.


So, let's focus on Saturday, shall we? It was a much happier day fitting for my amazing boy.

I had debated if we should have a party or not. I wanted to celebrate but last year Jonas seemed a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing and didn't participate in any games, he preferred to sit and play with his friends. So this year I decided to simplify and invite a few families over for dinner and let the kids play. While it wouldn't be your typical birthday party, I knew Jonas would love it.

Clara was so excited the night before the party to help out. I let her stay up late to help me make the cake. I then told her it was time for bed and she looked at me in disbelief. "All you are doing for his birthday is making a cake?" she asked. "Yes, last year I think he was a bit overwhelmed by everything so I am simplifying this year" I replied. The look on her face made me second guess everything and I felt like the worst mother! My party plans were not going to fly with my 7 year old. She suggested we get out our 4th of July streamers and hang those up with the balloons I had purchased. We got out the "decorations" and after about 10 minutes she was satisfied. We then colored a picture of a soldier together (Jonas is currently very obsessed with British soliders) and made a hat that could be used in a game of "pin the hat on the soldier". (And yes, he has abnormally short legs - I've never claimed to be an artist!!)


There. I satisfied my daughter with a cake, decorations and a game. I'll have to remember her expectations next time I plan any parties. When we were all done and she was headed to bed she told me how happy Jonas would be to see the decorations in the morning and how excited she was for him. I'm glad she at least had his best interest at heart.

Sure enough, Jonas was excited to see everything when he woke up and after playing all morning, we took Jonas to McDonalds for lunch - his favorite.

Just before the party, I took Jonas outside to get some pictures of my handsome 5 year old.



When I was done, I turned around to see this face looking at us.



He loved having his friends come and play. He even told everyone at school about his friend Kalysta who would be coming. The funny thing is that Kalysta is 10 - but she is such a great friend to Jonas. She is always playing with him and is so good to him, it is no wonder she is one of his favorite people. I'm pretty sure she spent the whole night doing whatever Jonas asked her to, he can be a bit bossy!! Like here where they are playing choo choo train.


Here are Kalysta and Addy with Jonas.


Speaking of bossy, I had asked Jonas what kind of cake he wanted. The answer was "Santa cake". Initially I completely refused to make a Santa cake a month after Christmas. I had many others suggestions for him but each time I was met with a response that went something like this "Do that one later. Santa now." So...I did what any good mother would do, I grumbled my way through making and decorating a Santa cake. However, upon seeing his cake he squealed with delight which made it so worthwhile! Nevermind that our party guests have now confirmed that I've lost my mind.


We had a great evening and Jonas loved it all.




The next morning we woke him up in time to find presents along our traditional string from his bedroom into the front room where he found his balloons, presents and Fruity Pebbles.


He was thrilled and after a nutritious breakfast we headed for church. This is the part where things began to go downhill. He looked exhausted and after getting him home he became very lethargic. I was sad not to be able to play his favorite games and celebrate with him but he could barely muster the energy to open presents. Here he is "smiling" at Nessie - the knitted monster made by my friend Mayka.


After skyping with friends and family he went to bed early. Not the most exciting day of all but I hope he had a wonderful weekend overall.

Jonas is such a fun child to raise. He has the ability to really try my patience but he also has the ability to melt my heart in .2 seconds. Maybe even faster. This past year he has faced difficulty with strength - both of character and body. His poor back had some serious healing to do after his infection in August. It took months. It felt like forever to all of us but he patiently held still while we'd change his dressing which was not always a quick process. Just after Christmas we were finally able to remove the bandage. Four months!!

After being down for so long it also took time for him to regain his strength but he amazed us with his willingness to work hard and is now cruising along in his walker again. In fact, last week I was making dinner and in walked Jonas. This was amazing! He had never instigated getting into his walker on his own without prompting and having a parent walk right beside him. I can't explain what huge progress this was!!


One of the most impressive qualities Jonas possesses is his outlook on life. He can make just about anyone around him smile (we've only come across a couple of incredibly crusty individuals who couldn't muster a smile - which are some of my more humorous memories) and his laugh is contagious. I am so grateful and lucky to have Jonas and I know Devin feels the same. Five years have gone by since his birth and looking back I am so proud of how far Jonas has come. Despite my efforts to work with him, I can't physically make him do anything. Everything he has accomplished is because he has decided to work hard and push himself. He is now using 5 word sentences to communicate, walking in his walker on his own and wanting to learn his letters.

Of course we are always looking towards the next goal for Jonas but I love his birthday because it is the perfect time to reflect on just how far we've come!