Charlie is really into his birthday. I know, most kids are. But Charlie remembers his and shares it with everyone more and more as the date approaches. (And as soon as his birthday is over he starts telling everyone, "You know, I'm almost seven and a half. And then I'll be eight...")
Charlie's school has a new policy this year that prevents families from bringing in birthday treats. I do understand the desire to limit the amount of sugar intake happening in the classroom. Especially since we try to limit Charlie's sugar intake in general, it can be overwhelming when there is a birthday with a cupcake/donut/etc happening every week. But I'll admit that it was a little sad for me not to show up with something to celebrate his day with his class. They still did celebrate his day at school and each of his classmates wrote him a birthday wish, which we gathered into a folder for him to keep through the years.
Charlie did not have a friend party this year. Being autistic, and being Charlie, parties can be a bit overwhelming. Instead we had a nice family party. I'm hopeful that he might be ready for a friend party again next year.
Charlie chose to celebrate his birthday with dinner at McDonald's. I told him that he could eat anywhere and McDonald's was his choice. To his credit, he inhaled every last bit of his food with glee and had so much fun playing in the playland afterward. Maybe it really is his favorite place after all.
Then we came home to do presents. When I asked Charlie what he wanted for his birthday, it had only been a couple days since he wrote his letter to Santa, so he looked at me quizzically for a couple of minutes. I was about to hand him the catalogs from Target and Toys 'R Us when he started talking. "I really want to have a magic kit. I have wanted to be a magician my whole life." I had never, ever heard him talk about magic before. So I asked him if he knew that learning to do magic takes time and skill and he said, "Yes! I will work hard! I will practice! I want a magic wand and a hat and I will learn the tricks! I want to be a magician!" (Yes, they were all exclamations. If you know Charlie, you know that he almost always talks in exclamations.) So that was that, we got him a magic kit. With a hat and a magic wand.
I also searched for and found a set of books that he fell in love with at my parents house - the ValueTales books - on eBay. We gave him the set as a birthday present, and he has spent hours reading them. He was excited to receive a Perplexus just like his Dad's, and smiled at me with awe when I explained how Shrinky Dinks work.
But the surprise favorite gift of all came from Macie. It is a sketch book and a set of twistable color pencils. He loves this present and truly prizes it. It is a bit rare to see Charlie take pride of ownership in things, so this just further shows us how much he values art and the ability to collect his work.
Having cake woke Ephram, who had slept through the earlier gift opening. So, after cake, Charlie opened his present from Ephram. He was really excited to get an Angry Birds Star Wars game.
After Charlie's actual birthday, he received packages from both sets of grandparents. So he got to have second and third birthday too!
On second birthday he received a Lego headlamp. Any boy will cherish a flashlight that straps on to their head. (At least, any of my boys will.) Make it a Lego guy and you totally win Charlie over.
For third birthday, Charlie received a package of art supplies from my parents. This was a big hit... sometimes it is the simplest of things that make the best presents.
But he was so very, very excited to receive the rest of his gift - dress up clothes. A witch's hat, cat ears, a wand, and two knight costumes (one that reverses and can double as a magician's cape). The boys played with these costumes for hours that night. It was a ton of fun for them - and they've continued to enjoy them since!
This was the birthday of make believe for Charlie. A magic kit, costumes, and tons of art supplies to bring his imagination to life. Charlie had a fantastic birthday week!
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