That evening we had pizza for dinner (his favorite). And after Savannah got home from mutual, we had Grandma Jo and Grandpa Mike come for brownies and ice cream and presents.
Scott went to Target earlier that day and raided the dollar section to buy enough gifts that each of the kids had a present to give Aaron. Aaron was so excited about each one of the presents.
Kate decided that since she just had a birthday, she was a pro present opener, and pitched in helping Aaron open them.
I love this look Kate gave me, when I told her she should let Aaron open the present instead of her.
Aaron's big gift from us was a new bike. We made him close his eyes while Josh brought it in from the garage.
Aaron loved it!
Aaron really wanted an ice cream cake from Cold Stone. He got his wish.
I can't tell you how much I love that these two boys are best friends.
Randy gave Aaron a miniature Christus statue and a 2 dollar bill. That night as Aaron was going to bed, he asked me to put his statue on the shelf right next to his bed. He said, "I know Heavenly Father and Jesus watch over me, but now I can see this statue and always remember He is watching over me". It was such a sweet thought.
At bedtime, Aaron said, "The day went by too fast". So to prolong it just a bit more, I laid in bed with him and told him about the day he was born. I told him about his labor taking much longer than all his other sibling's. I told him how 5 hours into labor, I hadn't made much progress (I was only dilated to a 4). Suddenly my heart and blood pressure started dropping and so did his. I had to go on oxygen and get a medication injected into my IV to raise my blood pressure (and hopefully raise his). 10 minutes later he was born, and the nurses explained that I must have been going through transition super fast, and his little body (and mine) were in shock because it happened so fast.
After telling him the story, I brought Aaron out to the computer and showed him pictures of the day he was born. After looking through quite a few pictures, Aaron very seriously asked, "Mom, do you think because I had a hard time being born and my heart got slow, do you think that's what made me have Sensory Processing Disorder?" I wanted to cry. I have asked myself a million times what I did to cause him to have this. Did I not eat the right things when I was pregnant? Was it complications with his birth? Was it because I didn't know he had a milk protein intolerance till he was a year old?
I looked my sweet little 9 year old in the face, and I told him what I honestly have come to believe over the past three years. I said, "I don't think it was because of your birth. I think you have Sensory Processing Disorder because Heavenly Father wanted you to have it. He gave it to you so you could learn things that you wouldn't learn any other way. He wanted you to learn to work hard and not give up. He wanted you to learn to love people for who they are, no matter how different they may be. He wanted you to be sensitive and sincere and loving. And you are all of those things because you have Sensory Processing Disorder." I have never wanted Aaron to fell like his SPD was a bad thing. It's definitely a hard thing, but not a bad thing. I have never wanted him to feel ashamed of it or feel like he had to hide it from others. It is such a part of who he is, and I adore who he is. This was the first time I'd heard him question why he has it. I don't know why Heavenly Father gives us the challenges that he does, but I know He loves us and wants what is best for us. I look at Aaron, and I am so proud of how far he has come. He is such a blessing to our family!
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