My Autistic Boy And Other Adventures In Fatherhood

 I forgot one funny from last weekend.

After the birthday party and the trip to Target, the fam and my parents sat down for a dinner at home.  We asked Demetrius to say the prayer (hoping to discuss the presents, friends, etc..from the birthday)…instead he says:

“I don’t want to move to Kentucky. I want to stay in Georgia.“

Ouch!

Sorry kid…the gods are against you on this one….

Sweet:

Marie is actually the American Girl doll ‘Julie’ a child of the 70s.  So we picked out her bedroom set for Maya’s birthday.  Here it is.  The record player actually plays songs from Chicago, Gordon Lightfoot and such - what a hoot.

Thanks to Nonni Cheryl, Grandpa, Aunt Francine and Uncle Jimmy, Nanny Joan, Poppy, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Cam and Aunt Pam and Uncle JC for kicking in for all the accessories and the bed and stuff.

Have I told anyone recently, American Girl stuff ain’t cheap?

But it is loved….

Oh, and Maya’s friends were way jealous…so it is even better when your friends want it…. and you’ve got it.

Tomorrow its the big 39. I don’t feel 39. Except at, like, 10:30pm at night (both nights of the year I’m up that late). For some reason my ankles and lower back just start aching at that hour, and my response time drops very quickly.

But other than that I’m still the same guy I was 15 years ago.

So what, you ask, what am I doing for my 39th birthday? I like to say I’m getting ‘in touch with reality.’

Kim has a friend from college (one of her bestest friends, as Maya would say) who lives in Denver is flying in with her five year old son. I’ll be watching Charlie (the child’s name) and my two while Kim and her friend go out to see Sex And The City.

You know, they haven’t seen each other, “In, like, forever…” and I have a birthday every year.

I like to keep it real.

I think we’ll go swimming, and then we’ll grab some food somewhere. Maybe pizza for the kids.

Can’t be too late though - I don’t eat cheese any more and spicy red sauce I can’t take after about 8pm or it gives me too much hearburn.

So many of you wondered how I would follow up the 100 pink balloons for Maya for Demetrius…..

Well, how about giant Spider-Man Fathead!

So Kim and I hung it above his windows last night as he snoozed in our bed. Afterwards, I moved him back to his….

I flipped the light at 6:00 am this morning, sang happy birthday and as he scratched his eyes yells, “WOOK! A GIAANNT SPIDAH-MAN!”

Maya came running in, it scared her a bit…and Demetrius just said after I clicked this shot, “I love it!”

Really, that’s all I needed to hear…..

More pictures to come from Demetrius’ birthday weekend….

Tomorrow is Demetrius’ birthday. I can’t believe he’s turning 8 years old. As I write every year on the kids birthdays, it seems just like yesterday I was holding them for the first time…..

Many of you wondered what I would be doing for Demetrius for his birthday surprise….as Maya woke up on her last birthday with 100 balloons with the number six on them on the floor of her room…not to worry, I’ll be posting pictures of Demetrius’ surprise for when he gets up in the morning. Let me just say it will work out great for him.

He also is having a few friends spend the night on Saturday after his party. The cutest is that his aide at school, Ms. Jones, has been invited to spend the night too. Of course, she felt it appropriate that she decline the offer, though she was honored to receive it from him…

Pictures to follow tomorrow….

Read here in the Boston Globe about how autism is involved with the premiere of tonight’s Eli Stone on ABC…all about shots and causing autism…hmmmm…fanning the flames? Not really, just dramatic license to make a story line more relevant…Law and Order has been doing this for years…