Come Join the Swarm

Paxton had his big birthday bash today. It was such a great way to celebrate him turning one as well as acknowledge all the trials and tribulations that he had overcome. What a remarkable little guy. For his first birthday, he had a bug themed party. This, of course, was in honor of him being known as "the bug". The decorations were made to make the guests feel like they were outside. There were areas that looked like grass with flowers strewn about and bugs crawling everywhere. There were also ladybugs and bumblebees flying around. All of the food was insect related. He had bug infested cupcakes, dirt cake with worms, bug shaped brownies, chips to dip in bug guts con queso, bug juice punch, cocoon shaped cookies, ants on a log, caterpillar shaped sub sandwiches, a variety of different munchable larvae, and much more. The cake for all of his guests was decorated to resemble a ladybug and his very own special birthday cake resembled a bumblebee. The fact that the icing was yellow and black would make it extra interesting when it was time for him to dig in. Even his birthday outfit was made just for this occasion. Susanne's good friend, Brandy, handmade a shirt with the number one, a snail, and his name on it. She made him a reversible bib with a cupcake on one side and the letter 'P' on the other side. She surprised Susanne by including a party hat that matched everything and a handcrafted plate for his birthday cake to sit upon. She really knew how to make Paxton's day even more memorable. It was the perfect touch. As guests arrived, his gift table filled up quickly with parcels of love from all of his favorite people. Each one with its own special meaning. Everyone was so thoughtful with their choice. Paxton was one lucky boy. Each child got a head bopper to wear during the party. The little girls had ladybug antennae and the little boys had bumblebee antennae. Everyone looked adorable with the new addition. Susanne and Scott started off the party with a few games for the children. They had all of them line up to play the bug toss. The goal of the game was to try to toss a ball through the holes on the front of the board. Each cut out had a different point value associated with it. Each child got to attempt to score points about fifteen times a piece. At the end, whomever had the highest number of points won. Everyone got prizes, but the biggest one went to the winner. They also had a spider leg ring toss. The goal for this game was to try to toss five rings on any of the spider's eight legs. The person with the highest number of successful throws won. Later, the children went on a bug hunt. They had to search around high and low to look for the insects that were hiding out. Whomever found the most creepy crawlys was declared the winner. After all of the fun games, Scott had everyone gather into the main room. He had prepared a video to highlight the first year of Paxton's big adventure. It was the first time that anyone had seen any of the videos that Scott and Susanne had taken of Paxton. It was a nice way for them to see some of what their journey had been like and how a lot of Paxton's firsts were celebrated a little differently than most babies. It was very emotional, but reason to rejoice. They had all come such a long way. Even though they had an even longer road ahead, they were so thankful to still have their baby boy alive and fighting. Once the video was finished, it was time to really celebrate and for Paxton to get down and dirty. He was fresh from a nap so they knew he would be ready. Susanne lit the candles and everyone sang at the top of their lungs. After Paxton made a wish and the candles were blown out, he was free to dig in. He initially just patted the cake with his hands. Eventually he brought his hands to his mouth. One taste of that icing and he was sold. He kept his hand in his mouth for a long time. He used his tongue to lick the sugary sweetness. He did much better than expected, especially since he didn't eat anything by mouth with the exception of the pureed foods during therapy. He was one happy birthday boy. It was so entertaining to watch him destroy his cake. It took him a while to get started, but once he got the hang of it, the cake had no chance. Once Paxton was all cleaned up, it was time to open presents. Paxton's cousin, Parker, helped him. He would pick out which one Paxton should open next and help him tear into it. Susanne and Scott were overwhelmed with the generosity of their family and friends. They were so lucky to have such awesome people in their lives. As the party came to an end, Paxton was ready for another nap. He said farewell to all of his guests and handed all of his friends their party favors. He had picked out a small flower pot and filled it with a pouch of flower seeds to plant in the spring, Create-A-Bug fruit snacks, Bug Bite crackers, ladybug bubbles, a magnifying glass to hunt for bugs, and an insect finger puppet that could also function as a pencil topper. The party was a huge success. Years from now, Paxton would be able to look back on all of the pictures from that day and know just how very much he was loved.