And the tale of the 5th birthday continues.
So, after the party in school, and despite all our intentions, we didn't have much time to do much else. From hoping to spend the whole day with Ryan, to having to settle for half a day with him, and ending up with just a few hours after lunch and before dinner (when we had to fetch his sister), we ran out of options.
So we decided to go to IKEA.
Well, yes, ordinarily it's not the most exciting place in the world. But this was no ordinary day, and in the context of things, a trip to IKEA was pretty exciting that day.
It started a few weeks earlier when I started talking to Ryan about sleeping in his own bed. It was actually on a previous trip to IKEA that Ryan mentioned that he wanted to have a "bunk bed with a green bedsheet and an ABC blanket." He said he would sleep on the top bunk and babydoll would sleep on the bottom bunk. He wasn't completely serious about it but it was a start. I started talking to him a little bit every night about sleeping in his own bed, and he warmed to the idea. So I promised him that we would get a bunk bed for him.
And so, on that special day, we went to IKEA to get him a bed. I wouldn't say that it was his birthday gift, it was just something that we were planning on doing and it was a good chance to do it.
Before we left the house, there was some action at the art corner (our dining table). That morning, Ryan had asked to do some artwork with Richard so we made that happen for him. During this time, I was sewing up a t-shirt for Ryan. I wanted to have it done in time for the party at school, just to make his special day a little extra special. As it turned out, putting the finishing touches on the tails took up so much time that I had to settle for finishing the T-shirt when we got home from the party.
So, after the party in school, and despite all our intentions, we didn't have much time to do much else. From hoping to spend the whole day with Ryan, to having to settle for half a day with him, and ending up with just a few hours after lunch and before dinner (when we had to fetch his sister), we ran out of options.
So we decided to go to IKEA.
Well, yes, ordinarily it's not the most exciting place in the world. But this was no ordinary day, and in the context of things, a trip to IKEA was pretty exciting that day.
It started a few weeks earlier when I started talking to Ryan about sleeping in his own bed. It was actually on a previous trip to IKEA that Ryan mentioned that he wanted to have a "bunk bed with a green bedsheet and an ABC blanket." He said he would sleep on the top bunk and babydoll would sleep on the bottom bunk. He wasn't completely serious about it but it was a start. I started talking to him a little bit every night about sleeping in his own bed, and he warmed to the idea. So I promised him that we would get a bunk bed for him.
And so, on that special day, we went to IKEA to get him a bed. I wouldn't say that it was his birthday gift, it was just something that we were planning on doing and it was a good chance to do it.
Before we left the house, there was some action at the art corner (our dining table). That morning, Ryan had asked to do some artwork with Richard so we made that happen for him. During this time, I was sewing up a t-shirt for Ryan. I wanted to have it done in time for the party at school, just to make his special day a little extra special. As it turned out, putting the finishing touches on the tails took up so much time that I had to settle for finishing the T-shirt when we got home from the party.
After that, it was off to IKEA. First stop was the restaurant, because Richard and I hadn't had our lunch, plus Ryan hadn't eaten much in school.
There's the bed. We chose the KURA reversible bed, which is not actually a bunk bed, but it'll do. Ryan was super happy with it.
That's Ryan testing it out at the store.
We got the bed delivered and installed at our home a few days later. Ryan was so excited about it. Even before the bed came, he went around telling everyone that, "IKEA is installing my bunk bed!"
If you're curious as to whether we gave Ryan a birthday present or not, well, we did. Richard bought a set of Magna-Tiles for Ryan a few weeks before and presented them to him on his birthday. Terri helped us to buy a small set for him last year when she was in the USA (and she refused to let us reimburse her for her trouble). That set was a 32 pc set of clear tiles. Ryan loved it and played with it regularly. A few days into it, he asked if he could have the solid colours set as well (he'd checked out the product images on the box), so Richard secretly put in an order for it and that was the birthday gift. Well, in addition to half a day with us, of course. Heh heh.
So, happy birthday my little love. If you remember anything about that day, I hope it will be the feeling that you were loved and cherished beyond measure. I will remember it as the perfect day, just like it was five years ago when you were born. We love you, baby boy. To the moon and back.
