MTM Family. The William Whiston Family Journey: Birthday Party Fun

Jenn and birthday boy Mason

This past weekend we celebrated a special birthday with family! It was Mason's first birthday!! Mason is Dan's cousin Jenn's little boy. Mason is pictured below with his smash cake!

Mason and his smash cake!

Up to this point, we had never taken William to any family events. Our main concern has always been his health. We have tried to limit his exposure to illness especially during cold and flu season. When we got the invite in the mail for a party on June 1st, we wondered if maybe this time we could take William.

William with his talker

William has been great lately, so the day came and we decided to take him to Mason's birthday party! We loaded the family and all of William's medical equipment into the van and we were on our way. The trip to Jenn's house took around 2 hours, so the kids watched Elmo in Grouchland. (One of William's favorite movies.)

William and me

When we first got to the party William needed to warm up to everyone and all of the excitement. We gave him his iPad and talker. He took turns playing with each and would regularly glace around at the balloons, people and activities. We found a comfortable place to sit down with him, where he could see the party and family could come and say hi. I tried to be as comfortable as possible, but I too needed to warm up to the situation. (It is funny really to be nervous about a family birthday party considering that have taken him to appointments all over the Chicagoland region.)

William in his new hat!

William did great! By the end of the party, William was getting into the spirit of things and began acting silly. Dan's Aunt Noreen (Aunt Nonie) started asking him all sorts of questions. All of which William would shake his head no to with a grin. He was having fun! Thank you Aunt Nonie for getting William to act silly with you and all of these fun party pictures! William even got a new hat! Thanks Uncle Den for the cool new John Deere hat!

And most of all thank you Jenn for throwing such a wonderful party. It was a perfect first family party for William! We look forward to many more Whiston parties!!