Alex has autism and is not very high functioning. He is a very special kid who shows his personality at times. He loves to be sprayed with water guns. He loves to give high fives and fist pumps. He has also learned how to blow kisses.
His mom, my sister-in-law, said that Alex wanted a "Blaze and the Monster Machines" cake, but it had to be dairy free.
So, since I am the cake baker in the family and since I do what I can for my niece and nephews, that is what I did. I found a recipe for a no dairy cake and decorated it with Blaze.
Joe and Frances (my brother and SIL, Alex's parents) had brought over burgers and hotdogs to grill for his party. They were expecting a lot of people. Unfortunately most did not show up which made my brother very mad and he did go into a profanity laced tirade about how people say they will be there and then don't show up and they don't seem to care about their nephew/grandson/great-grandson, etc. (He did this when he was alone with my mom and I and NOT around any of the kids) I completely understood where he was coming from and didn't blame him one bit.
The cousins all had fun running around in the heat and playing with each other.
Alex seemed to enjoy himself. We sang Happy birthday to him and he blew his candles out all by himself for the first time in his life.
After opening presents, the kids all had a chance to hit a pinata that my parents had bought and filled with candy. They had a blast doing that.
Just as Joe was packing his family up to leave, his in-laws decided to show up (3.5 hours LATE!) for the party. Joe had to be at work at 9PM, and wanted to go home and sleep for 2 hours before work, as he had just gotten off work at 7AM that morning. As my dad said when everyone left..."Well, THAT was interesting." I completely agree.
We stayed at my parent's until about 8PM then we headed home, where the kids got washed up and went to bed, exhausted from the party and the heat.
Overall, it was a fun day!
What was the title of the Erma Bombeck book? Family the Tie That Binds and Gags
ReplyDeleteYeah, families....
DeleteHappy Birthday Blaze! And you did a terrific job on that cake! Wow! Expectations are always high when it comes to family and when they let you down, it hurts a lot. Boy, do I know. My mom used to always say, "Expect nothing and you'll never be disappointed." Hard to do, but a good outlook if you want to be happy.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I do enjoy making the cakes for my kids and my niece and nephews. Allows me to be creative. As far as family, I have kind of taken that attitude with MY in-laws. However, my brother hasn't with HIS in-laws and it really irks him that his in-laws don't accept Alex and his autism diagnosis.
DeleteFamily can be unbelievable. Did they at least explain why they were so late and didn't call? Your nephew seemed like he had a good time and that is what matters. Nice job on the cake. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteWell my SIL's mom never showed up or called. The excuse given by my SIL Grandma was that they "had to attend" a festival that they just found out about the night before. Other excuses given by various members were that they forgot, that they offered to help a buddy move and they were too tired to come, etc. Just excuses.
DeleteAnd yes I think that my nephew did have a good job and thanks for the compliment on the cake! :)