Happy Birthday

Joey's Birthday Donation

Joey, 4 weeks old, at the Children's Hospital

My little bundle of Joey turned 9 years old last week!  Hard to believe.  We were flipping through some baby photos when he asked about the stuffed animals and toys in one of his pictures.  I explained how the nurses handed out the toys that people donated to help the sick kids and babies in the hospital feel better.  (Joey was born about 8 weeks premature and had a few stays in the hospital as a result.)  He was quite intrigued with my explanation and told me he wanted to start a collection himself.  I suggested his upcoming birthday party as a good opportunity to ask for donations.  After some careful consideration he agreed.  I laughed out loud when he told me that he wanted his friends to make donations... BUT it was okay if his family still wanted to give him a birthday present.  Good compromise... sounded like a win-win to me!  We sent out his party invitations making note of his special birthday request.

Joey's Birthday Party

Joey was so excited when the day of his party finally arrived!  We set-up a play pen to collect all the donations.  Joey asked his friends to bring items that the children's hospital was collecting specifically for infants and toddlers.  The kids began arriving and placed their items in the play pen before heading out to enjoy the indoor skate park and gym.  We had pizza and cupcakes... Joey had a blast hanging out with his friends.  He told me it was the best party ever!

Taking Inventory of all the donations

Later that night... after opening a few presents from the family... we decided to check out all the donations Joey had collected from earlier that day.  WOW!  Joey received the most generous and thoughtful donations from all of his friends at the party.  He collected over 150 brand new items (hospital requirement) which included baby clothes, blankets, crib mobiles, rattles, teethers, puzzles, board books, coloring books, crayons, stuffed animals, toys and much more!  Joey also received several generous cash donations which made for a very fun trip to Target to pick out a few extra items.  He was able to add a deluxe baby gym, crib mobile and little people helicopter play set to the collection.

Delivering toys to the Children's Hospital

We called the hospital to set-up a time to come in and drop-off the items.  Joey's little brother and sister were all kinds of excited to get in on the fun!  The staff was so incredibly nice and very appreciative of the toys being delivered.  This was a great experience all the way around.  Joey is so lucky to have such amazing, wonderful, generous friends... and I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful son.

Well done sweetheart... I love you so much.  Happy Birthday!