We Are THREE!

My baby boys are not babies anymore. Today, they turned 3 years old. My dad and his fiancee, Felicia, came all the way from California to visit. My dad's birthday was on the 9th so we had a little party for both of them. We celebrated their birthdays yesterday. We kept it pretty low key and had cupcakes and a picnic at the park.

(Grammy and Grandpa had cousin Amber, from Britt Creations, make them their birthday shirts. Cute, huh?)

Gabriel waiting to blow out the candles.

Ouchie! Poor Gabriel burnt his finger.

Gatlin was patiently waiting to eat his cupcake. Which was very surprising.

Poor Gabriel, will a cupcake make it better...

...Yes

My boys are so attracted to dirt.

Gabriel wouldn't leave this spot.

Present Time!!!

Gatlin and Mommy reading his birthday card from Grammy and Grandpa which was tucked in the bag with new Spiderman backpacks!

Alligator jammies from Aunt Mary!

Gatlin loved playing with the strings from the balloons.

Gabriel wasn't too interested in presents...

...until he saw that Gramma and Papa had bought him a camera.

He was very happy then.

Aunt Jill and Uncle Nathan got the boys some new jammies and cousin Drew picked out the movie Milo and Otis for them!

Gramma and Papa bought Gatlin his very own phone.

**The boys are still not talking but they are making improvements everyday. Gatlin makes really good eye contact and he responds to his name very well. He also likes to point to my eyes and will say "eyes" and point to my mouth and says "muh" He has begun taking our hand and showing us what he wants. He has started to show empathy for others and gets jealous when someone else has Mommy's attention. In the last couple of weeks he has become really attached to me and likes to follow me around the house. He is learning to give kisses and has started imitating movements that I make like: when I am wiping the table off he will run his hand back and forth on the table or when I put lotion on he will rub his legs and arms as if he is putting lotion on too. The other day he saw me sweeping and began to sweep the floor with his hand. This morning, he was really upset because Kaia took something from him and he ran upstairs to find me to comfort him. He has never done that before. These are all huge improvements and are big deals for Matt and I.
**Gabriel is a little worse than Gatlin. He was diagnosed with a mild-moderate form of autism. He doesn't always make eye contact; but is improving, and doesn't always respond to his name. He still likes to line things up and will get upset if you disrupt that line but he is really easy to re-direct too. He has begun bringing toys to us and wants us to play with him which is a HUGE plus. He still loves to rough house with Daddy and will initiate the game with him. He is really improving and we know if we continue to work with him it will get better.
**I also have started the boys on a gluten and casien free diet. There have been some studies that show it improves the behavior of an autistic child dramatically and some people claim that it has cured their child of autism (i.e. Jenny McCarthy and many others) It really isn't a difficult change it just requires a little extra work on my part. I am willing to give it a shot. It can't hurt them in anyway.
**I still can't believe my boys are 3. They are beginning to lose their baby fat and are starting to look like little boys. I feel so blessed to be their mother. I always have. Happy Birthday Gabriel and Gatlin! We love you guys so much!