It truly is amazing when I stop and really think about it. When we met Gabe he had just turned 3 the day before and he had just started walking independently. We have videos of him walking back and forth between Mike and I in our hotel room. We were all so excited! Now he walks with his cane pretty well and will even run a bit if he's holding my hand, his "running" is hilarious but I love it! And of course, he still loves to climb and do things that are a little risky. Danger is his middle name. 😉 He didn't really know how to be held when he first came to us, I think it had something to do with his low tone because he wouldn't try to hold on, it was like holding a really heavy rag doll. Super fun in all the airports. Now, he can hold on and is the most snuggly, cuddly boy I've ever met! When we got back home he would wake up crying, grieving, inconsolable for months! The only thing that would sometimes help was food. Now, he wakes up smiling and laughing almost always. He had many self stimulating behaviors that he did constantly, those are all gone now but he still loves to tap on everything! All. the. time. Future drummer maybe? The biggest thing was when he finally learned to chew last summer. He went from a very limited diet of mashed or soft foods to now eating everything, he loves food! His faves are chicken nuggets and donuts. He can feed himself an entire meal if its finger foods and can take bites off of things if they aren't cut into bite size pieces (he used to try and shove the whole thing in his mouth), and he's learning to use utensils, he can do everything but scoop. Oh, and he can drink out of all kinds of cups, he only drank from an open cup at first which was interesting because he would want to drop it or throw it when he was done. Speaking of throwing things, he never throws things anymore. He will hold whatever it is out to give to someone and if nobody is there to take it he'll place it down on the floor nicely. He understands everything we're saying now. The language barrier + nonverbal + no vision was HARD! Still no words but they're coming. I believe it. For now he's working on learning his tactile communication book and he can respond with clapping for yes if we ask him a question about something he wants. He also responds with body language in other conversations and can follow one step commands. He loves music, The Wheels On The Bus is his jam and he's got the 'round and round' motion down. If I say sing, song, or Wheels On The Bus, he immediately starts doing the 'round and round' motion, even if I'm talking to someone else and he heard it.😂 The newest celebration worthy milestone is that he's pretty much potty trained now, at home at least. I haven't been brave enough to let him wear undies when we're out and about. I thought I would lose my mind with that one! Fourth or fifth time's a charm I guess. Maybe the most important thing for my sanity is he's been sleeping! He still has his middle of the night parties about once a week but I can deal with that much better than nightly parties. School has been great for him and he mostly has good days but every once in a while he gets in a funk and has some bad days/weeks. He protests every single morning about going, he starts fussing as soon as I tell him its time for school and then he fusses as we walk into the classroom. He just wants to stay home with mama. All four my kids were like this. Am I really that awesome?! Haha! Anyway, I'm sure I forgot to mention some things but there's the big stuff. I'll add some pics over the last 2 years.
