Sunshine

 Our Sunshine turned 5 on December 27th, it is crazy to believe that the child I always think of as my baby is already 5.  It has been so easy to keep him my baby because of his extra needs, but the truth of the matter is he really is no longer a baby!

 That came full circle on December 30th when we officially confirmed that he is autistic.  Not a word I like to use around him, but not a word we are afraid of either.  We have wondered for some time if that was the case, and really, we wouldn't have needed a doctor to tell us this...but there really is nothing more we can do for him than we already are.  Sure, we can always improve on things....but schedule schedule schedule is very important to him, always has been!  Also his gluten free diet is a big thing to.  But yet, I do not consider myself to be a parent to a special needs child.  He is not terribly high on the spectrum, but he is high enough that as we have slowly told friends and family they were not shocked to hear the news. 

 In other news, he is in love with beyblades.  Sort of a modern day top, if you will.  He REALLY like potatos of any form and likes that more and more foods are coming out gluten free!  He takes every chance he can get to do fun things with Daddy or snuggle with Mommy.  He is also such a sweet, loving big brother to his baby sisters!  He is small for his age, only weighing in around 36 lbs and wearing sz 4 clothing (shirt are too big for him!)  We have been working on hitting this 40 lb mark for a couple of years now....but in his time!  The child eats like a horse but he doesn't EVER stop moving either.  He will sit still if you give him something to keep his hands busy.  Some of my favorites about him right now are his tender heart towards the feelings of others, his sweet snuggles, his beautiful blue eyes and last but NOT least, HIS GIGGLES!  What a precious addition to our family....he really is a ray of Sunshine!