Bitty's Turned 5!

Bitty turned 5 this month.

As all Children are, he is truly amazing.

We are so grateful that we were given Bitty.

A blessing and a true gift as Children are.

I spent some time re-reading the posts from

my pregnancy with Bitty.

I cannot believe 5 years have

gone so quickly.

Our Little Bitty has grown so much

and

he has helped us to grow.

Grow in Faith, Love,

Learning, Patience

and so much more that I know

we have not realized yet.

Bitty's words are coming a long.

The are honest and some times brutal.

It is not easy, he uses them well

at times not always flattering though.

He is able to tell us when he is done

and

had enough.

He has told many kids to,

“Go Home! Leave!”

In a forceful tone,

we are working on being polite

but he has used his words

instead of going into

full fledged screaming fits of

frustration.

This is a big step,

now granted if they extra stimulation

does not end

then he will go into screaming mode

but

he has gained the ability to use words

before that point.

He is still full out in love with

numbers

and

letters.

His Teacher was working on numbers

with his class the other week.

They all got to come up and circle a number

on their board.

She said he asked for the number 100.

She said it took some effort but she finally stumped

him with numbers once she tried out 1000.

He still likes his lines for visual stimulation

and

signs of all kinds.

He still does some stacking and patterns through out the house.

Not as much as before and

we think it was due to the other home being so wide open.

He now only begins it after some rough bouts.

He has adjusted well to moving,

we are now 6 months into being here.

He had a delayed reaction to the move

and

doesn't like for

any seasonal decoration change to be done.

Heck, he fits if he sees me add the Boys new art work to the toy room.

That said, I do not do it when he is able to watch.

He accepts the change so much better

to see the end result instead of the work.

This Birthday is the first one that when we

asked, “What would you like?”

That he had an answer.

The first answer was, “A Dusty cake.”

He loves Disney's Planes.

I then asked if he what flavor of cake,

I had to offer two choices.

**This is a typical aspect that he

works with in Speech, ask a question,

if an answer is not generated, we offer choices. **

He answered, “A vanilla.”

So, a vanilla Dusty cake it was!

He pings our heart on a daily basis

(as all Children do)

and

he sang with us, “Happy Birthday!”

He did not try to grab the candles, he focused on them,

and without being told blew them out!

We had not been practicing at all, he blew them all out

and

then cheered for himself.

It was beautiful.

Of course, I started the video late

and stopped it early

but am pretty sure even without a

video that this moment will forever

be etched in my memory.

He was excited on his decorations.

Of course we always did this in the past

in hopes of some recognition of his day

by him.

A way to denote it was a different

than typical day.

This year we went into his room,

he did his routine, “Good Morning.” response

and

we told him it was his Birthday.

He perked up and ran downstairs

as fast as he could,

went straight to his chair

and

started “Oo-ing and ah-ing” over

a birthday hat, and decorations.

It was a wonderful change.

He had also requested for weeks,

a red present.

So, yes we obliged and made sure

we had red wrapping paper.

One lesson we learned with our new found

potty trained Bitty, that he truly needed to go

potty before we said, “Happy Birthday!”

Needless to say, I realized he had not gone

and

we were not able to break his focus.

I was afraid an accident would happen.

I finally convinced him to go but

about 2 seconds too late.

Lesson learned by me for any other

event.

He is rocking the potty training by the way.

He has come so far.

He is doing much better on the hardest part

for him, the dreaded BM.

His signs of going are very hard to catch,

once we finally learned them,

then the next hill

was to catch the signs at their first appearance.

We have definitely gotten better at noticing

and

he now is beginning to notice at times on his own.

I know this seems like too much information,

I promise no descriptors will be listed

but

this is a known issue,

their bowels function

differently than the Neuro-Typical.

As to why Autism is not a “label.”
It is a neurological disorder

in which their body is wired differently than most.

Now the “why” no one gets

but to us that is not a concern.

We don't need “why”

we have what is a Beautiful Little Man,

that views the world in a way

the majority does not.

I truly believe they are here to

teach us to keep our eyes open.

He only helps to teach us to

try to understand others,

be considerate, not judging,

to be accepting, and so much more.

He just his week had is best yet time at the Dentist.

His Dentist had a surgery come up

so we had a change to Logan's expectations.

He rocked it out!

This office is so understanding

of working with any kids,

but also with children with Autism.

I always found it funny when

his Dentist would explain

what he was doing and why

to me.

Try to explain the sensory aspect

Logan was battling with the appointment.

I would smile and say I understood.

The Dentist he saw this week,

just did the blunt asking the questions

of the exact diagnosis

and

when Bitty was diagnosed.

He sighed, a big sigh of relief

and said ( in summary):

Thank God, so many Parents

fight it, they wait so long

to seek help.

Kids are usually 4-5 by the time the diagnosis

is made.

I just smiled.

He stated about the difference Early Intervention makes.

I am aware.

I just smiled again.

He could not stop saying how amazed

he was with Bitty.

And that his teeth looked so great.

He gave us tips on how they will help

handle loose teeth.

(A concern of ours..)

They are a kind and understanding place

and

while he was talking to me,

all the women in the office

who were done with patients were playing with Bitty.

YES! A group of people he doesn't know

and

he was willing to interact with them.

What is funny, is Bitty seems to be able

to tell who is comfortable

with him

and

will open up to them.

Oh even last night, we were making a return

at a store

and the staff barely looked up

as she helped,

Bitty approached the counter

looked directly at her,

and clear and audible say, “Hello!”

(which sounds like

Hel-whoa)

He surprised us and her.

Then she opened up.

To us it is the power of a Child.

They are so much more than sometimes people give them

credit for.

They are our Hope and Future.

Our Sweet Bitty is growing

on his own curve

as the Pediatrician even said that.

I did my typical smile and say, “I know.”

He also rocked out his 5 year check up!

This was the first time he ever

responded to the eye and hearing test!

Yaaaaay!! 2 less appointments with Specialist.

*There was more I wanted to say but my memory fails me*

So our Little Bitty

weighed in at 32.5 lbs

as the pediatrician wrote “less than 5%"

and 

in the room said he is hanging 

at the 3^rd percentile for weight

but he has gained weight since last year 

and 

that is what said

he is growing on his own curve.

Bitty measured up to 41 inches (15%)

he has grown 4 inches (I think that is what the ped said)

since last year.

Our Supremely Sweet and Perfect Little Bitty.

I sure hope the next 5 years slow down a little.