Bowling!

Yesterday we took you bowling. You have been many times as an infant but this was only your second time participating. We were smart this time and sent Daddy in to get our lane all set up before I brought you in. (last time you didn't like all the waiting) You were so excited when you realized where we were! You liked to help us push the ball down the lane but mostly just wanted to sit in my lap and squeal with delight while Daddy bowled. We used the bumpers again but forgot to ask for a ramp for you to roll the ball down. We will definitely do that next time! We were so proud of you and got you a little plastic smiley face ball out of those quarter machines in the lobby. You have been carrying it around ever since.  It's the little things....

You never stop amazing me.....

Even though you are just learning to talk, we were shocked and ecstatic to find you that you know how to read (and mostly spell) over 30 words!! You spelled bus for me one day about a month ago with your magnetic letters, then spelled BINGO with your foam letters in the bathtub. We started writing names of animals and colors and you pretty much knew them all! SO SMART!!!!! Brayden, you make us so proud!!

This morning we went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. You loved it and just ran around for about 30 minutes, checking out all the games and flashing lights. Once you discovered that putting tokens in the machines made cool things happen, you were hooked! Your favorites were the baseball and football games. We stayed for about 2 and a half hours but you were still mad when we left! Together we won 186 tickets which we turned in for some fabulous cheap prizes.

Awesome cheap crap won!

Picture from a ride

Checking out Mr. Chuck E Cheese himself!

Your favorite baseball game

Still Life

For over a year now, you have been leaving your toys in the funniest positions. I love to walk into a room when you are nowhere to be found, however, you have "staged" objects in hilarious ways! I started taking pictures of them and calling them your Still Life collection. Here are some favorites-

Remembering your "official" autism diagnosis

I wrote this on January 3, 2012 and posted it to Facebook- As most of you know, Brayden was diagnosed in July of 2010 with a genetic disorder called Fragile X syndrome. Two weeks ago he had his first autism evaluation. The result- he displayed several autistic tendencies. Ok, no big surprise there. Well, today he had his final evaluation to find out where he fell on the autism spectrum. The scale ranges from 15-60, with 60 being severly autistic. Brayden scored a 35 which is mild to moderate autism. Once again, this is not shocking nor devastating to Dan and I. In fact, nothing will change as far as therapy or our daily routine. He is still the same sweet, lovable and incredibly smart little boy that I love with all my heart. I don't know what I would have done without all the positive support from all of you! I love that everyone shares in our little milestones whether they understand this way of life or not. That is why I am sharing this diagnoses with you all. The words of encouragement mean so much.... Love you all, Erin

4 and Fabulous!

You recently turned 4 years old! Wow! You have made such progress over the past month. We discovered that you can read (and usually spell) at least 30 words!! Your speech has also improved so much. You are a little parrot and I love it! Daddy and I laugh all the time at the awesome things you say! You are doing so well in school and in therapy We are still working on feeding issues. You make mommy so proud everyday! Here are some pictures from your birthday weekend. We celebrated with your favorite dog, Marlee!