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I am writing this post on Autism Awareness Day, and it features some pretty amazing pictures of our little autie (as they say in the Autism community :) I love to look into Jonah's eyes. The kid is five, but his eyes are so deep and so full. When you lock eyes with him, his soul speaks to your soul. I know that sounds a bit hippyish and new-agey, and before Jonah was mine, I'd probably roll my eyes at a myself, but I swear, this kid--there is wisdom and depth, love and joy in his eyes. I love this picture of him looking right into the camera. I love the other picture too because it reminds me of how far our guy has come. When Rex was born, Jonah was still 3 months away from his diagnosis, but we knew at that point that something was up. He could not even stand to look at Rex. We have plenty of pictures of the two together, Jonah crying, turning his back on his baby brother. Rex didn't let it phase him. He is his brother's biggest fan and greatest asset. As soon as he learned to get around, Rex got around to Jonah. Rex drew him out of his world and into ours. He forced Jonah to acknowledge him, to play with him, and eventually to love him. Jonah now seeks Rex out, and he loves Sammy too. He'll often stop what he's doing as he runs by Sam, turns around and pushes his lips to the top of Sammy's head, giving him a special Jonah kiss. I love this picture of my big boys playing together. I keep saying it, brothers are the best.
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This kid loves to be where the action is. I've been amazed at how quickly he gets from one end of the house to another. Since we're all on one story in the new house he pretty much has free reign on the place. Every once in a while, I get busy and have to go looking for him. Usually, he can be found wherever Jonah and Rex are, but sometimes he has found something all by himself to keep him occupied. In this picture, I found him standing by the front door, staring out skinny little window there, checking out the world, and happy as always.
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Today was Rexie's big day! It is his third birthday. We planned a super fun day that we knew he would love. After church, where he brought yummy snacks to share with his friends, we went to Roadrunner Park to feed the ducks and eat lunch. After that, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's to eat cupcakes and open presents. Rexie got a train set which he absolutely loves. He had such a super fun day, and as a mom, that is all I want for my kids on their birthday, pure happiness. I'm posting a couple of pictures with this entry because there were just to many to choose only one :) My favorite is the one of the goose attacking Jonah. No worries, Layne was able to protect us all as he chased off geese and pigeons alike, as seen in another picture.
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