Gabe's Treasure

Today is a new day, and we just wanted to share another huge milestone Gabe has made. :) The blessings just keep on flowing.
A few months back, Gabe would have had absolutely NO interest in this toy, or any other toy for that matter. He showed no signs of functional play. He wouldn't have wanted this toy anywhere near him. The only thing he would really do is sit quietly, hold his blanky and suck his thumb.
Then he went through a "chew on everything" phase. Everything went to his mouth to chew or lick. He would likely have pushed the chest aside and just chewed on the coins and threw them behind his back when he was done with them. We are still working on keeping toys out of his mouth, but now he will stop when we tell him.
What you will see in this video has been a very recent accomplishment. He now sees this toy and will immediately go to inserting the coins into it. He shows GREAT joint attention skills, which is a big thing we have been working on. He sat still in his chair the entire time, and when he was done he handed the treasure chest to me as opposed to just dumping it out of his lap. We have watched this video over and over, because it just makes us smile to remember where he was just months ago and to see how far he has come. Enjoy. :)
 

Five Days

On January 27th, Gabe celebrated his 2nd birthday. It is amazing and incredible to say that it feels like God flipped some switch in Gabe and everything is suddenly coming together and he is making so much progress in just these five days.

Here's a little summary:
Monday - Gabe started out by shocking us completely when he said "Dada, get cake" on his birthday followed be repeating 'cake' over and over and even pointing to and identifying the slice of cake his Daddy placed on the table before him. The biggest part of this is that not only did he talk, but he made a request... a request that is a three-word phrase AND his first ever three word phrase to be exact. This was a HUGE breakthrough moment!!
Tuesday - Gabe had a speech therapy session and literally blew everyone away by saying word after word and even saying cake again. It helped that there were two slices sitting on the desk beside him  ;) , but still. Getting Gabe to say words has proven tricky, but getting him to say them again after that has felt down right impossible at times. We have literally heard a word and went a month before thinking we might have possibly overheard it again. We have to keep our ears open, because you just might miss it. So the fact that he said 'cake' two days in a row was extremely encouraging.
Wednesday (Snow Ice Day) - After and afternoon of exploring the ice which Gabe liked to feel crunch under his feet as he walked, we came in to warm up and start supper. Mike was feeding Gabe his supper and asked me to pour him up a cup, that he had forgot to make it before he sat down.  For those who don't know Gabe personally, there are two things you should ALWAYS have on hand: 1.) his blanky and 2.) a full, ready and waiting sippy cup especially after feeding him. Just as Gabe was taking in the last bite, I was twisting on the lid of the sippy.  Gabe looked at me. Mike asked him if he was ready for his cup. Gabe looked at us both, reached out toward his approaching treasure and said 'cup'. We were floored.  Gabe usually just doesn't say 'cup'.  He knows what it is, but won't say it.  We have been told to up the ante and make him have to say it before giving it to him, but the truth is that Gabe is stubborn and would likely thirst to death before conforming. So the fact that he said 'cup' without actually being prompted or pressured was such an amazing moment.
Thursday - Mike returned to work, so it was just me and the boys at home. I was changing Gabe's diaper and let me just say it was awful.  It was so bad that Matthew walked into the room, probably got one maybe two good breaths in before catching wind of the odor and announcing "YUCK, Gabe, you stink". After which he ran to his room and closed the door. I think I heard some coughing going on also... Anyway, I always take diaper changing time (no matter how awful) as a time to get in so good face time. It's a great time to work on joint attention, eye contact and just have fun. That's what I was doing before Matthew walked in.  Gabe couldn't help but laugh at Matthew. I started telling Gabe that he was just a little stink bug.  This made Gabe laugh at me. I finished his diaper and picked him up.  He was so locked in on my face that I kept talking to him. I lifted him up over my head like I was throwing him into the air saying 'stink bug' every time he went up. He laughed hysterically while staying completely focused. I brought him back down to my hip. He looked me in the eyes and said 'tink boog'.  (Yay!) I decided to milk the situation for everything I could. I tossed him up a few more times saying 'stink bug' and brought him back down to my hip.  He looked at me, started bouncing on my hip and again said 'tink boog'. Keep in mind, this was quite random so it was the first time we have done this.  Most things he says have been been repeated and drilled in over and over for months. The fact that he was repeating this little phrase after only five minutes of diaper time fun was worth celebrating with more jumping around.
Today (Friday) - We are having a lazy day in watching Up. The cat came and jumped up onto the ottoman in front of me.  Gabe came over to look at her.  He reached out to pet her. She apparently looks funny to him because he just laughed and laughed. I took advantage of the moment and started prompting him to say 'kitty', and guess what? He started saying 'meow'.  Then, he said 'kitty'. I grabbed my camera as fast as I could, and thankfully Gabe kept talking, so I do have proof!  :)



Then Grandma came to visit.  She came bearing the gift of cookies.  Obviously the way to Gabe's heart is through his tummy, because when she showed him the cookie and prompted him to say 'cookie', he did... gladly. And guess what? I grabbed my camera and got even more proof!!  :)



To all the moms and dads that are anxiously waiting to hear the sweet voices of their children with speech delays I say 'STAY STRONG'. You are being heard. Everything you say is being absorbed. You are making a difference, and when you least expect it, they will surprise you with the blessing of hearing their voice. Do not give up. Success could be just around the corner. Gabe's sweet speech therapist said that her professor had told her to look at children like cups.  You keep pouring into them and there is only so much they can hold before they start to overflow.  Gabe's cup is filling up fast, and we are only seeing a few drop of his potential, but we are going to keep flowing until his little cup turns into an artisan well, continually flowing. We are so proud of our little man and can't wait to see what each new day brings.

Got Cake??

After the huge surprise Gabe gave us for his birthday yesterday, we were bursting at the seems to share it. Gabe's speech therapist through Early Intervention called to schedule his next appointment, so I told her. She was super excited. Then I messaged his private speech therapist Mrs. Kim and told her. She was super excited too. It just so happened that he was scheduled for a session with her this morning, so she suggested bringing cake to see if he would repeat his request for cake. Gabe is well known for making his accomplishments in private. He will do things when no one is around but us, and they simply have to take our word that it happened. Not today! We took some cake with us to his appointment and sat it on Mrs. Kim's desk. The session was going along. Gabe was playing with toys, which is also a pretty big deal! He was interacting. We could see he was eyeing the cake but even with prompting he was staying quiet about it. Then Mike suggested I get some on the spoon and offer it to him. He opened his little mouth up and I sat there repeating 'cake' to him, holding the spoon in line with my mouth so as to direct his sight to my mouth and what I was saying. He sat there pitifully, mouth open waiting for me to feed it to him. Yes, I caved. The second attempt I held out a little longer before giving in to him. The third time, we could see the shape of the word forming on his lips. Then he said 'cake'.  :)  After hugs and kisses from Mrs. Kim and much praise, he was confident and said 'cake' a few more times. He actually decided to show off and said 'Mama', 'Dada', 'Ickey' (Mickey Mouse), 'blank' (blanket) and 'bye bye'. He also said and signed his own version of 'more' to ask for more cake. In his version, Gabe uses his right hand to tap half of the sign (sometimes just one or two fingers of it) on his table instead of both hands together. Gabe gave hugs and engaged in functional play and seemed to really enjoy it. Today was another blessing.
Gabe's third year is already proving to be exciting, eventful and productive, and we are only two days in! We are so thankful for this gift God gave us. It is such a blessing to be hearing Gabe's little voice more and more every day. We are thankful for all the precious people that God has given us to love and support Gabe and our family. We know that none of this would be possible without God and his provision in our lives. We are humbled and thankful that He is answering our prayers.

Did Someone Say 'Cake'???

This evening Gabe was sitting in his highchair beside me in the kitchen. He had a very clear view of the kitchen counter AND his birthday cake box that was sitting on it. He had just finished eating supper, and I was busy filling out adoption paperwork. Mike was at the sink washing dishes. I suddenly noticed that Gabe was saying something, not just babbling, so I called Mike over. We were shocked! Gabe had finally found something worth talking for: cake. Gabe was saying, "Dada, get cake." FYI: This was Gabe's FIRST three word phrase. In our shock we stood there and listened while he repeated his request over and over.  We finally decided we better honor his request before he gave up. Mike cut Gabe a slice of cake and placed it in front of him. Gabe looked at it with a huge smile. Then he looked up at us and said, "Cake! Cake, cake, cake cake, cake!" It was complete music to our ears. I created the "art" above as just a cute caption to go with the picture taken of him trying his birthday cake at his party. I had no idea when I wrote, "Did someone say cake???" two days ago that I would actually be sitting here now saying, "Yes, Gabe said CAKE." Happy birthday to us from Gabe. :)

Happy Birthday, Gabe!!

On January 27, 2012 at 2:42pm, we went from a family of three to a family of four as God blessed us with the early arrival of our 7 lb 8 oz miracle that we named John Gabriel Laramore. Gabe has been a blessing to our family. To know him is to know why we lovingly call him "sweet baby Gabe", though Matthew prefers to call him "Gabers". He is a little ray of sunshine with that shy and often mischievous little smile. He surprises us every day with how far he has come and all the progress he continues to make. We know God has a bright future planned for him and look forward to being with him every step of the way. Happy birthday, Gabe! We love you sooooo much!

Diaper Blessings

To the casual observer, this is just a pack of diapers.  To a frugal shopper, this would be a steal of a deal, but to us, this pack of diapers was nothing short of a blessing. Let me explain. The boys and I had spent the day in Dothan with Grandma (my mama) today.  When we got home, I went to change Gabe's diaper only to find that we were down to the very last few diapers. I was doing the math to see if between the few left in his room and what was left in the diaper bag we would have enough to last till tomorrow after church or if I was about to have to get two small children out for a trip to the store. I got distracted and suddenly remembered that I hadn't checked the mail and decided to walk to the mailbox.  It was already dark outside, so I couldn't see anything in the cave of a mailbox, BUT I stuck my hand right on in. What I felt surprised me. It was a package. I say "package"... what I mean is that the contents were loosely wrapped in a black plastic bag, sealed with a strip of tape and postage attached. It wasn't hard to guess what the contents were seeing as how we have bought probably a thousand packs of these over the past four years. Yes, it was a pack of diapers. The story of how they came to be in our mailbox is not so marvelous. I had redeemed our Huggies points for a free pack. Free diapers equals a frugal mom's dream! The amazing part is that they were supposed to take between six and eight weeks to arrive, and I had only submitted the claim last week! But the true blessing is in all of events combined. I only redeemed our points last week on a prize that should have taken six to eight weeks to arrive but miraculously arrived five weeks early and on the day we needed them most. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a God thing! He is in time, on time, every time. He meets our needs. Trust Him with your needs, and put your faith in Him. He will meet your needs in ways you cannot possibly imagine.  Whether it be the surprise package of diapers in your mailbox, a mysterious $20 in your wallet in a low-cash week, reconciliation in relationships that were once thought to be nothing but burned bridges, new relationships when you need them most, healing in your body or peace to make it through the day, God will provide everything according to His will.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NLT

Happy New Year

Here we are... two hours till the start of a new year. Looking back, this year has been filled with so much change. We started the year out with Matthew receiving his Autism diagnosis in January. A few days later that same month, Gabe turned one year old. Mike and I celebrated six years of marriage in March. Then, in May, we sold our house after having it on the market for six years. We packed everything up and moved to Enterprise. In August, Gabe was also diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum. Matthew turned four years old in September and started preschool in October. In late October, Mike suffered a heart attack at work. In November, we FINALLY completed our Deciding Together adoption classes, and in December we signed papers to begin the process of building our "dream home" on the land we bought back when we got married. There was so much else involved in all of this...planning and scheduling, researching and praying, phone calls and paperwork, testing and lab work, therapies and vitamins.
It has been a trying year... one of literal blood, sweat and tears, but God has brought us through it all. We have suffered losses. We took financial losses to be able to sell our house and move. We have mourned the loss of loved ones who have passed away. We have found out who our friends are and who they are not. Some of the ones you think will never let you down or betray you, will in fact do so. We have learned that blood doesn't make a family. Some of the people that will impact your life and support you the most will share no DNA with you. We are thankful for the people that God has placed in our lives, both family and friends. We believe that He works all things together for our good and that there are no such things as coincidences. Every thing that happens does so for a reason, and each person in our lives is here because God knows we will need them to impact our life in some significant way to keep His plan moving forward. Every detail shapes us on our journey to be what He desires us to be and to fulfill the plans that He has for us.

Jeremiah 29:11-13
New International Version (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

We know that God is with us. He has brought us so far in the past year, strengthening us in our marriage and as parents. He has taught us alot about love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
New International Version (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

We can love because God first loved us. We are thankful for His perfect love that shows us how to love others. We are thankful for those that bless us with their love and for those that God gave us to love.
With many memories made and lessons learned, we are saying 'goodbye' to 2013 and 'hello' to 2014. We don't know what the future holds, but we do not fear tomorrow because we know that God is already there.