We have a 3 year old!

 So hard to believe that this little bundle of joy is three years old.  We celebrated his birthday with friends yesterday.  We appreciate all that attended and all who sent gifts, cards, and well wishes.  We thank you all!  **(Just added 5/7- Went to the doctor a few days ago.  His current weight is 31.1 lbs and he is 37 inches tall.  In the 40th-50th percentile for both.)
This year we decided to try to have a party that was not held at our home.  So in January we were lucky enough to be invited to Anthony's party at Pump It Up.  He did so well and had such a great time there, that it was no question where we would hold his birthday party four months later.
Below is the invitation.

 So this place is EXTREME sensory overload for any kid especially one with autism.  We got to circulate through three rooms, two to bounce, slide, and play in, and one to eat pizza, ice cream, and cake.  Before we started they always give the birthday boy a hat.  Our son, although looks adorable in a hat, refuses to leave one on his head.   I included the below picture to prove that I was in fact at this party. :)

 So it stayed on.......for about 12 seconds. And we aren't thrilled with it.

 First up, ride on the mini roller coaster!

 Everyone was having a blast bouncing and sliding.  Below are pictures to show all the fun!
(Jared and Sophie)

 (Anthony)

 (Lauren with Grayson and Sophie)

 Oh, I should mention that I did the "bubble add-on" with the party package I selected.  Best idea ever.  Just a few of the great pictures of G with the bubbles.

 Grayson LOVED this slide, but only Lauren and Daddy were allowed to take him down it.

 His scrunch face is back in full force.  We see this so often these days.  It is a good thing, because this is his supreme happy and excited face.  You will see it in a bunch of the pictures from the party.

 Birthday King for the day!  His shirt says "Jump! Jump!Hooray!  It's My Birthday!"

 The back had his name and the number 3!  I LOVE ETSY :)

 More slide fun with Daddy.  Look at that smile!

 Even the little ones were getting involved.  (Cooper and Oren)

 Quick stop for a photo op (Kellie, Connor, Kelly, Chase)

 (Sophie and London)

 Uh oh- he found a ball!

 I reached the camera over the side of one of the inflatables.  This is the shot I got. :)

 

Ms. Andrea came to celebrate Grayson!

 The whole crew.  Thankful to everyone who made it.  Missed the ones who couldn't.

 More scrunch face.

 Connor and Chase showing their "Superhero Muscles."

 Who let this guy in here?  (Asher)

 So thankful that Grayson's godmother, Lauren, and one of my best friends, was able to come down and join us to celebrate Grayson's third birthday.

 We got to show her Atlantic Beach.  Had a great day playing in the tide pools, the sand, and having Lauren feed him some snacks.

Goodbyes, gifts,and carnivals

 This Friday was our last day attending Cambridge Prep School with Ms. Andrea.  Grayson started there last summer as a way to socialize with other children and hopefully learn some language and behavioral skills from them.   We immediately were drawn to this school and this teacher since she had some personal experience with autism. We couldn't have made a better decision. From day one we felt comfortable sending Grayson there.  This was the first place that had people to care for him that were not family members.  We consider ourselves so lucky to have met Ms. Andrea and the other wonderful people at that school. Since Grayson will be celebrating his third birthday on Tuesday, he now qualifies for a CSS (communication/social skills) classroom in the pre-k disabilities division of the public school. He will be attending that 2 mornings a week. The other 3 days he will continue with ABA therapy that we started back in August.  Instead of waiting until the fall to enroll him, we have decided to start him this week.  He will be starting on Wednesday.  We figured it might be good for him to get a head start with the rituals and routines of the classroom.   That way they can tell us specific difficulties that he is having so that we can work on them over the summer. Best news is that the school that we liked the most, happened to be our neighborhood school and is right across the street.  We are excited for the new adventure we are about to embark on.

 We have started receiving birthday presents for Grayson and we are so thankful for all of them. We are also thankful for Daddy who built this great table for Grayson to work at.  We will be spending a lot of time here over the summer.

We were super bummed to get rained out of the Easter egg hunt that we were supposed to go to on Saturday, but heard about a carnival at a mall parking lot not too far from us.   We decided that would be our Easter activity.  We were a little concerned when we first got there that most of the rides that he was able to ride had to be ridden alone.  He had never been on a ride alone.  Obviously, as the pictures show, he could have cared less.   The rides he went on were not very noisy but the surrounding ones were, lots of fingers in the ear pictures, but nevertheless the smile on the face is priceless.  He went on 4 different rides and rode them numerous times.

 This ride he loved the best.  He was the only one on it and nobody was waiting in line, so the very nice  ride operator just continued to let it ride around the track.  He was talking and smiling every time he turned the corner.

 This one was next to the noisiest ride in the lot.  Adam tells me it was the hydrolics.  That may be, but there is NO WAY I would let me kid on that, let alone myself.  Just saying.....

 Love this one from far away.  Looks like he is going to pick up a date in his 'Vette.

 The scrunch face= I love this!

 Best 3 bucks I ever spent. A mini bubble blower with a button on it for him to press to release the bubbles.   He doesnt typically pick up how a toy turns on and off quickly, so I was amazed at how quickly he mastered this one. Even better, he knew when it ran out of bubbles to come back over to me so we could dip the wand in the bubble solution.

Lots of events in March and beginning of April

 March starts the season of birthdays (for the little ones, even though mine is thrown in there also.)  This was at Asher's, who is the first of the group to turn 3.   We went to a great park and as you can tell from pictures had a great time.  Grayson is getting better and better at using the equipment at the park and even signing when he wants to swing or go on the slide.
When we make interesting sounds Grayson likes to hold our faces.  It is moments of extreme engagement with him and we love it!

 The Grice and Anker boys.

 Been swinging side by side since they were 6 months old. Hard to believe they are both turning three this month.

 Handsome guy.

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Another family photo.  They are few and far between, so had to put this one on here!

 Gives a whole new meaning to "double fisting" it.  Whenever more than one sippy cup is out, he has to have both of them.

 You looking at me?

 The weather has been gorgeous so we are looking forward to many more beach field trips.

 Grayson has been fascinated by the sand lately.  We are going to make a sandbox for him in our backyard so we dont always HAVE to go to the beach in order for him to play with it.

 We are trying to get him to start to use tools instead of just his hands.  Daddy is pretty good with tools, so maybe G will catch on.

 When not playing in the sand, he is either standing in the water, or running by the edge of it.

 Smooches for Mommy.

 The cutest guy at the beach.  Eat that face up!