Uncles, swimming, Fourth of July, oh my!

This is it. My 100th post! Hard to believe......

This is a mismatch of a bunch of fun events that have been going on here in Jacksonville. First picture is just a random morning out in the yard. He is seriously one of the most photogenic people on the planet. It is incredible. We have just been trucking along with therapy and enjoying our summer. Aside from OT on Mondays from 8-9 we have the day to ourselves. It is a rare commodity since his schedule is usually completely booked with school or therapy Monday-Friday. We have had so much fun already being able to get together with some of our old friends and even new ones for some pool time. And yes, there is ALWAYS pool time involved. Since his first lesson 3 weeks ago, he has become a little fish. All he wants to do is be in the pool showing off his skills. His teacher says he is a natural and she is impressed with how well he is picking up on it already. He swims underwater to her and after a short break, right back to the wall. He HATES anything on his head or face so goggles are out of the question for right now. We are trying to desensitize him to them though since right now he is swimming with his eyes closed.

We got Daddy a bunch of little gifts for Father's Day, but since he started working from home, I didn't have an office or anything to "make" something for. So we decided that a photo op posted on Facebook was just as good. Took 3 days and hundreds of attempts, but finally got this winner! Everywhere we go, Grayson finds a baby doll. I decided it was time to buy him one of his own. Toys R Us literally has an entire aisle of baby dolls, we were there for quite some time. I wanted him to choose the one he wanted. I would hold two out and he would either touch one or push one away. Still non-verbal,but gets his point across, that is for sure. We ended up with this one. Once he had selected it, he dragged her by her arm throughout the whole store up to the check out line. He seems fascinated by her feet and her hands. After a day or two he could care less about her, but maybe he will go back to wanting to play with her. Uncle Jeremy came up last weekend and we had a great time! Here are a few shots of them playing around and in the pool.

Grayson has gotten really good at a lot of tasks. One is stacking blocks. He can make towers higher than his hands can reach! I love seeing this smile while working at the table.

So now that you know that he hates having stuff on his head, if you didnt know that already, one guess as to how many takes it took to get this photo? Safe to say, A LOT!

Uncle Andy and Chelsea were in St Augustine at Chelsea's cousin's house for the Fourth of July. They let us crash their family event for a few hours to hang out and of course, go swimming! A great shot of the three of them.

Water Day at ABA and First Swim Lesson!

 Well, we are definitely getting ready for summer over here!  I didnt get to take any pictures at Grayson's elementary school luau, but thank goodness for Ms. Carolina at ABA!  She must know how crazy G's mom is and got all of these great shots of him.   They took a bus over to a park where they had all kinds of water play activities.  They had a slip and slide, water table, small inflatable pool, and his favorite part:  Water guns.  

Above is a selfie of Grayson with Ms. Carolina on the bus.
Below is another picture on the bus.  Very serious about water day.

 They had two therapy dogs come to the celebration.

 At the end of the day.  Soaked.  He loved having this huge water gun filled up and then dumped out over his head.  Funny, this is the kid that has to have his head tilted all the way back in order to shampoo his hair in the bath.  Another time we have learned that he has been playing us!

 While at his luau, I was talking to another mom who said she had just put her son in swim lessons.  She said with his diagnosis, he was able to get a private session for the same price as a group one.  I obviously called that afternoon to sign us up.   I would say for a first lesson he did a great job!  Ms. Hope is his teacher and will be every Saturday when we go.  One minor problem: he likes to drink the water.  That has been his thing lately at the beach and the pool.   And this pool is a salt water pool, so that must be even tastier than chlorine!   Nevertheless, he had a great time, a feat we would have NEVER been able to do just a few months ago.

 Working on kicking.

 Jumping in to Ms. Hope.

 Trying to work on floating.  Something we will have to work on, floating is not an easy thing for him.

 Last skill worked on was getting over to the wall and climbing up.  A strong survival skill for water safety.

We can't wait until next Saturday for another class!

Memorial Day weekend at Fripp Island with the Popjes'!

 We have just returned from our first official family vacation.  All of the other trips we have taken have involved running around to see family or mice and other characters, they have all been fun, but definitely not considered relaxing or a vacation.   This weekend was the antithesis of that.  We got to park our car on Friday and not move it until Monday.  Our biggest decision of the day was what time we were going to go to the beach.   We are so thankful for great friends like Melanie and Jamie.  We are  sad that our friendly neighbors moved back to South Carolina, but are super happy that they have this beautiful beachfront condo that they invited us to. :)  We had a great time playing in the sand and at the beach and most of all being able to spend such great quality time with great friends.

For those of you who don't know, Fripp Island is a little gem of an island tucked away in the southeastern corner of South Carolina.  It is a small private community where golf carts are used as the main form of transportation.  Deer roam free around the island.  Melanie and I got up close and personal with a baby doe last night as she ventured from the beach to the entrance of the courtyard where Mel and I were enjoying an evening cocktail on the boardwalk.
 Here are a few of the highlights from the trip.  At low tide, there were great tide pools that were very entertaining for Grayson.  He got to sit, splash, walk around freely, and experiment with the dry and wet sand.

 Thought this was such a good photo op with Mel and Grayson lounging in the same position soaking up the rays.

 This was quite the popular stance for most of us for the weekend.

 The condo was oceanfront, but of course this little prince was carried to and fro.

 Last night of the trip, trying to get a picture of Mel and Jamie with Grayson.  This was one of our favorites.

 And then a nice one. :)

 The last day he didnt think he needed to take a nap, so by 6:00 he was pretty cooked.  He laid on the couch, relaxed, and watched some of his favorite TV shows.

 This morning we realized that we had no pictures of the four of us.  It was another beautiful morning so we took advantage of the picturesque view on the beach.   Don't worry, Grayson was just playing in a tide pool somewhere.

Overall, it was a delightful weekend and we can't wait to do it again!

Poppi turns 90!

I can hardly believe that my Poppi turned 90 years old this past weekend.  It is a big birthday and I knew it would be hard for him to not have my mother there. I thought it was a great idea to make the trip down to see him and spend some quality time with him and the family.
                                      

We got to see a ton of people in this trip and Grayson was a real trooper for all of the photos that I insisted on taking.   We met Tracey and Lucks for dinner one night.  Lucks and Adam had a quick escape to go get dinner themselves and we didn't remember to take a photo :( Pretty bummed about  that.   But nevertheless great shots with Tracey and Gramps watching the sun set.
                                           

The next morning we had a very busy day!  We started meeting part of The Anker clan at this great place called the Funderdome.   I dont know who liked it better, the big boys or the little boy, but nevertheless, we all had fun.

After a nice lunch, we headed up to part two of our day: Poppi, Esther and Aunts/Uncles.
 Lots of tickles from Uncle Keith.

Snuggles with Esther.

Aunt Terry was smitten with this little guy.

Oh, look!  Uncle Jeff is actually being photographed and not just behind the camera!

 Grayson thought it was super funny when UJ would rub his head like a Magic Eight ball and then tickle his belly.

As always, Grayson adored time with Uncle Andy and Chelsea.

The scrunch face, which is back with a vengeance.    Couldn't resist posting this one on the balcony with the blue/green ocean and beautiful sky backdrop.

We have been making a lot of trips to the beach but the pool in our neighborhood is still quite cold.  Luckily, this one was warm!  Grayson warmed up to the idea of being in this ring very quickly and we LOVE it.  It is so nice to not have a little koala bear attached to your neck the whole time you are in the water.  He was doing a great job of kicking and using his hands to steer.

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.