Growth Stats

I was looking at Aethan's incredibly large feet and realized I should post his growth progress! My big boy is 6 years and 8 months old, 4 ft 1", and 52 pounds! He is wearing size 2 shoes and size 6-8 in clothes. He goes through shoes every 2 months and , like his Mommy, has completely flat feet. He also has his Daddy's allergies and is constantly sniffling and snoring. The little guy knows very well how to stop a nosebleed and blows his nose great for a 6 year old. His favorite food right now is hot dogs (natural ones of course!) and gluten free macaroni and cheese. Of course he eats all of his fruits and veggies too. About 11 servings per day now! He's allergic to Penicillin, as we found out the first and only time he had antibiotics about 4 months ago with strep throat. I forget other people might want to know this stuff!
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The baby who didn't get in to things...

I used to read all these educational materials on autism. These things listed all the early warning signs all the way back to 4 months oldand I always thought "How can you tell that young? That's not possible!" Now that I raise this new little one, I am starting to see that Aethan may have not been the typical baby. I know all babies are different, but my husband can see my shock as Adrian exhibits seemingly "normal" behaviors and asks me if my reason is because Aethan didn't do these things. Most of the differences were positive at the time. Aethan could crawl by 5 months, feed himself with a spoon, and drink from a sippy cup. I watch Adrian throw the cup on the floor and laugh as he smooshes up food he dumped off the spoon between his fingers. Adrian bangs and throws, where Aethan would spin and line up. Adrian doesn't sleep at night well, but if I let him cry he will go to sleep within 30 minutes. Aethan kept it going for hours. Aethan screamed at the vacuum. Adrian stares it down as if its going to do something, but never cries over a loud noise unless he can't see what's making it. Aethan wasn't interested in age apropriate toys and tv shows. Adrian gets in to the trash, tries to eat electrical chords and puts the cat's tail in his mouth. We never needed to baby proof the house when Aethan was a baby. Adrian laughs at puppets and turns to look at you when you say his name. He lights up when he sees his Mommy or Daddy or brothers. Aethan called Grandma Mom. Aethan's stoic behavior seemed like he was just an easy baby. No temper tantrums, no separation anxiety. But the truth is, the little boy didn't know how to connect with me. Or with anyone. Even now, he's the kid who will say "I'm fine" while hiding his face full of tears. He goes deep within when he is upset. The most fantastic thing though- he has no difficulty expressing when he is happy. I get to see his excitement, his enthusiasm, his joy. One of my favorite things in the world is his love for his little brother. He makes him so happy and the feeling is mutual! They just spend hours smiling at each other, almost having conversations. Aethan knows him...hears his thoughs..knows his needs (and of course, tells us what they are) Amazing to me that this nonverbal child became such a strong voice.