Our Happy Baby Boy!!!

The above video is Jet's progress from being on Gluten Free for around 4 - 5 months. I think that you'll find in the video that Jet has definitely made progress. It would be beneficial to me if you notice anything that has changed in Jet in comparing the first video to this one, please make a comment on it. I would greatly appreciate it.

I also hope that you can see what an amazingly sweet boy we have been blessed with. His spirit is happy and very joyful. His smile holds the power to light up your day. We are so very proud to call him our son.

Jet had Speech Therapy today. He received private Speech Therapy twice a week and he also receives it at school once a week. His speech therapist was so proud of him today. She's very impressed with his focusing skills and his nonverbal imitation are improving greatly.

We ate at Ocean China tonight and he actually did not make a huge mess. In fact, there was very little on the floor. Which is a HUGE improvement even from last time we ate there, which was probably around a month ago. Rice can be very messy. For some reason, he loves putting food in his hair. I'm not sure why. It's funny and annoying at the same time.

We went to Soonerpark today and he did great playing on the playground and walking around. We also went to the Duck Pond. The Geese totally freaked him out. He did not care for them at all. He did enjoy playing in the pond with sticks and throwing rocks in. Jet has started monkey see monkey do with his older brother especially. Will found a big stick and so Jet had to find a big stick. Will stuck it in the water and Jet had to stick his in the water. His little sister, Anabella, went exploring through the woods and Jet thought that was a pretty good idea and he followed her. The imitation play is a precursor to verbal speech, so it's a great sign.

Here we are at the Duck Pond. Obviously, he is still having oral motor weakness. 

One of the things that both of his therapist are working hard on is getting him to close his mouth. He is making progress. Every now and then, you'll catch him with his mouth closed. At this point that is definitely the exception, not the rule.

On Wednesday night, we went to church. Jet ran from the Van all the way to the church door without falling down. I'm not sure of the exact distance - but trust me, this was a huge accomplishment for Jet.

Something else that I have noticed recently that if you say, "Jet look at that!" while pointing at something. He will look immediately. That is a new skill for him.

I'm also slightly concerned about his still very bloated tummy. I'm not sure at this point what is causing it - so I am considering switching him to Rice Milk (he's on soy milk now). If anyone has any feedback on what might be causing that, I'm all ears.

In March we'll have a better idea on what might be causing the delays. If the genetics tests are all negative, I'm considering going to a DAN (defeat autism now) doctor. There is one in Tulsa and the idea is very intriguing. Jet has not been diagnosed with autism and I don't think that he has it - his social skills are not delayed. In fact his Development Pediatrician - said that if he's on the spectrum at all, it is very very low. However, he does have a lot of the same qualities as someone does with autism. I spoke with a mom recently who has had GREAT success with this approach and it is something that I am seriously considering. From what I understand, DAN deals a lot with nutrition and supplements. 

We are also considering "Thoughful House for Children" in Austin Texas. It's a state-of-the-art facility that diagnoses and treats kids with "special needs" (autism, adhd, pdd, and delayed development). It takes a long time to be seen at "Thoughtful House", so I might just go ahead and make an appt. I'm sure it will be after March before we could get in. The same mom I spoke with earlier this week said that "Thoughtful House" was a saving grace for them - something they wish they would have known about earlier. I'll keep you posted on what decisions Jared and I make regarding this.

As always, Thank you for reading and Walking with us through this Journey.