Blessed with Babies

Our family is growing. We are being blessed with babies. Let me show you the beautiful babies that God has blessed our family with.

These boys are my great-nephews, Dakota and Jackson. These are my brother's grandchildren. I haven't seen the boys yet because at Easter they were moving here from up north - a five hour drive. Notice the yawn.
Here they are fast asleep. Aren't they adorable? I love babies and just sent my nephew an email telling him I just HAVE to see the boys. They were born on December 19th, just in time for Christmas. Of course they've just moved down here so I'm waiting to go to see them until the family is settled.

This is Evan. He is also my great-nephew and my brother's grandson. I haven't seen Evan yet either. Mom's been very tired and so I haven't bothered her.
Doesn't he look so content here? Evan was born on February 28th. He just missed being a leap year baby.
And Griffyn is growing like a weed. He is an adorable little boy. He laughs and chortles with glee. He is discovering the world.
Here he is driving a car at the laundromat. Looks to me like he might be a race car driver one day.
And look at this. He's laughing out loud. Griffyn was born on June 28, 2007. Mom is expecting another baby in August. Griffyn is either really happy or really sad. There doesn't seem to be any in-between. Usually he is in a good mood.

Griffyn was tested to see how he was performing for his age level. He is nine months old and he is at a one-year level. Here he is climbing the stairs. He is a going concern. He knows that he isn't to go up the stairs, but that is what he likes to do. He has just discovered he can do it and wants to do it whether it's against the rules or not.

Here he's looking right at Mom as if to say, "I can do it!" Dad is behind him in case he falls and Mom has the camera. Melissa, his mother has a good sense of humor. I fear she is going to need it when the new baby comes.

I was presented with the award above by Greatful Living and also by Storyteller at Small Reflections. I was very honored to get it from two ladies on the same day. Thank you both. You made my day much brighter.

Above is the autism awareness ribbon. I have posted about autism the last two days because this is Autism Awareness Month.

Yesterday I mentioned that we believed Brandon's autism was connected to his one-year vaccination. Let me add to that. We did notice that Brandon started stimming (a term that I learned from another blogger today.) after his vaccination. He would cry and flap his hands wildly. By the time he was two, he had a little dance that we thought was cute. When he became excited he would do a dance, flap his arms and hands and then bring one knee up and his elbow down - kind of like the dance that is done after a touchdown in football. Later we learned that this was a sign of autism.

I don't want to mislead anyone. We do know that in order for the autism to appear, Brandon had to have the gene. Another sign of autism is a larger than normal head. When Brandon was born, he had a very large head. My daughter did have a natural birth, but Brandon's head was very mishapen when he was born. Today, at almost thirteen years old, his head is as large as an adult's.

While doing a little research today I happened upon an article about research that was done at the University of Western Ontario. Apparently researchers have found a gut-brain connection to autism. To read the article, go HERE.

I will be writing more about autism this month. It is a subject near and dear to my heart. The general population needs to be educated on the subject of autism so they can better understand the disorder.

If you would like to visit other blogs that are posting in recognition of Austism Awareness Month, please follow the links below.

Raven at Views from the Raven's Nest
Linda at These are the Days
Dianne at Forks Off the Moment
Casdock at Mother of Shrek

By visiting all of these sites and reading the posts, you will become more understanding of what autism means to those living with it and to their families.