Gabe at Halloween. He LOVES Buzz Lightyear. He refused to wear a costume, so here he is in his cute PJs.
I swear he is getting more handsome as the days pass. Both Boo and Gabe have the most beautiful eyes. SD has long eyelashes, but those eyes! Where did they get those gorgeous eyes? Just incredible.
Anyway, there is cause for celebration, a pause to reflect and time to push forward. Gabe turned 2 1/2 years old on Saturday. We are amazed at how far he has come and saddened about how much further we have to go. SD (Super Daddy) and I promised ourselves that we would have Gabe off of baby food by the time he was 2 1/2. He has made progress since we made that promise, but it is yet another battle. I'm not sure we can do this one right now. It sometimes feels like the clock is ticking so loud in my ear that I feel dizzy and stressed to the max. I find myself clenching my teeth a lot. I didn't notice it until I was biting down so hard one day, that my teeth began to ach like I had been chewing gum for 15 hours. I can NOT go to a restaurant when he is 3 years old and start feeding him stage 3 from a spoon. I just can't. Believe it or not, I just can't do that. The grunting from excitement, still warms my heart, is it noticeable? You bet, but he's so squeezable, you overlook it. The temper tantrums, well, that can easily be tallied off on the "He's a boy" list. Thank God for that list! But, the eating is another whole dimension and it just outright sucks.
So, here's the deal. Gabe is capable of feeding himself from a spoon, fork and cup - Beautifully. We have started to have him pick what bowl and spoon he wants to eat his baby food with. He also gets to choose the baby food. ( Still Stage 3) Mind you, he has only chosen Banana strawberry( Nana- Ba...NANA!) But, it's a start. He is reinforced after EVERY bite with a reinforcer type food (Veggie Chips or cereal) along with loud praise and a little tickle. (We are huge supporters of ABA for OUR son- It may not work for everyone) Felt like I had to put a disclaimer there. Sometimes ABA supporters can be labeled as ABA militia, I am not one of those people. :o) Anyhooo...It seems to be going well, however, mealtimes are lasting FOREVER and he is not eating as much as he would if we were feeding him. I guess he will catch up when he is hungry enough. Right now we are only doing it during breakfast and dinner, because we are in transit during lunch. Gabe's ABA school is an hour away and BOO has to be picked up at preschool about an hour after he gets out of school. I can make a deal right now with him, that if the baby food is in a bowl and he feeds himself, we can all just take one deep breath for now.
On the flip side, Gabe's school is ending in 3 weeks and I must say I am quite comfortable with ABA and the way it was taught at the Center. The people were fabulous! I don't even want to think about what it is going to be like when Gabe and I do not go to "school" there anymore. Whelp.....Can't talk about that....I feel a lump in my throat and an ulcer in my stomach....Onward...
SD and I have hit some very rough patches through all this. I think Gabe's condition (?-that's sounds odd) really magnified all the crap that we had put on layaway, but never picked up. Kind've like that tote in the basement that has all your old bills and junk from college. You know you should go through it, throw it out, hell, your sick of moving it every time you need to get the Christmas stuff out. But, you just keep walking around it hoping it will go away. SD is my very best friend. I told myself that I would never marry unless I married my best friend. But, he sure can piss me off. I have moved the "tote" closer to the door and placed a pretty bow on it and with a note that reads.."For better or for worse...let's make it better."
