This year we went downtown to the "Battleship Easter Egg Hunt" at the Cape Fear River. It was fun, but the boys were a little disappointed that it wasn't actually on the Battleship. I was too. Above is a picture of their disappointed faces. It should have been called "In the Vicinity of the Battleship Easter Egg Hunt." There's a big grassy lawn adjacent to the USS North Carolina that  was filled with activities, games and a big Egg Hunt Course divided up by age groups. I was pretty excited before we got there. I had envisioned eggs all across the deck of that gargantuan ship, in the turrets and in the ends of the huge 16 inch guns. No such luck. The boys had a good time anyhow.

In other news, baby Bodie's top 5 teeth (mentioned in the previous post) are all in, but he has just 2 on the bottom still. He's a much happier baby now that the teething has paused. He's showing his little mischievous personality with those teeth, biting the spoon with a little grin and not letting go when Sara's trying to feed him. He gets a real kick out of that.

He's also sitting up on his own. Actually, he's been sitting up for a couple months, I've just forgotten to blog about it. I hate that these little milestones come to pass without the fanfare that hailed our first son's achievements. We are just as excited, and I want Bodie to know that. It's also very relieving to see him develop normally without any autistic tendencies.

 Sitting up on your own is a pretty big deal to a 6 month old! Think about it - your whole life's perspective of the world is improved dramatically. You go from laying flat on your back or tummy, confined to a very limited view, to a much more commanding presence and perspective. Now that he can sit up he's greatly aware of his surroundings and happier for it. He's exploring and lunging at everything that comes within reach. I'm sure once he figures out he can get off his rump and onto hands and knees, it'll be off to the races. Our poor cat will have to go into seclusion. I know he's gonna go right for her as soon as he figures out how to crawl. Bodie loves that cat, but she is tortured by the mere thought of one of these kids touching her. (See Kids & Cats post Aug 2008) A crawling baby will also mean we have to re-check all of our babyproofing around here. That day isn't here yet...

Gavin's "American Flag Big Wheel Roller Skate Birthday Party" was terrific! Everything went great, just too fast. Lots of his friends from school and their parents came, the skating rink was packed! Almost everybody put on roller skates - that was unexpected. Nobody got hurt - that was really unexpected!

We had a local baker called "Imaginary Friends Bakery" whip up a special cake with a flapping flag which was a hit. I think everyone had a great time. Garrett mostly sat and munched snacks, he was in snacking heaven. He did take his trike around the track a few times. Bodie got to hang with his Grammy the whole time, and Gavin was able to keep his cool in the midst of all the excitement. I was worried he would be so over stimulated he would just lay on the floor and shut down.

Gavin's awesome teachers came with ... drumroll please ... a NEW BIKE! He was so fired up about that. Now it's all he wants to do, ride the bike! He's already zipping around the driveway with it. They also brought him a helmet and pads, very appropriate! So far he hasn't crashed. Thank God for training wheels!

When Gavin woke up yesterday at 5:30 am, the day after the party, he was very groggy. I gave him a big hug and asked him if he had a fun time. He said "Yes. And maybe for the next time when I am six we can have a North Carolina flag party." That might be a little more difficult. Maybe he'll have to change his mind. We can't fill all of his desires, just some of them! Then he said "Dad, please don't put the stinky air from your mouth onto my nose." Haha.

Gavin is turning 5. I can't believe it! I don't want it. This boy is growing up too fast! I'll never forget our first night with him, it seems like just a year ago, not 5! He seemed so tiny and fragile. There's me in the picture changing his first dipe. I remember doing that, thinking - "this isn't as easy as I thought it would be." With dogged training, it has become second nature. Thank God he now does 95% of his number two's on the throne. See the earlier posts on that subject.

Now he's a scrappy, resilient little guy with grass stained knees and dirt under his fingernails. Last week he added a really tough looking scar across his forehead, the result of a collision with the entertainment center and a trip to the E.R. ( He was actually very excited to visit the hospital, but was disappointed not to be going in an ambulance.) Now he reads to me at bedtime, not vice versa. I'm very proud of him, but it's just going too fast.

To celebrate his half decade mark, were throwing him an awesome birthday party. We're trying to fill all of his requests for it. When Sara asked him what kind of birthday party he wanted, he was pretty specific: A big wheel party with lots of flags, and a flag cake! He loves to ride his bigwheel, and has a fascination with the American flag. He loves to watch flags blowing in the wind, it is his escape. Lots of kids with autism have different types of passions. For some it is running water, spinning wheels, or  ceiling fans. For Gavin, it is the American Flag. You'd never realize how many flags there are in town until you take a ride with my son. He spots them everywhere, even the little sticker flags in car windows. In the public, there are people who think it's odd. I've seen quite a few perplexed faces when Gavin starts dancing and hopping around the flags at McDonalds instead of playing on the big plastic treehouse. You see, McDonalds is a huge triple whammy for him - they always have 3 flags: USA, NC, and Mc D's. Booyah! Trifecta!! Rather than trying to explain the complicated intricacies of autistic behavior, I just say he is very patriotic.

For the party we've rented a local indoor skating rink where the kids can eat hotdogs and ride their bigwheels and trikes under the flashing lights and disco ball. Awesome! We are going to coat the place with American flags, of course. Sara's been ordering the flags and ballons online, and as it arrives we've been showing it to him so he's not completely overwhelmed by the setting when we get there. We've found its best not to surprise him too much - he gets bowled over with this nervous energy that can leave him sprawled on the floor giggling like a maniac. That's fine, but it can also really throw him off track for the rest of the day. With careful planning and prep it'll be fine. We'll post some pics after the big event!