Following JD's Journey: March 2014

What a great week! JD turned 6 years old on Thursday, March 20th. I can't believe how big he is... and what I REALLY can't believe is that I started this blog FOUR years ago! It was right after his 2nd birthday! WOW how time goes by fast! JD has changed so much, and come SO far. Each birthday really gives me the opportunity to look back and thank God for all that he's learned and accomplished and for all of the people in our lives that have been there to help support and love him!

This was another year filled with amazing feats! JD's almost finished with his first year of Kindergarten at First Hope and I could not be happier with his progress! He's learning to read, he can do addition and subtraction facts, his comprehension skills are fantastic and he's made a lot of strides with social skills. First Hope has been such a blessing in our life and I'm very excited to say that he will be moving up for first grade there in the fall!

Another big event for this year was having JD's first true birthday party with friends. In the past, we've done birthday parties, but it's been family or friends of the family, not really JD's friends. Mainly because he didn't really have any. One of the big benefits of being at First Hope is that he's surrounded by REAL friends! Both in his special needs classroom and his inclusion classroom. He was extremely excited about his birthday this year and really understood that we were having a party for HIM! We invited all of the boys in the class to a superhero-themed party at a place called Hukoo's. There were trampolines, bumper cars and games. It was loud and crazy and fun! It turned out really well and JD had a great time. I was so thankful that so many of his friends came; and even with a group of boys just like him (on the autism spectrum), they all were amazing!

I have to share a bunch of pictures from today because I'm such a proud mama bear! Enjoy!