Jackson Rayne is 12!

05
05 i think
06
05
07

heck, for all we know hes 14.. but we celebrate his birthday today and we guess hes 12 lol. he sure has come a long way. when i think back to when we met him, when he was 6 ish, i am amazed at the changes, physical and otherwise. he was 39 inches tall and weighed only 39 lbs on Nov. 10th 2003 at his first P.I.D. appointment in Boston. he was listed/estimated as being 7 & 2 mos. old at that time. he then gained 40 lbs in the next 40 mos. and has continued to grow at quite a rate. he spoke NO english, didnt use utensils & peed on the floor or in a bucket in his room. he couldn't brush his own teeth, dress himself or pour into a cup. he needed help with almost everything. washing, dressing, cutting food..... some things he learned very quickly while spending weeks with us in haiti at the hotel, other skills still elude him to this day. he learned to ride a bike in the first 4 weeks, mastered utensils right away and pretty much caught on to daytime toileting skills. he could swim the first summer here. the rest was slow. he spoke no english until january("they will speak creole at my school!" yah... ok) tried to get out of the car while on the highway if didnt like where we were going, teased the weener dog until it bit his face, broke every toy we owned and ate weird stuff like cat nip, fish food, white out, rubber cement, road salt, worms(on a dare), Grampa's bryl creme, dog berries, peach scented shaving cream, nail polish, chain saw blade lubricator, dish soap and assorted other toiletries and make up. i was literally on a first name basis at poison control for 2 years straight. "hi. its ali crawford in NH again. yah... its jackson. 9-6-96. catnip this time. C-A-T N-I-P. mmhhmmm. about 3 tablespoons. just acting hyper so far. could he be part cat? all organic? cool! thanks! talk soon, bye." geesh....

but now, 5 years into our life sentence.. er.. i mean loving union with our son, i see such progress. he still eats insects and puts things in his mouth that he shouldnt, infact, he has HUGE oral fixation issues like hes 3 years old. infact, hes next to me now, chewing on a huge rubber band. why? i have absolutely no idea. he has major RAD stuff but i see so much good too. hes getting better about asking for what he wants, expressing himself(as long as nobody is angry with him or on his case) and treats kendyl & shawn very well most of the time. he joins in with the Fam more and doesnt act like a total outsider 24/7 anymore. he has great manners-not table manners but please & thank you manners. hes funny and is learning how to make jokes and poke fun in an ok way. he feels better about himself than he used to, even though he wants to be in a gang and kill stuff LOL

when i met him, he needed 3 naps a day like a 6 month old baby. it was so sad. he was covered in warts and boils, his hair was falling out in clumps, he had a sinus infection and pneumonia, he would wake up in the night with these sky high fevers and would be delirious. he would lose his balance and fall all over the place, even on even turf. his hands shook and his mouth was so rotted that his breath would knock you out while you held him to read a story. (the dentist knocked him out with a big frying pan and fixed his whole mouth in 1 day!) i could go on and on but im bored now.

anyway, im really glad hes our son and not someone else's. usually LOL

happy birthday jacky!!!!!!!
i wish i could post older photos, but i dont have a scanner. pout.