.triumph.

One of the coolest things about having a child with special needs is that everything they achieve is a milestone. Sometimes the most simple and mundane things to most people are an absolute celebration for us! Seeing your child struggle and then accomplish what they set out to do brings such a sense of joy only few can understand.

I am happy to say that we have had a lot of amazing days over the last few months and Parker has blown me away with the incredible progress he has made. We still have our struggles, and each day has it's difficulties, but that pales in comparison to watching him grow and develop.

Parker started to crawl in November. It was a very unsteady crawl and he grunted and huffed and puffed his way through it, but I will never forget taking this video with tears in my eyes not believing what I was seeing. I still grin from ear to ear watching him crawl for the first time. Amazing.

After he learned to crawl, it was no turning back!! This kid had learned how to be mobile and was on the move. He has loved his new found freedom and being able to get to where he wants.

Parker has always understood us much more than he could communicate back. He would listen to us and respond to what we were saying, but wouldn't necessarily use words. All of the sudden in January it was like he just decided one day to talk.

And he hasn't stopped since!

The kid is a chatterbox and is always talking, copying, or jabbering of some sort. He even says "I wuv uh" which brings tears to my eyes every single time. We weren't sure Parker was ever going to talk, and now he is saying I love you. Unreal.

He has mastered a "downward dog" type pose and even crawls in a bear crawl type fashion. He also pulled himself to standing on the couch for the first time about a month ago. Just a few months previous I would have never imagined this milestone would be just around the corner.

And with the help of his foot orthodics, he is standing stronger than even and even standing unassisted for a bit.

And with the help of his amazing physical therapists, he is starting to take steps and learn how to move while standing. They work him so hard and he is so exhausted after every session, but he is making so much progress it is awesome to see!

We bought a potty the other day to attempt to start on this whole potty training business, and instead of using it for a potty, we used it as a seat to work on standing. He thought this was so much fun and wanted to do it over, and over, and over again. I loved watching his determination and then the sheer joy on his face when he would stand, each and every time!

2 years ago when Parker was diagnosed, we were told he may never walk, talk, or do much at all. That because of his muscle tone and all the aspects of Joubert, that he would eventually hit some milestones, but that he would be very uncoordinated and unable to do a lot of things.

I have been blown away by how much Parker has accomplished in just a few short years and cannot wait to see the day that he comes walking towards me. God has been so good and breathed life into this body of Parker. I pray we never go a day thanking Him for each and every milestone Parker has reached.