December 9th

Today I am thankful for the amazing social changes this boy has made! Cade has always been quite shy and afraid of new situations or new people. It has gradually gotten better, but even about 8 months ago we tried to get him into karate and it was rough. He would not leave the step to even try it out. (We tried 3 days in a row even!) He often would hide behind us in new places and not talk for a good while. I noticed over the summer he really started coming out of it all. Then when we went to Disney World in September I was blown away!! He tried new things, met with characters and truly had a blast (now granted there were some incidents that weren't so pleasant like literally peeling his hands off the railing at Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the funny very stiff first character picture with Goofy - BUT those were on the very first day!) Anyway... back to today - today Cade had his first ever basketball practice! He was so excited and I was for him too. It's hard to believe he's old enough for all this, but he is definitely ready! I took him for the Upward evaluation a few weeks back and he went into the gym by himself!! and did everything they asked. The best part was when I came in to watch him towards the end he was having a blast! Byron took him tonight and said that he had fun and totally participated. They ended up changing the team he was on so now he goes back again on Thursday to practice with his new team. He can't wait! I truly am thankful for such a simple thing!