Fitz is 3

Fitz at 3

Fitzwilliam Thomas Barker turned three on March 29 this year. He is one of the cutest little boys ever to walk the face of the earth. Being his mom (just being around him, actually) is one of the greatest joys I have in life. Fitz is rough and tumble, but sweet; super happy, but somehow just as cute when he’s sad; a good boy, but a mischievous little rascal. He’s just one of my favorite people of all time.

Fitz with his planes, including the one Alek made him out of Legos

Katie was committed to helping us get a good picture of Fitz, much to our chagrin

Fitz loved his airplane cake

Fitz loves airplanes so we had a plane party for him. Kim, Alek and Katie helped me decorate. Fitz loved the paper planes on the wall and tried to pull them off and fly them around the room. After the party, he wouldn’t let me throw them away. He was so cute.

He loved his gifts. They were just perfect for him. He loves his Mega-Blocks car set from Auntie Kim and Uncle Aaron and is good at putting the parts together himself. He loves the trampoline from Grandma and Grandpa and has a great time jumping on it (so does Charlie).

Fitz really got into opening his presents

Fitz tries out the trampoline

Fitz with his Mega-Blocks track

Charlie with trampoline hair

We also did a mini-celebration for Fitz's Uncle Jake, whose birthday is just a few days before his. I slyly got a shot of him with one of his gifts.

Jake and his girlfriend, Chelsea

A few days after his party, Josh bought Fitz a Captain America helmet to go with his shield and Fitz loves to go around in that get-up, fighting Hydra Nazis (Alek and Katie and sometimes Dad). Alek and Katie like to wear the helmet and shield too.

Over the past month or so, I have seen Fitz blossoming – growing up, learning, expanding his vocabulary, improving his interaction with others, so many positive things. Yet on March 28, the day before his birthday, he was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Right now, today, I kinda feel like, “so what?” The diagnosis doesn’t feel that bad. I see so much potential in him. And I re-read a post from three years ago, a post I wrote about Fitz’s blessing. He was blessed that he would be a mighty man, physically, mentally and spiritually. That sounds right to me.