WHO IS THIS KID!???

So...I'm not sure where this came from, how it happened, what made this change, who has been praying, why my millions of prayers finally have been answered, and my load lifted a little bit...at least for the time being...BUT Dakota is HAPPY again!!!! :) :) :) This is seriously breaking news!!! You may need to sit down to take it in! ;)

Not just a little...but a lot! It has probably been like four straight days where we have gotten LOTS of smiles and even his huge, long laugh is back. It has seriously been months since he has been this happy and has laughed like this. He just all the sudden changed one day and has been happy ever since. Not that we don't have whines and cries every so often but they are fewer and far between and for the most part when he isn't smiling, laughing, and talking (making sounds) he is pretty content.

There is no one thing that brings it on...sometimes it's at something we do or say but a lot of times it is just random out of nowhere. A couple nights ago we were visiting our good friends the Ledgers and all just sitting around talking...he just started laughing forever and ever. Grammy and Poppy took him to the movies...he started laughing. Driving in the car...he started laughing. Sitting in sacrament...he started laughing. Sitting in his primary class...he started laughing.

Nothing does your heart as good as seeing your child happy. Most parents get to see their kids smile and laugh all the time so it's not as big of deal...but when Dakota smiles and laughs those who know him best...stop, look, soak it in, and smile and laugh with him. It is funny to us because wherever Zach and I are, no matter what we are doing, or who is around...if Dakota starts to smile and especially laugh, our world stops for a moment. People around us keep doing there thing but I almost want to stop them and just say LOOK, LOOK!!! They don't understand how few and far between those moments are for us, how much we miss hearing and seeing them all the time, and how much they truly get us through. To others it is just another child smiling and laughing but to us...it is the ONLY thing that matters and is something worth stopping and soaking up!

I only pray and hope that this happy time stays with him and never stops!!! If it does...I hope I don't ever take one smile for granted like I used to. I hope my world will always stop for that smile and the sound of the sweet adorable laugh that is so different then I once knew...but so magical!!! 

(I haven't got a picture of it yet because I haven't wanted to stop looking to go and get the camera...but I will catch it for proof!)

So here is another I just captured one day...he face was so angelic in that moment! Little smile!

Sweet Moment:

I found out today that there were 2 kids in his primary class that were fighting to sit by him and hold his hand, so his cute personal teacher let both of them sit on each side and hold his hand. SOOO grateful for these amazing children that love him and treat him so sweet despite his differences!!! Once again...thank you parents who teach your children through your examples how to love like our Saviour!!!