Jacqueline Laurita Celebrates Autistic Son's Fourth Birthday: 'He Continues To Surprise And Impress Us'
June 10 2013, Published 2:50 p.m. ET
June 9 was a huge day for The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jacqueline Laurita.
Not only did she get to re-watch her autistic son, Nicholas, surprise her by saying the words “I love you” for the first time since his diagnosis, but Jacqueline also got to celebrate Nicholas’ accomplishments and his fourth birthday.
“Nicholas has his 4th Birthday June 11th but we celebrated some 2night,” Jacqueline tweeted, along with a shot of Nicholas in front of his birthday cupcakes and a Vine video of him blowing out his candles. “He was so happy!”
Jacqueline also took to her Bravo blog to discuss her son’s shocking surprise.
“That ‘I love you’ was the sweetest and most precious gift to receive,” Jacqueline declared. “Who cares if we had to bribe him with a lollipop? He said it!”
Jacqueline saw the surprise not only as a momentary accomplishment, but as an event that promised that Nicholas is progressing.
“That moment was much more emotional than what you saw in that scene,” she wrote. “To me, it meant there was hope. If he was capable of saying that and all that he had accomplished thus far, I believed he could do so much more.”
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And Jacqueline was right: That scene was just the beginning for Nicholas.
“Since then, he continues to surprise and impress us with his accomplishments,” she stated. “He is truly a blessing.”