That's One Small Kick In Spite Of SMA, and One Giant Kick At SMA!

On Friday Alisha called out, "Look at what Emmett's doing!" Believe me when I say that we still drop what we're doing and head to see what this little boy is up to now.

Ever wonder what a corduroy road feels like? Then take a wheel chair for a spin on a wooden pier! Emmett was enjoying some ocean air by heading out onto the pier at White Rock, B.C.

On Friday Alisha called out, "Look at what Emmett's doing!" Believe me when I say that we still drop what we're doing and head to see what this little boy is up to now. For instance, several weeks ago he learned to cross his eyes at will to get a laugh out of others - to all of our friends who are eye specialists believe me when I say I'm discouraging this. And he loves doing circles in his wheel chair or coming right up to you and then stopping. Or going 'ssshhhh' with his finger to indicate being quiet. This wasn't one of those. He was sitting in his power chair and swinging his feet. That's right. SWINGING HIS FEET! He will frequently move his toes. He will slide his foot off of the foot rest. He has swung his feet a little bit. He shows us a lot of leg movement when he is floating in water. But this time he was simply swinging his feet around and enjoying it. Can you imagine how huge this is and how cute it was to see him sitting there kicking and swinging his feet! There simply are not words to describe this moment. Perhaps a video will help. And isn't he cute in his 'jammies'!

Emmett loves toys. He has a lot of them just like every other two year old. Emmett is incredibly fortunate to have gotten a power wheelchair at 16 months of age and, while at first it was cute watching him try to manipulate the joy stick as he really didn't have a clue how to operate it those first few days, it didn't take very long before he was getting to places that he wanted to go. 9 months later and his power chair is in use daily. It is a part of his life and we are, without doubt, so lucky to live in a country and a province that supports the mobility needs of little ones. This chair is a tool that provides this little boy with the ability to interact with others. While the chair is not a toy, there are many toys which help him to expand his horizons and to stretch his physical limitations. Play and interaction with others are a key part of socialization and learning. Toys and games are an integral part of learning. We are looking forward to the end of flu and cold season to allow Emmett greater interaction with others. The ball on the rope is really to indicate stop the car when it touches the windshield - but it is the perfect height for Emmett when he is in his chair. And Emmett has learned how to push the chair's control buttons to change speeds (also to go up and down). He's such a smart little boy and learned this from watching adults (I only gave him one formal lesson).

Of course, then there's Emmett's neck and head control which is continuing to develop. Emmett requires support to sit up, however, the amount of support has reduced significantly. Plus he is able to hold up his head for longer and longer periods of time. What is really cool is watching him while Alisha is supporting him - and he tilts his head back to look at his mommy! Then he physically pulls his head back into an upright position - talk about strength!

Emmett's Journey has made a point of celebrating his birthday every month. Now that he has had his second birthday we are going to continue with the blog and the posts will likely happen on his birthday. However, we are not going to openly celebrate his month birthday. We will be celebrating and sharing special moments and thoughts that arise as we're laughing, playing, and probably even crying (at times) while we watch Emmett on his journey. Of course, there will be blog postings at other times too. Thank you for following with Emmett on this Journey. Thank you for your prayers, your support, your warm wishes, and the love that you have for our little Emmett!

P.S., not sure what a corduroy road is? Your homework is to find out. Ask someone who looks old (but don't tell them they look old) or do a search on Wikipedia. And while Emmett is almost always happy, he does have his moments! But even amidst all of these tears, he's holding his head up on his own!