so the other day Ryder was in our living room playing with toys...a regular thing for him....he usually can only move within a 2 foot area...he moves by kicking his cute little legs....he kicks and kicks and slowly scoots his butt around the floor....
anyways Ryder was in the middle of the floor, and started kicking...and moving...kicking and moving....he reached our couch....he realized this was pretty dang cool.....so he kept doing it.....next thing he knew he was like 10 feet away from where he started...then cleared the hallway corner....and scooted all the way to his own room. It was so cool!!!
while scooting Greg and I were cheering him on....saying, "Ryder you did it! you did it!"
Ryder kept yelling SO loud, "I DID IT!! I DID IT!"
It was simply adorable.
It was not til later, because we were so excited...we realized that it was pretty advanced for him to change the you to I....(you did it to, I did it)
I had to ask his speech pathologist if this was expected from a 17 month old....she said oh no....if anything they'd say "me did it".
So we are so proud! He's always saying such cute things....like...I love you, Good boy, Eat ( he yells it while he's eating cuz he's so excited) My brother Robert he calls "berr" hilarious...he even says excuse me when he burps....(in his own language haha, but we understand it) He's so good.
anyways here's the pics.....

Greg was so proud of Ryder....
Ryder LOVES guitars!!! his eyes light up
and screams in excitement for the guitar...its quite cute.

uncle Rob is so mean...

For those who did not see my post on DJ Gregory, you are missing out on such a beautiful inspirational story. Please check out this link..... hopefully it works....
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/story?id=6254778

I wrote DJ a few months ago....and today he emailed us back....what an amazing person!!! he has just put out a book....he asked that I tell everyone I know to get it! It's called "Walking With Friends: An Inspirational Year on the PGA TOUR"

He even gave us his number and asked how Ryder was...cool huh!? because he is a true inspiration to us...and someday when Ryder understands, I hope that he'll inspire him as well.

What a wonderful story...check it out!

Kira

yes...I did it, I finally posted pics!!! & updates! enjoy!

This kid is so hilarious!!

man i love this kid!!!

uncle rob propped him up...he stood for like 10 seconds!

hehe...look at me dad!!!

laughing at Rob.....tickling him.

ryder loves this red ball at grandma's house!! cuz he can actually hold it!

Update on Ryder boy! He's still the cutest kiddo ever!!! We've been very busy still with doctors and specialists and therapies!!! And I'm still trying to catch up from the hospital stay...he still has a cough from that to!!

The new updates....Ryder saw an amazing Doctor...Dr. Kwaznica. She said that Ryder is def moderate more so severe CP. But the crazy thing is that he does things that he totally shouldnt considering the severity of the CP. Like opening his right hand up....waving.....and things like that. He actually said "good boy" to her....she laughed and agreed that he indeed was a good boy! and oh he is! For the first time he didnt cry with the dr, he laughed with her....that was good to see. I thought he'd be traumatized for life after the hospital.

After all our doctor appointments this is what kinds of cerebral palsy he has.....fyi sometimes people only have one type of cp. The most common is Diplegia...which ryder has, as well as several others.

Once again they believe Ryder is mentally there....which I'm pretty sure of....he told my mom the other day "i uv u" pretty good for a 16 monther i think.

anyways these are the types that he has...all combined with the descriptions....so they all work against eachother, which is why we are pretty sure he'll be in a wheelchair his whole life....but thats ok, he can do many things in it!!!! he thought the wheelchairs at the dr yesterday were pretty cool! it was cute. He gets his first wheelchair next week! yay!!! the pics i posted a few months ago. .... ok no here are his cp types.......

Diplegia: is the term used in the types of cerebral palsy that affect the lower extremities. These patients may be able to control arm and trunk functions but have the most difficulty with leg movement.
(ryder has this but another that affects his arms and trunk as well)

Quadriplegia: is used to define the types of cerebral palsy that affect all four extremities and impair trunk and neck muscle movements. This is often the most severe form of cerebral palsy and is therefore usually the most debilitating.
( this is the saddest one he has, it'll be rough for him to deal with.)

Hemiplegia: involves the types of cerebral palsy that affect one side of the body. Usually one arm and one leg are impaired in hemiplegia and is usually the result of a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) that occurs while the child is a fetus or during infancy.
(ryder's right side is affected by this, he hardly uses his right side....esp his arm/hand)

Spastic: Spastic cerebral palsy causes movements to be stiff or difficult to execute. In these types of cerebral palsy the muscles may not be able to relax properly.
(Ryder goes back and forth on this one....one second he is as stiff as a board, then totally limber the next minute, but its annoying for him needless to say!)

So we see that life will def be hard on him, and us. The doctor said that as time moves on it will show more severe symptoms....but its ok.
I'm not going to lie, it is hard to take in. The hardest for me as his mother, is watching him around other children. They are up running around him, and taking toys away, and just being regular kids. Then he's pretty helpless laying in one spot crying when they run away and he can't follow. My sister stephanie's kids are really good at hanging around him, and playing with him...esp Drake! what good cousins Ryder has! all of them are great.
I try not to focus on the sadness in my heart when he's around other kids, but I can't help just for that split second, to feel so sad for him. I just remember it cant change....but all I can do is teach him to be strong...and that he's one cool boy just the way he is!!! I met this woman at the dr yesterday that had a son with physical disabilities. I asked her how do you teach them to ignore peoples many stares?? she said I tell my son just smile and wave, say hi. She said it always works. Smiles almost always work! gotta love smiles.
Well thats my thoughts. wow! a lot! but minds just filled with so much : )