We cannot get enough of the gait trainer!

Here he is showing off for us:

And then leaving us in the dust (he’s headed for the playground, I think):

After months of waiting for insurance to come around, Joe now has his very own gait trainer.

It’s similar to the ones he’s used at school and in physical therapy — now he can practice his moves at home (and maybe chase the dog)!

We took it out for a spin before dinner. Look at him go!

A few weeks ago, on a trip to North Carolina, Joe discovered my dad’s new iPad. As you can see here, he was particularly taken with the camera. This is almost the exact moment when he learned his new favorite trick:

I had been reading a lot about what a breakthrough iPads have been for special-needs kids. You can load them up with apps that help a kid communicate and brush up on skills in vision, fine motor and cognition. Plus, they’re lightweight, portable and all kinds of fun. (Makes you wonder why insurance companies will shell out $7,000 for a communication device, when an iPad will do that and about a bazillion other things at a 90% discount.)

All of the rave reviews led me to apply for a program sponsored by Marissa’s Bunny, a blog maintained by the father of a girl affected by infantile spasms. With some generous financial backing, he was giving away dozens of iPads to kids who could use them. They were inundated with applications, and it turns out we weren’t among the lucky winners.

But … they’re going to do another giveaway soon. First comes some fundraising, in the form of an iPad raffle! For $2 a ticket, you get a chance to win an iPad for yourself. And the money will go not only to fund a second round of iPad giveaways, but also to help fund treatments for Marissa and her friend Joseph.

So go get some $2 tickets and cross your fingers! Even if you don’t win, you’ll have put Joe and other kids like him $2 closer to some iPad laughter and learning!

2009

2010

2011

Joe’s new favorite trick is to raise his arms over his head when we say “So big!” He does it so quickly that it’s hard to photograph, but here’s my best effort:

We had a nice Easter at my parents’ house in North Carolina, where Joe got lots of play time with his cousins and an Easter basket full of fun.

He is still a cruising champion, and loves to walk holding our hands. He will even shake off one hand and just walk with the other sometimes. Showoff!

2009:

2010:

2011:

The fair we went to the other day included free admission to the Children’s Museum, which Joe had not visited since he was barely able to sit. He’s able to enjoy so much more of that place now!

The sandbox …

The play kitchen (watch your hand there, buddy!) …

Big beads!

And his absolute favorite, a wall full of cool patterns to look at and feel …

For an extra dose of cute, here he is in the pretend classroom, where a couple of older children eagerly wrote lessons on the chalkboard for him:

If you blinked, you might have missed it, but Joe was on tonight’s NBC 12 broadcast here in Richmond!

A friend of ours helps to organize this annual event, which they were promoting on the news, and asked if Joe and I would talk a little bit about our experience with it. We’ve gone every year since Joe was a baby, and we love it.

So a woman from NBC came and interviewed us both one day last week, but (much to my relief) all they used tonight was Joe footage. (There was a second clip after this one, where they mentioned his name and everything, but I didn’t hit the right button to record it. D’oh!)

This is second nature to most kids, but for Joe it’s a big step!

He has figured out how to hold and maneuver his little Nuk brush, so that he can chew on it for a good long time with no help. This can lead to all kinds of great things, like 1) not chewing on his fingers or sleeves as much, and 2) eventually feeding himself. Oh, happy day!

In the video, you can also clearly see his nystagmus causing “wobbly eyes” a few seconds in, when he looks up toward the upper-right corner of the frame. (It’s always more noticeable when he’s worn out — we had just come from a birthday party, and he went down for a two-hour nap right after this!)