Entry Sixty Five- Three

Happy Third Birthday Oscar!

This time last year Oscar was pulling up to stand, standing independently at a horizontal surface and was working on transitioning between surfaces. I remember asking Oscar’s physiotherapist when she thought Oscar would be walking independently? She said that most kids who have difficulties with motor planning typically are not walking until they are school age.

This totally surprised me. He was standing so well! Then I secretly convinced myself that he would be walking by his third birthday. After all, that was a whole year away.

Well here it is… Oscar Is THREE!!!! He is not walking in the traditional sense, but he is capable of taking up to 5-6 steps independently with the aid of his SPIO (Stabilizing Pressure Input Orthosis) and his SMOs (Supramalleolar Orthosis). I am learning that walking is walking and not every ambulatory child walks the same.

I am aware that I mentioned his birthday and then quickly jumped to associating his birthday with a major motor milestone. Most children achieve this milestone before 14months of age without any intervention… they just figure it out. Oscar is different. We have been working on walking for a looooonnnggg time. It has been a lot of work and a lot of dedication. But his ability to walk or talk or accomplish any milestone for that matter doesn’t define him. He is not his abilities. He has the sweetest little soul that shines through in his smile. He is learning something everyday however small and insignificant it may seem. I am so proud of him.

He doesn’t know that today is his birthday, but I do. I will never forget being at The Hospital for Sick Children when he was 7 1/2 weeks old and I was told that he may not make it. I will never take this day for granted. I will always celebrate.

What three is for Oscar…

• He enjoys books, flipping the pages on his own and patting the pictures.
• He enjoys swinging and sliding at the park.
• He loves petting our dog, Suma (and feeding her from the table).
• He laughs when any dog barks.
• He is very tactile and loves touching the carpet and admiring the seam in our ottoman or on our couch.
• He loves cars, rolling them on the floor and then crawling after them. As soon as I think that the “yellow one” is his favorite then it is the “red one” or the “white truck”.
• He loves listening to music and making his own music.
• He laughs when he hears Donald Duck’s voice.
• Bath-time is one of his favorite times of the day. Everybody gets wet!
• He is learning to scribble on paper.
• His favorite foods are pancakes, mango, avocado, macaroni and cheese (with veggies of course) fish and CHEESE!

That is not all of him of course.

Happy birthday to the sweetest soul I know. I hope that you know how special you are to all of us lucky enough to know you.