Kindergarten

5 years ago if you were to tell me that Riley would be stepping on the bus for his first day of Kindergarten I would have said you were crazy!  To our delight that day actually came and I was able to see my handsome man off to Kindergarten.  He picked out a new backpack and he was so proud of it! Got a handsome new haircut and stylin new clothes.  He was ready to hit the scene! All through out preschool he had a nurse accompany him but this year we decided since there are nurses in the school that we will trial with out one.  I will admit I'm a little nervous about this but I think it will be ok.  So, the first day I went with Riley to go over transfers and to do wheelchair teaching.  There are 7 kids in his class each with their own unique challenge.  There are 2 other kids in wheelchairs and a couple just learned how to walk.  From what I observed all the kids are non verbal.  Riley did great for about the first hour and a half and then it was complete melt down and not just Riley, half the class was either crying or trying to escape.  Big pat on the back for the teacher and all the aids they handle it with such ease and are calm and compassionate.  Today I think Riley did much better.  It will take some time but he'll learn the routine and will love it! I'm so excited for this new school and all the equipment and opportunities he will have there that was such a fight to get at the mainstream schools.  I'm excited to watch Riley learn and grow. 

So tall and proud!

waiting for the bus.  He loves riding the bus

Alright Mom, enough with the pictures!

Disney Vacay: SMA Conference

The main reason for our Disney trip was to attend the annual Families of SMA conference that was being held at the Disneyland Hotel.  We had never been to a conference and we thought since this year it was close enough to drive that we would sign up.  It was fun to see families that we only correspond with through social media networks.  The first night was the family meet and greet.  We hauled Riley's power chair all the way out there so he could cruise around with all the other kids.  It was so funny to see these little kids cruising and weaving in and out of everything.  It was good for Riley to see other kids just like him.

Riding in ready to meet all his new friends

At the meet and greet they had lots of fun games for all the kids to play and this incredible buffet of food.  Disney sure knows how to do it best! Every year they have a relay race where the SMA kids race the doctors and researchers. Riley got to race Dr. Swoboda and Riley smoked her!

Getting ready to race!

At the conference we were able to meet some fun new friends and people that we only correspond with via internet.  Here are some of the friends we met

Maggie and Riley

Riley and Gwendolyn

Veronica and Riley

Riley's best friend of all came to the conference as well. None other than MICKEY MOUSE!  The poor kid was so tired because we had done Diseny all day long before we went to the meet and greet so he was not giving us very good smiles.

The second night of the conference we were all escorted into the park to watch the fireworks.  I wish they would have been able to sit us a little closer because there were so many people standing in front of all of us that I don't think the kids could see very well.

The highlight of the whole conference though was when we went to the Tobii Eye Gaze vendor booth.  For the past few months Riley has been doing practice eye gaze with picture boards to train up for the vendor to come over and fit him for his very own.  The child has to demonstrate a certain level of understanding and ability with the system in order for insurance to pay for it that's why we've been practicing.  We went over to the booth and they put the computer in front of Riley and he instantly took to it.  The reps were very impressed and they have no doubt that he will do very well with it.  Now he was most interested in playing the games on there but hey he's 5.  The plan is to get the rep out to our house in August.  It will take a lot of practice but once he gets the hang of it, it will open up a whole new world for him. 

Disney Vacay: Beach Day

You can't go to the California coast and not go to the beach.  It was suppose to be a very sunny hot day but it ended up being kind of cloudy and chilly.  Riley has never seen or touched the ocean.  The water was quite chilly but he loved wiggling his toes in the sand.

And you can't go to the beach with out getting buried in the sand. All the kids just had to bury Marc.

After crashing in the waves we went and had a bonfire cook out with some delicious s'mores. What a great day for the beach.