Mississippi Part 1

Harrison and I spent last week with some dear friends in Mississippi. We had a wonderful time visiting friends we miss dearly and coming to love some new ones as well. The kiddos got to ride daily and Harrison got to learn some new Horse skills and had a blast. we played lots of trains, ate great and just had a wonderful time.

We can't wait for our next adventure. And we are so blessed that we are able to do fun things like this since we have a Hubby and Daddy that works so hard for us. We are Blessed beyond measure.

First Horse Show

Today Was in his first horse show. He was in a lead line walk class today even though he rides by himself for his lessons. He rides in a small area and has never rode with other riders riding at the same time. There is a walk/trot class that may be better suited for him but we thought we would start slow and if he liked it work our way up.

He did such a great job going with the instructors and getting ready all by himself.

And he did a great job in the ring as well.

He held his hands up and head up and knees tight.

He even gave the judge a little wink.

And he had his awesome instructor along by his side.

All Lined up waiting to see he who won.

And Anna let him trot out.

He got a fourth place ribbon and he was SO HAPPY, saying I WON I WON!!!!

I am so had he had such a great experience.

Horse Show Prep

Harrison has his first horse show tomorrow so tonight we got all his gear together and he and Daddy polished his boots. We are all looking forward to this new adventure.

http://qik.com/video/a026f9997b2047468ab1658259d894f2 go here to see a clip of Harrison riding last week

World Equestrian Games

Yesterday we went to The World Equestrian Games. Since right now Horses are Harrison's sport we thought this would give him a chance to see some things that he might never get to see again in person. These games are like the Olympics of the horse world, and riders and horses from all over the world where there to compete.

The worst part of the day was ALL THE WALKING but we were able to grab a couple of little rides. But we still walked miles while we were there.We went to a Vaulting event. We choose this event since none of us had seen it before and the tickets were reasonable since we had a little boy that we knew would not last for hours. Here is a video of some vaulting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-cnaIvke-w

It is amazing how strong these ladies are to do this.

And there countries were there to cheer them on.

Harrison had all this attention on the rink, at least for the first about 45 mins.

It was really something to see

Riding

I Took this video today of Harrison at his riding lesson but I can't seem to get it to show on here so you will have to click the link. He is doing so good. He is riding by himself now and even is going to show in his first horse show next month. He does get silly at times but he is three we can only expect so much from him. It amazes me how he will focus on this... IT IS HARD WORK... I don't know if he will always love riding (we kinda hope he does not since is an expensive sport :) ) but it is great for him in so many ways right now.

http://qik.com/video/12385423

Riding

Harrison has been riding solo lately during his lessons and doing a good job working. It is super hard work and he is doing an awesome job listening and staying focus. This video is just from my phone so it is not great but you can at least see him in action.

Harrison's World Part 3 -- Trunk Strength

While Harrison was evaluated by the OT she notice right away that he had decrease trunk strength compare to what he should have. She Also noticed that at that point his rib cage had not moved down as much as it should have. Both with can effect his breathing which can effect his speech, and even his reflux that he has had since he was born.

What He does or does not do

*When He is laying on the ground playing he will lean to one side so he does not have to hold his head up.

* He will shift his whole body to move closer to an object instead of reaching across his body to simply get it.

*He has very poop upper body strength, for example if crawling he will use his head on the ground to help balance his body. IF you hold him in your lap and hold his legs he can not wiggle his way out of your arms.

* He runs with his arms straight next to his body instead of pumping his arms, in attempts to help control is balance.

What we are doing?

* OT to work on this strength

*A lot of reaching across his body (ie holding toys or books to one side of his body and making him us the opposite hand to reach for it. )

* Lots of crawling, jumping, and climbing.

*"rough house" play to help him to learn the motor plans to get away and to use his arms and trunk instead of legs and head.

*Harrison is also taking horse riding lessons to help build up this strength. We had planned on riding lessons but started a little earlier to help. He is LOVING his riding lessons by the way.