1st Hair cut

Eric has been so excited for Tonya to come into town so that she could cut his hair.  This is a very big milestone, coming from no hair to having hair to cut!  It's all about the hair right? 5 minutes into the hair cut he said "Now I remember why I hate hair cuts!"  Can't please him :)  Well he is definitely putting on a show for the camera.  I should try to find the first hair cut when he was a toddler.  I bet the facial expression is the same!

I found the picture of Eric's first hair cut.  He no longer has the frowny face,... because he is being entertained.  I remember that Shelly had to work really fast.  Tonya was saying that his hair now was very hard to cut because it was fine, kind of like baby's hair.  :)

Merry Christmas

Eric, Todd and I would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas.  With 2011 behind us our 2012 is shaping up to be a very very happy year.  We are grateful for all your prayers throughout the year.  Please know that we love and appreciate you, our dear friends!

The finished leg

This is a picture of Eric's finished leg.  It is 10 pounds, instead of 16.  It is actually lighter then his real leg!  As you can tell he is still a big flirt.  He is also starting to get his muscle definition back.  Eric and the basketball team are heading off to St George for a basketball tournament.  Good Luck Team.

Updated post from the Daily Herald

I was contacted by the Daily Herald to do an update on Eric, and they wanted to schedule an appointment to come take a picture of him.  I told them that they would be better off going to the gym during practice.  I love the article.  They did a really good job... Here you go
coaching-a-new-attitude-at-salem-hills

Stepping it up at Physical Therapy

Today we made it to Physical Therapy again.  Eric is ready to start to jog, and it is a huge learning curve.  Eric was strapped to a support system on the treadmill.   In the event that he may lose his balance and fall, the support will hold him up.  He did great at a slow pace and asked to speed it up.  Brett then wanted him to start to walk sideways.

When we first met with Brett, he explained to Eric what he will be doing to get his balance set and build muscles to support changes in his stride.  Knowing that Eric will be doing this, I was nervous.  Eric was excited to try it, but I was holding my breathe and Eric did great!  It is not that I don't think that he can do it, it is just that his center of gravity is so different now and his prosthetic leg is not as easy to manipulate as his own legs.

He was even running backwards!  I did not get a picture of it, because he still hates having cameras around snapping pictures.  It was a great day.  Eric is still gaining weight, building the muscle back, growing his hair back, regaining strength and endurance, and getting more color back into his skin!  He has changed so much from even Thanksgiving.

This is Eric congratulating Clint Bateman for a job well done at the Payson vs Salem Hills basketball game.  Eric and Clint have played basketball for many years together. When Eric decided that he was going to Salem Hills High (he decided while in 7th grade), he was no longer asked to play on the same team with Clint.  Even though they now played on opposite teams, they have always stayed good friends. 

Date with Eric

Last Night Eric and I were going to do some Christmas shopping and as all plans go, they change.  We had some drama at the theater that ended up cutting our shopping short, but Eric was a trooper about it.  Well he is use to it, let's just say that.  Todd and I were in Vegas for the past 5 days cheering on our soon to be World Champion bareback rider Kaycee Feild, and Eric held down the fort at home.  So it was fun to spend some time with Eric last night... I really miss that guy!  After all the drama was worked out at the theater Eric previewed the movie New Years Eve with me.

Which was a great movie, lots of different stories going on.  You never get bored!  Eric leaned over to me and asked if I was looking forward to a new year.... Man oh Man am I ever.  This year still feels like a blurr and a really bad nightmare.  But there are many memories that I do not want to forget!  Bring on the New Year!

The First Basketball game

Last night was the Salem Hills basketball game in the preseason. 

Eric wanted so bad to be on the court, and it was hard not to see him on the court.  But I kept telling myself  "all in good time!"  Right?!  He has been going to the gym and working out.  Now that he has his permanent socket (I will need to get a picture of it to show you what it looks like now) the prosthetic guy, Phil, told him he is free to start running on it. Eric will need to relearn how to run, because it is very different from what he learned as a toddler.  But he will get there...So the story goes on!