Fun with Eddie

Finally a video of Noa swimming with her new friend Eddie. We were matched with this great program through Rusk Institute where Noa does physical therapy - the program, at Asphalt Green (around 90th and York), offers private swim lessons for kids with disabilities. We really lucked out with Eddie. The first session with him, Noa was a bit shy and we could see that Eddie was a bit stumped by a kid who can't see or talk (and who communicates with sign language, which he doesn't understand). But week two it was clear that he'd thought about solutions and/or talked to people or something - and he came in prepared and open to following Noa's lead (which always works for Noa).

This is lesson number 5, and Ben doesn't even get in the pool with them any more. Noa loves Eddie and they've found a level of communication. You can see, he's working with Noa on some swim moves, but in the middle lets her do a jump into the pool - which makes her happy. The sign she is doing on the side of the pool is: Daddy Play. I think she just calls him Daddy because he's a strong guy. She likes strong guys because they can throw her in the air, so yeah, she likes Eddie a lot.

As I'm sure it quite apparent from this video, Noa loves to be in the water. Its really one of her favorite things to do.

In other news - I leave for Ohio on Wednesday, then come back Sunday only to fly off again on Tuesday to Idaho. So this may be my last post for a bit. I'm totally in denial about being away from Noa for so long, but I feel like we're both as ready for this as we'll get (Ben... I don't know if he's ready yet but I know he'll do fine).