Gray's health is good. He survived the winter without catching any colds until two weeks ago. He seems to be handling this cold pretty well. A lot of congestion, but we try to make a game of coughing and clearing his throat. He hasn't caught on to our attempts to teach him to spit!

He's growing so fast. His legs are so long, every pair of pants are high-waters for him. We are looking forward to shorts weather. Gray has a wonderful physical therapist, Meredith, who we see on Thursdays. We usually swim with her. Gray has his own standing frame and uses it twice a day. He likes to play with his toys and watch Kipper while he's standing.
He's talking a mile a minute. Gray will try to say whatever you say. To his Mom and Dad it sounds exactly like what we said. To the untrained ear, it just sounds like baby talk.

Gray loves animals and can tell you what they say... the dog says woof woof, the sheep says bah, the owl says who, the cow says moo and the duck says duck duck. We can't tell if he's trying to say quack or if he just likes to say duck.

He has such a happy disposition. Always smiling and constantly laughing at us. When he laughs his belly really goes up and down. Although it's hard for us to believe, he gets more precious each day!!!

Every few months, we will try our best to update everyone on Gray. Here is the latest on Gray, our 22 month-old angel:
On April 15th, Amy Elaasar ran a half marathon in Charlotte and raised $1000.00 for Andrew’s Buddies in honor of Gray. We really appreciate her hard work and support. Thank you to all of you who contributed!

This summer, we came out of hibernation! Gray was enrolled in Kindermusik and explored instruments and music with his mommy, storytime at the local library and swim class every Saturday with his daddy at the YMCA! He really enjoys other children’s company and smiles easily when interacting with others.

In June, we went to the National FSMA conference in St. Louis. Suzy, Mike’s sister from Chicago, met us there to spend time with Gray while we attended presentations and workshops. We were able to meet people and continue to learn strategies to help Gray in every way possible. The experience was extremely beneficial and we plan to attend the 2001 conference in Chicago next year.

July took us to Hilton Head. Gray loved the sand and the ocean. He was a cool dude on the beach.

On July 26, an exciting SMA event came to town! Thomas Becker, an amazing individual, bowled for SMA and Andrew’s Buddies. He dedicated his summer to make a cross-country tour to raise awareness and funds for SMA. We had the pleasure, along with several supportive friends and family members, of meeting and watching him in action. He dedicated his 100th strike to Gray. The determined and energetic Thomas Becker has committed to another tour next summer!

At the end of August, we will be moving into a new house not far from our current home! This one-story house will accommodate Gray and his new wheelchair. His wheelchair should be arriving in a few months. Our new house will be much better equipped for Gray and give him access to all rooms. We are looking forward to Gray becoming mobile!

Gray is talking up a storm! He repeats everything you say, which can be a little dangerous! He loves watching Aladdin and Pinocchio, swinging, riding in his car, and petting his favorite dogs, Raney and Lucy. Gray is a joy to be around and brings laughter and smiles to so many people. We are truly thankful and encouraged by the support our friends and family have offered in raising awareness and funds for SMA.

In October, Gray received his wheelchair and has been practicing daily. We have not ventured outside our house as of yet, but we are preparing for that day! He enjoys the freedom and has tested out the extreme power by putting a hole in the wall (the first of many we are sure) and running over his mom’s feet (twice!)!

Turning 2 on October 19th was a big day for Gray. He started out the day visiting our local fire station. He was able to sit in the fire truck, socialize with the firefighters, ring the bells, etc. Later that night, the party continued when family came over to our house to celebrate his big day! He loves to open presents and blow out candles, so he had a blast! Some of his gifts were musical instruments and boy does he love to perform!

On November 11th, Gray’s Gang put together the 2nd Annual SMAshing Kickoff in order to raise money for SMA charities. We are so pleased with its success! Our sincere thanks go out to everyone for the many items that were gratefully donated and were auctioned off or won through the raffle. Jeff Mack and Eddie Stone did a fantastic job as impromptu auctioneers. Their enthusiasm was infectious and even drew in some friendly strangers (and donations) to our event! Thank you, thank you, thank you to Maria Stone who spent so much time and effort putting together the wonderful event and also to everyone who attended the BBQ, helped out and made donations. The event raised over $10,000!
We are also very grateful to Martha Speight for all of her hard work and effort this past year in securing corporate donations for the Andrew’s Buddies Annual Fund-raiser. The event was a huge success, raising over $200,000 for SMA research and promoting awareness of SMA.

Gray is geared up for Christmas and the New Year! At the top of Gray’s list for Santa is a request for a new bike. He has already memorized Santa’s lines of HO! HO! HO! and Merry Christmas.

Gray’s health has been very good so far this season. He has avoided colds, but unfortunately this is a direct result of not being around a lot of other children.

Gray loves to laugh and he is sharp as a tack. He enhances his life daily by reading books, playing with his tool box, watching Kipper, Little Bear, and Blues Clues and going to Kindermsik and storytime at the library. Gray is fortunate to have such a loving group of family and friends. We are so appreciative of the help and support offered by so many people.