Emmett meets his new house

Though it still smells mildly of cat, Emmett puts a stamp of approval on his new house. Specifically, the backyard. As long as there is a ball in it.

Emmett's new ball

Uncle John goes on a river salvage mission this week and yields a Spider-Man ball to which Emmett develops an unnatural attachment. He plays with it constantly, insists on bringing it to bed and, today, introduces Ball as his new essential dining companion.

A bit of facial hair, and Emmett becomes a dead ringer for Tom Hanks in Castaway.

Vote!

Emmett shows keen interest in the democratic process, and shares his opinion on who to vote for in the federal election. Why vote Conservative, NDP, Liberal, Bloc, or Green, when you can vote Ball?

Irreversible damage

After a few days of barely being able to lift his head off the couch, Emmett seems to emerge victorious from his first illness of 2011.

Emmett's dad, however, notices some not-so-subtle changes to Emmett's response time while playing 'ball'. Dad reviews film from earlier in Emmett's career, and the effects of the seemingly routine daycare cold are obvious: Where once Emmett boasted an impressive save percentage, he can now only muster bloopers for the highlight reel.

(Grampa, it turns out, saw this coming... and outfitted Emmett for a sport that has no net.)