Happy 2015!

We left off getting ready for a day at the theater to see The Nutcracker with babysitter Michaela and her hubby John.

They think he had a good time...hard to tell since Harrison has been grinding and chomping his teeth non stop for many many weeks now. And the fact that the Providence Center for Performing Arts is about as non-accessible as they come...even though one of the 3 tickets was for a wheelchair, the other 2 seats were in the middle of the row...so Harrison sat on their laps for the show. The bathroom was so small that they had to go to the car for a potty break / change...not impressed, won't be going back there. 

Teeth grinding...oh my gosh it literally does not stop. Fingers in the mouth, both hands, wiggling all the loose baby teeth back and forth, or just crunching on rocks (or so it sounds) if his hands are otherwise occupied (or restrained!)   Sunday December 14, 2014 was the big day...Harrison lost his first tooth...and not without a struggle. I gave this job over to John, and I just sat there with the cold compress while John wiggled it and wiggled it and pulled on it and wiggled it some more for 2 hours of screaming and torture and "almost there! almost there!"- it was like watching childbirth. Harrison had been screaming all morning (labor), so we knew it had to come out (delivery). It was exhausting, for both of them. Harrison crashed and slept for the rest of the day, and John wandered around in a daze. I can't believe we will have to go through this again!
Here is the tooth...I know, it's really big, and his remaining teeth look even bigger now that I have noticed...probably because he doesn't eat regularly and use his teeth enough to naturally wear them down. He did leave the tooth for the Tooth Fairy and he got a certificate and a Beanie Baby Crab (for being so crabby)! His classmates were very excited for his Show-and-Tell the next day.

 

Chanuka began on Tuesday night the 16th, and for the first time, Harrison noticed and reacted to the candle lighting! I cannot explain how much that meant, and I guess I will have to brush up on those Chanuka songs for this year.

 We celebrate Christmas in our house on December 23, which happened to be the last night of Chanuka, so it was really nice to have the whole family over to fully light the menorah together before we had dinner and opened Christmas presents. Harrison's favorite gift was...well, it wasn't really intended as a gift, but something came in a very glittery red bag, and when it happened to be opened right in front of him...you can see (with his brother) how his face just lit up!

Harry also got an amazing almost life-size stuffed horse, which he absolutely adores, especially since he is not riding this winter. Sooo snuggly.

We spent Christmas Eve with our friends the Grappos, and with his new chair bolster, Harrison got to sit with his friends at the kids table- that was really cool!

Like many growing boys (by the way, he has definitely grown, and thankfully put some weight back on- he is up to 37 1/2 pounds and 42 1/2 inches!) Harrison slept in through the whole holiday vacation, but he did manage to grab a little bit of entertainment. He watched Annie (the original movie) on tv and absolutely LOVED the music! And he had fun at the Enchanted Village at Jordan's Furniture, although he did not love the "snow" falling on him.

Harrison got one more very cool present...have you heard of Yogibo? Check it out!!! yogibo.com and take a look at Harry in his new very comfy and amazing chair- it's actually 2 pieces, a square pillow and a noodle pillow, and it allows for great positioning for him. LOVE IT!!!!! (Thank you for the idea, DS!!)

Harrison's babysitter Maddy took him to the New England Aquarium last weekend and he was the star of the party...

They went outside to see the fur seals, and this guy came charging over and jumped up onto the rail to talk to Harrison! Everyone ran over saying "that's the coolest thing!" Can't see his face here, but Maddy assures me that Harrison agreed. As you can see, he was wiped out that night but I bet he was dreaming about his new friend.

Harry was so ready to get back to school after the break, and he is having some great days. He is so chatty with everyone- his teachers, his friends, the nurse at lunch time; he is really looking at people and objects and pictures in books. He also had a really good session with his Augmentative Communication therapist at Children's Hospital...immediately vocalizing back and forth with her (he was very happy, hadn't seen her in a very long time), and using switches and buttons to play computer games and also be a bandleader with instruments for everybody- I really need to do more of these activities at home...I am really motivated to follow through this time, I swear!

This last picture I thought was so cute, Harrison reading a story with his angel Sally- she read to him through a "telephone" and he did a great job of using his finger to follow along the words. We are so lucky to have you, Sally!!