We are starting off the Jewish new year really well, I am so happy to say.
Harrison went to his first High Holiday service, and he loved it!
I looked online for a service for people who are not affiliated with a synagogue, and the first site that appeared was, I kid you not, irisjacobs.com. If you don't know, that was my mom's name. Iris Jacobs. Harrison Isaac is named for her. Needless to say I did a double take when I saw her name with a .com after it...Mom died in 1991, before all of the tech that now rules our lives, so yes, my eyes nearly popped out of my head! I read further, and this woman has been leading services for holidays and milestones for years, and she sings, so lots and lots of music is incorporated into her service. So now I know that Harrison will enjoy it- we definitely are going! (The program is called Hayom).
Yesterday was the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and Harry and I were there. He LOVED it! He loved the music and joining in the singing, he loved hearing the shofar, he loved watching the procession of the Torah...and he insisted on standing every time the congregation stood (up-down-up-down)! I don't think I've ever enjoyed a service so much, sharing this with him. It was pretty cool.
And now Harrison is a First Grader. I can't believe it- he got a letter from his teacher talking about school supplies and his own desk. We visited the classroom the day before school began and saw some old friends. We walked around the classroom to find his name, his desk, his cubby, the calendar area, the jobs chart. And he is coming home with homework, which means I will be busy! And if you are wondering, yes, Harry does have the same helper, the Amazing Mrs. Mallon- whew!
It seems like yesterday Harry was in Mrs. Locke's Kindergarten class -he did spend two years with her, lucky guy! He worked his butt off in that classroom, and smiled and giggled his way through the whole second semester- nice change from last Fall! Harrison had so much more energy and he was so much more alert, and he made some really great progress.
To summarize the daily school reports from Kindergarten, Harrison was able to stand, holding onto a handle suctioned to the tabletop, for 9 minutes! He walked up and down the hallways (and our driveway- love that it's on a slope!) in the gait trainer, he helped out with the CARE Cart, and he has gotten very good at sitting up in his chair at group time. Mr. Social has gotten even more chatty, and he has really started paying close attention to people and making great eye contact when they talk to him. He sings along with his friends, and he stops if he doesn't like the song...
Harry is using his hands a lot more as well, reaching and grabbing for things, manipulating and feeling objects (and the dog), opening his hands nicely, tapping people to get their attention, greeting people with a wave, looking closely at materials, and much more willing to let teachers help him with hand-over-hand activities. I was particularly proud to see Harrison so much more engaged this year, especially at the end-of-year sing-along...it was so good to see him participate instead of sleep through it!
Harrison turned 7 in February, and his birthday party ROCKED!!! He had gone to his friend Stefano's party that had wild animals, and he totally wanted to same kind of party- Stef did not mind at all. Not only were most of his classmates there, but even his teachers came!
For Father's Day Harrison had a nice visit from Pop Pop and Mom Mom- she even fed him one of his favorites, chicken + squash!
Harry had lots more play dates this year with his friends- sledding, swimming, going to the mall and the yogurt shop and the playground and the zoo and the park and friends' houses, walking on the rail trail, celebrating at graduation parties and birthday parties...and managing to fit all this in between therapy sessions- PT, Music, and of course Massage.
He also got to spend some time with cousins, sadly because we had to say goodbye to Aunt Sharon in Pennsylvania- it was a very sweet, personal, loving service with lots of her favorite songs, and Harrison sang right along- she definitely enjoyed watching that from Heaven.
Camp Arrowhead is a real day camp for kids with special needs. It's on a lake, so they can swim, in addition to the other traditional camp fun- basketball, arts and crafts, singing, special events, field trips- he had an absolute blast! Every camper gets a one-on-one high school volunteer, and the staff were wonderful. He went for 2 weeks this summer, and we will definitely do more next year! Every afternoon on the ride home he was either passed out or giggling, he was so happy! This past summer I almost felt like a "typical" mom. Typical enough for me.
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