Finn Henry

The Wicked Witch by Frédéric Solenthaler

Download/Listen

The Art of The Incredibles by Parka81

Download/Listen

batman lego by Kevoh

Download/Listen

Christmas Kids by MarkOMeara

Hello all,

We are too slack to send cards but all the same we wanted to share a little something to mark the moment. So here is a slightly blurry photo of Finn and Leila.

We are all well but very very tired. Finn starts school next year, Mark goes back for his third year of teaching, Leila is on the verge of moving from single words to proper talking and Nicky still doesn’t realise just how lovely and clever she is.

We hope you are all well and hope to see or speak to you before too many more years pass.

Mark, Nicky, Finn and Leila.

Kinder Kid by Nicky P

Finn had his last day at kinder today.

I wasn’t really sad or wistful about it. Just a little surprised to see the kinder rooms looking so bare and to think that I won’t be seeing these people day in, day out anymore. We have final Christmas party tomorrow so I will try to get around to doing some Christmas cards tonight and prepare myself for some (not me) to get a bit teary.

He had his last swimming lesson for the year this afternoon (we’ve just arrived home from it). Again no wistfulness, rather a sudden realisation that this year really is drawing to a close and in just 6 weeks my little boy will be starting school.

It seems unimaginable that he’s grown so much in just five years, but I suppose that is the way of things. Someone suggested to me the other day that perhaps I was being a bit disingenuous when I said that I won’t cry when Finn starts school. At the time I was completely sure that I wouldn’t - I’ve just been so excited about the prospect of him going on to school and absorbed by the details around his special needs that it hadn’t occurred to me to be sad. After today, though, I can see a distinct possibility that there will be tears on that day in February.

Download/Listen

Finn’s Sculpture by MarkOMeara

One of Finn’s favourite activities at ScienceWorks has become to sculpture building in Nitty Gritty Super City. The downside is that he can get quite possessive and bossy about it with other kids. The upside is that he is really very interested and is terribly proud of his creations.

The one is this photo might look a bit shambolic but is uses every available piece and took quite a while to build.

He’s terribly lovely and a bit clever.

Serious Foozley by MarkOMeara

Finn was sick the other night and it did make a bit of a mess of his bed. Last night he was complaining of a sore tummy so we set him up with a bed on the floor and a bucket.

Happily this morning he told me there was “zero sick”. This is our favourite type.

However he still told me that he was too sick to smile this morning for this photo.

Trying on his uniform by Nicky P

Finn is only a couple of short months away from starting school. It’s hard to believe that our little boy is big enough for school but, on the other hand, he’s well and truly ready.

We’ve had 2 orientation visits to school this week. A special one just for Finn on Wednesday and the general one for all the prep kids today. We bought his uniform during his Wednesday visit and tried it on to show Dad last night. The tshirt is a size 8. It’s huge but he’s wearing size 6 ones now that are only a little roomy so he’ll definitely grow into it. The shorts are a size 6. The 8s were only good for comedy value.

Four other children from Finn’s kinder group are going to the same school, including his ‘girlfriend’ Shania. I’m in two minds about asking if they can be in the same class. I know Finn would love to have her with him (and her mum says that she would like to be with him), but I’m also certain that Finn is confident and outgoing enough to make new friends very quickly if he doesn’t have her there.

The school is being very proactive and efficient about ensuring that Finn’s needs are accommodated. He is only just eligible to apply for funding for him (his hearing deficit is right on the cut off point), and the chances of success are slim. They’re going to argue for help on the grounds of safety and being able to access the curriculum. In any case, he will be in the room that has an aide assigned to it so he will benefit from her presence. He’ll also have access to a visiting teacher of the deaf who will keep tabs on him. I honestly couldn’t be happier to have him going to this particular school.