Single Mom Becoming of Two

I've decided that I have a few goals that I want to work on with Cay, as well as some plans for the two of us to do before this baby comes and changes both of our lives radically.

I think I should first start off by saying how far Caydon has come. It's amazing to me to think that just 1 year ago, Caydon was in the hospital in the Pediatric Neurological Health Unit for 10 extremely long days (visitation was only 2.5 hours for me... complete torched for any parent, let alone a single mom with full custody!), but he has come such a long way. He is working on making friends, he speaks clearer, responds to me faster... typically on the first time, is finally settled in at a new school, makes better eye contact, shows more empathy, does his homework without meltdowns, is sweet to people, and (I know it's weird to mention it, but it's very new for us) I actually get a ton of compliments on how well he is behaved all the time. It baffles me to know how much my TLC plus his great teachers and therapists could make him come. He continues to receive Special Ed services in the Autism program, yet is in inclusion for gen ed about 80% of the time, and receives about 19-23 hours per week of therapy.

I asked Caydon what he was interested in doing before baby was born. His response: "I want to buy some baby some toys, but you probably will do most of that. I want to save money for Disneyland so that when baby is born we can go there right when baby is born. Ok?"



That being said,

here are our goals/plans for the next 7 months:

Increase his ability to do chores. Vacuuming, loading the dishwasher, and folding laundry are just to name a few. He also needs to consistently make his bed. I want him to be aware of how to do this not only because it will make my life easier, but, well, it will make both of our lives' easier while teaching him responsibility. Yes, that's it. To teach him responsibility! hah.

Go Camping. This has been on our to-do list for some time and it keeps on popping back up. Definitely a plan for before we have 6,000 extra doodads to take on a trip! I am hoping for it to be more of the backpacking style!

Progress back up to reading at grade level. Because he had a terrible teacher, Caydon regressed fairly hard in reading. He wouldn't even look at books. Thanks to my pregnancy books and books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Caydon has started to read a lot more.  I know this will involve a lot of tutoring on my end, but I am up for it. The bonus will be that he could read to his baby sibling. :)

Tie his shoes independently. I think this is a pretty perfect goal for a kiddo going into Second Grade. It will also simplify our life so that I'm not rushing to get him on to the bus, nursing a baby, getting myself ready for work and then having to tie his shoes.

Complete a Big Brother Class. I'll need to research where he can take one locally, but I have a feeling I will need to also attend because of his needs. I might even make him take two so that he can retain more of the information plus get excited.

Mommy and son photo session. This will probably end up being our maternity, too, but I definitely want something.

Learn a song to sing to baby. Caydon always wants to sing to this sweet little baby. I think it would be pretty special if he knew a song that we could memorize for when the baby is born.

A "Baby Moon" of some sort. I need one last little trip with my sidekick before it becomes my sidekicks. Something relaxing and fun that involves water and sand.

Overload on movies and sporting events, etc. I know these will become a rare treat to us sooner than later. Time to overload now on things that are hard to take baby to!



Anything else we should add to the list?