Wow, I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last posted! My laptop hit the crapper and I postponed getting a new one until now, so I'm back! There's lots of new things to update on, so for simplicity's sake, I am bringing out the bullet points:
- The divorce was finalized in April. Slowly with time, peace has settled in.
- Soren celebrated his 3rd birthday in July! We had a simple BBQ shindig at my parents' home and it was great! Soren cried when we sang "Happy Birthday" (sensory overload), which was memorable.
- Last Summer we completed 2 more camping trips on my bucket list of going camping at all MN state parks before Soren goes to college. Our first trip was to Bemidji State Park. It was a long drive, but is so gorgeous up there, and with the exception of yucky sand, the beach was awesome! Soren wasn't too interested in swimming in the cold lake yet, but I suspect this year he'll be much more excited about playing in the sand and waves. Also on this trip, I tripped while playing "kick" (soccer) with Soren and ended up with a really bad sprain. 9 months later, and it still does not feel back to normal. In addition to this, I was taking apart the screen tent poles which required great strength, and ended up knocking Soren in the forehead with the pole when they came apart...he continues to have a small bump on his forehead from that. Here's some pictures from that trip:
- We also went to Savannah Portage State Park. This park had a fun bogwalk. It was really muddy and wet from previous rainfall but we still had fun. The trees behind our tent would have been a child's fantasy dream to play in, but Soren wasn't quite brave enough for that yet.
- At the end of July, I took Soren to get his eyes checked simply because he gets a free exam and I wanted to rule out vision issues with his frequent tripping. I was not anticipating the results, which showed quite a deficit in his near-sightedness. He is now in glasses and was prescribed to start patching 2 hours a day in December. His left eye is becoming quite a bit weaker and his right eye is compensating for it, so the patching helps develop and strengthen the connections from his left eye to his brain so he'll actually start benefiting from the prescription. Recently, his left is has been turning (lazy eye) and he has another appt next week and we'll find out the next steps in treating that.
- Soren moved up to the 3yo class at his preschool this Fall! I was nervous about him being ready, but he has mostly been doing well (behind socially). He currently goes one full day on Fridays when I'm at work.
- Soren is potty-trained! He was potty trained this past Summer, then had 2 regressions. I *think* we're in the clear now and do not anticipate any more regressions.
- Soren's dad got married this past Summer and they had twin boy and girl in December, which makes Soren a big brother! He doesn't say much about his siblings, except that they "cry alot", "drink from bottle", and "not big enough to play". He had some initial adjustments with his behavior, but things have smoothed out for the most part.
- In January, I applied to be part of a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Mentorship training pilot program through my employer, and was selected! I have been co-facilitating 2 therapy sessions a week with my mentor, then we are in consultation and advanced Psychoanalysis coursework for 5 hours on Fridays. I am greatly enjoying the opportunity and new learning, and am also hopeful that this will open doors for me in the future with obtaining a therapy position.
- In the next year, I anticipate moving into a weekday position (I'm currently working permanent Fridays-Mondays), which will impact parenting schedule and overall routine, which is bittersweet. I have greatly enjoyed being home with Soren three weekdays, which has allowed him to receive speech and OT services twice a week and other fun adventures.
- Soren has been receiving speech and OT services for the past year, and he recently completed his annual testing and will be testing out of OT! He has caught up or is advanced in all developmental areas now and I am forever grateful for the opportunity for him to do these without any residual financial stressors. He will likely continue to have some sensory and motor planning "quirks", but we are hopeful that he will gain coping skills to work through these to continue to master new developmental tasks. His speech testing is starting next week, and there's a good chance he will also test out of speech services. He has come SO.FAR. in his speech, it is unreal! I am so proud of him!
- Soren and I moved out of my parents' home and into our own 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment in December! I'd be lying if I didn't say there was alot of anxiety about moving out on our own, but it has been a mostly easy adjustment. It's nice to have our own space and things are much more peaceful now. We've developed our own routines which has been nice. I am noticing that Soren is becoming a more picky eater since we moved out on our own as I haven't been cooking diverse meals as much when I know I would be the only one eating it for the most part... still working on figuring this one out and trying to find a good balance.
