Angel’s been with us over a year now, and the caseplan is still for reunification… but slowly.
Court was adjourned this week because Angel’s birthmum didn’t turn up, and Grandma arrived late. We weren’t expecting any changes to be made at this point anyway as Grandma is travelling overseas during most of September and requested that the reunification plans be put on hold till she returns. So instead of starting unsupervised visits in August and overnighters in September, we’ll stick with the two hour supervised visits, two or three times weekly, until October. So our little boy stays just a bit longer.
And he can come with us when we travel interstate for two weeks to visit my mum in September, during the next term break. Oh joy – travelling over sixteen hours by car with a seventeen month old.
I’m keeping my eye out for small, cheap novel toys that might keep him amused, and I’ve arranged the trip so we travel mostly during his nap times with a long stretch from 7pm till around midnight. This is so necessary as he really hates car travel after the first twenty minutes unless he’s sleeping, and his way of telling us he’s bored and restless and “get me out of this car seat” is to open his mouth and scream with a high pitched shriek that pierces our skulls!
Does any one have good ideas for how to keep a toddler happy in the car? If so please share them with me.
At present I get to meet and chat with Angel’s Grandma once a week when I pick him up from access. We just talk about him, how he’s going and what he’s learning (he speaks a few simple words now, and can baby sign for ‘food’ , ‘milk’ and ‘more’ and he’s a very actively running and climbing). We play and talk with Angel, sharing the joy and laughter that goes with a sweet playful toddler, and then I take him home.
They don’t talk about him coming home to stay, and they are pretty casual when he leaves, but I shouldn’t complain, because that makes it so much easier and more pleasant for both Angel and myself.