Our first week of summer is almost over and it’s already looking different from last year. We’re looking forward to being able to more things this year that we couldn’t do last year. A year ago it was our first summer where we could have actually gone out more as a family, but since COVID happened, we couldn’t. It was a bummer, but it’s a year later and we’re ready to explore together. Of course, we still have our therapy, but I intentionally left two days open for fun days. Here’s what we’re working on this summer.

1. Feeding Therapy — We’re starting feeding therapy again for Nicholas and Grace. It’s been two years since we did it with Nicholas, and he’s showing interest now, so we’re going to try again. We’re going to help Grace to eat something besides applesauce and teach her to drink from a cup. We want to start slow and hopefully they’ll respond positively. Daniel is also a very picky eater, so he’s going to try some new foods too.
2. Potty Training — We’re going to work on potty training with everyone this summer. We already do enemas for Daniel, so we’ve got one part down. Nicholas practiced sitting on the potty at school this year and did really well. Hopefully it’ll transfer at home well for him. Grace does really well with telling me she needs to be changed, so hopefully she’ll like sitting on the potty.
3. Independence — Most of my stress comes from the dependence on me for a lot of things, especially when we’re trying to leave the house. I’ve started teaching Daniel how to buckle himself in the car, put on and take off his shoes, and dressing himself. I’m teaching Nicholas how to put on and take off his shoes as well. If they could be a little bit more independent, it would help me so much.
4. Having Fun — We’ll work hard with our therapy this summer, but we’re also going to go out and have fun. I intentionally left two days open in our schedule every week as off days where we can do things. I’m going to have help from our respite caregivers so they will come with us on our outings. I hope to go to the splash pad, the park, the movie theater, wherever we want. It’s going to be a lot of fun for them.

I’m really excited for this summer and hope it’s so much different than last year. I’m going to have a lot of help from caregivers, so it’ll be doable. We’re going to work hard, but we’re also going to enjoy the summer.