California, Here I Come!

I saw Aiden for three excellent visits over Labor Day (three hours, four hours, and six hours) and TEN visits (four or five hours each) over two weeks between October 29 and November 11. Now, I hope I will be able to see him on a regular basis. Because I love my son and want to be a regular, consistent part of his life, I'm leaving my home, my friends, and my significant other to move to California; I will be arriving before Thanksgiving.

I have asked Aiden's mother for a one-night overnight visit on Thanksgiving weekend, and two-night weekend visits every other weekend thereafter. Her reply to this was, "[The mediator] was helpful in facalitating [sic] discussions. I wonder if we could have her help us with this disscussion [sic]--." (FYI, the mediator's local agency in NY serves NY residents, which I am not any longer.) I suspect she will not agree to this schedule, because the current court order stipulates far less visit time. It's possible she will withhold Aiden from me entirely until court on December 20, saying that I did not give her the requisite 30 days' notice. (Because of my job situation, I could not give that much notice for the October/November stay in California, yet she agreed to visits then---although only under much pressure from the court mediator and Aiden's attorney.) Will she deny visits altogether, or limit them severely, if there is no one to compel her to do otherwise?

My question is, why would she deny or limit visits? Aiden has been completely happy during all of the time he's spent with me, never once crying or complaining of any physical problem. Why would she not want our son to see me frequently and develop a strong bond with me, while at the same time giving herself a much-deserved break from caring for a young child? Isn't this a win-win-win situation for me, Aiden, and Aiden's mom? According to my own and Aiden's attorneys, every other weekend is a pretty standard visit schedule. Aiden himself wants to spend time with me--listen to how excited he is during these phone calls when I ask him about seeing me:

November 20 call-"I'm excited!"

November 17 call--"Could you come more?"

Of course, the calls end suddenly, shortly after he expresses his excitement at seeing me.

The current court order for very brief visits, on only two of every three days of my trips to California, was made almost a year ago. Because the court has postponed our case thirteen times, I have had to take Aiden's mom to court in order to see him for more than the court ordered time for every single trip I have made to see Aiden. Now that I will be living in California and available on weekends to see Aiden consistently, I'm hoping she will agree to my proposed schedule of visits without my having to take her to court. For Aiden's sake, that would be really great...but I'm not holding my breath.