Dominic Lately

I am completely and fully aware that I will probably always be the most biased person when it comes to Dominic and his biggest fan. So, please, bare with me as I indulge myself in putting down on paper all of the great things that Dominic has been doing lately, so that one day when he is 15 years old, acting like a lazy teenager and only speaking in one word sentences to me, I can look back on these days......

Dominic is a puzzle master!  He has started doing some pretty tough puzzles for a 2 and a half year old . He'll struggle a little the first time he does one and then he has a great ability to remember where all of the pieces go for the next time. He knows how to match up the pieces in order to complete the larger picture of the puzzle. We constantly have to bring out new toys for Dominic because he learns how to do them all so fast that he continually needs a new challenge.  Luckily, his nanny, Miss Judy, supplied us with a new "bag of tricks" this week that seem like they might keep him busy for a little while.   When Dominic plays with his toys, or even just things that he gets his hands on around the house, you can see that he is very interested in how they work or how they are put together and come apart and then go back together. (Yes, Grandpa, we know what you are thinking, "Maybe this one will be the engineer.") Another type of activity that he is into is seek and find books.  It started out with a "Where's Waldo" book that he used at a friends house and we've now found several other books of that genre that he really seems to enjoy.

Dominic has finally started to use the first person for himself a lot more often and in the appropriate way.  We thought it was never going to click, but it seems like he's finally on his way with this one.  He'll still refer to something as Dominic's or describe what he wants or is doing in the third person about 1/3 of the time, but he's getting there.

Dominic has become much more conversational. Every night when I walk in the door from work, he runs up to me and gives me a big hug around my legs.  He asks "How are you, Mommy?" And this past couple of days, he has been asking to give the baby a kiss hello too, which of course makes me overwhelmingly happy and optimistic about the acceptance of his new sibling.  Dominic will also compliment you.  He'll say, "Nice sunglasses, Mommy" or "Nice work shoes, Mommy." One morning, he actually even told me that I looked beautiful as I was getting dressed.  And, the biggest thing lately, is the wonderful question "Why?" He will ask it whether or not it makes sense to and whatever answer you give is usually not good enough.  If you try to foil him with something like "because I said so" or "because Y is a crooked letter" it does not matter and he continues on with the line of questioning.  I am hoping that this phase does not last until he's 18. 

Another new aspect of his talking is that when he is asking for something that he thinks you are going to say "No" to, he prefaces it by say "just a little bit," like "Can I watch just a little bit of TV?" or "Can I have just a little bit of cream?" Apparently, he is already working on his negotiation skills.   (Side note - Dominic is obsessed with lotion.  You cannot put it on his in presence without him wanting some. There is also a bottle of it in his bathroom that he can reach and we often find him putting it all over his hands, face and in his hair, followed by "That's much better, Mommy.")

The older Dominic gets, the more of his father's sense of humor that seems to come out.  He loves to tease and laugh and be silly.  He's sweet and sensitive, a little dramatic sometimes, but overall, a fun kid to be around!