Four?

Dear Dominic,
Today, on this perfect fall day, you turn four years old.  Is that really possible? I just spent some time looking at your baby pictures, thinking back to when we were anticipating your arrival, the two days I was in labor and when we first brought you home.  Seems more like a lifetime ago.

You have become an amazing little boy and I am so proud to be your Mom.  I love that you have started to assert your independence in many ways, like wanting to help out and do things on your own, but I'm also glad that you still run up to me and nestle your little face into my legs acting as if you want to just melt into me.  I love that  now we can have real conversations and decide together if something is silly or a good idea.  You are such a thinker that sometimes I swear I can see the gears grinding behind those beautiful brown eyes and wonder if smoke will start to come out of your ears! But then you resolve whatever had caused you to pause and we either get one of those great Dominic smiles or a very thorough explanation of the current topic.  Sometimes we are even lucky enough to get both!

Things you are loving right now include pulling your brother in the wagon on walks around the neighborhood, coloring, monster trucks, Legos, playing your Leap Pad, cookies or ice cream before bed, and as always, anything to do with trains!

Thank you for being you, Dominic.  You bring a light to my life that I never could have dreamed and am so excited to watch you continue to grow.
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mommy

Roar!

Papa!

I'm not sure why, but from when Dominic was just learning to talk, he's always referred to Dad as Papa. We all call him Grandpa and Dominic calls Mom, Grandma. Just one of those things that stuck, I guess. Hope Dad doesn't mind because I think it would be a lost cause at this point to try and change it. Plus there is something endearing about it to me that he determined this name and not us.
Here are some good shots I got of Dad with the boys while he was here.

Dante's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Dante's 1st birthday at our house with plenty of family and friends there to make it a fantastic party, as well as, a really fun weekend. The kids all had a blast jumping around on the bouncy and even though rain was supposed to be a huge threat that day, Mother Nature decided to give us a big break.  The Birthday Boy seemed to enjoy his first taste of sugary goodness and wore it adorably well.

 

 



Back to School

Last week, Dominic started his second year of preschool  in his new class with Ms. Ann and Ms. Gabriel in the Star Room.  Here he was, all ready to go that morning.

Dominic, may you be this excited to go to school every day for approximately the next two decades!

2012 Colts

Dominic has joined the 2012 Colts to play 4 year old soccer this fall.  The team has had a few practices so far and are ready for their first official game this coming Saturday.  Looking forward to a great season!

To My Little Stinker

Dear Dante,
Sadly, today, at exactly the time you were born, one year ago, I was running through the Atlanta airport switching planes headed to Phoenix for work.  As I snuck into your room early this morning to say "Happy Birthday" before I left, you lifted your little head and smiled as you do every morning when I come to get you from your crib. I picked you up and you snuggled right into me, relaxed as could be and completely unaware what a special day today is for you.  That's the only thing keeping me from feeling any more terrible than I already do for not being there today to share it with you. Your little personality is developing more and more each day and quite frankly, if you did understand, I think you just might hold it against me! Hey, at least I showed up last year, right? I think that's what really counts in the grand scheme of things, don't you?

As the title of this post suggests, I call you "Little Stinker." Your big brother calls you "Mr. Stinker" and I promise you it is said with the utmost affection and rings true simply because you still wear diapers.  I will try and stop before it causes any complexes on your part, however, in the meantime, I know that I will always look back on your first year and remember what a sweet little baby you were. You have been easy going from the start and getting one of those precious little smiles out of you has never been too difficult.  You love to be tickled, play games and flirt with perfect strangers when we are out and about.  You have finally become a master at Peek-a-boo and are starting to do clap hands.  Your tooth count has been at a 6 for a while now and we're waiting to see when some more decide to pop up.  That being said, you use what you've got to chomp whatever you can. As soon as you got a taste of real food, you never looked back.  Garbage Pail may become your next nickname.  Speaking of food and personality traits, you seem to have inherited a little bit of what your Father calls "Jeckle and Hyde syndrome" that Mommy develops when she gets hungry.  As Grandma pointed out this week, you may not be able to use words yet, but you certainly tell us when you need something.

You are still a little hesitant on the walking front.  While you've begun cruising on the furniture and use the walker toys, you really just don't care to stand on your own and prefer to sit down and crawl when you need to get someplace.  Daddy and I, along with Ms. Judy, are perfectly OK with you taking a little extra time in this area.  The way that you are already getting into Dominic's things now makes me believe that he, too, is on board with your decision to delay. 

Dante, I am already a proud Mama when it comes to you and know that will always continue.  I wish you the same health, happiness and successful growth that you have achieved in your first year through all of your years.  You have changed the dynamic of our family by multiplying the love, smiles and silliness and I can never ask for anything more than that! Although, on second thought, a few A's will eventually be nice :-)

Happy Birthday Little Stinker!
I love you,
Mommy

Dominic's first trip to a ballpark.

Yesterday I finally got to use my father's day present from Dominic. It was two tickets for him and I to go see the Durham Bulls play the Gwinnett Braves. This was his first time going to a baseball game and we had a blast!

We started off the night at the Mellow Mushroom, which is a pizzeria. Of course we got a cheese pie with his favorite topping, black olives. As you can see, he was very excited about the crayons because they are triangular in shape as opposed to rounded.

When we got to our seats, he was amazed at how big the field was and how close we were (2nd row, third base bag). Being a curious little boy, he asked hundreds of questions and I answered them all. When I asked him who his favorite player was, he said Wool E. Bull (the mascot, of course). We were able to get up close to him and even snap a picture. As you can see from the smile on his face, I think that was Dominic's highlight of the night. At the end of the game, the kids got to run the bases. I was going to run with him, but he said, "Daddy, I want to go by myself like a big boy". How could you say no to that? So while he was rounding first, he got knocked over by the bigger kids and was a little startled. I was able to get out there and we completed the run together. We left the stadium with a game used ball, his balloon animal (which he named Doggy) and tons of great memories!

Tallest tower ever!

Mine and Dominic's morning project today.

On his way!

Although Dante has been climbing up to a standing position and cruising along on the furniture for a little while now, he hasn't been very brave with the walker.  That is, until this morning.  He did several good stretches of walking right in a row and I was able to catch some of them.  He was so proud of himself and of course, we were all there to cheer him on.  And as Dominic so clearly pointed out afterwards, "We're in trouble now!"

Our Budding Artist

Dominic's drawings have recently become more and more elaborate.  One day, I came home from work to find him working on this little masterpiece. He explained all of the parts to me including the clouds at the top and the house in the middle.  To the right of the house there is a tree and a car.  On the left is the Mommy dressed in blue along with some flowers.  In front of the house is a lawnmower. He is really proud of how much better he is getting at staying inside the lines when he colors.  It's amazing to see his little mind at work and how he takes in and interprets everything around him. 

Progress at the Pool

I'm really proud to say how well Dominic is doing at the pool.  He definitely progressed from his first week of swimming lessons to the last class, getting a little braver each time.  I can tell it's going to be baby steps each time, however, as long as we keep moving forward, we'll have swimmer on our hands in no time.  You can even see that within minutes his comfort and confidence levels go up from the two videos below. 

Look at all that hair!

Dante,
Here is a piece of trivia for you for when you are older and I am too old to remember. By the time you were nine months and two days old, you already had 5 haircuts. When we tell people with young kids how many haircuts you've had already, they are in utter disbelief, seeing as many toddlers have yet to be touched by the scissors of a hairdresser.
They can't tell me that you aren't one cute kid though, even with "all that hair!"
Love,
Mom

Swimming Lessons

Dominic went to his first swimming lesson on Tuesday night. The first 30 minutes were not so great, however, after I told him it was ok to try and splash the teacher the next time it was his turn to practice kicking his attitude seemed to change. That was followed by a game of red light, green light which he really liked. By the end, he had volunteered to jump off the side into the teacher's arms three times. He and Vinny are back at the pool now for the second go around. Let's hope he did even better this time!

Has it really been 9 months already?

Dante turned 9 months old today.  While I feel like I cannot remember the time before he was here, I am also in shock that he is already 9 months old and fast approaching that one year mark.  Dante is generally a very happy baby and loves to be around people and a part of the crowd.  Lately, he is constantly babbling or squealing in some fashion.  He is definitely on the move.  His crawling has significantly increased speed over the last week or two and he's also pulling up on whatever he can.  His two bottom teeth are nearly fully in and the top four front teeth are so close to popping through.  Dante tried pasta for the very first time two days ago and didn't have any complaints.  We're also starting to give him cut up small pieces of food, like the cheese we tried last night at dinner.  Puffs, of course, have been a favorite for a while now.  He is working on giving kisses and also waving hello and good bye.  He makes no attempt to do them himself, but he loves when you play Peek-a-boo or ask "How big is Dante" and raise your arms up.  One thing that Mommy and Daddy both love are the great hugs that Dante gives.  Another great joy is seeing Dante and Dominic interact more and more.  They find each other quite hilarious and when they laugh together, their happiness is contagious.

Daddy took Dante to his 9 month check up this morning and he is 16lbs and 3 ounces. This puts him in the 5th percentile for weight.  Everything checks out fine and Dr. Lerich is happy with his development. 

Dante, you are such a sweet and lovable boy and we hope you stay that way for a very long time.  We love watching your personality unfold each day and look forward to seeing you continue to grow.  You have added so much love and happiness to our family and we thank you for that!

Girl's Weekend, Plus Two Little Boys

Over Memorial Day weekend, Dante and I took our first trip together alone. We went to Boston to see the Syracuse bunch, which seems to grow each time we get together. Dante did really well on both of his plane rides and has promise of being a great little traveler.
We got plenty of quality play and gab time in while we took over the Ewing residence. Of course, we did not fail to squeeze in some shopping along with a trip to the playground.
Aside from his first plane ride, this was also Dante's first time in the big bathtub sitting all by himself without the baby tub.
Can't wait to see where our next visit will bring us and who will be there!

Aunt Becky!

Becky came for a visit earlier in the month. I'd like to think that it was mainly to see me, but it was also her first time meeting Dante. She and Dominic had a lot of catching up to do as well. As always, it was too short of a visit but still a blast. We managed to squeeze in all the important stuff like puzzles, the park, the fair and of course some shopping! Can't wait for the next one...

Fun in the Tub!

Dominic's last day of preschool

Yesterday was Dominic's last day of his first year of preschool. They had a "water day" to celebrate. Looks like they had fun!

Fun in Hilton Head

We spent our Spring vacation in Hilton Head this year. It was a much needed break for all of us. We could not have asked for anything more; the hotel was great, the weather was good and we were all able to just hang out and relax from bike riding to the beach to the pool. I think we'd all go back in a heartbeat and were all very sad to get back to reality this past week!