A Reply from DominicsUncle Lee

I received this e-mail from DominicsUncle Lee the other day:

Thanks for posting all those pictures on the blog! Love the pic of Dominic & Joc in costume with sucker in mouth. Both pics of the 3 kids are awesome. That photo session reminds me of the Calvin and Hobbes comic where they couldn't get Calvin to sit still... Now we are forewarned...even though Cole and Joc are smiling now for pictures, it won't always be that way. Thanks for posting the picture of me looking REALLY gay. Rebecca couldn't stop laughing. At first she was shocked, then she looked at me funny, then decided I was actually straight but somehow came out looking flaming and couldn't stop laughing until tears were flowing. (My tears, that is. And they didn't stop until I went and brewed a cuppa Mint Delight and ate a
snickerdoodle.)

I always love how you get great shots of Dominic in a rich looking pumpkin patch. The one we went to up here was a little disappointing. The patch was sparse (we probably came too late in the season), and when we set Cole down, all he wanted to do was look down, grab dirt and play with it. Almost all of our pictures are of him grubbing around in the dirt with a couple solitary pumkpins scattered around.

He did send us another cute picture of the kids:

This is not quite the family photo that Nana is thinking about, but the riot of color definitely has to be seen to be believed!

DominicsDad

Another Quick Video

Another quick video.



DominicsDad

Updates

A couple of updates.

First, Valour IT has completed their drive (but it is never too late to donate!) and met their goals.

We took Dominic to meet Thomas the Tank Engine this weekend and he had a blast, I'll post pictures and details later.

I also have a ton of pictures when Grandpa Tom and Nana visited, I have to post those soon!

Joss is doing well, she is crawling really well (and is slowly working up to Cole's speed!) She is also pulling herself up to her feet at a table or chair, so her horizons have really opened up recently. She absolutely loves to pulls stuff off of the table. She also loves to follow Dominic around the room. She now gets a lot more "No Joss!" from Dominic, he's always keeping an eye on her to keep her out of trouble (or out of his stuff!)

I've finally caught up to the latest technology in blogging, video! Thanks to YouTube, it is easy to embed links to video in your blog. Below is my first stab at adding video to the blog. Just click on the picture (some times it takes 2 separate clicks) and it should begin streaming a video to you. This one is short video and should not take too long, even for those with slow connections.



DominicsDad

Project Valor - IT

While I do not consider The Blog of Dominic to be a MilBlog, I did chronicle my deployment to Africa and occasionally the Marine Corps crops up in the blog.

During OIF-I in 2003, my unit, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion suffered two Marines killed (none from my Company) during our first deployment to Iraq. Subsequently we have had at least a couple of Marines wounded in Iraq, one of them a friend of mine who was badly injured three months ago. He is recovering but it has been a long slow road. Several organizations have helped him and his family with car rentals and lodging after the US Government's assistance ran out.

Project Valor-IT seeks to provide assistance to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who have received hand and/or arm injuries and are currently recovering at home or in a military hospital. These wounded heros have difficulty communicating with their loved ones and friends and Project Valor-IT provides laptops that come with software that allows the computers to be controlled via voice. In their own words, "Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse." Project Valor-IT has been operating for a couple of years and has delivered over 600 laptops. They are currently in the midst of a fund raising drive and are seeking to increase donations by holding a contest. The MilBloggers from each service are competing to be the first to raise $45,000 and I have joined the Marine Corps team in an effort to spread the word.




You can visit the Project Valor-IT (a 501C non-profit organization) site here for more details. A copy of a letter from LtGen Amos, USMC is also posted on the site.

Semper Fidelis,

DominicsDad

Halloween!

Halloween! Every kids favorite night and Dominic was no exception. This year, Dominic went as Thomas the Tank Engine (again) and Jocelyn was Raggedy Anne. DominicsMom did not want him to go as Thomas again (even though I knew that would be his first choice), so we took him to a local Halloween shop where we showed him a bunch of different costumes, to include Buzz Lightyear and Bob the Builder. Dominic was leaning towards Buzz when I pointed out a Thomas costume. Of course, he went nuts and wanted to be Thomas again. Since we already had it, I saved $20 and was very satisfied with myself.

Dominic has a local playmate in our housing area and we agreed to with her parents to go Trick-or-Treating together. We dressed Dominic and Joss up and went to see Leonie first, she was very happy to see them. Dominic got a kick out of seeing her again too. Dominic's playmate arrived, we took some pictures, and then we all set off.

Dominic did better this year, walking most of the time and he was actually tall enough that he did not trip over the front of the costume, at least not too much. He was excited and knew the ropes when we went up to each door. He would knock (and then we would as he would do so too softly) and then mumble something when the door was opened. He definitely knew to grab a piece of candy when the bowl was offered, and then to go back for more if they let him. He came away that evening with a nice big sackful of candy.

Joss & Dominic posing for pictures. He has already scored a lollipop from somewhere.

That lollipop makes for a sweet smile!Cutie!

More pictures to come later when I get Blogger to work!

DominicsDad

Time to Catch Up

Its been a few weeks since I've posted and it has been a busy few weeks. I've finished demobilizing and have gone back to work, Jocelyn has started to crawl, and Dominic is doing well at day-care. We've also had a visit from Nana and Papa Tom, DominicsUncle Lee & DominicsAunt Rebecca along with his cousin Cole, and of course Halloween. I will do my best to chronicle all of this!

Also of note, today Joss pulled herself to her feet at the coffee table. I was sitting (Ok, watching TV) with her while she was playing at the table. Next thing I knew she was standing! She has not done it since, but keeps trying. Hopefully within a couple of weeks she will be doing this regularily! She only very recently started to crawl and her horizons have literally opened up. She can now chase us around the kitchen. We cannot now turn our back on her as she is getting quicker everyday (not up to Cole's speed yet, but soon!) If we do, she ends up at our feet, pulling herself up so that we pick her up....

Joss has not master the art of getting over obstacles, but she will be on the stairs soon. I will have to break out the safety gate and install it soon.

Now on to the stuff that I missed!

Check out the comments for DominicsMom's explanation of this photo!

DominicsDad

DominicsCousin Cole Visits

DominicsCousin Cole came to visit with us last week. Cole also brought DominicsUncle Lee and DominicsAunt Rebecca. They stayed for a long weekend. Cole and Joss have never seen each other and they are pretty close in age (Cole is 2 months older). They got a big kick out of each other. Everyone had a great visit (although I hear that we may have given Cole a parting gift of a runny nose and slight fever...)

This was the weekend before Halloween, so we dressed all three kids in their costumes and attempted to take pictures. Key word to emphasize was attempted. I do not believe that I have a single photo with all three kids looking in the same direction... Hopefully DominicsUncle Lee had better luck.

Dominic was Thomas the Tank Engine (again). Joss was Raggedy Anne and Cole was a little dinosaur. He was pretty cute looking!

Dominic shows Cole and Uncle Lee the ropes.

Dominic models his costume.

DominicsDad holds Cole.

DominicsUncle Lee and Cole, dressed as a dinosaur.

Aww...

DominicsDad

Cole Visit Pictures

Bonus material, a few more pictures!
[Edit - deleted a picture upon request, see 22 Dec 06 post for details and a replacement picture.]

DominicsDad

Bates Nut Farm

This year, Nana, Papa Tom, and I took Dominic and Jocelyn to Bates Nut Farm. Bates Nut Farm has an annual pumpkin patch around this time of the year and we have gone the last several years. DominicsMom had to work and could not make it this time (bummer!) To anyone in the area, I recommend going as the kids love it!

This year, we went on a week day. The pony ride, hay ride, and petting zoo were all still there, but with the absence of the large crowds on the weekend. The grill was not open, but this was a small price to pay.

Once again, Dominic loved the pony ride, he was the first rider of the day! He also got a kick out of the petting zoo and it took a lot of cajoling to get him to leave. Joss was too little this time to do much, but she enjoyed being out and she observed everything intently. Nana and Dominic went on the hay ride and both enjoyed it immensely. We walked around the Farm's country store, usually it is too crowded to get in, so that was neat. Nana picked up some great peanut brittle...

At the end, I bought a nice pumpkin.

DominicsDad

Bates Nut Farm Pictures

A couple more photos from the Nut Farm.

Nana and Papa Tom visit

About 3 weeks ago, DominicsGrandma Nana and Grandpa Papa Tom flew in to visit us. They both flew in to welcome me home as well as see DominicsMom and the kids. DominicsMom's cousin Amy was getting married that weekend and so Nana and Papa Tom would also play babysitter for us, our first chance at a 'date' since I returned! Dominic and Joss had a great time with both Nana and Papa. Nana was a great help when it came to taking care of both of them. Some pictures from their visit:

To keep Dominic quiet while Joss was put to bed, we told him he had to be as quiet as the mouse in the house. Of course, then Dominic wanted to see the mouse, so we all looked for him. DomincsDad, Dominic, and Nana are all looking under the couch for the mouse. No luck. One funny note, when later looking at the picture, Dominic could identify all three of us by our legs...but upon further reflection, that is his normal view of things anyways...
Nana with Dominic and Joss at Paradise Point.
DominicsDad with Dominic
Great side shot of Dominic

DominicsDad