Legoland

I finally went through our Legoland pictures. Dominic had a blast. We will have to go back again next year. The lego creations were all pretty cool and Dominic enjoyed the rides.


Dominic really enjoyed the race-car scene. They had two tracks where you could 'race' the cars and Dominic was mesmerized. I had to bodily carry him away, kicking and screaming, so that we could continue to explore the rest of the park.

Dominic runs back for more...

This was a tough store to get Dominic out of. Here we started his Thomas the Tank Engine lego collection...

Dominic took some cute photos in the shark's mouth.

Dominic enjoyed the race cars. He did ok, but tended to watch everything else but where he was going. He eventually 'crashed' into the wall.



This was a fun ride, where you sat in a 'boat' and fired water cannons at other pirate boats and any unlucky bystanders. The cannon were a tough reach for Dominic, but he tried hard to man his cannon.

I love this picture of determination on his face.
But when the going got tough, the little guy tried to get going (away.) He was not so wild about receiving water in the face.Dominic liked this rollercoaster.

Definitely a good time, we look forward to going back to Legoland sometime next year.

DominicsDad

Video: Dominic riding his Bike

Arrgh Mateys!

A quick video of Dominic's first time on his bike.

DominicsDad

National Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy matey's!
Today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Everyone needs to talk like a pirate, just like Steve the Pirate on Dodgeball!

There is even a handy website you can check out where you can listen to clips on how to authentically talk like a pirate, print out a poster so that you can tell all your friends and family, and even find out your real pirate name. Here's mine:

My pirate name is:

Bloody Jack Rackham

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

DominicsMom tried her hand. Pretty appropriate...

My pirate name is:

Captain Jenny Rackham

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

And Dominic's pirate name:

My pirate name is:

Mad Tom Bonney

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Little Jocelyn is interesting...

My pirate name is:

Bloody Morgan Bonney

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Arrgh!

Dominics "Bloody Jack Rackham" Dad

Dominics B-Day

Dominic just celebrated his 4th birthday this weekend. Dominic was excited the whole week leading up to his birthday party. He couldn't wait to see his friends, eat some cake, and open some presents. So he ate a little chicken, a lot of cake, and opened a lot of presents (thank you to all!)

Dominic blows out the candles on his cake.

Dominic gets some help from Garrett opening a present.

It is hard to believe that four years ago I returned from Iraq (the day before Dominic was born!) Time sure has flown... And it is hard to believe that it has only been one year since I returned from Djibouti, this time on Dominic's birthday.

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DominicsMom and I gave Dominic his first bicycle. We gave him a 16" Hot Wheels bike, some assembly required. Yeah, right. Thankfully I had DominicsMom handy and she helped me out of a couple of spots as the 'detailed assembly instructions' were anything but. I finished putting the bike together in the early afternoon on the day after his birthday party. Dominic was really excited to check it out (I had to chase him away a few times as I put it together.)

So once it was done, we had to take it out for a spin...

Dominic checks his feet again.

What a great expression!

Check out the tongue! He is concentrating hard!

Dominic did pretty well for his first time on a bike. He has always done well on his trike, but the bike is a lot bigger and heavier and he did have some problems pedaling in the right direction, but he's getting the hang of it. Later that day we met Brianna at the 'Big Park' and he rode his bike there. He's getting to be such a big boy!

DominicsDad

Dominic Sings and Dances

Over the last couple of months, Dominic has definitely developed a liking for singing and dancing and he does so with lots and lots (and lots!) of energy, but at least he's not doing the 'white man's shuffle'. Here he is singing and dancing to some Raffi tunes. Even Papa Frank got into it a little (right around the 50 sec mark in the video.)



DominicsMom says he gets all his moves from me....

DominicsDad, aka Father of "Twinkle Toes" Dominic

More Photos of the Kids

Here are some more random photos from the last several weeks.

Jocelyn is upset and letting us know about it.

Here she is happy, lying down with my Pooh Bear.

DominicsDad & Joss.
DominicsDad & Dominic.

(Yay me! I'm in two photos!)

The other week we went to the Poway Park where they have the old train station. Dominic loves to ride the train. And I'm in another photo!
DominicsMom and Joss.

DominicsMom and the kids.

DominicsDad

Swim Lessons

Dominic has continued his swim lessons through the end of the summer. He really likes them and looks forward to each lesson. We like them because he is usually so tired in the evening that he goes to sleep almost right away, or even a bit early. Dominic has continued to progress as the lessons have continued. When he first started, he was very reluctant to put his face into the water and get wet. Now he (sorta) willingly puts his face down into the water and swims to his instructor, Miss Nicole. He's learned the polar bear stroke (a modified free style or crawl) and he even kicks his feet. So far, his speed through the water is not too fast, but he is swimming all the way across the width of the pool.

Dominic rests on the ledge between each lesson. Dominic is guided through the water by Ms Nicole as

he practices his polar bear stroke.
There are always a number of other kids taking lessons with the other instructors. Sometimes they race. Dominic is the youngest at this point and he was slightly slower coming off the mark.
And....
SPLASH DOWN!
Where did he go? Ms Nicole is keeping an eye on him...



Here's the video of the second race. Once again, he's a bit slower coming off the edge of the pool and he launches him self straight up into the air. So he has no forward momentum when he hits the water and he ends up sinking straight down. Dominic has the right idea, he just has to work on his execution a bit.

The whole crew gets the debrief after the lesson is over.

DominicsMom had to really watch Joss while Dominic had his lesson. She wanted to jump into the pool with him so badly... So now both kids are taking lessons! Dominic continues to improve, he is now diving down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve toys. Jocelyn puts her face into the water and is trying to paddle. She is even diving very shallowly after toys, stroking madly away with both arms. They are both having a great time with their lessons. I should have more pictures soon.

DominicsDad

Check Up

Jocelyn just had her 18 month(!) check up. She weighed in at 24lbs and was 31.75 inches in lenth, both exactly in the 50th percentile for her age. She is getting big!

Another milestone is coming up soon as Dominic will be celebrating his 4th birthday next month!