Our Visit to the La Brea Tar Pits

In late May we visited the La Brea Tar Pits (which aren't in La Brea - go figure). Dominic is wild about dinosaurs (and Transformers and Monster trucks...) and has started to learn about fossil bones, so while La Brea does not have any dinosaurs, they have lots of fossil mammals. Dominic ran from exhibit to exhibit and we had to hold him back so we could read and see everything. Jocelyn had a good time too.

Dominic and DominicsGrandma Pat test the stickiness of the tar.

Here I was trying to take a picture of Joss. But she jumped first...
And here she is again, but I managed to snap the picture before she jumped. See how high the platform is? It's almost as tall as she is!

I have some more photos somewhere. We did see some fossils!

DominicsDad

What Goes Around...

From DominicsGrandma Nana:

What goes around comes around! Yeh - you did that to us when you were going through school, never a word about what happened or what you did that day and that's all through high school. And you were such a talker before you went to school.

Lee was the quiet one but he would tell everything that happened at school. I just had to laugh when I read about Dominic. So happy he loves school and proving himself to be quite the leader too. Wow.

DominicsDad

"Because..."

This afternoon I picked the kids up from day care and drove home, as is becoming our new routine. I pulled Jocelyn out of the car and then walked down the street to our mailbox. Joss insisted on being carried, so I obliged her.

As I walked towards the mailbox, I noticed that she appeared a little upset. So I asked her, "Jocelyn, are you angry?"

"Yeees" she replied quietly.

"Are you angry at Daddy?"

"Yesss" she said again.

"Why are you angry at Daddy?"

"Because..." she said in a very small voice.

I had to stifle a laugh at the way she said it in such a small voice. It was the first time I had heard her use 'because' as a reply, but I am pretty used to it as it is a stock Dominic answer. Try as I might, I could not get a straight answer out of her. So I distracted her with the mail and she was soon off and running. Jocelyn has started to talk a LOT. She will just rattle on and on and on.

I ask how she is doing at school when I pick her up. Today her teacher replied that she is talking a lot more. She is getting more comfortable and starting to open up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominic on the other hand is the typical boy. "What did you do at school?"

"Nothing."

Did you play at recess? Yes. Who did you play with? I don't know.

Getting information out of him is like pulling teeth!

DominicsDad

Picture from First Day

And here is a picture of Dominic from his first day. He had a great day and is making lots of new friends. We get the pleasure of making a lunch for him every evening!

DominicsDad

First Day of School

Yesterday we took Dominic to see his classroom and meet his teacher and classmates. Dominic was very excited and enjoyed playing with the toys in the classroom. He found his spot on the floor and he made several new friends.

Today, DominicsMom dropped Dominic off at school for the first time. Here is how it went in her own words:

I dropped Dominic off for his 1st day of Kindergarten this morning. We had met his teacher and a few kids the day before (Meet & Greet). So, when Dominic got there, his new friend Joey found him and they were attached. (Joey likes Dominic). Once all the lunch bags and beach towels were in the wagons, the kids had to get in line to walk to the classroom. Dominic and Joey were in the back. Another kid that Dominic met yesterday, Daniel, was having a rather difficult time. One of the teachers asked Dominic if he could help Daniel. Dominic started walking over with her but, of course, Daniel didn’t want any help at this point. The teacher asked if Dominic would help Daniel later and with a resounding, “Yes!” and nod of his head, my heart swelled with pride for my beautiful boy. After the kids were settled in the classroom, I took a last look before they shut the door. He was already sitting in his spot on the rug and talking and playing with the other kids. I couldn’t be more proud.

DominicsDad

Cancel EMCON!!

It has been quite awhile since I last posted, but we have been busy. We moved into the new house, unpacked, enrolled the kids in a new day care, enrolled Dominic in kindergarten, and fixed up the old house and have started to show the place to prospective renters.

Coming up we have our house warming party and Dominic's birthday. I'll try to do better and keep the posts coming!

DominicsDad