Two More B-Day Pictures

I'm really falling behind. Here are a couple of pictures from Dominic's birthday party:

Jocelyn waits patiently for the show to start. She was a trooper, petting all the animals except for the boa and the blue-tongued skink. I don't blame her at all.

Dominic pets the alligator.

DominicsDad

Oh Bad Ocean!

This evening DominicsMom was preparing Jocelyn for bed. As she was doing this, Joss looked through a picture book, making comments the whole time. As DominicsMom was finishing, Joss turned to a page that had a beach scene with the ocean in the background. Joss pointed out a few items, "Boat", "Fish", etc.

DominicsMom turned away for a moment and then she heard Jocelyn say, "Oh Sh!t"

DominicsMom immediately snapped her head around and regard Joss in astonishment. "What did you say?"

Joss pointed to the water and said again, "Oh Sh!t"

"Did you say ocean?"

"Yes" Jocelyn replied.

"Say ocean..."

"Oh Sh!t"

At that point she called me in so that I could witness this pronunciative feat.

I guess we aren't going to the beach any time soon!

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This story reminds me of the time we took Dominic to the zoo. He was about Jocelyn's age now and he also had problems pronouncing certain sounds. We stopped in front of a small cage, whereupon Dominic pointed to the animal and yelled, "Fox! Fox!"

Only it didn't sound like 'fox'.

We left that corner pretty quickly...

DominicsDad

Dominic and Jocelyn recently attended a friend's birthday party. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids on a slide. Looks like they were having fun!

DominicsDad

Words That Hurt

I got my first "I hate you" from Dominic the other day.

It was bound to happen sooner or later and Dominic was very contrite as soon as he said it (he probably saw my face...) I don't think that he will use it again, or at least very often.

We were at the dinner table and it must have been the typical test of wills over what he eats, can he leave the table, etc etc etc. I'm not even sure what the disagreement was about.

This picture of Dominic mesmorized by an animal is from his birthday party the other weekend. Nana & Papa Tom just left after a nice visit and we have lots of photos from that weekend too. I'll try to get more up soon!

Dominics 'Sad' Dad

Hiking to High Adventure

This afternoon we decided to go for a walk through the Black Mountain open air park. We weren't planning on a long walk, but we brought plenty of water, hats, sunglasses, and of course the camera. The kids were excited to walk through the 'park', sorry no playgrounds here. DominicsMom and I were happy to get out and get some exercise.

The first part of the trail was nice and open and DominicsMom used the opportunity to make sure hats and sunglasses were in place. Everyone did well although it was really hot. Joss was a real trooper, starting and finishing under her own power (but we carried her almost the whole middle part...)

The first little incline was easy and everyone was in a good mood. We hit the 20 minute mark and had just barely started the Old Miners Trail, a 2 mile loop that began in our parking lot. We decided to push on.
A little bit later, the hats and glasses are coming off as everyone heats up a bit. 'We've been going for 30 minutes...It's only two miles, we have to be close to the half way mark.' Yeah, right.

And the hill gets steeper and the trail got narrower... I actually carried Jocelyn almost from the beginning and then when Dominic got tired, I gave Joss to DominicsMom and put Dominic on my shoulders. DominicsMom was tough and carried him a good bit too.

Some parts of the trail were pretty narrow and overhung by scrub trees. We didn't mind too much as they provided some much welcome shade. However, with Joss riding on my shoulders, I didn't always duck enough. Check out the twigs in her hair.

Almost there. We've finished the loop and reached the wider trail again. Joss was pretty tired by this point. She couldn't even keep her head up.

The whole trail took us 1:45, much longer than we anticipated being out. The kids were really good and did not complain too much. I explained to Dominic and Jocelyn that the hike was 'High Adventure'. Dominic said he liked high adventure, but was ready for the hike to be over. He didn't sound too keen for another hike too soon.

We headed home and everyone took a bath or shower. Joss never went down for a nap, but Dominic passed out no the couch.

DominicsDad

Learning to do a Button

Learning how to fasten one's own buttons may seem like a small thing, but the little suckers can be really tough for little hands. We've been working slowly but steadily with Dominic. At this point, he only has a few articles of clothing that require buttons. One is a set of PJ's that he wears every now and then. In the evening, we've been helping him fasten his shirt as it has four buttons running down the front. Yesterday, he managed to do 3 of 4 all by himself. This evening, he did all four by himself. We were so proud of him!

DominicsDad

Colerisms

DominicsCousin Cole has been at it again. DominicsGrandma Nana relates a few anecdotes that have happened recently:

Cole has gotten used to walking around the house a little with a bowl full of dry cereal since he's been here - breaking all the rules he's learnt at home. Anyway his daddy told him to sit down at the table to eat his cereal. Cole replied, "We need to exercise, Daddy."

The other day, his mother was asking him something and he said, 'Yes", then 'No", then finally he said, "I'm a mixed up kid".

DominicsDad

My Conscience

There is a scene in the Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo, where the two fish Marlin & Dory are swimming down deep into the ocean. As the light fades, Marlin speaks to Dory:

Marlin: [Dory and Marlin are in pitch darkness looking for the mask] Dory, do you see anything?
Dory: Ahh! Something's got me!
Marlin: That's just me. I'm sorry.
Dory: Who's that?
Marlin: [exasperated] Who's that? Who else would it be? It's me!
Dory: Are... are you my conscience?
Marlin: [sighs] Yes, I'm your conscience. We haven't spoken for a while. How are you?
Dory: Eh, can't complain.
Marlin: Good. Now, Dory, do you see anything?
Dory: [angler fish's light approaches] Yes, I see... a light. Hey, conscience, am I dead?
Marlin: No, I see it too.

(From the IMDB website. )

The other night, DominicsMom was tucking Dominic into bed. As she turned off the light, Dominic piped up, “Are you my conscience?”

DominicsDad

Company Picnic

This last weekend DominicsMom’s work had their company picnic. It was held at the San Marcos Lake at one of the lake side resorts. They put together a really nice picnic with a jumper, face painting, a magician, and other activities for the kids. We also took a boat ride around the lake. We saw some pretty nice houses perched on the shore of the lake as well as a bunch of different water fowl.

There were ducks (of course!) at the lake. I grabbed a hot dog bun and trooped down with the kids to go feed them. The ducks were bedded down under a tree, but when they saw us step off the sidewalk and head towards them, they got up quickly and proceeded to mob us. They were pretty brave and one male even ate a bunch of food out of my and Dominic’s hands. The ducks become so bold that they walked behind and even between us.

The magician was rather amusing. We missed his main show, but he wandered around after and stopped by to visit out little corner. He produced one red sponge-type rabbit out of my hat, and then turned it into two rabbits in Jocelyn’s hands. Dominic and Jocelyn were suitably awed. They were astounded when he turned them into a dozen rabbits in Dominic’s hands – they were multiplying! (Dominic doesn’t get that joke yet.) And then he made them go away. Joss piped up, “Where rabbit go?” We all laughed at that. A minute later into another routine, she asked again, “Where rabbit go?” I think she asked it about 5 times…

We stayed almost the entire time, promptly losing both kids to a late nap when we got home. DominicsMom and I were also wiped out by the sun and we didn’t get much done that evening.

More pictures later...

DominicsDad

Bed Time Stories

Jocelyn has started to figure out that she can crawl out of her bed. We have an extra high and long bed rail on her bed and there is not as much room at the foot of the bed for her to squeeze out. (She is used to climbing off of Dominic’s bed, using his rail as a handy foot or hand hold.)

This actually bodes a bit ill for us, as she sometimes takes a long time to fall asleep at night. It took Dominic almost a year after he made the transition from crib to bed to realize he could crawl out of his bed. Then for six months we had to put up with him peaking out of his door, turning on the lights to play more, looking for a drink of water, or just making ‘another trip to the potty’. He still sometimes does this. I can see that going on for a year with Jocelyn as she is a bit more hard-headed than Dominic.

Twice last week in the morning Joss has climbed down out of her bed. She did it after calling for us and we caught her doing it as we stumbled bleary-eyed into her room. She just wanted to let us know that she was awake and that we ought to come get her. We must not have been moving quickly enough to suit her.

Our bed gets awful tiny with all four of us squeezed onto it. Half the time I do not realize that Dominic has crawled into bed with us.

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Last Saturday it was DominicsMom’s turn to sleep in (to all of 8am). I was downstairs with Jocelyn when I heard Dominic stirring, so I went upstairs to bring him down. As I was walking up the stairs, I saw him go into our room. As I walked into the room, he was crawling into bed. Not at the foot of the bed, or on my side, but he climbed right over DominicsMom who was trying desperately to get some more sleep. As he finished, I quietly called out to him, “Lets go downstairs!” He replied, OK! And then climbed right back over DominicsMom so that he could get down. I had to laugh as I heard DominicsMom groan in distress.

DominicsDad

Dance Tribute to Uncle Andy

I couldn't pass this one up...Dominic break dancing in the middle of the floor. It reminded us too much of when Uncle Andy decided to put on a dance show for us, after a beverage or two.

For not having taught Dominic anything, he's doing pretty well in the video.

If Dominic looks a little tired, its because he's being going for several minutes as I grabbed the camera late. But he's doing pretty good!

Just to set the record straight, this video was taken shortly after the Olympics were over. I think Dominic is actually emulating the gymnists doing the pommel horse...but break dancing sounds a little cooler.

DominicsDad

Moving into the new House

There have been some big changes that everyone has gone through, but that is natural with a move. We have had our fair share: new house, new kitchen table, new day care, Dominic started kindergarten, and Joss got a big-girl bed.


Jocelyn was very excited when we told her that she was getting a big girl bed like Dominic's. Dominic made the transition very easily. He did have one hiccup - he started the night in his new bed, but was having trouble sleeping so we put him back into his crib for the night. The next day he managed fine and never went back into the crib. With Jocelyn, DominicsGrandpa Frank and Grandma Pat brought us the bed frame (it was DominicsMom or DominicsAunt Laurie's bed) and then bought a new mattress for it. We set up the whole thing the day after the move and Jocelyn took her first nap in it that afternoon. She spent the night in it and never had any problems. I think DominicsMom and I had more problems working the @!@#&# bed rail...

The kids enjoy playing pirate. They hang their shirt or pants off their head like a pirate bandana and then run around making silly faces. I think Joss is upset with Dominic for showing off too much, or maybe she thinks he needs to work on those biceps some more...

Dominic is learning to read! He and his class are making small books, one for each letter of the alphabet. He brings them home and we help him practice. Listen to him read! (Actually, I think he has the books memorized, but he's slowly learning what words go with what group of letters. He does have a very good memory, he has all the Thomas Trains memorized, as well as a ton of fish and dinosaurs!)

Joss enjoying a banana. All the boxes in the picture are now gone!

Another cute picture of Jocelyn

DominicsDad