Oh wow...I just found this post as a draft from almost 6 months ago! Whoopsies...So now he's 3 1/2 all of the sudden.
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| In his rocking chair as a 3 year old. It's amazing how much older he looks just 6 months later. |
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| Here he is at just one month. Seems like just yesterday! |
A few months ago, Dom and I were listening to show tunes on youtube after I started singing "Tomorrow" from Annie. We stumbled upon Rent's "Seasons of Love", and Dom loved it. We listened to it over and over, and Dom would sing, "How do you measure measure measure" over and over. The cutest!
But seriously, how do you measure a year of life? This last year has flown by and our toddler has turned into a little boy, and I don't think I can possibly put into words everything I love about him. He makes me so proud to be his mommy!
Weight and height: just over 36 lbs (82nd percentile) and he's 3'3"ish (71st percentile)
Sleeping patterns: For the most part, he sleeps through the night still, but toward the end of my pregnancy and since the twins have been home, he comes to our room. We got him a Sleeper Hero and it helped for a bit, but he tested us and won a few nights in our bed. If you give him an inch, he's going to take the mile so it became an issue again. In the spring he mostly slept on our floor instead of his bed. He said he didn't want to sleep in his room because there are monsters. We call my lavender sleep spray "Monster Spray" and we leave his door open and closet light on, and it's finally helped. He slept in his room two nights in a row in May because I said I was going to cut his toenails (he HATES this) if he came into our room to sleep...but then he slept in our room a few nights later and I didn't wake up to cut his toenails so guess who won that battle? Then he went through a phase of sleeping in his room to start and ending up in our room on the floor. Now he sleeps most nights in his bed.
His bedtime routine used to be my favorite time of day, but it quickly turned into my least favorite time during late winter/early spring. He would scream and fight us, and we'd just end up leaving him in there crying. It was really hard and made me so sad. Now at least he doesn't cry as much. He'll just sit in the doorway and eventually lay down. Ugh. Toddler sleep issues suck.
Eating habits: He eats whatever if he's hungry, but go to's are usually fruit and veggies (especially beans). In typical toddler fashion, he'll love something one day and hate it the next. We have a two-bite rule: He has to take two bites of something before he says he doesn't like it and he can have something else. Sometimes Daddy ruins this by eating what was on D's plate and then we have new issues.
Places he went: With the activity restrictions at the end of my pregnancy and having newborn twins at home, Dom basically went to just daycare and home. We went to Sioux City for a close friend's father's funeral, Waterloo for Macey's baptism, Omaha for the Derby party and the 4th, and St. Cloud for my cousin's wedding. The wedding was a DISASTER. Dom was tired (no afternoon nap) and hadn't been with Brian and I all day. And then Brian and I were busy with the babies, so Dom was a bear in order to get our attention. Thankfully the wedding was outside at a golf course so he just ran all over. He sometimes likes to run away from us (mostly from Brian), and D almost bolted down the aisle right before the procession began. OMG.
So I've been mentioning all the horrible toddler moves he pulls, but this little guy is the best. My favorite part of the week is going grocery shopping at Target and HyVee with him. He is so goofy and makes me laugh all the time. He's very curious and likes to help me find what we need. And he always talks me into getting some sort of junk food that we don't need. I love the conversations we have during our shopping trips, practicing different things he's learning, and the smiles he brings to other people's faces.
I enjoy doing things with him that I liked doing when I was a kid - walks, the library, the fair, Trick or Treating. He's totally getting into stuff so it's so much more fun now!
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| Super Hawk Fan |
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| How he always writes his name - a huge D, a little O, and three lines for the M |
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| Tired boy passed out on the way home from the fair with a chocolate chip cookie in his hand |
Special friends he's made: His best friend moved away near the middle of April, and Dominic still talks about him all the time. My heart breaks a little when he asks about his buddy. Dom understands that they moved, but I don't think he understands why he doesn't get to see him anymore. Thankfully, he has other friends at daycare, but no one tops his b.fri. M's mom is amazing so they were able to come to Dom's birthday party (best surprise for him ever!) and they came this weekend to go to the zoo.
Dom talks about best friends all the time because it's often a topic on
Blaze and the Monster Machines. He'll often tell Brian and I that we are his best friends. I love it! And few things are better than him telling me that he loves me.
His favorite grown up friend is our next door neighbor. Dom's always asking about him and wanting to say hi to him or hang out with him. I'm pretty sure we take second fiddle sometimes!
Of course, the special friends section needs to include his baby sister and brother. Dominic is a great big brother. He's so proud of them! He likes to make them smile and giggle and get super close in their faces to do so. He also likes to lay his head on their bellies to snuggle, and we always have to remind him to give them a little space. He gets them giggling like no one else. I spent most of my summer home with them, and this was why I took a job in education. I hope that I'm making as great of memories for him as my mom did with me and my siblings growing up.
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| The three best friends that anyone can have |
Noises and babbles: "What?" and "Why?" are two of his favorite words. Since moving up to the preschool room at daycare, his vocabulary has blossomed. He is so smart and I love talking with him. His concept of time is screwy. Every day something happened is Saturday, as in, "Remember Saturday when ____?" He often talks about things that happened that he liked or that bothered him. I thought he handled me being in the hospital after the babies were born well, but he talks about it all the time still. "Remember Saturday when you at doctor's?" I love some of the things he says and the way he says them. He often says, "That's weird" while doing this funny fish sort of face when he says weird.
He also imitates everything we say and do. Beware of what you say in front of him!
Firsts:
Terrible toddler behavior
We thought the whining and crankiness were the worst! He likes to run away from Brian (so far only once or twice from me), "no" is a favorite word, and he is just straight up defiant when he hasn't had enough sleep. For the most part he has stopped his destroy-everything fits when he's told no, but every now and then he'll pick up that wonderful behavior. Thankfully he doesn't hit when he's mad though!
Becoming a big brother
He is the best brother. He's so sweet with the babies, and loves to make them smile. When he loves up on them, he gets right in their grills and we have to remind him to give them some space. It's so sweet when he helps care for them. He likes to sit by them, feed them, cuddle them, and help soothe them. Sometimes he'll say, "Hold on, baby, I'm coming" just like we say sometimes. As the babies have gotten more mobile, he likes to cheer them on. Until they start going after his toys and then he gets mad and tries to block them. He's going to be out numbered!
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| Playing peek-a-boo with Will after meeting him for the first time |
Reading books by himself
He would babble while turning book pages, but now, if he has heard the story enough, he "reads" the story based on memory so that it seems like he's actually reading. We had his first preschool conference awhile back, and Dom knows more letters than most of the kids I worked with as a school psych in elementary schools!
Day of preschool
His first official day of preschool was on the babies' first day of daycare. He was so proud to be in the big kids' room and to have his babies at school with him. I guess he talks all about the William and Chloe in the mornings.
Academic skills
In the last month, he is able to recognize his name, identify lots of letters, and write his name (with prompts). He also is more accurate with drawing shapes and a straight line, and he loves to use scissors to cut things in little tiny pieces. I'm amazed with how quickly he learns, and all the skills that he has mastered. I think he does more than a lot of the kids I assessed as a school psych in elementary schools!
Bowling Trip
He went bowling for the first time for Laney's birthday party LAST November (that's how far behind I am...). I think he had fun, until he had to spend too much time waiting. I'm looking forward to taking him now when he's a little bit older and a little bit better at waiting.
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| Look at his nerd hair. This is what happens when Daddy is in charge of hair cuts! Poor child. |
Sport
I really thought he'd love soccer. Turns out he didn't like it. We skipped two practices because neither Brian or I wanted to deal with him during practice. It wasn't like he was crying or throwing a fit, but he just didn't want to participate so we basically sat on the sidelines. Whatever, maybe next year.
Favorite things:
Some of Dominic's favorite things right now include:
- Wrestling. He loves to rough house, and now that I can do that with him again he's always asking. One time he said to Brian while taking his shirt off, "Dad, let's wrestle. Take your shirt off." WTH? Brian was like, "Uh no. Not taking my shirt off."
- Anything physical - he's all boy. He's loves to jump on the bed, dance, run, play catch, and ride his bike.We went on lots of walks and then all of the sudden those walks turned into runs. I'm hoping he continues to like going running with me! Dude is fast too.
- Superheros. My parents got him Hulk hands and a Hulk doll? large action figure? (not sure what to call it), and he loves them. He also likes to wear his undies backwards so he can see the superheros that are supposed to be on the back.
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| On his birthday, celebrating with my parents |
- Coffee. The first time I was able to drive to pick him up from daycare, we had to stop at HyVee on the way home and I was really dragging so I wanted a caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Dom wanted a coffee too, so I got him a steamer. Now he loves to get "coffee" and I'm pretty sure people look at me funny when we talk about getting coffee. Duh, like I'm really going to let a three-year-old have coffee. Seriously people.
- Cheetos. Specifically the jalapeno ones.
- Helping in the kitchen. He likes to run the hand mixer. Sometimes if there are things that aren't really conducive to a toddler running the show, then I'll make up something like, "Stir this water for me!"
- Spongebob. He remains as the favorite tv show, though "Engine" Turtles, Blaze and the Machines, and Dora are other top favorites.
- Watching Horton Hears Who, The Lion King, Cars, and basically any other kids movie. When there's a scary part, we talk about being brave and sometimes he needs to hold my hand to help him be brave. He goes in spurts with the movies, though, and now that it's nice outside, nothing tops being outdoors.
- Pajama walks. He loves going on walks so when it's nice enough out and I can carve out some time, we put on our pjs and walk around the block. I love talking to him and pointing out things in the neighborhood. It's nice to have that time, just Dom and me, but we haven't had time to do it lately.
- Peeing standing up. It's crazy to think that like 12 months ago he was still peeing in a diaper. Now he likes to always use the big toilet and he sometimes has to stand on his tiptoes to make it in. Toddlers, public bathrooms, and potty training result in me singing "Let it Go" in my head or I may go crazy from the germs!
- Playing in the front yard. He always played in the back yard but lately he wants to play out front. I thought it was just because he loved riding his bike that he got for his birthday and hang out with one of our neighbors. But then I found out that our neighbors are always giving him candy or little old toys from when their kids were younger. Sneaky little boy. Our neighbors our the best; we totally lucked out!
Some of his least favorite things include:
- Wearing pants. Seriously, he hates them and he's always misplacing them at home. Brian's friends will find this funny - when we tell Dom he needs pants on before he goes outside, he'll ask, "Where are my pants?" Pants Junior.
- Washing his hair. God forbid we have to pour water on his head. Even when he helps he cries. He also hates when water drips from the shower head while he's bathing. He'll put his head under water when he's swimming but have a total freak out when a drop hits his head.
- Picking up his toys. The vast majority of them were in the garage for a few months because he wouldn't pick them up. He was told to pick them all up before he went to bed, and if he didn't then they would go in the garage. He said, "Fine. Put all toys in garage." Then he wanted to get visitation rights. No dude, that's not how it works.
Other memorable moments in the last year:
Last Christmas as a family of three
Dominic absolutely loved Christmas this year! He was obsessed with watching
How the Grinch Stole Christmas and
Frosty the Snowman. I think we watched each a million times (slight exaggeration but seriously, a lot). He still asks to watch them, or to read his Grinch booked that's packed away.
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| With Grandma Cindy's Frosty ornament |
Speaking of our last time as a family of three, the weekend before the babies were born we did a few fun things for D, like visit the pet store. Can you tell that he had a fun time?
His first big boy haircut. His first big boy haircut was right before the babies were born, and I couldn't handle it. He looked so old. What happened to my baby boy?!
First Easter egg hunt. He loved it! This was also the first year that I hid his Easter basket. Daddy tried to help him find it. I thought I hid it in a super easy spot but they took forever to find it!
His birthday party. Uh, how did I forget to share his birthday party pictures!? We had his party at the zoo and it was a blast.
Maybe for his next birthday I'll actually do his birthday post on time!
