31 Months

Dom keeps being amazing....as always. A ball full of energy...even when most of us just don't have it. He's doing so much better in therapy. Ms Shannon told me that he's trying to sound out the words (and I know he does) and she's quite impressed with how much he's progressed in the amount of time he's been doing it. He can say "help"...which I think is a funny word (when he says it).  He's got the key words down: hi, bye, help, ouch, more, food, water (really is "wa wa")...
He blows kisses all the time...I'm not sure to who, but whatever, make peace not war right?


Playing with bath stickers...

Something he learned in therapy

I love his hair...I will never cut it again!

He's getting so good at head, shoulder, knees, and toes. Doesn't sing it...but loves to move. I recently found a free app called LDS music where they have primary music (not all of it...it's free) but he loves listening to it...."I am a star shining brightly"....another one about birdies in a nest....and then another one about the little stream that always gives...OH and my favorite..."army of helaman". It has pictures too, like for instance the army of helaman has two missionaries, and I keep telling Dom..."that's your Tio Beto"....and he always has this confused face. I'm so excited my little brother is due to come home from his mission July 18...the last time these two saw each other, Dom was 6mo old...didn't even crawl yet....and now look at him. We're so excited that he's coming back....did I mention they both share the same birthday?

Anyways, Dom loves Dr. Seuss books. I don't know why...he just found one the other day, and asked me to read it...and he was hooked (by the rhymes, I'm guessing). He loves "if I could teach my dog 100 words" which by the way, it's not even written by Dr. Seuss. I was looking to get him like the "collection" books ( I think they go by green, blue, etc collection of books)....and they're not written by Dr. Seuss...I was disappointed to say the least. I was able to find the ABC, the red fish blue fish, and the cat in the hat. But he likes the one about the dog the best. I'll seriously read it like 10 times a day.....all before bed, and naptimes.

pretending to read to me before bedtime

He loved Nutella....for a couple of days

playing in the mud

He loves to help me grocery shopping...by just adding things to the cart (Dom cannot sit in the cart for the life of him, so he walks next to me OR he runs away and I constantly have to chase him...good thing I only have one kid). I was wondering when that would happen....last time he added cinnamon toast crunch (the biggest box they have...which happens to be on the lowest shelf...right where all kids can see it). I saw the beauty of marketing at its best....Dom watches Nickelodeon...every other commercial is cereal...capt crunch, cinnamon toast crunch, cocoa puffs....so when we walked by....when HE walked by, he recognized it and decided he NEEDED it to survive. And THAT my friends...is when I realized how truly magical marketing can be...haha. And the company is laughing all the way to the bank....while I'm stuck paying full price for a HUGE box of cereal. Thank goodness he liked it....and the main ingredient is whole grain (with sugar a close second)....so whatever. We can't win all the battles right?

Daddy was trying to teach him how to play.

Speaking of battles...potty training....still stuck. He is getting better though. He's starting to notice that his diapers gets full and he doesn't like it...he asks for "help" to remove it...or just does it himself. He loves to walk around naked...mama? not so much, but there are WORSE things in life. And he's starting to master the #2 in the potty....so who knows....maybe someday it will just click. I'm okay for now, I only got one kid in diapers...and he only dirties like 3 a day...including the overnight...so I'm okay...I can be patient and wait it out. With sleeping....he's getting better. Only wakes up once...but Dom was never one to sleep...EVER. So, once is actually probably as good as it's gonna get for a while. When he was a baby, he would nap for like 10min at a time...I never had time for anything. And besides, I'm asking a little person who really doesn't need 10hrs of sleep like I do, to sleep from 9am to 8am....well, that's ridiculous! So, he'll sleep from 9pm to 2am. I'll give him like 4 oz of milk and he'll go back to bed usually until 7am....which is late for him. Sometimes, he'll do me a favor and get up at 5am...and he STILL won't nap until 2:30pm...that's how hard core my child is. I'll put him in his room and he'll just sit and play for hours...

he will read anything! Even drug reference books.
should I be worried??

He's also started to hit. He gets so frustrated when I say 'no" that either he runs away to his room or he hits me. it doesn't hurt...but that's not the point. We try to do time out....but I'm not quite sure he gets it. He gets locked in his room and cries for about 2 minutes, then I come in and tell him why he's there...and we hug and kiss...but I'm not really sure he really comprehends why hitting is wrong. I did hit him back a couple of times...only for him to hit me again....so that's not the best way to deal with it...haha.
The other day I said something to him in harsh tone and he came right back me...point his fingers saying some mumbo jumbo...I think he was talking back....oh dear.

This is a video of Dom mastering his letter and speaking skills:

Pretty cool huh? Kids are so amazing...they learn so fast. I had no idea that he would learn how to draw the letters....I've been trying to teach him with some chalk for a while...all I had to do was give him the IPAD...go figure. I know a lot of people are against kids and technology, but really? I went to the splash park today and 99% of parents there weren't even paying attention to their kids cause they were stuck on the stupid phone doing God knows what....obviously more important than watching your kid. They must all be CEOs of heavy companies. so really??? who needs a break form technology??? I say, there's good things and bad things. Should a child be on it 10hrs a day ??? NO. BUT there are so many beneficial apps, not just for kids with disorders, but average kids as well, that they would really enjoy and actually learn before hitting PreK.  Like, Dom likes coloring on the IPAD...hey, fine by me...at least its not on the walls....and I save money on supplies that will probably dry out.

 I think he's ready for Pre-K. As soon as he turns 3..off he goes. Maybe he'll get better with speech and sleep if he has more going on in his life.

Now, there are mindless apps out there. Daddy introduced Dom to the "minion game" app and he just thought it was a hoot.  Here's Dom playing the Minion Game:

DID YOU SEE THAT??? He was making the minion roll and jump and moving it side to side...how OLD is this kid??? TWO and a half. That's RIDIC! I saw him doing it a couple of times, and said...I need it on camera...cause nobody will EVER believe me. He's almost as good at me....and he lasted a whole minute....that's impressive. All he had to do was watch his Daddy a few times, and then he was off. I'm so impressed with how fast he learns, when he wants to. Sometimes, I totally underestimate him cause he doesn't really talk...so I assume he doesn't understand or doesn't know. But that's not true at all....his little brain is ALWAYS thinking...that's  probably why he doesn't sleep. But we'll try to work on more productive things the upcoming month....