35 Months

Dom has done quite a few things since we've moved here that have blown my mind. Just the other day he said "thank you" when I gave him a plate full of food (all by himself, he wasn't told to say that). And just yesterday he said "I love you too" (again, without being prompted to say it)- how awesome is that?  He's a little bit clingier.....I have noticed. He likes to sit by me on the couch when we watch movies and constantly tells me to "sit down" when I get up to go do something. And he's also venturing out into hard words....the other day he said "dada's a-vo-ca-do" and "ga-ra-ge". Poor kid...he always picks the hard words...the other day he was trying to practice hippopotamus and rhinoceros....I finally gave up and said "hippo" and "rhino"....haha. he was also wanting to say a sentence..."dom's house no, fun toys Guelita's house"...he's so funny. He's in that phase where the billion toys he has are not enough....nursery, library, and his Guelita have much better toys...even though they are so old.

He's also in that phase where he wants his mama to kiss all his boo boos. We were at the clinic a few weeks ago, and he bit his tongue....he came up to me, stuck out his tongue, and wanted me to kiss it!!! I was a bit mortified...I didn't know what to do...I say "dom you perv!"....and he thought it was the funniest thing in the world....he then did it for about 5 more minutes.
 

Recently, he has been sleeping better but he ends up in my bed around 3am. UGH....he has NEVER done that....not even as a baby...he's always been in his own space- crib, pack n play, his bedroom.

He'll start the night in his room, sleep until about 3am and then ask me for some milk (in my room) and he'll stay there. We don't fit in the bed...not all three of us, so we usually end up moving to the floor and daddy takes over the bed. And in the morning, he keeps telling me to "lay down"....he loves cuddling in the mornings. I have also noticed that this method helps him cope with his dreams. I guess we've never noticed it before, but Dom dreams a lot. Just a few nights ago, he came into my room asking "what happened to dada van??" at 3am. I had no idea what he was asking....

 I can also hear him whimper all the way from his room in the middle of the night sometimes, but when I go in, he's asleep. And other times he'll yell "mama mama mama".....so do I mind that he comes into my bed at 3am? At first I did, but now that I actually sleep more than 4 hours at a time, I think I can live with this for a bit....we'll have to figure out how to phase this out later. Maybe he knows the winds of change are coming or something....

Playing with Dada...he's getting old and got hurt.

Dom is so perceptive. I only tell him to do something once, and he knows how to do it....the only exception is potty time...haha. Which leads me to believe that he's fighting me on it, not because he doesn't understand it, but because he just doesn't want to. But we'll get there.

Trying to master the Tennis Wii

But for everything else, he's awesome. He learned by himself how to count to 30 and knows his A-Z ...and I hear him practice all the time in his room while he plays. He loves saying hi and bye to whoever will listen. I took him to get a flu shot yesterday- didn't even cry, what a trooper- and he was even polite and said "thank you" to the nurse and asked for a lollipop (he was promised one).  Kids are so interesting to watch. I remember when I was called to serve in Nursery before I had Dom, I remember watching all these 15 little souls and thinking how different they were, but at the same time, how similar they were......they were sponges...they remembered things that I didn't. And now, watching my own child do it....it's fascinating. No wonder little children love school so much.

 

Speaking of school, we were finally able to make an appointment with the public school system to see if Dom needs speech therapy and will able to start school earlier because of it. It took them long enough to get back to me...I guess with holidays coming up....we'll go in January....I know....let's hope I remember that date in a couple of months. And this is like a pre-interview- three people will watch him and see if he needs to be seen by the next person up the chain....I really don't know why this is so complicated. So, we'll see....I'll come prepared this time with all his Vanderbilt evaluations...all 30 pages....two can play that game, ladies.

 

He's so good...he can actually push all the right buttons to
get to play tennis and even move the little guy. Kids are
so awesome!

Dom was very entertained by the world series...he watched all 7 games with his daddy. He picked up a few things here and there (plus he figured out the Wii comes with a baseball game):

 

To keep Dom entertained, we have been taking him to the library once or twice a day for story time. The weather has been fantastic (except these last two days where temperature dropped 30 degrees...what's up with that?). I'm not sure if he likes it, but he needs to get out of the house and interact with children other than nursery. Besides, these library classes are HUGE- we're talking like 30 kids at least (with parents). I guess this is the only library Edmond has, so spots go quick. I actually have to get up early and log into the computer early enough to guarantee him a spot a day before the actual class. And they fill up quick- one time I was ten minutes late, and everything was full.  He does really well, he's not into sharing, but won't hit or cry if his toy gets taken away...he'll just go find another one....OR just stalk the kid until he puts it down so he can snatch it back. He's non confrontational...haha

Toddlertime at the Library

what to do? what to do?

Time is flying way too fast for me. I still remember spending 4 days in the hospital with this little guy and thinking to myself...."CRAP....what do I do now????" and oddly enough....they grow on you...I can see why people have 20 of these....too bad 20 of these...turn into....20 teenagers...haha. NOT for me, but either way...I love this kid...I can't even remember my life before him.