Stay & Play

Late last week we got a letter welcoming us to Stay & Play, the Parents as Teachers program for kids up to age three. Even better, we got the day we wanted (Wednesday). It starts next Wednesday and runs for 10 weeks. Dominick now has activities Monday through Thursday every week. What a busy little boy!

My sister's wedding was on Saturday. We took Dom to the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, reception and a brunch on Sunday. We knew Dom wouldn't sit still and be quiet during the ceremony itself, but there was a nice playroom downstairs where Mike and Dom could hang out and not cause any disruptions. However, Mike had brought him to the church before the wedding without any extra diapers (come on!), and Dom went to the bathroom shortly after they arrived. They ended up going back to the hotel and met me later at the reception.

Overall, Dominick did very well all weekend being around other people. He had a lot of fun chasing around a five-year-old girl at the reception, where there was a large open area perfect for them to play in. He even tried some new foods, like the butternut squash soup at the reception. He loved it! The only problems we had with him were behavioral. Mike was getting pretty frustrated. Sometimes I think he forgets that Dom is two and is going to act like it.

I'm glad that's over with!

The haircut went pretty much as expected yesterday. First, Dominick refused to wear the cape, so he got hair all over his clothes. Then, there was much shouting "off! off!" during the haircut, and he kept standing up and leaning over, trying to get out of the little yellow taxi. I had to stand there with my arms around him to keep him in the car, so I also got covered with hair. We'd put on a video of Elmo's World, but Dom didn't pay much attention to it.

The worst part was when the little boy in the next seat (a fire truck) started crying. For about a week now, when Dominick hears another kid cry, he screams and bounces and hits whatever happens to be closest. Yesterday, that was me, so I got whacked in the face several times. This behavior started when we were eating out last week, and a girl who must have been about four tripped on her way to the table next to ours. She fell quite gently onto the carpeted floor but reacted as if she'd broken several bones. Dom got upset in the manner described above, saying "fall down" repeatedly. So now, any time another child is crying, no matter the cause, Dom throws a fit and says "fall down." I guess it's good that he's showing empathy.

Despite all the drama, the haircut came out alright: not great, but alright. The front is uneven, so I'll have to do something with it so Dom looks perfectly handsome in the wedding photos this weekend.

Upcoming evaluation

I had a call from the school district late last week to set up Dominick's evaluation for the SSD program. Actually, it was less to set up and more to tell me when it will be: November 20 at 8:30 am. Not the best timing, perhaps, but I guess we'll have to deal with it somehow. Typically, the evaluation would be done closer to Dom's third birthday, but with the holidays coming up, they wanted to schedule it sooner. That could be a good thing if he doesn't qualify, as it will give us more time to find another option for preschool in the spring.

Today begins our very busy week. On top of all the errands and therapy sessions and preparing for the wedding festivities, Dominick desperately needs a haircut. One of our goals in First Steps is to get him to tolerate grooming activities, including haircuts, a little better. I've actually done it myself this year after the last two or three trips to the salon turned into nightmares. However, because of Dom's impatience, I have to spread it out over a period of days or weeks. There's not time for that now, so I'm just going to take him tomorrow morning to have it done. Check back later to see how well it goes.

Speaking of grooming, today Dominick actually requested to have his nails trimmed and went to get the clippers for me. He didn't let me cut them all, just the one or two that were bothering him. He's also started asking for diaper changes when he's dirty (or thinks he is--sometimes he gets confused). Well, he'll tell me that he needs a diaper change, but then he won't submit to it easily.

That's it for now. Wish us luck tomorrow!

Lots of fun

I've let another week go by without posting. Things are very busy here, with my sister's wedding coming up on the 23rd and another major event happening in less than eight weeks. Yikes!

We took Dominick to the Family Fun Fair sponsored by Parents as Teachers on Saturday. They had all sorts of activities for the kids: riding toys, a petting zoo, a bounce house, a parachute, face painting, play dough, water play tables. There were also two fire trucks, a police car and a helicopter on the site. Dom had a blast. He had never gone in a bounce house before, so we weren't sure what he'd think, but he went right in and bounced around with a few other kids. When it was time for him to come out, he was very obedient and came over to the door. He tried out most of the riding toys (or so it seemed) and was especially interested in the various kid-sized signs set up around the court, such as the stop sign and yield sign. (No surprise there!) Dom sat right down at a table full of kids and played with play dough. He enjoyed running under the parachute. He also loved the animals and was reasonably gentle with them, though his version of petting the baby goats was more like trying to push them over. The helicopter took off while we were there, and the noise didn't bother Dom.

All of this reinforces something Jacqui said the other day and that I've also noticed: Dominick really seems like a different kid lately. When we hosted playgroup last week, there were about 20 people in our house, and instead of being upset, Dom was happy. At one point he was running in circles, smiling. It's so exciting to see him like this.

Dom's speech keeps improving. We're starting to hear a few more sentences now. The longest ones so far have been "I see food in the tree" (referring to a picture in a book) and "I want Daddy in the bath." He still says "I want more ____, please" when he wants something. He's destroyed several of his books and would always say "Fix it" when pointing to the tears. Last night I finally did work on the books, and now he says "Mommy fixed it." Good use of the past tense!

It's funny how some of his words are becoming very clear, but others are still quite creatively pronounced. I love that he calls grapes "beeps." It follows, therefore, that grapefruit is "beepfruit." Milk is still "muck," and the computer is "bee-oh bee-oh." It does appear that Dom has abandoned "guck," which used to mean both truck and duck. No more requests for "uh guh uh guck" (Duck in the Truck). He can say the actual title now.

Time to go put Dominick back in bed. He's taken to sleeping on the floor in front of the door again. That can't be comfortable.

Thursday

Thursday was Dom's busy morning. We had our PAT session, the first of the school year, at 8:30. Dom hadn't done well at his past few meetings with Brandie (don't know why), so I wasn't sure what to expect. He was not too receptive at first and went off to play by himself, so Brandie and I joined him after a few minutes, and he did great! He was playing and talking and smiling. Brandie brought some activities and was watching to see that what he did was developmentally appropriate, which of course it was. Actually, she was amazed that he didn't eat the Cheerios instead of stringing them onto the uncooked pasta. Brandie was so excited about Dom's progress this summer. The last time she saw Dominick in May, he had only a couple of words and threw a tantrum the whole time.

After Brandie left, we waited for the mailman, who nicely brought us the insurance check, and then took it to the bank. Dominick remembered the fans and lamps he'd seen in the offices there the previous week and immediately went to find them, no matter that people were actually using the offices this time. He ended up charming all the women in the bank, which made it much easier for me to take care of my transaction. I heard him saying "light on" and "fan on" inside two different rooms. When we left, Dom said "Bye, fan," much to the amusement of the bank employees.

Then we went home, grabbed a snack and waited for Erin. Again, Dom took some time to warm up, but once she brought out her toys, he came over and started playing. Before that, Erin had some questions and information for me. She seems like she will be good with Dominick. It will take some time for both of us to get used to someone other than Monica, though.

That afternoon, Mike made his trip to Kansas City to pick up the CR-V, so we now have two vehicles again. I'm not used to driving it yet, especially since it currently lacks an interior rear-view mirror. (The detailing shop had left it off--duh!--so the dealer is expressing it to us. We'd probably have it by now if it weren't for the holiday.)

I almost forgot--Dominick has just started saying his name and referring to himself in the third person. It's so funny because he pronounces it "Bodimick." Not too bad, actually. A neighbor girl named Isabel was over for a few minutes this morning, and Dom said her name without any hesitation. I'm looking forward to him starting to call more people by name. Until now, the only names he's used are Mommy, Daddy and Pop (my dad). He's a little confused by pronouns, like when he says "bless you" to himself or "carry you" to me when he wants to be picked up. I know that's completely normal, so I'm not concerned.

Have a nice holiday!