Four Year Interview

1. What's your name?
Dominick




2. How old are you?
4 *and holds up four fingers*




3. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A Star Wars Guy

4. What's your favorite food?
Mac and...no, Watermelon

5. Who do you like to spend time with?
Mason and Tanner

6. What's your favorite color?
Yellow

7. What's your favorite toy?
Paw Patrol Racing Game

8. What's your favorite movie?
Star Wars

9. What's your favorite TV show?
Blaze (he was watching it, but he'd choose Paw Patrol almost any day over Blaze)

10. Where's your favorite place to go?
The Zoo! And Papa and Gigi's House

11. What was your favorite part of your birthday?
Seeing my family (we had a wedding to go to so we were with my parents, and his aunts and uncles. It was technically a kid free wedding, but due to the circumstances they invited Dom as well. Which was INCREDIBLY gracious of them. Anyways, my nieces and nephew weren't there so he got lots of attention).

Four Year Pictures

I found a beautiful sunflower field and one morning took Dominick to take his four year pictures. He did great with a little bribing and I loved how they turned out.

February-April: Catching Up

I left off in February with blogging and thought I would do a few catch up posts since I started blogging again around Dominick's fourth birthday. Here's what we've been up to.

February

We did some family workouts on the track, went to the Air Force museum and had a trip to the zoo.

March

Celerbated my birthday

 

Went to the movies and saw Zootopia

 Colored Easter Eggs

 

 Went to the Potter Park Zoo in Michigan

 We celebrated Easter

 

April

Dominick had a red, white and blue parade at school

 

We went hiking

First Dentist Appointment

I kept forgetting to schedule Dominick's first dentist appointment was also on August 29th. I had been preparing him and he was really excited about it. Since the base that we are at has a dental office I just scheduled it there. It's in the same place as his doctors and he loves going. He loves getting stickers and was really excited when we pulled in. He did SO great and even got to pick out a prize from the treasure box. He had 0 cavities and his teeth look great.

Pre-K

 Dominick started preschool on September 8, 2015.

His last day of preschool was August 26, 2016

 And his first day of Pre-K was August 29th

 This transition went much smoother than anticipated and he is loving his new class. He also is excelling so much and I have no doubt he is going to do great in Pre-K.

Dominick's Barnyard Bash

When Dominick turned 3 he started asking for a birthday party, but we didn't know anyone in Ohio yet so we just had a small family party and that was that. Throughout the year many of his friends had birthday parties so he had been asking for a year to have one for his fourth birthday. Back in June I started thinking of places to have it and then really started planning shortly after Ryan deployed. Dominick asked me to have a Star Wars party for weeks, but he has only seen 1 Star Wars movie so I've been trying to hold off on really getting pumped about that just yet. At least until he gets a little older and he can sit through the other movies.

So I asked him if he wanted to have a party at a farm and have a barnyard bash. Thankfully he was on board. Seven of his little friends came along with his Papa and Gigi. We had a great little party despite the wind and TORRENTIAL down pour that started half way through his party. It was at 2 in the afternoon so we had no bake cookies (cow patties), rice krispie treats (hay bales), oreos (tractor tires), watermelon (watermelon patch), vegetables (veggie garden) and chex mix (chicken feed) and of course the cutest little cake I ever did see. I'll let the rest of the pictures do the talking.

 

Dominick - Four Years

Weight

43 lbs

  Height

Clothes

5T

Eating

You are a really good eater, but are also kind of picky as well. You don't love a lot of meat or vegetables. You do love watermelon, hamloaf, corn, pasta, pizza and shrimp

Sleep

You sleep through the night 

Likes

Being around your family and friends

Singing and Dancing

Swimming

Tae Kwon Do

Playing baseball

Star Wars

Paw Patrol

Going to the movies

Going on other adventures

Going to the zoo

Being at the beach

Building

 Dislikes

 Bugs

Having to be patient

Bedtime when you're not ready

Missing out on any of the fun

Getting dirty or wet 
Losing or not being first

+Your nicknames are Dom, Domi, Brown Bear, Buddy. Sometimes I'll call you baby and you absolutely HATE that. You'll immediately tell me that you are not a baby.

+You love ice cream and froyo and will NEVER be too full for that.

+You love playing on your tablet and watching movies on it as well.

+You are very independent and can play well alone, but you obviously love when we play with you.

+You are VERY active and love to run. You tell us that is your favorite part of tae kwon do.

+You are the absolute best snuggler.

+You have a great memory and can remember lots of things that we have done and places we've gone. You also remember things we told you months ago.

+You are very well behaved 90% of the time and are a great listener.

+You love reading books and always ask to read one more at bedtime.

+You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being outside. It doesn't matter what you're doing, but you love to be out side.

+Your favorite color has always been red, but lately you've said it's many other colors. I think your tried and true favorite though is red.

+We tell you we love you to the moon and back and we love you the most. You say I love you to the sun and back if the sun is out, or you love us to the heart and back. You also say I love you to the most. 

+You are super, super funny and always make us laugh.

+You LOVE Star Wars and "fighting" 

+You love to write your name and do homework in your workbook. You also started getting homework from school too.

+You do love going to school because you love to be with your friends.

+You love your family something fierce. 

+I could never explain who you are in one of these bullets, but I hope I never forget who you are at four years old.

A Letter to My Four Year Old

Dear Dominick,

How is it that you turned four?! Leading up to your birthday I would often think, "oh he's just turning three", but no. You are FOUR. Four seems so much older. It's amazing to me how much you've changed, learned and matured this past year. You had quite a big year and it was a good one at that.

Buddy, you are the MOST amazing little boy that I've ever met. Your daddy and I are so, so proud and blessed to be your parents. Most nights after you've gone to bed we talk about you and things that you say or do. You make us laugh like nobody else can, you make us happier and our lives so much fuller by knowing you. I am SO grateful God trusted us to be your parents because I can't imagine my life without you. You've become a little security blanket for me and I feel the most complete and comfortable when I'm with you.

You really do have the greatest personality and are told that often. You are so incredibly funny and have a lot of little one liners that we laugh and laugh about. You are sweet and have a tender heart, but stubborn as an ox. You are resilient and handle change like a champ. You love your family, friends and your two dogs and are incredibly loyal. You love being around others and are very friendly. You are kind of bossy, but tend to be a "follower" (much to my dismay). We have been told it's okay and it is partly because you are an only child, but you are a leader also in so many other ways so we do our best to help parent you with both qualities. You get SO excited over the littlest things and it makes life so much more fun. You are ALL boy and I do love that. I never imagined I would love being a boy mom so much, but I LOVE it. I love being YOUR mom.

This year your daddy deployed and it was his first. You have handled it so well and it showed me how amazing you really are. We had been talking about him going for a very long time, but I don't think you fully understood until we took him to the airport. When I would cry you would ask if I was okay and then you would tell me it was okay. When you were sad you would internalize as you were nervous to express your emotions and if it would be okay. You talk about him often and love the times you get to facetime with him (which is nearly every day).

This year we didn't go on many adventures, but we did experience a lot around Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus. We went to Myrtle Beach in May and I think that was the greatest week of your entire life. You are a beach baby for sure and you talked nonstop. Your daddy and I said that we have never seen you more happy or in your element in your life. You lived for the pool and the beach and spending that quality time with us. We will never forget how amazing that week was. We also spent almost a week in Pentwater and you had the time of your life with your family. You LOVED being near the beach and with the people you love the most. Also, on your birthday we spent the weekend in Indianapolis for a wedding. You also spent a few weeks in Michigan with your Papa and Gigi. Those weeks are weeks that I hope you remember for the rest of your life. And I know how much they truly treasure that time with you. You are never sad to leave us and are usually more sad when they have to go back home, but we always look forward to our "reunion".

You still love trains, cars and any other motorized transportation. You love things that go. You played tball this summer, started in tae kwon do in February (and are now an orange with white stripe belt) and are in swim class. You love to build things and some of your favorite toys are your legos and duplos and magnatiles. Your favorite tv show is Paw Patrol and have all the pups and toys. The one thing you REALLY wanted for your birthday was the air patroller and robo dog. You've been asking for months for that. You are slightly obsessed with all things Star Wars even though you've only seen one movie. You think stickers are the bees knees. And this year you learned how to ride a bicycle without training wheels, which is SO exciting. People always stop and ask us how old you are because you are so little.You also are not a huge fan of having your picture taken. You are in this stage where it's awkward for you and you give this smile that is like it hurts. We have to tell you to laugh to get a real smile or you have to look at me and how I smile and then will give a real smile. Most of the time you're just silly.

You are crazy smart. People tell us all the time that they are amazed at how smart you are. You recently moved up to the pre-k class at the CDC and your penmanship has improved in just the week or two that you've been in that class. We've started with word recognition and having you read BOB books. You love working in your workbooks and can sit and concentrate for a very long time. You talk nonstop (I'm pretty sure it's just to hear yourself at times) and often times surprise us with the things that you know and can say.

Oh and you LOVE to sing and dance which is always fun. The male artists you tell me are only boy songs and I cannot sing along and girl songs are only for girls and I can sing those. You also never turn down a dance party.

This year, your fourth birthday you REALLY understand the excitement of it. You would ask if it was your birthday, how many more days and you would tell me that you wanted a ___ kind of party. You would also tell us what you wanted for your birthday. It was truly magical.

I pray for the little boy that you're growing up to me and eventually the man that you will become. I pray for your future, your mistakes and all the lessons that you will learn. I pray for your heart and the relationships that you make. I pray for you every single day. I pray for your happiness and your success. I also pray for your failures and that you always get back up, you always know your worth and you always, always know just how loved you are.

Brown Bear, I am so excited to see who you become and am so in love with you buddy. You make me proud, you made us a mommy and a daddy and we can't wait to see you become a big brother this year. The love you already have for the baby and the friendship that you will have. I never want to forget your one liners, the way that you wrap your arms around me, ask for lovings or kiss all over my face. I hope that you are never too big to stop holding my hands, coming to the window to wave at me and still need me to snuggle with you. I hope that I never forget your excitement for life and can continue to learn from you. How quick you are to forgive, how easy it is for you to love and how being happy and smiling is ALWAYS the way to get through a day. How even though you struggle you never really want to give up and ask for help. I always want to be as determined as you. I never want to forget who you are in this moment. In my eyes you are imperfectly perfect. Some days I just look at you and wonder how I deserve you. I also want to cry and my heart nearly bursts. All the heart eyes and all the feels for you.


I love you to the moon and back. I love you the most!

Mommy

Tae Kwon Do

Last week I enrolled Dominick in Tae Kwon Do. He had his first two practices (Tuesday, 9 Feb and Thursday, 11 Feb) and he LOVED it. Wednesday morning he asked if we were going to "tackwindow" and I had no idea what he was even saying. He finally did a few punches and kicks to let me know that he was asking if he could go to tae kwon do. By his second class he had PARTS of basic form 1 down and even could count to 5 unassisted in Korean. I was so surprised. He LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. 

The little kids LOOK so cute. He loses focus, but goes right back to it. He loves the water breaks, the kicks, punches and even bowing at the door. Right now we are just taking it class by class and only paid for one month. If he continues to like it we will keep paying and he will get a uniform after the 1 month. I didn't want to pay for something for only 1 month of use. I only snapped a couple pictures, but seriously I'm so glad that we're at the very least trying it out.

Playing Catch Up

The day of Dominick's presentation at school I went in and around his eye was all red. They said that he was standing at the sink still half asleep with his eyes closed and he fell and hit his face. He got a pretty nice black eye from it. It's STILLLLL a little black and blue.

A couple of weekends ago Ryan and I went to the gym. The weather was SUPER nice so afterwards we went to the track. We were going to do a few laps and call it a day. Well Dominick decided he wanted to do solo laps so we all had to take turns. We all ended up running a mile, even D!

Ryan had Dominick outside playing when I came home from the store. I gave him a paczki and I'm not sure if he was happier about playing in his jeep or about the paczki! He's a big fan!

Ryan was TDY two weeks ago and so I was on bath time duty which is normally Ryan's thing. He asked me for "shark" hair and so of course I obliged. So funny!

Also while Ryan was gone I asked D if he wanted Korean or Mexican for dinner one night and he said Korean. We pulled into the restaurant parking lot and he said, "YAY!!! Soup and Rice!!!!" He ate an entire bowl of miso soup and rice and a big plate of bulgogi! I love that!

Ryan got back on Friday night. Saturday I ended up going to go see The Choice for a little bit of solo time. I loved the movie...it was a little long, but nonetheless so, so good. The book of course was better. When I got home it was almost nap time and Dom asked if we would take him for a bike ride. We told him once he woke up from his nap. We went for 1.5 hours and he pedaled his little heart out. We stopped at the skate park and then kept riding. He had a great time. We capped our night off with sushi. It really was the best Saturday.

That Sunday we played outside in the yard for awhile and then that night was the Super Bowl and I was less than impressed with the games, commercials and even the half time show. Disappointing for Super Bowl 50! We spent the evening with friends and Dominick danced his little toosh off during half time. The food was AMAZING. We had queso, buffalo chicken dip, guac, ranch dip, little smokies, ham and swiss sliders on Hawaiian rolls, ham and pickle roll ups, brownies and cookies. OBVI it was a cheat day and a good one at that!