Happy Halloween!

We have 3 parties to go to! One at Domi's swim school Aqua Safe, one at his regular school Our Lady of Joy and we are hosting a BIG party at our house on Saturday. Busy and fun times! Enjoy!

Fun Fall Memories

Last weekend we visited Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, AZ (www.schnepffarms.com/). It was about an hour away from our house and the weather was very nice so we enjoyed the drive with the moon roof open. Overall we had a pretty good time, there was a lot of deferred maintenance on the farm property so we are sure they are suffering from the recession like everyone else. Domi and I had our faces painted, we had a pretty good lunch at their restaurant, we rode the bumble bee rides, played on farm equipment, had a short hay ride and rode the train. It was a great way to kick off fall!

Several weeks ago we joined our friends for an Open House at the local My Gym franchise. Although Domi loves Elmo, he was not real happy to meet him. He did however love playing in all the apparatus, especially the ball bin.

Finally, here is a hilarious picture showing our little guy being naughty. He got the baby powder and went to town in his play room and the main hallway. The house smelled fresh, but it was a big mess to clean up!

New Teeth and Special Visitors at School

Domi came home from Guatemala with cavities on the front and back of his four top front teeth. We took him first to his pediatrician, then a pediatric dentist within a week of arriving home. His dentist (Dr. Julie Anfinson from Scottsdale Affiliated Pediatric Dentistry - so WONDERFUL!) advised us to get crowns on the teeth and to wait until he weighed about 30 pounds to better handle the medications they would administer. So, for the last year he has been to see her every 6-8 weeks for fluoride treatments and the cavities never progressed, but you could see them on his teeth, they looked like a brown line in the middle of those teeth.

So, on Tuesday he had the crowns put on and they look great! He was devastatingly handsome before, but now he is ***movie star*** material!

He did great during the procedure and has been just fine since then. I was out of town on a business trip so Dan handled this one on his own, but I made him call A LOT with updates. :)

On Thursday, Dan and I managed to hang out at school with Domi for a little while because the local fire station came by with a fire truck and ambulance for the children to see. Domi did not want to try handling the water hose, but did enjoy scrambling around the inside of the truck and ambulance. He also LOVED the souvenir hat and pencil they gave him. Aren't the children so precious in their uniforms?

Fun Family Times

A few weeks ago we were out grocery shopping and Domi insisted on getting a balloon. I am not exaggerating when I say he gets 4 - 5 balloons a week, he LOVES them! Anyway, he got all tuckered out and used this balloon as a pillow of sorts. So funny!



On Friday night we went to a pizza party at Domi's pre-school (our church) and he had a blast. He loves playing with older kids. On Saturday night the fun continued and we went to Desert Ridge (large outdoor shopping and recreation center). We did some shopping, ate some dinner and listened to some great music. They have these great fountains that Domi liked a lot.


Today we celebrated Ellie's 3rd birthday. She is our friend Amy's daughter. Ellie is a little doll and her party was at Rio Vista Community Park in Peoria. We live on the other side of town in Scottsdale, so we had never been there but we had a great time! They had water fountains, a duck pond and huge playground. Domi enjoyed the very pretty girls at the party. :) What a super way to end the weekend.

1st Day of Pre-school!!!

Wow, it's September already and it's been over a month since I have posted. What can I say? Life is busy, busy, busy!

Dominic is doing so well and Dan and I took the plunge and put our cherub in pre-school at Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church where we are parishioners. We really struggled with our decision because he is not quite 2 1/2 yet, he wasn't potty trained as of August 1 and he has not even been home with us a full year. However, he reminds us each day in his own way that he is ready to take on some new challenges. :)

So, we spent most of August working on potty training (DONE!), touring the school and just preparing ourselves for this BIG change. I must say, when the school Director told me he had to wear a uniform, tears sprang to my eyes! I just wasn't ready to accept that our baby was no longer a baby!

He started yesterday and will go each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. I arranged to work from home so I could be there for his 1st day. I was emotional but managed not to cry in front of him. I was very surprised that he marched into his classroom and immediately started playing and exploring, seemingly not caring if Dan and I were there or not. "Is he seriously dismissing us?" I asked myself, and the answer was "yes". He hugged and kissed us good-bye and didn't miss a beat. We waited in the director's office for about 15 minutes with TONS of other parents looking at the video stream from his classroom, but we never could really see him.

Dan and I went off to breakfast and then home to try and focus on work (as if!). I kept asking Dan to check his cell phone (1st point of contact in an emergency), and he kept reassuring me that no one had called. We decided to stop at the store to get him a Sponge Bob balloon to reward him for a great 1st day on our way to pick him up. We didn't know what to expect. Would his face be tear stained? Would he be in his back-up clothes because of an accident? Would he be stressed?

Imagine our PRIDE, RELIEF AND SINCERE JOY when we found him all smiles, relaxed and in his school uniform. I think he was more excited to see the balloon than he was to see us! The cherry on the sundae was when his teacher asked him for a good-bye hug and he got confused and hugged 2 little girls instead! He is so handsome and sweet, and I think he is already aware of both those facts. ;)

His teacher sent me an e-mail later that day and wrote "Dominic is an angel". Ah yes, I thought to myself, indeed he is. :)

Happy, happy day!

We completed the readoption process for Dominic today. He will now have a US birth certificate and social security card with the name we chose for him. My parents joined us for the court appointment and we celebrated at The White Chocolate Grill afterward for a very nice lunch! Dominic was rambunctious during the court session and we tried to hold him but he was so fidgety the judge said it would be alright if we put him down. Well, he took full advantage of that freedom and ran, skipped, climbed, talked and sang his heart out. Thankfully everyone was charmed by him and I was secretly pleased his happiness was evident. We are lucky, lucky people!

Here are some pictures from the day along with pictures from his most recent photo shoot, this child is a ham! :)

Cousin Danny's Birthday

Two weekends ago my nephew (and Godson) Danny turned 13 and we went to his house to celebrate. Notice the balloons in each of Dominic's hands, he is obsessed with "boons".

My sister has tracked both of her son's growth over the years and decided to measure Dominic too - he is already 34" tall! He was around 32 1/2" when he came home in November. He eats A LOT but may I say is a lean hunka munka! :) Enjoy!