Mathias, PL and Dominic

this blog is moving...

2010-08-18T15:44:00.001-07:00

...four months later, i'm finally getting around to updating my blog! sorry it's taken so long. i've been busy, plus my computer is unbearably slow. i think i can only use mathias' computer from now on.

but, please visit my new location for all posts about all family members (zoe no longer excluded!). it will all be at my other blog, starting with zoe's birth:

http://pattyleighonearth.blogspot.com/

thanks!

happy birthday, grandma!

2010-02-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

how was your day?

2010-01-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

this is the first time dominic actually answered this question:

me: what did you do today?

d: uuuuhhhm... play? (most of his statements end like a question)

me: you played?

d: uuuuhhh... jesse's room?

me: you played in jesse's room?

d: yes. uuuuuhhh... jacob?

me: you played with jacob?

d: uuuuuhhh... cale?

me: you played with cale?

d: uuuuuhhhh.... jesse?

me: you played with jacob and cale and jesse?

d: yes

me: what about baby skylar?

d: baby skylar.

wow, a conversation about something that happened in the past!

yucky

2010-01-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

dominic plays on the floor while i put on extra makeup to go out with mathias.

after a while, dominic looks up at me. he looks puzzled at the makeup.

finally he says, "yucky"

(i am happy that mathias disagreed)

Jesus is cooler than the doctor

2010-01-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

mathias took dominic for a checkup today. one of the things he had to get was a finger prick to check his blood.
while they were waiting for the doctor they had been reading a children's bible in the exam room.
so when dominic saw what was going down, he started crying and saying "i want Jesus! i want Jesus!"

mom & pop

2010-01-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

(thanks to george for this picture)

christmas 2009

2010-01-02T19:59:00.001-08:00

well, the camera is getting old and the battery was dying so i didn't really get that many pictures. but here they are...

decorating the tree, which we only got about a week before christmas. =) the advantage was that it was 50% off:

dominic loved getting out the decorations

and decorating, although he had to restrained and did manage to break one ball.

playing in one of many boxes that came with presents.

Christmas Eve!

Chinese food... dominic loved the chopsticks.

...but let's get to the presents!

oh yeah... here's the big one!

and then papa & dominic get to work

even after he was supposed to be getting ready for bed, he kept coming back to play with it...

even when he was supposed to be in bed...

they just had to play!

tuckered out

the next morning - christmas day - we woke up to snow. it was very cold so we didn't play outside for long.

sunday morning pancakes

2009-12-14T18:12:00.000-08:00

dominic always calls mathias "papa" or sometimes "poppy" (which cracks me up). but yesterday, when the pancakes were ready, i said, "dominic, pancakes are ready to eat!" i guess he was really anxious to eat them. he ran over to mathias and said, "'thias, 'thias, pancakes! 'thias coming!" i guess he's just heard me call mathias to meals so many times. =)

catch the moon

2009-12-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

the other evening when dominic and i were driving home... as we drove up our little cul-de-sac, there was the moon, big & bright in front of us. i was looking at it, but didn't say anything.
after a few seconds, dominic says, "moon."
"yes," i say, "there's the moon!"
then a few more seconds... and he says (it sounds to me like) "catch the moon."
i pause for a second, and then ask him, "catch the moon??"
he gets all excited: "YA! catch the moon! catch the moon!"
so, i get him out of the car (we've arrived and parked) and he wants to catch the moon!
"help me, mommy!" ---and he's reaching for the moon.
i say, "yes, let's try to catch the moon!"
then we stand there for a minute looking at it and he says, "by the tree."
yes - it's next to a tree... and i think he actually thought it was right there by the tree. so then he gets all upset when we go inside and i don't help him catch the moon!

i think when he's sixteen, he'll be somewhat embarrassed by this story when i tell him about it. =)

happy birthday, dominic!

2009-12-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

what do you say, dear?

2009-11-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

teaching dominic his manners:

dominic: "mint! mint!"

mathias: "what do you say?"

d: "say"

m: "how do you ask?"

d: "ask"

m: "no, how do you ask nicely?"

d: "nicely"

m: "how do you ask for something you want?"

d: "please?"

m & pl: "YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!"

snapfish contest

2009-11-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

wouldn't it be awesome to win free christmas cards? then we could send out a card with a hilarious family picture like this one...

here's the link to snapfish's new card designs...

http://cards.snapfish.com/

funny guy

2009-11-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

this little guy is pretty hilarious these days. he's going out of his way to talk even though he's really not very good at it. he'll repeat any word you say. and he gets better every day...

he's very good at saying "thank you." sometimes you hand him something and he just automatically goes, "Tanks!!" sometimes he gives you something and then says "tank oo. oor ell-come." he hasn't quite gotten "please" down yet. i usually have to remind him to say please.

he can also count two items which is funny. especially when he first started doing it. he would shout, "two tucks!" and sure enough... two trucks. sometimes he tries to count to himself but he just says, "eight... nine..."

i've tried to teach him colors. he can say all the colors, but if you ask him what color such-and-such is, he always says "geen!" but every now and then he'll show me something pink and (unprompted) yell, "pink!"

another funny thing is that he really likes to say "i got it!" he'll say it at appropriate times, like when he's trying to do something and he manages by himself. but sometimes he'll say it when he asks for help - for example, climbing onto something - and then you help him and he says, "i got it!"

the other morning mathias was making coffee and dominic walked up to him and said, "hey buddy."

in the morning, mathias always puts on dominic's shoes and jacket or hoodie before we leave. dominic loves this. he says, "shoes! shoes" and then he says, "hodie! hodie!" which sounds to me exactly like the swahili word "hodi" so that cracks me up.

and the SECOND he comes in the door, "shoes OFF. shoes OFF. hodie OUT."

this afternoon on the drive home we saw kids playing soccer. we see them almost every day and i'll say, look at the kids playing soccer! today i also said, do you want to play soccer someday? he didn't answer me... but then like 15 seconds later he shouted, "YAAA!" which was still pretty funny. he used to (and sometimes still does) just laugh when you ask him if he wants something and the answer is yes. but lately he's started yelling "YA!" which is pretty funny.

tonight after dinner he was in a really giggly mood, which is fairly unusual... generally at that time he's pretty grumpy because it's close to bedtime. but he was being so silly. anything mathias would do would make him laugh really loud. and then mathias was asking him to make faces: "show me your big face" (mouth open); "show me your silly face" (pulling your cheeks back and making a funny noise); show me your happy face. then we said, show me your crying face and he totally pretended to cry.

last night we read a bible story book that we haven't read since before he could really understand much. and then this morning he saw the book and said, "giant and david!!!" because they were on the cover and he TOTALLY remembered that part. he kept saying "giant!"

last night he also enjoyed 1 fish 2 fish red fish blue fish... but he still said all the fish were "geen"

last night i taught him to "kiss baby sister" and he remembered tonight how to do it (kiss my belly). it's cute. he makes a funny kissing sound, but usually AFTER his mouth has made contact with whatever he's kissing.

well, that's it for now. sorry i don't write more. i find it hard to work all day plus 1 to 2 hours of dominic-craziness in the morning and 1+ in the evenings. i also don't take as many pictures. someday i'll do more. =)

goodnight.

sausage

2009-09-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

the other day, dominic was done with his shower and he says, "sausage? sausage?" haha. =) he wants to get wrapped like a sausage in his towel, just like he learned for auntie melissa.

little sponge

2009-09-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

this little guy is trying his best to talk! he tries to say every word he can, but most of the time i still can't understand him.
last week i sneezed and dominic said "bess you!" mathias was like, "did you teach him that?" but i hadn't - he just heard me say it to him after he sneezed.

fun with a straw

2009-08-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

dom-n-mom

2009-08-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

summer haircut

2009-08-27T18:07:00.001-07:00

before:

after:

whoa, that's a lot of hair

"feels funny"

relaxin'

2009-08-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

goof ball

2009-08-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

this silly monkey is pretty hilarious these days... he's trying (trying) to talk and he wants to see and do everything (everything). he loves (LOVES) anything with wheels - like trucks, bicycles, tractors, buses... etc. if we're walking or driving and he sees one of these things, after it passes, he'll say "mo, mo, mo BUS!" - he wants more of everything! also, mathias has taught him to say "po po" for police. so if he sees a police car, he'll wave first (he waves at everything and says "HI!" to everyone) and then shout "po po!" although, he has yet to say, "mo mo po po."

"bye, papa!"

2009-08-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

"have a great day at work!"

where does he get his inspiration?

2009-08-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

big shoes

2009-08-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

sandbox

2009-08-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

mmm... mouthful of sand!

still very little as awesome as a large pot...

2009-08-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

i once was lost...

2009-07-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

...but now am found

sweet summer days

2009-07-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

these are a few of my favorite things:

goofing around with papa

cooking with mom

upside down binkie

"lounging" before bed

the playground

the water park

walking

playing with lightning mcqueen and mator

the pool

mom

hot dogs

i love auntie melissa

2009-07-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

pink stroller

2009-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

don't mess with me... i've got a pink stroller

park with auntie melissa

2009-07-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

auntie melissa

2009-07-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

this is my favorite picture of auntie melissa's visit. it's on my desktop and whenever dominic sees it, he starts doing what they're doing (i don't know what to call it). it's hilarious. this is such an action shot that sums up 3 weeks of GREAT FUN, thanks to auntie melissa!!!

peas & carrots

2009-07-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

flintco picnic

2009-07-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

napping on the way there

look at this sweet new t-shirt!

this is great fun

the kiddie pool

WATERMELON!!!!!!!!!

morgan

2009-07-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

dominic didn't want to be photographed... he just wanted to get down & play.

uncle dave

2009-07-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

look at what uncle dave brought (dominic really is happy, he just doesn't look it)

the boys make beer chicken

peekaboo

2009-07-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

dominic loves watching this video.

moh-mow

2009-07-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

translation: "lawnmower"

inspector

2009-07-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

checking out uncle arnie (besti)'s honda element:

horn works...

doors look clean...

back looks ok...

approved!

ice cream sandwich

2009-07-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

toy story

2009-07-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

watching a movie with emma

table etiquette

2009-07-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

in this house, you have to learn to properly use a knife and fork early.

future game spotter

2009-07-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

no time to blog

2009-07-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

oh no - mom's so busy keeping me out of the mud she doesn't have time to post awesome pictures like this!

(these were taken over 2 months ago, by the way)

just funny pictures

2009-05-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

title pic

2009-05-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

hey, if you read my blog with reader or through email, go to the blog to check out my new title picture. i think it's pretty crazy adorable. =)

http://mplandd.blogspot.com/

GREAT neighbors

2009-05-25T19:40:00.001-07:00

haha - get it? no, you probably don't.

ok, we have fantastic neighbors that we're going to really miss when they leave to go back to germany. the greathouse family has been so much fun to have next door. they love dominic and he loves them back.

ah, pretty flower...

this is the lovely emma... 5 years old, her birthday is only 1 day different than dominic's!

cute katie in her pocahontas dress.

the twins: this is about as good of a glimpse as you can catch of them - they're always on the move!

a meeting of great minds...

"hey, look at emma climb that tree!"

jennifer (mom) with the d-meister

dominic even lets katie and emma pick him up sometimes. =)

thanks for being our neighbors! we'll miss you...

mud puddles!!!

2009-05-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

we've had a lot of rain in the last 6 weeks... it seems like it rains every other day. i took dominic out with his gumboots to check out the puddles. turns out you don't have to teach a toddler to stomp in puddles - he does it automatically! now he always goes stomp stomp when he gets in water.

Happy Birthday Mathias!

2009-05-10T21:28:00.001-07:00

Two years old

6 months

One year - first trip to Canada

peek-a-boo

One years old - Stanley park

"Arbeiten" working in the back yard!

sleepy swinger

2009-05-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

dominic loves to swing... even when half asleep. the sign he makes is "more."

dogwood festival

2009-05-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

"i'm ready... why are we leaving before i get a snack, again?"

dominic ate a whole hotdog!

at first he wasn't too sure of it all, but he soon warmed up to the idea of getting into EVERYTHING, and after that i was unable to take any pictures because i was just running around trying to keep him from pulling stuff off tables at the booths selling stuff.

sicky

2009-05-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

3 days of being sick + 3 days of teething =

dominic drinks chai

2009-05-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

mmmm... dominic loved his first taste of chai! he drank it like a big boy from a cup.
then he took his banana bread and dipped it in the chai before eating. yum!

(click to enlarge)

extra pictures

2009-05-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

a couple more cute picutes from omi & opa's visit:

smiley

2009-05-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

lately dominic has been so much more playful and quicker to smile.
here are some smiley pictures from omi & opa's visit.

best omi ever!

2009-05-01T19:15:00.001-07:00

great times with omi!

goofing around with Opa

2009-04-29T07:51:00.001-07:00

is there anythig they did not do???

behind on posting!

2009-04-29T07:38:00.001-07:00

i'm trying to catch up on my posting! expect more soon...

climbing chair

2009-04-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

go canucks!

2009-04-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

dominic + chako

2009-04-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

boo hoo

2009-04-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

stroller

2009-04-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

dominic has learned to climb into this by himself. he's very proud.

key

2009-04-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

"why can't i make this work like mommy does?"

worm!

2009-04-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

he looks grumpy... but he's not.
he's actually really excited about what he found on the ground...
he carried it for a long time.

handsome lad

2009-03-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

check out little preppy in another sweet outfit from omi!

water baby

2009-03-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

these are a few of my favorite things:
- water in pots
- water in my mouth
- water on my face
- water
- more water

cats!

2009-03-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

katrina is becoming accustomed to dominic's antics.

warmer weather...

2009-03-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

...means playing with water outside!

soccer boy

2009-03-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

check out this super cute football baby! outfitted by omi. =)

breadmaker, i do still love you...

2009-03-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

...just in a different way than kitchenaid.

getting ready for bed

2009-03-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

eating an orange

2009-03-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

sarong

2009-03-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

i heart rice pot with lid

2009-03-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

brushing teeth

2009-03-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

more of michelle's visit

2009-03-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

feeding the cats

2009-02-24T19:09:00.001-08:00

while the sewards were gone, we fed the cats every night. dominic loved it.

walking across the cul-de-sac:

"hi tigger!" (dominic loves tigger more than tigger loves dominic)

carrying the food to the bowls:

pouring into the bowls:

"tigger how come you get special food?" (tigger is getting quite old)

"that looks good - can i taste it?"

tante meech

2009-02-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

tante meech came to visit! more pictures to come, but first a story...

every morning while she was here i was push open her door and tell dominic to go wake her up.

the morning she left was very early, before dominic got up. when he was up (after she was gone), i went into the spare room to make sure the heater was off. he saw me and tried to follow me in. i tried to get him to turn around but he was determined!

so he went up to the door and looked inside... and then he just looked and looked... because he couldn't understand where she was! why is this room empty?

"girls have cooties!"

2009-02-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

last week (the week before?) i was getting dominic ready to leave with our neighbors for a couple hours. mathias had one class and i had to go to work.

i was putting on his shoes and i said, "dominic, are you going to play with emma?" (emma is our neighbors' youngest daughter - she's 5 and super cute, plus she loves dominic.)

"ooooooooh," mathias said, "do you have a girlfriend?!!!"

of course dominic really didn't know what mathias said, but instantlyhe shook his head as hard as he could: NO! (girls are yucky, right?)

it was so funny that mathias and i started laughing. and you know mathias has that big deep laugh... when dominic heard him laughing he imitated him, making the same big laugh: "HA HA HA HA!"

it was soooooooo cute. probably funnier in person than reading it. but oh well.

hoodies

2009-02-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

dominic's favorite cupboard

2009-02-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

jumping on the bed

2009-02-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

ice storm - jan 2009

2009-02-13T12:43:00.001-08:00

i put a lot more pictures on facebook, but here are the highlights...

"did you really just take me out in this???"

de-icing after it was over

i took this picture because i think it looks exactly like what elephants do to trees:
cleanup:
mmmmm... icicles...

belatedly: christmas

2009-02-12T19:43:00.001-08:00

embarrassing mom?

2009-02-12T19:17:00.000-08:00

in my defense, dominic BEGS to have his boots put on. is it my fault if he asks to have them put on when i'm getting him ready for bed?? i'm sure someday he won't appreciate it. thanks for taking the picture, omi! (at least i didn't do that, right?) =)

strongbad

2009-02-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

Fun in Canada!

2009-01-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

Centre piece in a big pot at the Franz family gathering!

Checking out the baking!

Getting to know the relatives!

Snow fights

...and chillin in the snow

My first day at Opa & Omi's

2009-01-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

this is omi and me on our way to get a haircut

i had a tractor to play with and i held very still

i wasn't too sure of it all...

but everyone said i was very good boy and a handsome one!

Reflection on the holidays

2009-01-03T16:06:00.001-08:00

Now that it is all over, I can take time to reflect and say that I had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with the whole family! Spending time with Dominic was, of course, a highlight and it was amazing to see how much he had grown since the last time I saw him (Aug 08). Skype is the greatest of technologies but just not the same as giving a hug and a kiss in person...! It was so much fun playing with and running after Dominic (or having Dominic chase me) and watching his inquisitive nature take everything in. Mathias & PL, thanks for coming out this way... it is always so great to see you as well and here's to many more visits! Love you all!!

happy 2009

2009-01-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

happy new year! no pictures yet... we're too busy having fun. but look for christmas pictures in the near future. also look out for some guest bloggers to give their dominic-perspective. =)

ok, here's one picture. this is dominic & me in the mountains of snow up in the pacific northwest...

dominic loves to read

2008-12-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

remember the bad guy from the incredibles?

2008-12-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

yo

2008-12-20T19:23:00.000-08:00

busted!

2008-12-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

rough-housin'

2008-12-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

a quiet moment...

2008-12-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

...to have a little poop...

can't you see i'm on the phone here?

2008-12-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

gary busey

2008-12-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

christmas parade

2008-12-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

last year we missed the parade because we were in the hospital. i was really excited to take dominic to see the lights. but... he was cranky all day and not really into it. oh well.

here we go to the parade...

check out the fancy floats... pulled by pickup trucks. ya, baby.

"no matter what, i won't look at the camera for a family photo"

"still not gonna do it..."

"come on, dominic!"

"nope."

(check out his gloves)

"look at that parade over there."

"i think i'll run away now."

tupperware lid

2008-12-14T18:31:00.000-08:00