Various & Sundry

Well, I have been more than lagging on updating Dominic's blog but I wanted to catch everyone up on how things are going in the Kudzia house. Dominic turned 2, of course, and can now do the following things:

1) Ride his bike with no training wheels (no pedals either but he's got balancing down!)
2) Spell his name ("D-o-m-i-n-i-c, that's spells Dominic, that's me")
3) Tell you that Pelosi is Speaker of the House and that Lincoln in on a $5 bill
4) Throw the kind of monster tantrums that only 2-year olds can throw

Below are some recent pictures of him--one in the new house, one opening up his Sushi set from Gramma Gayle, one with his Mickey Mouse ears (he hasn't been yet, they were a gift) and one just hanging out with his sandals and sunglasses.


And here, of course, are some pictures of the new house--including the bathroom which, as you can see, is being completely redone with much (MUCH!) help from Derek's friend Mike (previously featured on this blog as "Apple Mike"). Dominic is adjusting well to the new place and loves having a big back yard to tear around in. There's still a lot to do but we've really settled in.

See ya 'round, suckers!

Dominic and Derek were snuggling in bed on Saturday when Dominic decided to come into the kitchen and eat breakfast with me. Right before he leaves the room, Dominic looks over his shoulder at Derek and says "See ya 'round, suckers..." Sigh. For once, Derek can't blame the kid's mouth on me!

Dominic is getting ready for summer. Here he is in his sunglasses and his "Play Ball" hat (which he says emphatically every time he puts it on).

Looking oddly sort of like Bono in the picture below.

Here are a few pictures of Dominic in Tahoe with us in early March.

Little Man

Here is the conversation I had with Dominic at dinner on Wednesday:

Me: Dominic, what happened at daycare today?
Dominic: Eric's balloon POPPED out!!
Me: It popped?
Dominic: It popped OUT!
Me: What color was it?
Dominic: Black....Red.
Me: How did it pop?
Dominic: It popped on the grass....it popped on the slide.
Me: What happened after it popped?
Dominic: Ms. Kim take it and put it in the garbage can.

These are the kinds of conversations you can have with Dominic now. It turns out that he's actually a pretty good source of information. His daycare provider, Kim, told me that there were actually 2 balloons that had popped, (one black, one red) and that one had popped on the grass--the other on the slide. The other day, Dominic fell down and told us "Owww...my ankle!" While I miss the sweet baby sometimes, it is SO nice to be able to talk to him and communicate.

The top picture is of Dominic in a coat that used to be Craig's. He loves it so much and calls it "Craigy's coat" and begs to wear it.


Like most kids, I guess, Dominic loves to draw. He'll draw something that looks like a D and an O if you ask him to. He's also getting into play-doh now, although he mostly just wants to make snowmen--go figure.

Unfortunately, Dominic has not outgrown his little sock fetish. He's pretty particular about the whole thing, too. He only likes the socks that have a little rubberized portion on their bottom and he's constantly obsesses with getting new ones. We thought we dodged the whole pacifier thing but it turns out he'll wake up in the night calling for "socks" if he can't find any in his crib. I will be very glad when this stage is OVER.

Christmas 2008

Chris took the above video of Dominic on Christmas at his Tutu and Papa's house. Dominic is growing up to be a sweet and affectionate kid and we had the best time sharing the holiday with him.

Here we are putting out goodies for Santa and his reindeer. Dominic often refers to things by the sound they make rather than what they are. For example, Ducks are "quacks" and cats are "meows." This proved no exception for Santa who has been referred to as "Ho Ho Ho" for the last several weeks.

This is Dominic with his new bike. I think it's safe to say that he's fairly obsessed with it--which is no surprise since Derek and I have been building it up for the past several weeks. The first things he does when we get him from his crib in the morning, is pat his head and say "Helmet, Mama. Bikkkkeee." Also, this bike does not have pedals and is just supposed to be propelled with his feet. Well, you can imagine how many bikes he sees on a daily basis in our garage so he was surprised by the missing pedals. He put he hands where the pedals should be and said "Oh noooooo, Daddy, oooohhhh no!!!"

Dominic is in love with his Papa. If you ask him what he wants to do, he usually says "Go Papa's house" or simply, "Papa". Now, we all know that Kirby is a fun and charming guy but the fact that he lets Dominic "drive" his GTO, play with all of his model cars, and feeds him sweet bread with whipped cream is not hurting the guy's popularity any.

When Dominic is not asking for his Papa, he's asking for his Tutu who is the best playmate that Dominic has. She sings him silly songs and make up stories and pretend things for them to do.We're lucky to have family close by.

Ah yes, and now we get to a few of Dominic's other obsessions. First there is his Uncle Mike (featured here with Dominic) whom Dominic insists on calling "Apple Mike". At least 50 times a day, Dominic asks "Where Apple Mike go?!?" with the most forlorn look on this face. In fact, one of Dominic's new words is "Tahoe" (which he says like Taaaahooooeee) because he's heard us tell him so many times over the past few days that this is where his pal Mike is. Anyway, one obsession leads into another as Apple Mike and his wife Diana purchased a skateboard for Dominic for Christmas. This means that my 20-month old has not one but t-w-o skateboards. And really? He loves them both--maybe even more than the bike. Thanks Apple Mike.

Here is Dominic riding and "maintaining" his skateboard. He loves to hang out with Derek in the garage and ask for "tooools".

Just a few other pics of Dominic...Reading with his Dad and wearing my Tiger's hat.

Yeeeewwwwww Peeeeeee!!!

Little D has started talking up quite a little storm lately. He's started saying all kinds of words (cow and owl are his 2 current favorites) and he's started to really know the books we've been reading to him for months.


One of the books he has shows an animal on each page and then prompts you for what you are supposed to say when you see that animal. So, for example, one is a kitten and says "If you see a cuddly kitten, say....." and the answer is: "Awwww." So, Dominic knows what you're supposed to say for most of these pictures. Like "If you see a spooky spider say....Eeeeeekkkk.."and he shrieks.


But there is one that always trips him up. "If you see a pudgy pig," the book asks, "say...." (the answer is Peeeee Yew!) But Dominic, for whatever reason, always yells "Yeeeewww Peeeee". And he yells it so clearly and emphatically. It makes me laugh every time.




This is a picture of Dominic eating his 1st hamburger. He got all peeved that our food looked different than his (cut up pieces of hamburger) that he kept trying to eat Derek's. Finally, Derek made him one of his own and Dominic was happy.

Here is Dominic with his Uncle Chris--who he just loves.

And reading with his Grandpa.
And playing in the morning time.

Moon!!! Star!!!

Dominic is just getting so big so fast. One of the nice things about that is that he can finally talk to us...at least a little. This is the conversation we had this morning:
Me: Dominic, tell Dad what you say in the sky last night.
Dominic: MOOOOONNN!!
Me: What else did you see, Dominic?
Dominic: STAAARRRR!!! (laughing)

Another nice thing about him getting bigger is that we're able to do more fun things, like finger paint and play with the legos that cousins Craig and Anna gave me!

Dominic has not, however, gotten too big for snuggling. Here he is with his dad.

Chapter 12 - In which D goes to Michigan and meets his Opa

Dominic has been told about his Opa since even before he was born but he finally got to meet him a couple of weeks ago in Michigan. Dominic went to him right away and they were fast friends.

This is the gang hanging out at Craig's baseball game. Check out the action shot of him making a great play later on in the blog--the picture doesn't quite do it justice but it's enough to let you see what a great player he is!


Somehow, I didn't end up with many pictures of Dominic with his cousins but he absolutely loved being around them--playing with them, copying them, pretending to be a big kid. When I watched them playing with him and helping take care of him, I found myself hoping that he would grow up to be half as good of a kid as Anna and Craig are. Here is one of the pictures I did get...along with their Opa.

Dominic also loved his Aunt Stef, who took care of him for most of the week. Here's a picture of them reading and snuggling together--2 of their favorite things!
Despite all his fun, Dominic was also pretty glad to get home to his own bed and most importantly, to spend time with his Dad. He was so excited and happy when Derek met us at the airport. It's nice to go away, especially to visit the family we love, but there's no place like home.

Look ma no hands

Aloha!

We just got back from our long awaited trip to Hawaii and it was very fantastic! One of our first nights was spent at Derek's Auntie Bea's house...where there were no less than 5 of Dominic's great-great Aunties there to greet us. Auntie Fooni (seen with Dominic in the picture below) made us the absolutely beautiful (and yummy-smelling) leis that you see on us above.

Dominic's first swim in the ocean (and all subsequent swims, actually) were a success! He really took to the water and liked bobbing up and down in his little seat. He also loved the pool and standing at the edge of the ocean and letting the waves come up over his feet.

Here is a picture of Dominic and his Tutu at her surprise 65th birthday party. The location of the party, held at a friend of Dad's, had a stunning view of the island.

These next few pictures of are Dominic at the Honolulu zoo, which was right next to our Hotel (views from our hotel room are at the end of the post--unbelievable). We actually went there twice because it was a really toddler-friendly zoo and Dominic has fun trying to playing on the playground and with the other kids, etc. One of the things he was most excited about was the tiger. It would come right up to the glass and stare him in the face for a few seconds--sizing him up as dinner, no doubt, but still quite a thrill.

Sylvia and Ralph, Derek's Aunt and Uncle, are always a big part of our visits to Hawaii. We had such a good time hanging out with them (and being fed ono food by Chef Sylvia) and meeting some of Ralph's family over the 4th of July. Here are Dominic and Sylvia together.

Here are a few pictures of Dominic just hanging out and having fun and relaxing times with Derek and I--something it seems we don't always have enough time to do in our busy lives.