Dominic's Homecoming Countdown

We took Dominic to the pediatrician the other day, just for a weight check. He is up to 16 lbs. 13 oz. He gained 1 lb. and 4 oz. in 5 weeks. We were really happy with that. If he makes it to 19 lbs. by his first birthday, he will be "on" the American charts. Right now, he isn't in a percentile. We aren't too concerned because according to the Guatemalan charts, he is right on track. He feels like he is gaining a pound a day!

I can't believe how quickly he is growing. My baby isn't a baby anymore! He is really turning into a little boy. He LOVES toy cars and trucks and making messes! Aimee had Chrissy, Luke, Dominic and me over for a really nice little lunch yesterday. Luke is almost 3 months and you can tell by the pictures that Dominic is way out of of the infant stage. They were very, very cute together! Dominic was fascinated with Luke's crying . . . looks like he was trying to make him feel better :)

I think his favorite thing by far is the water. We went to visit our friend Susan on Sunday and Dominic played in the baby pool for 2 hours! He loves it. The other pictures are from his bath. He tries to stand up all the time. It is VERY hard to keep him down. He has mastered shaking his head "No" which is probably not a good things. He probably just knows it because I have to say NO to him all the time. He is ALWAYS looking for trouble! No wonder I am so tired all the time!

What a face! We are really enjoying every second that we have with him. I know that we are really lucky to both have the summer off. I think that Dominic is really growing attached to us. It will be hard not to be with him during the day once we got back to school; I hope I make it! So many people have done it and I have many good roles models to follow so I know that I will be OK. Dominic spent the night with his Grandmom and PopPop so we could go to the movies and he did just great. He is very good about staying away from home! (We saw "Dead Man's Chest" . . . what did you think? I liked the first one MUCH better. I did like the fights in this one . . . I HATED the ending . . . how could she DO that!!! So bitter :) )

Congratulations to Meredith and Mark on the birth of their 9 lb. son, Mark :) He is adorable! Tomorrow, the three of us will be traveling to my friend Kim's baby shower. I will finally get to see her belly and she will get to meet our little guy. From there, we are heading to the the beach with Nana and Grandpa for a few days.

Stay cool and safe :)

Here is one for all friends who have adopted or are in the process. We went to the social security office the other day to apply for Dominic's card. We waited forever and Frank finally got to the counter to apply. My job was to entertain Dominic. We played on the chairs, crawled on the floor, ate some snacks, did some high-fives . . . and so on. A woman who had also been waiting was watching us. "What a CUTE baby!" she said. "He definitely has your cheeks and nose and his father's coloring!" I had to laugh. I said thank you and that we thought he was cute, too. It isn't too far of a stretch for someone to think that Dominic is our biological son, and I didn't want to embarrass this woman, but I did tell her that Dominic was adopted. After about five minutes of telling me how LUCKY Dominic was (and of course I told her that we, in fact, were the lucky ones) she told me that she always finds that adoptive children start to look like their parents at some point. Really? I don't think she knows too many adoptive families! :)

Anyway, the good news is that we now have Dominic's social security card with the official name change. We have the PA birth certificate, too, and we are just waiting for the new certificate of citizenship. We went to immigration and filed that paperwork. We were told that it could take 8 months to a year. All that time for a NAME CHANGE on a document!

Here are two new pictures. My son has realized that I am obsessed with taking pictures of him and he has developed a "SAY CHEESE" smile. It is very funny and very CHEESY as well! Stay cool :)

As the pictures above illustrate, Dominic is now into everything and anything, leaving my little time to do much of anything, including this blog! Here is a quick "Top Ten" of highlights since my last post.

9. Dominic went to visit his Aunt Meg in her new house. It is very, very cute . . . he can't wait to play in her nice big basement!

8. Because he loves water so much and gets dirty so first, his Nana gave him a kitchen sink bath . . . he LOVED it!

7. Dominic spent his first night without us! He slept over at Grandmom and PopPop's while we were at a wedding with our friends.

6. Without ANY help, Dominic can make it up our entire flight of stairs!

5. This little water-bug graduated from his tub seat and now takes a bath without any restraints.

4. Dominic had his very first haircut! He was very well-behaved but looked so sad. He looks so handsome with his new cut!

3. While wearing his adorable "Proud to be Guatemalan and American" outfit, Dominic celebrated his very first Fourth of July while visiting the beach.

2. Dominic stayed up very late to see delayed fireworks but ended up falling asleep after only a few big booms.

1. Dominic celebrated his 10 month birthday and surpassed the 3 month mark of being home with his forever family! We love you, Dominic!

I'm sure that I missed a few things but the general idea is that he is doing great and keeping us busy. He is making lots of friends and developing quite the personality! Today we are on our way to an appointment at immigration to apply for his new Certificate of Citizenship. I don't think that this adoption paperwork will ever end!

Congratulations to my friends Kathy and Rick on the birth of their beautiful little girl, Kayla. It won't be long until Meredith and Kim have their little ones as well! Please keep Angel and Stacy in your thoughts as they are both facing some difficult times.

Happy Fourth of July! Hope that everyone is having a great summer!