Dominic's Homecoming Countdown

I think that is what our little man would say if he could speak. Dominic has a fabulous first birthday! He loved his balloons and his very own cake. He doesn't really understand the concept of gift and he doesn't realize how many cool new things he has but I am sure he will notice them soon. He is a very, very happy baby and we are a very, very happy family!

Dominic has learned how to stand up all by himself. It is the cutest thing! He will be in the middle of the room and he will suddenly sprout up, just like a little flower! He realizes that he is standing up and he gets a big smile on his face . . . then he lands on his rear end. It is really funny. He stands up more and more all the time and I'm sure that he will figure out how to take a step soon.

We think we might have 2 "words" from him right now. We have decided that he refers to me as Mamamamama, give or take a few ma's. He usually says this when he sees me or when he wants me to hold him so we guess that is his name for me. The new word we might have is "Tee" which we think is for "Kit-tee." "Dadadada" is creeping up into third place and we might even be hearing "Bah" for balloons.

We had our post-placement appointment with our agency and everything went really well. Megan loved meeting Dominic and he loved showing off for her! We had a nice long talk about our love for Guatemala. Frank and I really love the country and we hope that we will be able to add a sibling from Guatemala to our family someday.

Life has been crazy now that I am back to school full time. I am thankful that I am busy because it keeps my mind away from the fact the I am not with my little boy. We have a really great situation and he is right across the street from my school all day long. He has 2 other little boys to play with. I think that the socialization is great for him. He makes so many different sounds at home and I am sure that he got them from the other kids. He really does well at Jeff and Michelle's house. Michelle hasn't had any problems getting him to sleep (knock on wood) and he adores her. I will admit that my favorite part of the day is when I go to pick him up. When he sees me, his entire face lights up and he races over to me as fast as he can. I get a big hug and a baby kiss and lots of smiles. I don't think there are many things in this world that make me as happy as this does.

This will be our last blog entry. It has been one full year since Dominic was born in our hearts. Thank you so much for following us on our journey. When I think back to the email I received last September 16th, it give me chills to think that the beautiful little boy in the referral pictures is now my son. After months of staring at pictures and praying for everything to be completed, we are now together as a family and no one can ever take our Dominic away from us. You will never now how much your kindness and support has meant to me. Thank you for reading and thank you for your prayers :)