Trip to Florida

We escaped the grey of home to head to the sunshine state! In the adoption world, it isn't normal to change scenery so quickly for your new child. However, we are NOT a normal family. Not normal in many ways. :) As it turned out, It couldn't have been better. Just what we needed! Especially Moses. The trip gave us more family time and Moses' little personality is starting to shine through. He's quite a character, this little boy God has blessed us with.

The beauty of blues........ blue sky, blue ocean ...............ahhhhhhh

Alas, vacation did nothing to end the need for the dreaded timeout!! A fun time playing in the potty was had by both boys but ended in a torturous trip to the playpen. NO FUN there.

The pool was just as wonderful as the ocean and no one complained for lack of sand.

BUT ............... The beach is MY personal favorite. The kids stay busy for hours on end and are happy doing so. What more could a Mommy ask for? My only complaint is the sandy mess afterwards. Oh and maybe the packing everything before hand. Other than that, I love it!

We figure this was most likely Moses' first trip to the beach too. He needed no promptings in what to do.

I know this probably looks like a nice picture of Moses and Judah playing together. Looks are often deceiving. Judah is actually 'taking' Moses sand and toys here, resulting in tears...........

So that's it, Peeps. The updates are over and your caught up on the Dominguez Journey! :)

Max's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Max! I can hardly believe 9 years have gone by so quickly. Thank you for being a wonderful big brother and thoughtful son who loves the Lord and desires to honor God. What a blessing you are to your Father and I. We thank God He has blessed us with YOU!!

May God bless you with wisdom and understanding, Son. May His face shine upon you. May He be gracious unto you. May He give you His peace and bless you with His presence.

Easter and More Common Ground

When parenting an adopted child, it is a joy to watch them experience the 'new' and 'firsts'. Something as simple a homemade chocolate chip cookie from Mommy. I know it's special with bio children too. I've experienced that joy. This is different. There is always in the back of my mind what could have been for my boys. All they would have missed. All that wasn't theirs to experience or try. So tasting a warm cookie from the oven for the first time, that's special stuff here right now.



Candy is still a happy place for Moses and Judah. Easter candy from a couple egg hunts produced happy faces and looks of longing. Yes, Moses, I've studied the beauty of chocolate before eating it, too! Yum.....

Then the teasing began. Judah gobbled his up fast. Moses is slow and deliberate about saving his portion until everyone else is done. Then, he shows it off. No, it doesn't end well. Ever.

The big kids loved looking for eggs at Uncle Richie's house.

Moses, Bella and Judah enjoying the treats found in the eggs, thanks to Grandma Vicki.

Tada!!! The boys have found MORE things to do together. If you have toddler boys, you can probably guess what's coming.......

THROWING ROCKS!!!! Thankfully, it was in the pond, not at each other. Another plus!

Still more to come...........

Wrestling and Common Ground

I know, an update has been a long time coming. We're almost into summer! Things have been slow and lazy here and I was just bored with the whole thought of blogging. ha! Seriously, time is precious and deciding just how to spend it has been a balance.

Here is what we've been doing:

Max finished up his wrestling for the year. (Yes, this was just after returning home. I told you I was behind in posting.....) He did great and made Daddy proud on the mats.

Max with his game face on. I wish I could post the picture of the other child's face. Since he's not mine and I don't know who he is I won't. Let's just say he looks scared.

A tough match.....

But he ended it with a pin........ I know it's not cool for a tough guy, but Mommy's proud of you, Max!

Our first common ground between Moses and Judah was..........*drum roll, please* CANDY! A huge surprise, right? I have found that a dumdum sucker cures the afternoon grumpies and allows a few minutes of peace during the 'Mommy's busy making dinner, waiting for Daddy to get home, hungry but can't eat yet, late afternoon- blues'. I don't necessarily like the boys to have sugar, (who needs a 2year old or 4 year old on a sugar buzz?) but when it produces smiles instead of melt-downs, well, it's hardly a question of "Should I?" and more of a "When should I?". :)

Boys can turn anything into a 'war'. Here is a picture of their 'sucker war'.

Our next common ground........*another drum roll, please* A FORT. It seems the boys have made the back corner behind the chair their personal play space. They stashed food away for an emergency and everything! I can hardly complain about their choice. Healthy! Healthy! And books to read! These boys are winning my heart.

On to the next update.......

Time Out

Someone has been spending ALOT of time in 'timeout' lately.......................





..............learning how to be nice to his older 'new' brother who likes to play with all the same toys that Judah likes too....................

......................learning that every disappointment in life DOESN'T require throwing himself on the floor, hitting others, taking things from others or generally lashing out to prove he is angry..........

....................too bad he enjoys it...............................

I'm not sure how effective timeout is.

Pucker Up!

Does it get any cuter?

Home and Firsts

I've tried to update several times. Every effort was met by challenge in the form of battling chinese brothers. :)

After 4 years car seat free, Moses wasn't happy about his first time being strapped in.

He cried almost the whole way home (about an hour drive). I think he was probably crying more because he was tired than dislike for the car seat. He was awake almost our entire time traveling to come home. He slept for an hour and a half on the longest flight and for about an hour an a half after we landed in the States -through customs and immigration, luggage transfer and some of our wait time at the airport for our final flight. That was it. Mario and I struggled to entertain a four year old for 20+ hours of travel but he handled it like a champ.

We arrived home after Judah was in bed sleeping for the night, so my Mom, Dad, Chloe, Max and Lillie were the first to meet Moses. He was all over and into everything, just like the day we met him. He must have been nervous about his new surroundings and new family.

Chloe and Max jumped right out of bed, but Lillie took a little longer to wake up. As you can see, they were happy to see their little brother.

The next morning, Moses was rudely awakened by the sound of Judah pounding on the door. It seems Judah has learned how to escape from our modified crib while we were gone. Once he was awake and over the shock of it all, Moses and Judah ran from one end of our bedroom to the other, chasing each other. Judah was very happy to see Moses----at first.

It didn't take long for them to figure out how to disagree. One day the boys will learn that the multitude of hot wheels they have can be split and shared. One day the boys will learn that play time is not war time. One day the boys will learn that Mommy can make time for each of her children. One day the boys will learn not to push each other down, hit each other, take toys, take food, take each other's drinks. One day Judah will stop through tantrums every time Moses touches a toy or something or someone he wants. One day..........just not today. :)

Moses has had a lot of firsts in such a short time. For instance......

Coloring with Chloe

Our first attempt at getting all 5 kids up, ready and out the door for church in a timely manner.
As well as meeting all of our church family.

First play time outside with his brothers and sisters.

First tractor ride with Daddy and Judah. One of Judah's favorite things to do!

First bath with his brother. They had a great time together. They splashed water all over everything, including me. In so many pictures, Moses looks rather serious. That's because when he sees me with the camera, his smile immediately fades for his 'camera ready' look. I think he gets that from his Daddy. I have very few pictures of Mario actually smiling. Most of them are taken when he doesn't know I'm taking a picture. Looks like I'm going to have to sneak up on both of them.

I have two very different little boys. One is a lover. The other makes you chase him to give him love. One is orderly, neat and loves to put things in their place and off the floor. The other is like a tornado, leaving a path of destruction everywhere he goes. One smiles, but is serious at times. The other smiles and seeks to make everyone smile with him as he clowns around the house. One is a tattle-tale. The other has the most mischievous look on his face most of the day. Bet you can guess who is 'One' and who is 'the Other'. :)