Cute stories

I wanted to share a couple of cute stories about my son Dominic. He is two years old and, I have to say, this is such a fun age! He is learning to talk and do so many things that I never even saw coming. It is amazing to think about all the thoughts that must be going through his head! During the winter season, Dominic took a liking to the game of hockey. Peter played every Tuesday evening, and we would go to watch the games once in a while. Dominic loved it! He loved it so much that he had to play hockey all the time. There were seriously days that we would play hockey for the ENTIRE time! He would use the yellow hockey stick (a plastic golf club in actuality), and insist on my using the red one. Then he would tell me to get his winter hat (specifically the blue one with the little chin strap), because that was his hockey helmet, just like papa's! The best part though, is when he would top the uniform off with two plastic bowls that he would put his feet in, and skate around the house with, since naturally, they were his "gates" (which is the way the word "skates" sounds when Dominic says it). This was our routine every morning after breakfast, for almost the entire hockey season!
Dominic had already learned to make a very clear sign of the cross on himself when we said prayers, by the time he was 15 months. One day I heard him splashing around in the bathroom, and knew exactly what he had gotten into. Sure enough, there he was, playing in the toilet water. The second he noticed my presence he looked up at me, startled, and immediately dipped his hand in the water and made the sign of the cross, just like we do at church!
When Dominic was around one and a half, Dominic, Stella, Peter, and I were all in the car doing some errands. It had been a long day, and so we thought the kids may like a break from the car. We stopped in the parking lot of Christ the King (the parish we belong to), to get out and stretch our legs and give the kids a snack. As Peter was getting Dominic out of his car seat, Dominic kept saying "Chees, Chees". Peter, of course thought he was saying that he wanted cheese, so he gave him some cheese. But clearly, that was not it. "Chees, Chees", Dominic repeated more emphatically now. Peter tried giving him juice, but that didn't work either. Finally he realized that Dominic was saying Jesus! "Do you want to go in to see Jesus?" Peter asked. With a huge, and satisfied smile on his face, Dominic pointed at the church and said, "Yes, Chees"!
Just yesterday, the kids and I were in the car, backing out of our drive way, to meet Peter at Mass. A month ago we bought a van, because our little Taurus was pretty much maxed out with the two car seats. Dominic loves the van and still calls it "new car". I was doing a terrible job backing out of the garage, trying not to hit the Taurus, which was still in our driveway. I had to stomp on the bakes quickly to avoid it, but the stroller in the trunk slammed against the door and made it sound like I had hit the car. I got out to assess any damage (there was none!), and when I got back in, Dominic, who's words have a tendency to be unclear at times, said , "Bonk new car! Bonk new car (he laughs)! Mama bonk new car (throws his head back in laughter)!" Then of course, his words were as clear as day!