As the summer comes to an end, we seem to have started a new August tradition. This is the time when Grandad Sanner visits. As we waited for his arrival at the airport in Manchester, NH. We played at the park which is one of Dominic's favorite places. As he is getting bigger and bigger, Dominic is becoming more adventurous. Some of his favorite new things to play on are the balance beam (only likes to hold mommies finger as he crosses), the big boy wall which he climbs, the big boy slide and the swings.
One Grandad arrived the next few days were filled with playing outside, playing inside, Benson Park, Nashua park, swimming and some of Dominc's 1st adventure trips to the Zoo and Aquarium.
In the beginning of the summer we bought Dominic his swim life vest. During Grandads visit we went to the pool and Dominic made some impressive waves. Dominic started to paddle his arms/legs and move in the water by himself. He rolled over and even jumped off the side of the pool. He is becoming more independent and I think next summer we will not need the swim vest (even though we'll still use it).
During our time at Benson and Nashua Park, Dominic and my dad shared time running around, watching the duckies and turtles in the water and just laughing. My dad would say, how do you keep up with him and I say, "lots of coffee".
Dominic's 1st trip to the Aquarium was a blast. When we first arrived, we saw the penguins and sea lions. Dominic loved to watch them talk with each other and swim around the pool. As you explore through out the aquarium, you can push buttons at exhibits and it will educate you about the sea creatures. Since Dominic LOVES buttons, he was none stop running around and learning all he could. In the center of the aquarium is a tank that goes up all 4 stories. As we traveled up the levels, there was one area where Dominic was excited to get hands and feet dirty called "Live and Touch". As we approached the sea creatures, Dominic was a little nervous so he stood back and watched the other kids touch the sea creatures. It was interesting because Dominic LOVES water so I knew it would not be long before he would want to play. After a few minutes we step up to the rock and Dominic got the nerve to touch a sea star & hermit crab. I was so proud of him. After a bit we continued up the walk to the top of the water tank. One sea creature that Dominic was fascinated by was the Sea Turtle. It was huge and when it appeared out of the corner you could hear Dominic say " WOW!".
(And it was a successful day)
A few days later we went to the Boston Zoo which was another one of Dominic's 1st. The Zoo was very crowed but with other little kiddos. I was nervous because I knew Dominic would not want to be in his stroller because he wanted to just roam around. At first we were doing really good but then Dominic would look up at me and try to to press his stroller harness button for me to let him out and he would say, "out to see". After that moment I took the plunge and he walked 70% of the time. As we explored the park we saw so many fun animals like lions, tigers, giraffes, gorillas and more. 
When we were at the gorilla exhibit, all the kids were enamored by these huge animals. The male gorilla was playing with his poo and flinging it. The other kids were saying "ewww" and pointing. Dominic did not quite get what was happening but he looked at me, pointed to the gorilla, laugh and said "momma look poo". The rest of the zoo animals were so much fun to watch.
One fun little ritual we have every morning at home is when Dominic wake up we look for the birdies and squirrels. So, in one part of the zoo they have a bird sanctuary where you can go in and have the birds eat from your hands. Dominic was so happy and would not stop saying birdie-birdie.
The bird feeder Grandad put up for Dominic outside his bedroom window
At the end of our day we saved the best for last. We rode the carousel and visited the farm animals. I thought Dominic would love to ride the carousel but he was not interested what so ever. We ended up sitting on the seats they had on the carousal and watched the other kiddos go up and down. He just watched them, smiled and clapped. So at the end of the ride I went to put Dominic on one of the animals but he wanted nothing to do with them.
After that we went to the Farm and Dominic rode the tractor with Grandad and then we went to play with Farm Animals. Dominic loved to walk around, and mommy would talk about what animals are there and what noises they make. At the end of the farm house is an area where you were able to feed the goats and hens. When Dominic got his first fist fulll of food he would give one to a goat then walk over the the other stall and give the other goat his treat. Dominic thought this was the funniest thing and all you would hear is little feet running and his giggle. He was such a good boy and we had a blast.
These past several weeks Dominic has also been putting many words together and talking non stop. It is the coolest thing to watch. Some of Dominic's words he has been putting together are the following; momma sit, dadda sit, Ellie sit, Ellie No, yes please, birdie tweet tweet, kitty meow, Alright Alright, Lets Go, and phrases from his songs we sing (with the dance moves). As we are hanging out, Dominic will just start to chat it up and have a serious conversation about something. He is very serious like his mommy UNTIL you find his tickle spot then its all over. The past several months as Dominic has been getting bigger I have little rituals I do with him and he is picking up on them.
When we 1st looked at the home we live in now I envisioned Dominic running down the hall and crawling up the 2 steps to mommy and daddy's rooms. And he LOVES to run and read so that is what hes been doing but now he will sit on the step and tell either mommy or daddy to come and sit. Then Dominic will pull out one of his books and say read please
During my Dad's visit, it was great to hear their conversations and see them playing with each other. Since we do not see my family often we have Sanner pictures all over our home. There is one picture we keep on the fridge from a white water rafting trip and every day we say who is in the picture and my dad we reference to as "Poppy". As the week progressed Dominic decided Poppy would be called Grandpa... sorry dad.
Dominic's 1st Ice Cream at
"Macks' Apples"
