Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to witness a dream come true for a most deserving little boy.
As most of you know, I work on a military base. Earlier in the week the entire base received an email announcement that we’d have a very special guest at our unit.
Dominic, a six year old with terminal leukemia, had always dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot. Through the Make a Wish Foundation, his wish was granted yesterday and the entire base was invited to his pinning ceremony.
When I arrived at the designated location, about 10 minutes early, I found the room filled to overflowing with military members in fatigues and flight suites and a scattering of government contractors in civilian clothing. Excited chatter circulated the room as we all waited for Dominic’s arrival.
Little Dominic arrived in style, riding atop the base fire engine, sirens blasting across the flight line. He slowly walked through the crowd to the front of the room. He was dressed in a children's sized flight suite, displaying the base patches and a patch with his name on it. He had on a too-big fire station cap on and his shining eyes were peeking out from beneath the brim.
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Dominic was placed on a pedestal, military personal flanking either side, his family seated in front of him. Attention to orders was called and after a list of Dominic’s achievements were read aloud (i.e. completion of honorary flight course, shooting down 3 planes and a perfect landing during simulated training, etc.) he was awarded with the honorary rank of 2nd Lieutenant and his flight suite was pinned. A navy blue flight cap was placed on his head. He stood tall and proud throughout it all!.jpg)
We learned that, not only did Dominic receive pilot training, tour the base fire station, and ride on the fire truck, but he also was taken up for a brief ride in a B-17 plane and he spent time exploring the insides of an A-10 plane. The pilots dubbed him with a call sign of “Magnum”.During the ceremony, Dominic was presented with numerous gifts: various military patches, squadron coins, framed certificates, military caps, a stuffed bear dressed in fatigues, and a cake that said, “Congratulations Lt. Dominic”.
Although quiet and shy in the midst of such a large crowd, joy and excitement lit up his face and made his eyes sparkle.
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The ceremony ended and Dominic was escorted out to the flight line where an F-16 jet awaited. The maintenance crew had put his name on the jet and the cockpit was open and waiting. One of the pilots climbed up into it and Dominic was handed up to him. Dominic sat on the pilot’s lap and watched attentively as the jet was hooked up to a special towing truck. He was taxied away for a ride around the base flight line. We smiled at him and waved our goodbyes.My eyes, and the eyes of many around me, glistened with tears as I gazed at this precious soul and realized he wouldn’t be on this earth much longer. My heart filled with gladness that at least his dream had come true and his family was there to witness his happiness! I was honored to be able to witness it as well.
Labels: children's activites, faith, memories
It's time to post yet another WFMW tip. 
Not long ago, as I was reading my January 2007 issue of Parents magazine (yes, I'm playing catch-up and still trying to get through my January and February issues), I stumbled across a most valuable link. I felt like I had hit the jackpot!!
Parents magazine has compiled a list of free children's printables. It includes roughly 65 printables for your children: games, puzzles, stickers, bookplates, and much more!
Needless to say, I got sidetracked for quite a while looking at all the fun stuff that was being offered.
Here are a few of my favorites:
1) Mother Goose memory game cards
2) Insect memory game cards
3) Lunch box love notes
4) Mother Goose bookplates
5) Happy stickers
Note: For the Mother Goose bookplates or the happy stickers, you can use glue or tape, or you can print them on full-sheet labels, like Avery 8165 White Inkjet Address Labels, 8 1/2" by 11".
If you haven't seen this list of printables already, go check it out. I know you'll love it as much as I do!
To see what works for others, be sure check out the links over at Shannon's, the creator of Works-For-Me Wednesday.
My past WFMW entries:
calendar labels
Strawberry Spinach Salad
mesh laundry bag uses
12 lbs 'til Christmas
toddler healthy eating techniques
reindeer puppet
Grocery Game website
No Fear Shakespeare
list of age appropriate children's chores
linking within comments
baptism gift
creating blogger categories
alternate use for pot rack
cake decorating tips
unique way to stay connected
cake baking tip
comforts of home while traveling
quenching the thirst of your little one
pie crust made in bulk
hot chocolate kicked up a notch
Labels: children's activites, parenting, toddler, Works-For-Me Wednesday
Okay, bear with me, I'm going to do a bit of brainstorming here and just toss ideas out as they come to me, in no particular order of importance. I realize that some may be duplicates of what Thingamababy has listed. What can I say, great minds think alike.
- Visit the library. Oronzo and I been taking Snuggle Bug to baby and toddler story times since he was about 6 months old. He loves them! Oronzo is usually the one that takes him to a couple of different ones each week, since he's the one home with him during the week, but occasionally I get to. The story times involve singing, dancing, coloring, playing with other children, and of course, stories. Best of all, the parents get to socialize as well. The kids have fun, the adults have fun. It's a win-win situation. After the story time is finished, I like to take Snuggle Bug into the children's area of the library and let him pick out books to read.
- Visit neighbors. We moved into our house about a year and a half ago. It didn't take us long to realize that when we were out walking with Snuggle Bug, neighbors enjoyed stopping us for a chat. We've gotten to the point now where we'll walk over to a neighbor's house, ring the doorbell, and know that we'll be invited in for a chat and a snack. Many of our neighbors are elderly and they dote over Snuggle Bug.
- Take walks. We love taking Snuggle Bug for walks. Sometimes he rides in his stroller or wagon, sometimes he walks, sometimes he does both. I make sure never to be in a hurry because it's amazing what he likes to explore along the way. A caterpillar inching it's way across the sidewalk can provide several minutes of enjoyment!
- Go to church together. We go to mass nearly every Sunday. Snuggle Bug has always been right there with us, since he was 3 days old. Now that he's a bit older, he imitates us by kneeling on the kneeler, looking at the missal, and repeatedly singing "alleluia" with gusto. He loves observing the pianist and the older children singing in the children's choir (we hope one day he'll join), he can't wait for his turn to put our donation envelope in the basket, and even the priest's "clean-up" duties after communion fascinate him. He also has fun flirting with the members that surround us. After mass, we treat ourselves to brunch at our favorite local cafe.
- Go for a bike ride. Not long ago we bought a children's bike seat and attached it to Oronzo's mountain bike. We also bought a children's bike helmet. Snuggle Bug absolutely loves to go on bike rides. Often times we will bike a mile or so to a nearby Starbucks and stop for a muffin and hot chocolate. Biking as a family is a lot of fun!
- Go shopping. Yes, that's right, we purposely take our toddler shopping with us, and not just when we have errands to run. Sometimes we go shopping just to get out and explore. Because we've been doing this with Snuggle Bug from day one, he's actually well behaved in any store that we go into. He doesn't break things, he likes to look and touch, but we're careful and so is he. His favorite place to go is Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts where he loves to feel all the different textures of the bolts of fabrics. The varying colors attract him too!
- Cook meals and eat together. It never ceases to amaze me how interested Snuggle Bug is in cooking. Pull a chair up to the counter, tie an apron on him, and give him a mixing spoon, and he's happy as a lark. We try to eat at home often and when we do, we make a point to sit down at the table and eat as a family.
- Read books together. This should be a given, but I'm going to list it anyway. Not a day goes by that we don't read a book to Snuggle Bug. Despite the fact that he has 3 bookshelves of books all his own in his room, he also gets more books weekly from the library. He has a huge, stuffed turtle in one corner of his room and that's where he likes to take books and thumb through them. He has books in nearly every room of the house and often brings us books for us to read to him. Snuggle Bug's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds and I attribute the largest part of that to the time we spend reading with him.
- Go on excursions. We have annual memberships to our local zoo, children's museum, and the botanical gardens. We use those memberships frequently! We also go to parks to feed the ducks or to attend outdoor concerts, school playgrounds to play on the slides, aquariums to pet sea lions, on trails to do some hiking and exploring, and to pet stores to touch lizards, turtles, birds, hamsters, and even snakes. Going to bookstores is a favorite treat as well, even when we don't buy a thing. I find myself looking at our city calendar of events to see what is scheduled each week. This past weekend we attended a local Family Arts Festival that I found listed on the calendar of events.
- Dance, sing, and get dizzy together. Snuggle Bug loves when we sing together at home or in the car, especially if it involves hand actions (like the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus). Most of the time, we sing a cappella and make up the lyrics as we go. As for dancing, he can shake his diapered bottom like there's no tomorrow! Oh, and he loves when the dance involves jumping, which it nearly always does. He gets giddy when I make him dizzy by holding his hands and twirling him 'round and 'round in circles until we both fall over laughing.
- Have a tickle tumble on the bed. Snuggle Bug loves being tickled and our big bed seems the perfect place on which to roll around and tickle each other. Most of the time, we're still in our pjs and sometimes bopping each other with pillows gets mixed in with the tickles. Laughter swirls high into the air and we take frequent rest breaks where we snuggle together with legs, arms, or fingers, tangled together in a cozy twist. Tickle tumbles are one of my personal favorites.
Okay, I've listed many of my frequent relationship-building activites that don't involve toys. Now you try. If you decide to do your own post on this topic, or if you want to just offer me a few of your favorites, please leave me a comment!
Thanks!
Labels: children's activites, family, Oronzo, parenting, relationships, Snuggle Bug, toddler
How many of you parents make a conscious effort to keep your child active and outdoors as much as possible, weather permitting? I'll bet most of you do!
With childhood obesity on the rise, Oronzo and I are doing our best to keep Snuggle Bug active and fit. We feel that it's not just about trying to prepare healthy, well-balanced meals and limiting TV time, it's about lots of active playtime as well.
This past weekend we took Snuggle Bug to a park to feed the ducks. He ran, jumped, climbed on short walls, and enjoyed the outdoors.
We also visited Oronzo's parents over the weekend and took Snuggle Bug for several long walks, let him commune with horses and donkeys and we even went to a National Park for a picnic and to take a hike up to see some neat cliff dwellings.
The best part about our efforts to keep Snuggle Bug fit and active is that, by default, we working on that for ourselves as well! Oronozo and I try to lead by example, knowing this will be important as Snuggle Bug grows older.
I'm curious, what do you do to try to help keep your child fit, at any age?
Labels: children's activites, family, health, parenting, Snuggle Bug, toddler
Where have these years flown? I kid you not, it feels like just yesterday that I held him in my arms at 2 minutes old and marveled at how light he felt and how much thick, dark hair he was born with. The memories of his birth day are still so vivid!
Now, he's a walking, talking, sometimes sassy, very sweet little boy who has Oronzo and I wrapped around his little finger.
We love this child so very much! He's brought such happiness and contentment to our lives. We truly enjoy parenting energetic, often funny toddler. We're so very thankful that we've been blessed with having him as the center of our little family.
For his 2nd birthday party, we went with a Thomas the Train theme. Snuggle Bug is very enamored with trains. Anytime we walk into Barnes & Nobles or Toys R Us, he makes a bee-line for the Thomas the Train table sets that each store has set up for little ones to play with. He also loves playing with the one Geotrack set that he got for Christmas last year and the other miscellaneous trains he has about the house. And the times when he's gotten actual train rides, he's been excited beyond words!
I thought I'd share some pictures from his 2nd birthday party. I hope you enjoy them.
Here's the front part of his party invitations. I made this on Photoshop, then I cut it out and pasted it to colored cardstock, and finally pasted it on more colored cardstock folded into a card. I did the same type of thing for the inside details. The cards turned out cute!
This is Snuggle Bug's train cake. Believe it or not, this was actually made from scratch by Oronzo's mom, Aleiza. She came to our house Friday night and showed me how to make this cake. It only took about 3 hours! She's made train cakes like this for the past 40 years, beginning with Oronzo's 1st birthday. Each of her children have had train cakes at one point in time, and now she's making them for her grandchildren. She taught me how to make this so that I can take over the tradition after she's gone. I took a lot of pictures along the way to jog my memory later.
Here's the table set, in preparation for the beginning of Snuggle Bug's party. I was so excited to find a 50% off sale going on at Party America! I got all his Thomas the Train supplies for 1/2 off. Hooray! The stickers were well received. I gave one to each child when they arrived and I was surprised at how excited they got.
The train cake was a HUGE HIT with Snuggle Bug and all his little friends. All of them wanted to touch it and when we cut it up to serve it, the lollipop wheels were the first things to be eaten, even before the cake and ice cream. The picture above shows Snuggle Bug (right) with one of his cousins (left) happily devouring their suckers. This is a rare treat for both of them, so they were quite thrilled.
This is Snuggle Bug playing with the Little People farm set that Grandma and Grandpa gave him for this 2nd birthday. Yes, my house looks like a Toys R Us store. It always does this time of year, with Snuggle Bug's birthday being so close to Christmas.
Here's Snuggle Bug opening a gift from his aunt and uncle. It was an ambulance with a removable driver. He's been carrying this toy around everywhere for the past 2 days. He even wanted it on the table next to him as he ate breakfast this morning.
Here's Snuggle Bug playing with his new Geotracks train set. Oronzo picked this out because he liked the remote operated train engine that it came with. He and I both know that he bought this train set more for him than for Snuggle Bug, but I guess that's one of the perks of being a parent.
Here I've taken the birthday party invite design and changed it a bit to use for making "Thank You" cards that I'll send out this week for all the great gifts Snuggle Bug got at his party. You have to love Photoshop for quick and simple designs!
((Sigh)) My baby isn't a baby anymore. He's now an adorable 2 year old. Thank you, God, for your many blessings...most importantly Snuggle Bug.
Labels: baked goodies, birthdays, celebration, children's activites, family, memories, parenting, photos, Snuggle Bug, toddler
Snuggle Bug and I made a card to give to Oronzo for Father's Day. I'm posting it so you can see how it turned out.I didn't realize how difficult it is to get a non-smeared handprint of a little boy! It took several attempts and each time I'd dip his hands in the paint, I'd have to uncurl Snuggle Bug's little fingers, then carefully press his painted hands to paper, trying desperately to keep him still long enough to get a decent imprint. We did it over and over until
I got some good ones.I also made extra prints so I could make Father's Day cards for Snuggle Bug's grandfathers. Their cards read, "World's Best Grandpa's...hands down!"
Oronzo, who's getting to sleep in, is also getting a t-shirt that has the message "World's Best Daddy" on the front, with Snuggle Bug's handprints imprinted in paint. On the back reads, "Happy Father's Day, 2006, and has Snuggle Bug's feet prints on the back. I hope he likes it well enough to wear it today in celebration of Father's Day.
As a tribute to Oronzo for Father's Day, I'd like to make a list of many (not all, but many) of the things that makes him the World's Best Daddy.
Top 22 reasons why Oronzo is the World's Best Daddy
1. He stays at home and cares for Snuggle Bug while I work. He tells anyone who will listen that caring for his son is his most important job.
2. In addition to caring for Snuggle Bug, he also works from home, while Snuggle Bug naps and in the evenings and on the weekends while I'm home. This makes Oronzo a very busy Daddy.
3. He knows all of Snuggle Bugs tickle spots and takes great pleasure in eliciting uncontrollable belly laughs from our son.
4. He often carries him up on his shoulders to give Snuggle Bug a better view of the world. I do this sometimes too, but it's not nearly as effective because I'm only 5' tall.
5. Since Snuggle Bug's arrival into this world, he's gone to church with us, as a family, every Sunday. In turn, we go to breakfast with him afterwards. I love how this is creating a solid family routine and great memories for Snuggle Bug.
6. He frequently lavishes Snuggle Bug with kisses and hugs, and tells him, "I love you" all the time. He's not afraid to display affection or emotion for his son.
7. He goes to the mall and purchases clothes and toys for our son. How many men will actually willingly go shopping?
8. He dresses our son in clothes that match.
9. He changes all diapers (even the poopy ones) and always has.
10. He always took his turn with night feedings and other bottle feedings.
11. He often takes Snuggle Bug out to lunch at a small neighborhood cafe where all the waitresses like to spoil Snuggle Bug rotten.
12. He gets down on the floor to play with Snuggle Bug, he's very hands-on with him.
13. He sits down at the table to have a family dinner with Snuggle Bug and I, even when he'd sometimes rather be watching some sports game on TV.
14. He gives Snuggle Bug his bath every night.
15. He reads books to Snuggle Bug when he brings them to his Daddy.
16. He teaches Snuggle Bug all sorts of things, like most recently how to count out loud to 3. Along the way, he encourages and praises him to build his confidence and self-esteem.
17. He has an infinite amount of patience with Snuggle Bug, never yelling at him or raising a hand to him. He would never consider doing either of these things.
18. He sings and dances with Snuggle Bug.
19. He's teaching our son to be a soccer and baseball fan, I've already caught the 2 of them sitting on the couch engrossed in a game together.
20. He takes Snuggle Bug to various playgroups and storytimes and doesn't mind a bit that he's often the only Daddy amongst a group of Moms. In fact, he's become accept by them and has made friends with some of them, arranging playdates for the kids.
21. He's great at the rough-n-tumble play with Snuggle Bug that I'm afraid to do. Snuggle Bug loves this type of play!
22. He loves Snuggle Bug unconditionally with all of his heart and always will!
Snuggle Bug loves his daddy dearly, and with good reason. I love Oronzo for those reasons and more. I always knew Oronzo would be a fantastic father, and now seeing him in action, I realize how truly blessed Snuggle Bug and I both are!
For all that you do, I thank you my dear husband! Happy Father's Day!
Before the end of the day, I'm going to make Oronzo get on here and read this Father's Day tribute. If you'd like to leave him a comment, please do so and I'll have him read those as well.
Labels: celebration, children's activites, family, holiday, Oronzo, parenting, Snuggle Bug, stay-at-home daddy
