Good things do come to those that wait.

I have been really impressed with Dominic lately.  William is pretty independent and not afraid to try new things (except if they are on his plate at dinner).  Dominic, maybe because he is a firstborn, has always been a pretty tentative about doing certain things on his own because it wouldn't be perfect.  I was seldom concerned until I saw what other kids his age could do.  Getting dressed was the first area where I wondered if I had been too much of a hands on parent.  It was just faster and easier to dress him myself, even though his cousin who was exactly the same age (okay, 2 weeks younger (which doesn't make me feel better)), was dressing herself regularly.   After witnessing her independence, I worried that I was ruining Dom in future endeavors.  This lead to some fights and tears.  Eventually, I calmed down, bought some pants that just pulled on, and before long, he was dressing himself, no problem.

Potty training was another area I believed I was failing at.  I talked big about waiting until Dominic was ready, but secretly wondered if I had messed up this area of his life.  Of course, he wouldn't be going to his high school prom in diapers...or would he?  Then one day, after I tearfully told him that I didn't understand what I was doing wrong, he decided he would start to use the restroom on his own.  It was incredible.  It really was that easy.  I'd been beating myself up for nothing.  Granted he was 6 weeks shy of turning 4, but that is a lot sooner than his high school prom.  I'm saving a bundle on diapers.  They get more expensive the bigger you go...

Last fall I was concerned about writing.  This seems to be an important skill to have in school.  Again, I talked big that his interests lay in sports.  He loves to run and play any game involving a ball.  But, secretly, I thought that I was failing since I was not practicing letters with him on a regular basis. As I wrote in the previous post, a year ago he couldn't write his name.  He knew most of the letters, but showed no interest in writing them.  Though I wanted to home-school especially through the transition year when we move, I wondered if I would set him back because I didn't have the tools to get him to practice some basic skills.  Thankfully, a whiteboard really helped us both out.  The novelty of writing in marker and being able to easily erase a mistake gave Dom the confidence to practice his letters.   Now, he comes and finds me to ask if he can write a note to someone.  His letters aren't perfect, but he is writing them, and for now, that is what is important.

Finally, and this has been a concern for a while, Dom has never shown much interest in drawing and coloring.  I really thought I had failed with this one.  I don't particularly like coloring, nor do I draw well.  I know children will pick up what they see you doing.  I also know that a lot of the early years in school are spent coloring and drawing pictures to represent stories.   I was feeling some success that Dom would sit down and scribble on a page.  I complimented his use of color hoping that he would continue to work at making a picture of something.  I constantly resolved to sit down and color with him, but never followed through.  Then, just last week, I was looking through a puzzle magazine that Nana sends to the boys.  In the back they have simple drawing lessons in 4 steps.  I showed it to Dom and he said he wanted to do it.  We sat down and drew a dump truck, a teddy bear,  a birthday cake, and a dragon.  He even colored the birthday cake and dragon.  Yesterday at the library he did a wonderful job with the craft and colored mostly inside of the lines.   And this morning, we practiced making stick figures.  I have reached the extent of my artistic abilities, but I'm very proud of both Dominic and myself.

Patience is a virtue and I really need to keep that in mind as a parent.  Especially, as I have William coming right behind Dom...