Mastering Important "Life" Skills

I try to involve Dominic as much as I can when I am baking. Yesterday morning, we made pumpkin muffins. In the past, when it came time to measure the liquids or crack the eggs, I would do it. I decided that it was time for him to try it.  I showed Dominic where on the measuring cup he needed to fill it to and he did it exactly. Then, since we needed to crack four eggs, I let him do it from beginning to end. He has seen me crack probably enough eggs to circle the Earth, so he applied just the right amount of pressure and dropped all four eggs into a separate bowl,with NO shells!!  I gave him tons of verbal praise and he told me, "I did it the eggs, all by myself!" He was grinning from ear to ear and told me several times throughout the day about his egg cracking.  It may not seem like a gigantic deal to most people, but to me it was another "skill" that Dominic has mastered. Today, we had a "field trip" to the Kroger.  Long gone are the days that I would work myself up so much my stomach would hurt. It has taken many "field trips" to Kroger to get Dominic to the point he is now, where I actually enjoy taking him with me.

Dominic was totally fascinated by the metal water sprayers above all the vegetables. I told him that the veggies were getting a "shower." We went up and down pretty much every single aisle. He was very patient for the most part, though I didn't time it too well, because it was around lunchtime. When we got to the dairy section, Dominic spontaneously gave me a hug and then said, "I love you mommy, so much!" Think it might have been because we had tossed a frozen pizza into our cart for lunch?!?!?!  As we approached the checkout, there were two lanes open. I chose the lane that had my favorite bagger who has special needs.  Dominic helped take out the groceries and put them on the conveyor belt. As the last of the groceries were put into the bags, Dominic looked right at the bagger and said, "hi." The bagger said hi back to him :) As we were driving back home, I was thinking that just in the past 24 hours, he learned a handful of important "life" skills - how to crack an egg, measuring ingredients in a recipe and talking spontaneously to the bagger. Dominic has made huge strides in many different areas this summer. Asking for a haircut and getting himself to the bathroom when he needs to go are the biggest advancements for sure. In a little over a week, he will be starting sixth grade. He is no longer my shy little boy.

But rather a confident young man. I wouldn't have it any other way.