A Busy, Busy June

The days are flying by and this boy of mine keeps me so busy I barely have time to document everything that is going on! I can't believe summer is already halfway over. Nothing makes the passing of time more apparent than looking at little Dean and seeing how much he has changed since his birth 11 weeks ago today. He is becoming more aware every day and does the cutest little things. For our little family June was a busy month and flew right by. Dean got to experience some firsts that month...

Our little cutie!

First Road Trip

We took Dean to St. George the first weekend in June to celebrate Ryan's mom's 60th birthday and introduce Dean to his two great-grandma's down there. He did so good in the car! I sat in the back with him because a four hour car ride seemed like too long for my 5 week old baby to be back there alone. It worked out well though--I was right there any time he dropped his binky or got fussy. We had to stop once on the drive there and once on the drive back so I could nurse him, but overall the drive went smoothly.

Our lucky boy has now met all 3 living great-grandmas!

In St. George Dean went to a restaurant for the first time. For a birthday lunch, we went to Olive Garden with Ryan's mom, grandma and brother while Ryan and his dad golfed. Dean was calm and quiet next to me in his carseat the whole time. He was really good the whole trip. His grandma looked forward to his contagious smiles and his grandpa looked forward to taking naps together on the couch. Dean was so good we even got to play a game of cards one night while he napped in his bouncer. We went shopping at the outlet stores and I have never been so proud to have such a good baby. There was another mom we kept passing in the baby clothes stores. Her baby was close to Dean's age and just cried and screamed even though she was holding him and doing everything she could to soothe him. My baby sat contently in his stroller and seemed to enjoy being pushed around. I felt bad for that other mom and so grateful that I do not have a fussy baby.

Priceless Moments from St. George

Birthday Parties

Dean attended two birthday parties this month. It would have been three, but we were in St. George for Bailey's 3rd birthday party the previous weekend (we brought her gift to her brother's party). The first party we went to was for Dylan. My youngest sister's son just turned one on June 9, so his party was the following weekend. Dylan is a tank and it's even more apparent to me now that I have my skinny little baby! It was so fun watching him dive into his cake--he definitely got messier than any of his girl cousins have (daddy smashing his face in the cake may have had something to do with it). He recently started walking so it was fun seeing him walk around and play with his sister and older cousins. In another year that will be Dean trying to keep up with all the bigger kids!

Dean was a hit (as baby's usually are). He got held by grandma and grandpa, his cousins and all of his aunts, including his great aunt Lisa who he charmed with his smiles. Bailey already adores Dean and always tells me she loves baby Dean and kisses his head. Dylan is interested, but not very gentle--he' a typical rambunctious boy. After playing in the water and then eating cake, the kid was exhausted; my sister opened all of Dylan's presents (mostly clothes) while my not so little nephew napped.

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Dean's aunt Melissa turned 30 (twenty-ten as she likes to call it) on June 21, but because she was going to be spending her birthday in the hospital we had an early party for her. My sister (whose birthday ended up being on Father's Day this year) had abdominal surgery because of complications of Crohn's Disease two days before her birthday. On Thursday morning, the day before Melissa's surgery, her best friend contacted me and our other sister Kim to enlist our help in planning a surprise party for Melissa that night. We all brought something and set up in the picnic area in Melissa's apartment complex. All of our family came as well as a few of Melissa's friends. We grilled hot dogs and had cake.

It ended up being a very successful party despite the quick planning. Our "surprise" needs work though...she saw a couple of our group hiding in a stairwell as she came around the corner! Dean is going to have fun at these gatherings in a few years; my youngest sister's son is only eleven months older and my best friend's son is about two weeks younger. It's always fun getting littles together and seeing how different they are in size and temperment--even so young they all have their own little distinct personalities!

Happy Birthday Melissa!

First Father's Day

We did not get to spend Father's Day quite the way we planned. Because my sister was in the hospital, we were supposed to have my nieces staying with us all weekend. Ryan was excited about it because he loves those girls; he even said it would make his Father's Day better because he would have his boy and his girls! Ryan's parents were also in town that weekend because his sister and her husband went on a church trip with the youth so his parents had stayed at their house to take care of their five young boys while they were gone, and decided to stay through the weekend. With all of this going on, Ryan did not get the quiet day at home he planned!

Dean loves his Daddy!

Kenzie stayed with us through the weekend, but my sister's youngest, Brinlee opted to stay with grandma (my mom) instead. So Sunday morning Kenzie, Ryan and I met my dad at Market Street Grill and bought him brunch for Father's Day. It ended up being a longer brunch than we anticipated, but we had a good time talking (and starving) while we waited for our food. After brunch we picked up a plant, some stuffed animals, balloons and a fancy cupcake to take to my sister in the hospital as a Get Well/Happy Birthday gift. We met up with my dad again there and hung out for a while before heading out to Ryan's sister's house to see his parents. We had a few minutes with them alone before Ryan's sister and her family got home from church, then we all just talked and everyone took turns holding baby Dean.

Father's Day Outtings

We were only able to stay for about an hour and a half before we had to go back to the hospital to meet my mom and pick up Brinlee. When we went back the kids and Melissa wrote messages to their dad on balloons (it was their first Father's Day without him) and we went outside to release them so they could float up to him in heaven.

After the hospital Ryan finally got to do the thing he loves best: relax in our backyard. Kenzie and Brinlee came home with us to spend the night (their mom got released from the hospital the next day). We came home and ate dinner then sat under the tiki hut in the backyard and Ryan opened his cards and gifts. For his first Father's Day I gave him a grilling tool kit and a book with parenting tips by famous coaches, and Dean gave him four children's books about fathers and sons for him to read to Dean before bed (maybe not quite yet, but soon). Overall we had a good day and I think even though it was a busy day, Ryan still had a good time.

He really is RAD!

Our First Bad Day

The last Monday in June was Dean's first really bad day! I don't know if he was gassy, just had a tummy ache or was starving because he's having a growth spurt, but I had one unhappy boy on my hands! He started getting fussy while I was in the shower. He was sitting where he always does while I shower: in his bouncer on the bathroom floor where I could see him through the shower door. I had to get out of the shower a few times to give him his binky that he kept knocking away. Then he got fussy enough I knew it was time to cut my shower short. I didn't even dry off--I just threw on my robe.

By the time I picked him up he was really crying-with tears-and very upset! I tried to soothe him by holding him close and bouncing him, which has always worked before, but not this time. I sat on the bed bouncing and shushing him, while trying to get him to take his binky, but he just got more upset! Finally I decided to try skin on skin. I stripped him down to his diaper, put him on my bare chest and wrapped my robe around him to keep him warm. He just seemed to get more and more upset no matter what I tried. Then I tried to nurse him--it worked. Poor boy finally stopped crying and started sucking. He fell asleep while nursing on the first side.

I gently put my sleeping baby down on the bed and went into the bathroom to get dressed. I got my hair towel dried and brushed and got half dressed before he was crying again! I went back to the bedroom in my skirt and a bra and picked him to comfort him. Again he just cried and cried. So I nursed him on the second side and he calmed down. He fell asleep again, but this time I didn't dare move. I ended up laying in bed with my baby sleeping on my chest for 45 minutes.

For some reason he was grumpy off and on all day. He got a little better later in the afternoon, so Dean and I went to see the movie "Inside Out" with my dad, Ryan and our two nieces (who were spending the night). I figured if he got a little fussy in a kids movie it would be okay. I was right. There were quite a few kids in that theater for a weeknight--many of them toddlers. There were at least two babies even older than Dean. One mother took her fussy baby out twice and another spent half the movie standing near the exit bouncing her baby to keep her calm. Dean was not putting up with his headphones, so I held him close to my chest, covering his exposed ear with my finger whenever the movie got loud. He only fussed a little a few times, but never bad enough I had to stand up or take him out, thankfully. The next day he was back to normal.

I feel very lucky that our good days far outnumber the bad ones! Dean is really such a sweet boy and is happy (or at least content) 97% of the time. When he is fussy it's usually nothing a some cuddles with mommy, porch sitting with daddy or an occasional dose of gas drops can't fix. I am so grateful for my happy, healthy boy!