August Adventures

We started the month off with a visit from Dean's grandma and grandpa Madsen. Ryan's dad actually showed up mid-July and stayed with us for two weeks. Dean got lots of good quality time with his grandpa--he jumped at the chance to hold Dean and offered all the time to hold him while I cleaned or prepped dinner, and even volunteered to babysit any time I needed to run an errand or had an appointment. I got a little spoiled--it was like having a live in nanny!

Dean and Grandpa Madsen

The last week of July Ryan's mom and brother arrived and Dean had another person in the house (grandma) to shower him with attention! The main purpose of this visit was Dean's blessing! Our sweet baby boy was blessed at our church on Sunday August 2 by his grandpa (Ryan's dad). Ryan held him and his two brothers-in-law, Clay and Justin, my great uncle Kenneth and our bishop stood in the circle. What a special boy we have with so many great men in his life to look up to (including my dad who was supporting him from the audience)! The blessing was so good and so special. Our boy is going to have such a full life and I know he has the ability to accomplish many great things.

Our handsome little man!

After church the family came back to our house for breakfast snacks in our backyard. In attendance were my parents, my sister Kim with her husband Flint and their children Bailey and Dylan, my nieces Kenzie and Brinlee, my great-uncle Ken and great-aunt Mellanie (here in Salt lake from Alabama serving an LDS mission), their visiting grandsons Connor and Matthew (my second cousins) my aunt Lisa and my cousins, Brooke, Jocelynn and Kayley, Ryan's parents, Ryan's sister Amber with her husband Justin and their boys: Jayden, Joshua, Austin, Avin, Jonathan and August, Ryan's sister Tricia with her husband Clay and their children Abby, Cannon and Lincoln, Ryan's brother Russell and cousin Kregg.

The proud families!

The next event in Dean's life was his first trip out of state. The following Friday, we packed up (including his cousin Kenzie) and headed to Idaho to visit Dean's great grandma Rogers in Rexburg. Ryan's mom and brother had gone up there after leaving our house earlier that week to stay with Ryan's grandma for a couple of weeks. While there Dean also got to meet Ryan's cousin Cameron and Aunt Cheri.

Overall, Dean travels well: he did great on the drive up and slept through the night the whole time we were there. He even let me play cards...as long as he could sit on my lap! He was a little needier than normal but he also had a cold so the poor boy could hardly breath out of his stuffy nose. His cold got worse throughout the trip too, which might be why he didn't do so good in the car towards the end of the trip (or maybe he just got sick of being in the car!)

A walk to the candy store and playing Shanghai

On Saturday we decided to go to Bear World first thing in the morning (which isn't as early as it sounds). Ryan's mom went with us, and even drove. For those who haven't been to Bear World, it's an outdoor park you drive through where black bears, brown bears and wolves, and elk, deer, buffalo and moose roam freely in 2 different sections. You really get to see the animals--especially the bears that the park is named for--up close. At the end there is a gift shop, petting zoo, some small rides and area where you can see the baby bears. Kenzie loved it! I skipped the petting zoo and rides to feed Dean out in the car (which I'm sure was his favorite part of the outing). We picked up a late lunch on the way home, then later went to get frozen custard and do a little shopping.

Bear World!

The next day was the big car day: Ryan, his mom, Kenzie, Dean and I spent the day in Yellowstone. Ryan drove, with his mom riding shot gun in her Sequoia and Kenzie and I rode in the backseat with Dean. First stop was Big Springs, which is usually a spot where you're guaranteed to see lots of fish so we came prepared to feed them. We saw 2 fish and a muskrat. But the area was beautiful so we took lots of pictures.

Beautiful!

Next we stopped for lunch, where I nursed Dean in a restaurant for the first time...it was a little tricky with the cover and nipple shield and the table in the way while I wrangled my wiggly, hungry baby, but we managed! He finished eating right as my food arrived and I put him in his car seat on the bench next to me. Sometime while we were eating Dean decided to let out all the poop he'd been holding in for two days. Luckily nothing got on the car seat, but I did have to change his outfit. It took a minute to get him cleaned up and changed (and get myself cleaned up), but soon we were on our way to our ultimate destination: Old Faithful.

We stopped a couple times along the way to see various animals in the fields by the road. By far the most exciting was a buffalo and her baby. We followed them, moving the car further up the road as they walked further across the field. We ended up getting out to take pictures of them crossing a river (don't worry, we were a very safe distance away).

Mommy and Baby

Kenzie was excited about some of the geysers we saw on the way, but Ryan refused to stop at any of the geysers until after we saw Old Faithful. We got there in the perfect amount of time--perfect for me and Dean that is. We had about an hour or so to kill waiting for Old Faithful's next eruption so we sat in a theater in the visitor's center and I nursed Dean. Just before the show started we left...we decided it was more important to get a good seat for Old Faithful than to watch a documentary about it. We found a good spot to sit and waited. Fortunately it went off a little early. I must say it was much more exciting as a kid, but Kenzie thought it was pretty cool.

Old Faithful and Kenzie making Dean laugh while we waited

Our next goal was to find a gift shop. Unfortunately it was a Sunday evening and they all closed early. So we drove on back towards the town of West Yellowstone. We did stop on the way to check out some of the hot pools, just so Kenzie could get the full experience. Ryan's mom volunteered to push Dean in the stroller so Kenzie, Ryan and I could rush ahead across a bridge to the top of the boardwalk. We looked at the steam, took some pics and headed back. We met up with Lynette and Dean on our way back down and hurried to get back on the road.

It wasn't long before Dean started getting fussy--not just a little fussy, but mad! We stopped and got him out of his car seat and took some pictures then loaded back up once he seemed happy again. But it didn't last and he was crying again in minutes. I had brought a bottle of pumped breast milk just in case so we decided to see if he would take it cold. He chugged down every last drop of the ice cold milk as we continued on our way.

Our Baby Dean

There was no shortage of gift shops in town! Kenzie was able to find a perfect souvenir for herself: a carved wooden puzzle box, as well as several small gifts to take back to her mom and sister. As we walked back towards the car we decided we should probably eat dinner since we still had a bit of a drive. We stopped at a little pizza place and sat at a picnic table outside so we could just pull Dean's stroller up next to the table. It started getting chilly out so I wrapped my nursing cover around Dean's head in an attempt to keep him warm. As we were finishing our pizza he started getting fussy again so I picked him up. That's when Kenzie noticed diaper blow out number two.

Dean bundled up during dinner, with a full diaper and changed and clean for the drive home

We rushed back to the car and again I stripped my baby boy and got him all cleaned up. I now had two bags of poopy outfits to clean when we got back to Ryan's grandma's. Luckily I had brought 2 changes of clothes for him: one in case of a situation like this and another in case it got cold. I put him in a long sleeved onesie, jeans and a sweatshirt, buckled him back into the car seat and again we were on our way.

Some pictures of Kenzie...just because she's so pretty!

Not for long though...Dean was not having it--he was mad! We ended up having to stop so I could nurse him again. While I nursed him Kenzie decided she had to pee. We told her that it would be a while still before we got to a gas station so if she couldn't hold it she had better squat in the trees. She wandered off then came running back saying she couldn't find a good spot. So Ryan walked her to a good private spot then came back to the car. A minute later Kenzie came running back saying she still couldn't do it. I think she might have been a little scared...it was starting to get dark and we were in the middle of nowhere. So for the third try, Ryan walked her into the trees to a good private spot then stayed where she could see him and just turned his back towards her. She finally did it! She peed in the woods for her first time!

Into the woods to find a place to pee

Once Dean was done eating I passed him back to Ryan so he could get him buckled back into his car seat. Ryan and Kenzie were riding home in the back seat, but Dean was still fussy so I ended up switching with Ryan minutes later. I laid my head on the edge of his car seat, rested my hand on his chest and played soft classical music on my cell phone for him. He calmed down and eventually fell asleep. It was a fun day trip, but after taking care of Dean all day I was extra tired by the time we got back to Ryan's grandma's house.

The next day we left. We got on the road later than planned because goodbyes with Dean take a little longer--everyone wants to soak up his sweet cuddles and smiles! We were on the road 10 minutes before Dean was fussy and grumpy again! I think the poor guy had just had enough of riding in the car. Ryan pulled over and I traded seats with Kenzie. With me next to him, Dean quieted down.

I fed him a couple hours later in a gas station parking lot while Kenzie and Ryan went inside to buy snacks. He ate from one side then when I switched him he started doing this thing where he would latch on then pull off and look up at me and grin. Then he'd latch, and turn to look at me and smile again. He did it over and over a few times before I gave up feeding him any more. He's done that again a few times since. Even though it's frustrating because he just ends up wanting to eat again within an hour, it's so dang cute that I just smile back at him and soak up the moment. Four months old and he's already teasing me!

We made it home and even I was relieved to get Dean out of his car seat! I decided we would spend the next day at home--I didn't want to make him go back in the car after 4 days of long car rides. It was a good thing I had nowhere to go because the next day Dean's cold was worse. He was still just really stuffed up, but I could tell he didn't feel good. He was fussy and just wanted to be held. I felt like I spent the whole day nursing him! He ate about every hour, but it was just because he was sick and wanted his mommy. So we sat home and cuddled on the couch all day.

Our poor sick boy!

Our next first was 2 weeks later: I took Dean and his cousin Brinlee to the zoo. I haven't been there for 2 years so I was pretty excited to go, but Brinlee was thrilled. She had so much fun and was so grateful. I loved watching her get so excited about not just the animals but the animatronic dinosaurs they have throughout the zoo. She wanted her picture taken with every dinosaur and I'm pretty sure we were able to do it! 

Brinlee and the dinosaurs

Dean was a trooper...he was so good! He didn't get fussy once and stayed awake the whole time! We spent 4 hours walking around and I think he just loved being outside. He's getting strong enough that he can sit up with help, so he rode in his stroller with the back slightly inclined so he could see everything (except for the times I used a thin blanket to shade him from the sun. I pulled him out of the stroller so many times to take pictures of him with Brinlee or myself and he seemed perfectly content with it.

Dean at the zoo!

Brinlee was really good too; she was very patient waiting for me to feed Dean after we are our lunches. Fortunately one of the restaurants is indoors so we got to eat and I was able to feed Dean in the air conditioning. It was a really fun day followed by a fun night with Brinlee who ended up sleeping over and spending the first half of Saturday with us.

We took lots of pictures...

Dean got lots of time in with cousins in August. We visited my youngest sister Kim and her two kids twice and Kenzie spent all but one weekend with us. She loves holding Dean and playing with him. She's determined to be his favorite cousin so she makes sure to give him lots of attention and spend lots of time with him. She's actually pretty helpful to have around. I now see how large distances between siblings would have some advantages!

Dean with Kenzie (helping with bath time and telling stories), Bailey, Dylan and Brinlee

Everyone says that time flies by when you have kids and it is so true! Before I knew it August was over and my baby was another month older. He's getting big so fast! It's amazing how much he has changed since we brought him home from the hospital 4 months ago!