The whole family

Recording

Sometimes life gets so chaotic that I forget to enjoy the reasons WHY it's chaotic.
My Mom made is possible for me to be with the kiddos at their recordings this week and it was SO so fun.
Being in studio is definitely a happy place for me. I love seeing the kids' incredible talent, and I love watching them laugh, learn and create.
And what a treat to work at Cartoon Network. It's an incredible building with wildly talented and awesomely weird people with some super groovy offices.
Original artwork and animation lines the halls and everything is super high-tech. I never realized the creative genius that is behind these shows.
I'm really taking time to look around, see these sites and know these people as these moments are fleeting.

Two peas in a pod

And in looking through old pictures of our beloved Drew, I came across this picture and felt a whole new rush of emotion.
Oh I miss the simple days of Kayla and Emmy. I love my life and my family but there was a beautiful short period of time where my days revolved around these two
beautiful little girls. I miss that time deeply but I'm so grateful that they still have eachother. Kayla looks forward to another long summer visit with Emmy next year.
Emmy is one of the smartest, sweetest most giving girls I know and she gives Kayla a sense of peace and belonging whenever they are together.

Drew drew

My "first baby" Drew went to sleep around 11:30 today after almost 16 years of an incredible doggie life. I miss him so much already and it's surprisingly painful, given that he's spent the last several years with Chris and Kelsey who have been amazing doggie parents.
Memories are flooding me and here are a few of my favorite:

Halloween. Yes I dressed up my dogs. I loved them dearly. We did everything together.

Hiking. Drew was the best hiker, climber, water wader, jumper on earth.

Snow. Drew got so excited when we got a good snow in Colorado. He would bound through it with pure joy.

Drew and Russia. Drew loved to sit on Russia like this and it made us laugh every time.

How I held him like a baby. If I was home, Drew was in my lap or being carried around- his lower legs wrapped around my waist facing me. :)

And here he is in his last hour on this earth and I'm so glad I got to share it with him.

The kids were with him too and Collin took it so very hard.

I will always remember Drew's energy, his pure love for his owners, his carsickness and how he threw up on Russia in the car once. I'll remember his fear of thunderstorms and his love of chasing rabbits. I'll remember when he first snapped at somebody and it's because he thought he was protecting his pregnant momma (me with Kayla). Oh Drew, I miss you so.

Go on, take the money and run

Collin has gotten to work on some pretty fun projects including the movies Parental Guidance and Hotel Transylvania.
There are a couple of differences between the work that Collin and Kayla book.
Since Collin is union, he can work union projects like feature films.
Kayla is non-union (maintaining that status so that she can continue to work on her non-union animated shows)
Also, when Kayla books a job she is full of joy and pride and so excited for the experience.
When Collin books a job he asks, "What does it pay and what kind of snacks will they serve?"
Of course he loves the experience too but it always cracks me up to see how money motivated he is, which isn't a bad thing either!
We are proud of both kids and everything they gain and learn from their work.
Tim just texted this picture of Collin with a residual check to me. Too funny:

Pax's 4 month checkup and acting update

Coll and K update:

- Collin is recording Tome of the Unknown every Tuesday in LA and having a BLAST. I will update when it begins airing on Cartoon Network.
- Kayla is recording Peter Rabbit every few weeks and will record for Adventures in Odyssey again in January. She is also recording some Care Bears learning apps.
- Neither kiddo is doing much in the way of auditioning as they are enjoying being kids and big brother/big sister these days.
- Collin was invited to join team at Gymnastics.
- Kayla is involved in her school musical and she is thrilled. She loves music theater and hasn't had the opportunity to do it in years.
- Kayla was accepted on Project X at school. This is a trip to CA for 6th graders who keep their grades and behavior shiny clean. :)

-Pax had his 4 month check up today where we learned (which I already suspected) that he has ptosis of the eyelid. When he was born his right eye did not open all the way. Now
that it's open, we noticed it still appears smaller than his other eye. Ptosis can get better or worse and is corrected with surgery if it worsens. With all that can go wrong with babies, I
won't complain. His eyes are beautiful anyway. :)

Pax's percentiles:
Head: 90th
weight: 25th
length: 75th

In sad news, Drew (my first baby) has grown old. He has lived a long and happy life of 15 years but has recently declined quite a bit in health. Chris and Kelsey have made the difficlut decision to have him put to sleep this Saturday morning. It's going to be a tough day. He means so very much to our whole family, grandparents included. Drew will always be in my heart.

Bouncy then, bouncy now

Looking at my boy in his bouncy chair (chair courtesy of the Strizich family) :)
Here he is as a new newborn.

And here he is as of yesterday.

November 26th, 2013

So I'm blogging again.
The reasons I had for stopping years ago were a little silly. I didn't blog for so many months that I felt overwhelmed by the prospect of catching up.
Now I realize that it's OK if I don't catch my blog up to date. I can just start right here, right now- today!
It's fitting that the last post I wrote spoke of my late Grandpa Simon. My first post back will speak of little Paxton Joseph Dean, my Grandpa's namesake.
Interestingly, he has blue eyes like Grandpa Joe.
I want to blog again to keep those we love updated and to capture even the little things that I'll want to remember and cherish in the future.
I might vent from time to time and share our family's outstanding moments- from the good to the bad!


Today I had a rough morning. I was frustrated that I couldn't jog because Pax was fighting his first nap. I felt like I wasn't accomplishing a thing, AND I was missing my friend, Liz.
Every day there is a friend I miss and I want nothing more than to pick up the phone and enjoy a nice hour long catch-up session. But I never feel like I have time.

But then, while at Trader Joes,

I realized- wait a minute- it's 11:00 and look what I HAVE accomplished!
By 10:45 today I nursed and changed a baby twice, won a nap battle, coached my son over the phone on a 40 page script before he went in to Cartoon Network to record, edited a few pictures from a recent photo session, dropped my daughter at school and got to the grocery store- with a HAPPY baby in tow! Not too shabby actually!

Said baby is now asleep in the car while I type. I hope he will be agreeable for a quick jog when he wakes.


What I'm currently thinking about:
the elimination diet I'm enduring. Lunch- wild rice with butternut squash and a salad.
how to fit my Shred workout in today... if not then a quick jog.
Liz (miss you my friend! Our conversations are always amazing- going from politics to the vegan diet to frustrations with kids!)
Our upcoming Thanksgiving at Chris and Kelsey's.
My upcoming week long stay in CA. Guess I best find a place to stay!
Prescott- we are back to looking for a little house to buy there.

Pax- I'm so thrilled with how far we've come buddy. I'd do it all over again to see you feel happy and smile!


More to come...