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...

November

November brought some fun and some bittersweet experiences.
Kayla had her literature parade at school where she dressed up as Anne of Green Gables and paraded with her class.
I had date night with each of my boys.
My friend, Jackie and I took a girls' trip to San Diego which was much needed and wonderful.
Thanksgiving was spent at my house with Chris, Kelsey, Nana and Papa.
We also took a trip to Colorado to visit my Grandpa Simon for what would be the last time. :(
But the kids did enjoy their time with him and they really enjoyed time with friends and cousins in Colorado Springs.

October: Halloween

Halloween 2010 brought us a beautiful peacock and a dapper Indiana Jones.
We trick-or-treated with our neighbors and the Sotaks.
Tim and I attended a fun party with some friends. We dressed as Dexter and Rita from the show, "Dexter".

October: Disneyland and Hollywood

October was a fabulous month to visit Disneyland as the decorations were phenomenal and the evil characters were out and about!
What a blast!
Also, I have a slight addiction to theme park churros. :)
It was so fun to hang out in Hollywood for the day. The kids got to experience the walk of fame, famous theaters and the wax museum.

Catching up

October, November, December and January marked, quite possibly, the busiest months ever in the Dean household.
In October we:
took a trip to CA where we visited Universal Studios, Disneyland and Hollywood. Little did we know at that time, Miss Kayla would be back in Hollywood within weeks.
My favorite day of the trip was the day we planned on going to the beach.
However, it rained and rained so we ended up buying Mexican food and tons of candy and staying in our hotel room all day. We rented movies, ate, relaxed and did a lot of laughing as a family.
The rest of our trip wasn't too shabby either!
Here are pictures from Universal Studios: