More pics

Just wanted to post some more pictures from Dean's party. We spent his actual birthday going for ice cream with his friend Stella. Dean and Stella got very messy with their ice cream cones, but they loved every lick!
Aunt Kristen got Dean this huge truck and a NYC taxi cab.
Here is the Birthday cake...it was yummy and we still have a lot leftover.

Dean and his birthday hat.

This one is from Kevin's birthday and Dean was really excited about the candles.

Dean's Birthday Party

We had some friends over to help Dean's and Kevin's birthdays yesterday. The weather was bad in the morning but cleared up and warmed up in time for the party. Kevin went swimming with 4 kids in the pool. He had his hands full, but at least the water was warm. Dean cried when everyone sang Happy Birthday because he was upset I dragged him out of the pool for cake. But once he had some cake it was all better. Here are just a few snapshots from the party...

Dean's 2nd Birthday

Dean had a great birthday this year. Here is a video of him when he opened up the airplane that his daddy got him. It may be hard to understand but he is saying "airplane" in the video. More to post later with pictures from his party.

Talking is so much fun

Dean is saying so much these days. It's exciting to hear what he'll say next. One of the first things he started saying was "Pablo" from the Backyardigans whenever he saw him on TV. I thought it was so cute that I would hug him when he said it. Now when I scold him for doing something naughty he'll look up at me and say "Pablo?" to try to win me over.

The big boy bed has been quite a transition as now he can just get out of bed at night and open his door. We did put a gate up at his doorway, but it just means he's loud crying to come out of his room. A lot of times he'll throw his favorite stuffed animal over the gate or his drink or binky and then he'll cry about not being able to get them back. I'm always trying to exhaust him during the day so that he'll go to bed happily and stay asleep at night, but I haven't been too successful.

Dean is turning 2 on Friday which is kind of sad because he won't be my baby anymore. He is such a little boy, climbing everything and loving motorcycles, trucks and cars. He's only got less than 3 months to go as an only child and as I say "the star of the show". It will be fun to see what he's like as the big brother. He loves babies when he sees them I just hope he loves our baby just as much.

I'll post pictures of Dean's birthday next week.

Water

Here is just a small glimpse of how much Dean loves anything that involves water. These pictures were taken at the aquarium. It's really cute how he loves to play with fountains, pools, etc. but when you have to drag him away it seems like he'll cry forever. He's getting really good about asking for things he wants now and learns to say new words everyday. Memorial Day weekend went by fast and it was disappointing that Sunday turned out cold and cloudy. Luckily Memorial Day itself it was beautfiul out. On Sunday we went into the city to see some friends and I was actually wearing a coat and gloves. Now I remember why we moved to the suburbs of San Francisco.

Summer

It's officially summer here and that means swimming in the pool almost everyday with Dean. He should be a good swimmer by the end of the summer. He's very confident in the pool jumping off the stairs and swimming around. I got him a little speedo vest which has helped his confidence. Of course we still hold him while swimming around in the pool...he's not that advanced. He loves to throw toys into the pool from the top step and then jump in to get them. He loves everything about the pool except getting dunked. He's getting new words everday so it's fun to hear him finally communicate with us. A lot of things are hard to understand but his pointing helps. Dean is 23 months old today...I can't believe he'll be a 2 year old in just a month! It will be a tough year between the terrible 2's and a newborn. I'm 6 months pregnant now and am hoping the next couple of months go fast as I get bigger and more uncomfortable. Hopefully we'll have a boy name picked out by September. Kevin just spent 4 days in NY for a friend's wedding so Dean and I were on our own. Dean only looked for Kevin once at night when he came into our room and onto the bed and he tried to see if Kevin was behind the pillows or under the covers. Other than that, I don't think he noticed much that Kevin was missing. Our dog Oreo definitely waited for Kevin to come home the entire 4 days. She wouldn't even sleep in our bed like she normally does and had to sleep downstairs waiting to see if Kevin would come home. I'm hoping to make a habit of her sleeping downstairs.

Trucks

Sorry I haven't been posting. It seems there is always something to do around the house when Dean is napping. I'm sure when I'm in my last trimester, I'll be napping when Dean naps. We moved Dean into his big boy twin bed almost 2 weeks ago. He loves the bed, but also loves when someone is in it with him. I'm trying to ween him out of needing someone in the bed with him. We usually sneak out when he falls asleep. I was successful last night with not laying with him and just giving him a drink instead at 2 am...yes he is wide awake at 2am every night. My child will just not sleep through the night ever. I'm hoping the new baby is the opposite and actually sleeps. Dean is also staying up much later after we moved him into the bed which is exhausting for Kevin and me. Luckily Dean doesn't miss the crib at all...he always loved beds. Dean and I just got home from following the garbage trucks around the neighborhood. He heard the first truck coming when we were in the backyard and I know that he loves to watch them. This time we actually walked around the neighborhood following them when Dean usually just watches from the windows. The truck drivers loved it and so did Dean.

Dean and Aunt Kristen

17 mile drive in Monterey

Beach in Monterey

Aquarium

swimming with Aunt Kristen

Spending time in the playhouse.

Here are some pictures from Aunt Kristen's visit. We had a great time when she was here. It was hot so we were able to swim in the pool almost everyday. Dean loves to jump off the steps of the pool into the water, but instead of jumping into someone's arms he goes in the opposite direction so he can do it without help. Don't worry we always catch him anyway even if he doesn't want us to. One day we went to Monterey to the aquarium and then did the 17 mile drive which was beautiful. We also drove to the top of Mt. Diablo which is the mountain that is 5 minutes from our house. It was a rough drive and Dean got sick in the car. I think that was his last time there.

Dean surprised us last night by showing up at our bedroom door in the middle of the night. Apparantly he was desperate enough to sleep in our bed that he climbed out of the crib. I think we'll be moving him into the twin bed very soon.

His obsession with water is really out of control. At the aquarium he went crazy in the "splash zone" and it was very difficult dragging him out of there. We were also delayed going to the aquarium b/c Dean saw a beach and wouldn't pass it by without going in the freezing cold water. Anywhere that he sees water that he can touch or swim (like fountains) he won't leave the area and throws a tantrum if we pull him away.

Shopping

Shopping with Dean has become quite difficult. I can't imagine what it will be like shopping with 2 kids. Yesterday I took Dean to the grocery store to pick up some milk. Luckily that was the only thing I was planning to get. Dean refuses to go into the shopping cart and knows exactly how to contort his body in a way that there is no way for me to get him in there. I gave up after a couple of minutes and decided I can try to walk holding hands with him. Unfortunately he only wants to go where he wants to go and throws a fit if you try to force him in a different direction. I caught him just in time before he undid the attractive orange pyramid in the store. Then he started yelling for a banana so I got him one, but of course he didn't eat it. I picked him up to bring him to the back of the store to get the milk. When I put him down to get the milk he started crying and screamed whenever someone walked by him like they were going to swoop him up and run off with him. Now I had to pick him up and carry him, his banana, and the gallon of milk to the front of the store and wait in line to pay. I hope he knows that once my belly is bigger there is no way that I can carry him around the stores and hold items.

Helping Daddy put up the Doors

Dean getting tickled

Let's try eating with a spoon...

He was eating with a spoon for a couple of minutes until I got out the camera.

Trying to sit on Lexie...poor Lexie

Videos of Dean

Just wanted to post some cute videos and pictures today.

Little Farm

We went to the Little Farm today with our friends and Dean was loving all of the animals. I think his favorite was chasing the chickens around. My least favorite was when he was trying to climb into the pig pen. He's a very stubborn child. As I post more pictures you will see my belly getting bigger...for those of you that haven't heard, we're expecting another baby in September. I can post pregnancy pics along the way. I'm already showing pretty early this time. We'll be finding out what we're having next month. In the meantime, Kevin has been busy working on home improvement projects around the house and it should keep him pretty busy for a couple of months at least. I have just been trying to get through every day battling exhaustion and nauseau from the pregnancy. Hopefully I'll be feeling better soon!