It's been a while...

Our laptop broke so I was without a computer for a while. We got a new one and so I am able to blog again. Thanksgiving is coming up fast. We're going to have a quiet year and we're going to our neighbors' house across the street.

Dean is getting so big and doesn't want to be in the stroller anymore for our walks. He wants to push the stroller instead, which makes our walks more difficult with the two dogs. It was Lexie's 7th birthday on Sunday so we took the whole family for a hike. She's still pretty plump so she needs the exercise. I'm surprised she hasn't lost any weight since we've moved since she chases the squirrel around the backyard everyday. I guess it's all the food that Dean throws down to her that is keeping her hefty.

We've been going to playdates a lot lately and now are apart of two groups. The second group is much smaller which is what I prefer. Luckily the weather is still pretty nice here. Dean is now saying "Mama" all the time which I love. He's just so cute. He's doing all sorts of things and we get a lot of laughs.

I'll post more pictures when I get a chance.

My sister's shower

Here is a picture of me, my mom and sister at her shower.

Our Trip to NY

Here is a picture of me holding my best friend from high school, Colleen's new baby Chase (6 months old) and she's holding Dean. Her 2 year old Autumn was running around the house at that moment so she's not in the picture. It's been such a long time since I've posted last. Sorry about that. Our computer has been on the fritz lately so that isn't helping matters. Today is a beautiful day so Dean is in the backyard playing so I have a moment to post something. Dean and I had a great time in NY. We saw lots of friends and family while there. My sister's bridal shower was really nice. We also did a Bachelorette Dinner too while I was there. Dean made an appearance at the end of the bridal shower, but he only cared about the balloons, not the guests. During the shower he was being watched by my dad, my sister's fiancee and my dad's friend at my parents' house. So yes, it was 3 men and a baby.

I have to say Dean did really well on the two 6 hour flights although it was stressful trying to prevent any meltdowns from happening during the flight. I was always ready with food, toy or some other distraction whenever he got upset. He never did cry, just whined a little. I was upset that we were stuck in a window seat but it turned out really well as Dean had his face plastered at the window for a lot of take off and landing. Now we're back in California trying to get back to normal with the time change. We had a 4 hour adjustment to make instead of 3 hours thanks to turning back the clock the night we got back.

Headed for NY

Dean and I are headed for NY tomorrow for about 10 days. I'm dreading the 6 hour flight with Dean on my lap. It's going to be a rough day for both of us. I doubt I'll be blogging while I'm there, but you never know!

Peek a boo

Here is an old video of Dean playing peek a boo. It was nighttime so the video was dark.

Dean and the doggie door

Dean thinks the doggie door is for him. He throws all of his toys out the doggie door and also goes in and out of the house through it. Soon he won't fit through it.

Napa

Here are some pictures of our trip to Napa this week. Dean's favorite part was the fountain at one of the wineries. We went to 3 wineries while there (it's about an hour from our house) and we went with Kevin's parents.

Zoo

We took Dean to the Oakland Zoo. His favorite part was the petting zoo where he got to pet goats.

Pictures from the Pumpkin patch

Here are some pictures of Dean at the Pumpkin Patch.

Pumpkin Patch

Kevin has off from work this week so we took Dean to a pumpkin patch yesterday. Here is a video of him running through the straw tunnel. He had a great time and got to pick out a little pumpkin to take home.

Horsing Around

I took a bunch of pictures of Dean playing yesterday. He is walking now but still likes to run around with his walker since he can go so fast. Last night Dean came into the bathroom as I was filling up his tub for bath time and he opened the drawer, took out a washcloth and a box of bandaids, threw them both into the tub and put his leg over the tub to jump in (even though he still had a diaper on).

We are going to playgroup in the park this afternoon so and it will be sunny and 80 so it's a good day for it.

Muir Woods

Kevin's parents are visiting and so we went to Muir Woods last week. Muir Woods is a National Forest about an hour from our house and has the big Redwood trees. It was really nice weather and really nice in the forest. Dean is walking more and more everyday. He's also talking a lot, but not actual words. I'm still waiting for his first word.


It was in the 70's for most of last week, but it is hot again this week. I don't know if we'll swim again before summer ends. The solar heat for the pool doesn't seem to warm the water as much as I would like. Kevin and Dean went in the pool on Sunday when the water was 75 degrees and that is just way too cold for me. I deflated Dean's kiddie pool and he saw it on the lawn and didn't seem too happy about it being deflated.

More pictures of the house

Here are some more pictures of the house. The living room (which has not been decorated or furnished yet0 and the kitchen.

For some reason I haven't been able to load my videos into the blog. I have some cute ones too, but I need to find some time to sit down and figure it out. My in laws are coming today so maybe while they're playing with Dean I can sit down to put the videos on the blog. They'll be here for about 2 weeks. Unfortunately Kevin is out of town for work so he won't see them until tomorrow night. Dean started walking on Sunday night but he's still crawling the majority of the time. I can see his confidence growing though which is good. He's the ring bearer in my sister's wedding in January and so I think he better start practicing walking sooner rather than later. Dean and I are flying to NY in a couple of weeks for my sister's shower. Dean won't be attending the shower unless he's screaming for me while I'm gone. Hopefully my sister's fiancee and my dad can keep him distracted. I'm sure they'll have to put on the Wiggles or something as that is what we put on for him when he's really upset.

It's cooled down quite a bit here so I can't forsee swimming at all this week or in the future. We went to playgroup on Monday and Dean really has no interest in the other babies, kids, parents while we're there. He just wants to explore the park and playground.

I also just wanted to send a big Congratulations to my friend Staci in Nebraska who just gave birth to her 3rd daughter a couple of days ago. I probably wouldn't have a blog if it wasn't for her as I've been reading her blog for years now. It's always been very entertaining and since we live so far from each other I can always read what's going on with her and the kids. I'm sure she'll be REALLY busy and tired the next couple of weeks.

The Earthquake

So I had a nightmare last week that there was an earthquake and I was alone with Dean and the dogs. I was having a very hard time evacuating myself, Dean and the two dogs in their crates and I couldn't pick up everyone at once. Of course I could have made 2 trips to the car, but it was a nightmare and a lot of times dreams don't make any sense. I told my mom the next day about my nightmare and don't you know the night after that we had an earthquake!!!! This one was nothing like my nightmare. For one...I wasn't even home! That's right, the one night all year that Kevin and I go out to dinner without Dean we have our first earthquake! We were out to dinner in downtown Walnut Creek and my parents from NY were babysitting for us. Luckily Kevin and I had already finished our dinner and we rushed home after that. The people at the restaurant bar started clapping when the earthquake ended since it was a smaller one (4.0) and not too long (about 10 seconds). Kevin couldn't understand why anyone would clap but then I pointed out that they're probably drunk, don't have a baby at home to worry about, and don't have a very expensive house that isn't earthquake insured. We called home immediately to find out that my parents were shocked and scared at their first earthquake experience and Dean had been fast asleep until the earthquake rudely woke him up and he was screaming in his crib. They had to run upstairs to get him right away and he was still in his grandma's arms when we got home. The earthquake was very close to our house which is probably why it shook so much even though it was smaller. Hopefully that's the worst one we ever have...