Spring fever

I just love the spring. We have been working on getting our small garden going and planting a few flowering bushes and things to help our front look better. Dean just loves being outside and "helping" in whatever project we're working on.

We have also embarked into the world of potty training. Yes, Dean is young, but he's already in size 6 diapers and I truly don't want to have to order diapers from amazon instead of going to the store to buy them. He started showing interest and has really caught on fast. That doesn't mean it has been easy and without many struggles. He's still in diapers (underwear was a HORRIBLE experience and he was SOOO mad at me), but he's going more and more in the toilet and less and less in his diaper. He's truly amazing and we find ourselves more and more amazed by him with each passing day.

Winter semester is coming to its close and we'll soon be into the madness that will be this spring term. We are just so pleased with all that John has done to get this close to graduating.

18 months!!!??

Dean is now 18 months as of the end of February! What?!!?!! We are still blown away that he is this old and big. I took Dean in for his check up last week. He's about 28 lbs (74%) and 33.5" (83%). He loved playing in the doctors chair and with the computer. We have the best pediatrician and he just let Dean keep playing on the computer while we talked. I took these 2 cute pictures in the doctors office while we were waiting.

We also found out this past week that John will officially be graduating on August 16th!! We are so excited and so proud of John. He has literally been in school with 3 terms off during the last 5 years. He has also been able to take all evening classes so he could work full time. We truly have been so very blessed.

I have the best men in my house

I really try not to make our blog "our life is perfect, yours obviously can't be as wonderful as mine", but I seriously love my husband and little man. We've had the stomach flu going around. It started with just Dean, and John cleaned him up in the middle of the night without even telling me something was up.

That was a few days ago. We thought all was well. Dean threw up again today right after his morning milk all over the office floor, John's slippers, and backpack. Once again, John cleaned everything up without waking me up.

Then I got it bad today. And John has been feeling it too. Yet he still took Dean on a walk without me so I could puke in peace. Then he took Dean with him to the store to get Gatorade and Popsicles so I could rest and relax. All while feeling just as poorly himself.

This month marks our 5th anniversary and I could not be happier with the wonderful, loving man that I married. I love watching him be a dad and play with our little sweetheart. I love that Dean has an amazing example of who he can and should become.

It's the little things

It truly is. Like a shower curtain. We've just been using a liner for basically 2 years. I've been eyeing this beauty for at least 6 months. The stars finally aligned and I love the bathroom so much more now.

January in a nut-shell

John has had to travel twice during the month of January for work. I have learned first-hand that parenthood is not meant to be tackled alone. Dean was a champ (mostly) and we did have a lot of help from John's family playing with him (thank you!!!), but at the end of the day, I was sooooo happy to put him to bed. :) Dean has also decided that he wants to do pretty much everything by himself that he possibly can. He will get all of his things ready for his bath (set out clothes, diaper,etc), turn on the water, put his hand under the faucet to feel the temperature, try to climb into the bath tup to plug the drain, then turn the water off. He is really our Mr. Independent and loves his freedom. I have also discovered the joy of asking when he's grumpy "Are you ready to take a nap?". If he is, he shakes his head yes, grabs his duckie, and bolts for his door. It has made nap time soooo much better now that he chooses when it's time to sleep. He is learning so much and constantly saying "Oh!" and "Uh-Oh!" We are anxiously counting down the days until nursery.

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas in Texas! We were there for a week and loved spending time with my parents. Dean loved getting to know Nana and Papa better and they loved getting to know our sweet, little Dean. Dean was sick basically the entire time we were there, but he was still a champ. He didn't do very well on the plane ride home, but who can blame him? Since we had all of my family together, we took the opportunity to take a new family photo. Please enjoy a picture of all of the grandkids and the adults trying to keep them smiling and entertained.... We took a lot of pictures, so I'll just let them do the talking. We miss being in Texas already.

15 Months?!?

We cannot believe that our not-so-little-anymore Dean is already 15 months old! He has his check-up tomorrow and I'm sure as usual, he'll be skinny, tall, and have a large head. :) I feel like he's grown so much taller and heavier since his last appointment that I'm curious to see what the official stats are. Dean is such a joy. He is the sweetest boy and just loves being around us. I've recently discovered that he likes to lift up his shirt and I couldn't figure out why. Now I know. He loves having me rub his belly and back on his bare skin. His vocabulary is really increasing. He can say the following (that John and I could immediately recall when we were talking last night): duck, dog, shoes, milk, mama, dada, and he can meow, woof, and quack. Why quack, you might ask? Just google "elmo's ducks" and all of your questions will be answered. Any time he sees a computer, ipad, or cell phone he starts quacking thinking that we will play him his favorite video. He does a very good quack for a 15 month old. We bought him a stuffed mallard duck toy for Christmas and can't even wait to see how much he does or doesn't love it. He's not huge into stuffed animals, but the duck might do the trick. His molars are coming in so we've had a rough few days, but he is just the best little boy. Whenever he's being grumpy or refusing to nap, we know it's because something is wrong. He is such a good-natured little guy and loves hanging out with us. He has also taken to piling pillows up and laying on them. I left the room for a minute, heard him chuckling, and then came back to see this:

We love you Dean and are so grateful you're part of our family!