A Wonderful Christmas Time

Happy holiday season! It has already been a busy one here at the Dean's. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with just the tree of us. I was supposed to help Ryan cook but Dax ended up wanted to take a nap right when almost everything needed to be prepared. I made breakfast though! I wanted to start the tradition of making cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving so I did. They turned out pretty great the second time after doing a test run on Monday. After breakfast we went to a turkey bowl that some guys from church put together. I had every intention of watching Ryan play while taking Dax for a stroll but Dax decided to fall asleep on our way over so I just watched from the car.
On Saturday morning we went to my parents house for breakfast and decorating the Christmas tree. My mom had a little toy nativity set for the little boys to play with but they weren't to interested in it. Dax was much more interested in the sparkly red balls that go on the tree. After that we headed to Barstow to spend the rest of the weekend with Ryan's family. When we got there his aunt and uncle were there and we got to catch up and play card games with them. Playing cards is a staple at Ryan's parents. We play some kind of card game every time we visit. Then on Sunday we relaxed and played more games. Ryan helped his mom print some family history to send to family back east and Lea made a delicious dinner of prime rib and fish. Its definitely a blessing to have someone who went to culinary school in the family!
Now we are geared up for a busy December. We've already been to Christmas parties and have a few more to come. We both finish school about the same time and then we are heading up to Utah for a little bit. Also, we will be getting ready for Dax's first birthday at the beginning of January!
 We hope everyone of our family and friends has a lovely, safe holiday season!

To get you in the mood here is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

And just for some fun Dax and I had a little photo shoot this morning. These few are my favorites of what I took.

Protect the Children

Last October, while watching General Conference, I was particularly impressed by the talk Dallin H. Oaks gave entitled Protect the Children. He spoke of children's welfare and what adults do to help or hinder children. A particular quote I like was this: 

"Children are highly vulnerable. They have little or no power to protect or provide for themselves and little influence on so much that is vital to their well-being. Children need others to speak for them, and they need decision makers who put their well-being ahead of selfish adult interests."

I was impressed to not only care for my children to the best of my abilities but to also care for other children who need help. I have always wanted to foster and adopt children and hope that someday I can help by providing a stable, welcoming home to children who don't know or have forgotten what that is. Right now in my life there is no way to feesibly start with this goal but I have found a family who is looking out for the welfare of a little girl who has come into their lives.

Though I don't know Camilla well, I have always been in awe of her. She has three little girlies, two of which are twins, that are the cutest little toddlers. She takes care of them as well as knit hats and manage by herself while her husband, Michael, goes to school full time, works graveyard as a CNA and works part time for the National Guard! Even with all of this she and her family are lookin out for te welfare of a girl who is in a bad situation.

I'm not entirely sure how Camilla and her family came to know Evie but even before her situation was in its current condition Camilla helped her. Camilla, and her family would have Evie over constantly. While in their home they taught Evie basic principles of the gospel and showed her what a family centered in Christ was like.

Now Evie is in a bad situation where she cannot live with her father any more. Camilla and Michael want desperately to help Evie by becoming foster parents so that she can come live with them. They need to move to a bigger home to do this and do not have sufficient funds to do so right now. I'm writing this blog post in hopes that after you read it you will share it with your friends as well as go to the links I will provide to help them. You can either donate money to them or buy a cute knitted hat from Camilla to help them toward their goal of becoming Evie's  foster parents. It is my sincer hope that this blog post will reach many people and that even if you do not know Camilla and Michael that you will help them in some way so they can in turn help Evie.

Camilla and Evie

The whole family

http://www.gofundme.com/4avefk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chic-Mommy-Boutique/192838590796603

Autumn is coming!

There are so many things to report on! Especially because it has been a couple months since my last post.

Last week marked Ryan and my two year anniversary of living in Northridge. Also, we have lived in our aparemt for a year and a weekish which makes this the place we have leaved the longest since getting married.

Also, on Tuesday not only will Dax be eight months old but I'll be going back to school. Thankfully, I have a friend who will watch Dax on Tuesdays and my mom will be able to come on Thursdays and stay the night so I won't have to take Dax to a day care. While I have no problems, other than cost, with child care I also want Dax's first experiences away from mom for long periods of time to be with more familiar faces.

Ryan is also back to school now. We've been pretty excited for it. After a summer of ten plus hour days and only Sundays off we are really looking forward to him getting home from work at four and having the while weekend together as a family.

So much has happened over the past couple months so

I'll just leave some pics to show you what we have been doing to pass the time.

Spring with the Deans

Our little Dax is three months old. He is a whopping 14.6 lbs and two feet long! He and dad like to practice rolling over and standing up. Also, he and mom like taking walks in the afternoons.

April has already been pretty exciting for the Deans. Monday I went to Glendale to meet with a counselor about my financial aid situation. I had to get an appeal because I exceeded the amount of credits they thought was enough for my academic goal. While talking to a counselor I decided to get my associates at Glendale. Originally, I was going to get my degree from Vvc but since I never applied for graduation it made more sense to get the degree at Glendale along with my certificate in Dance teaching. I'll have to go a semester longer then anticipated but it'll be worth it to get my certificate and my degree.

Tuesday Dax and I took the train to Rancho Cucamonga to have lunch with my mom and my grandma along with My Aunt Kimberly and Cousin Rachel who were visiting from Virginia. though it takes two hors on the train to get there it was worth it to see them. And it wasn't to bad traveling with Dax, on the way there he slept and on the way back I was able to keep him pretty happy even though he was in his car seat.

Over the weekend we got to listen to General Conference. It's a wonderful bi-annual televised event where leaders of the LDS church speak to us the words the God wants us to hear. Two new temples were announced and a new General Young Womens Presidency was announced. Sister Elaine S. Dalton, the former president gave a wonderful talk before being released. I'm sad to see he go but I am equally excited for the new presidency!

Here a couple favorite quotes from this great weekend:

 

 

 

 

Yesterday Ryan had the day off before working this whole week so we decided to go to Santa Monica pier. We only went for about an hour but that was perfect for Dax. We walked about halfway up the pier and then went down to the water. We didn't put his feet in the water but we did let him stand in the sand.

 

Dax was indifferent about the whole experience. He didn't seem phased at all about having sand between his toes.

 



 

Marchin'

Over the past month we've been pretty busy. Dax and I went up to the High Desert at the beginning of March for Uncle Andy and Aunt Mary's birthdays and for Mary's Baby shower. The next week we got to make a quick trip to Gram and Grandpa Dean's house. And the weekend after that Grammy and Grandpa Whitlock came to see Dax.

Throughout the semester Dax and I have been meeting up with Ryan at the institute for lunch. This month has been more fun because Dax is actually awake. Even though its only about forty-five minutes its nice to see Ryan during the day.

Over Easter weekend we were able to go to a family picnic for my Dad's side of the family. Though I don't know many of the family members that go I like going. And it was kinda funny to see my dad and a bunch of ladies sitting around talking about their parents and grandparents. Also, Dax got to see some family.

After we got back from the picnic, my parents watched Dax so that Ryan and I could go out for our Anniversary. Ryan wanted to surprise me so I didn't know where we were going. After getting sandwiches we gave each other gifts. Ryan's gift for me was ice cream, which doesn't seem like that great a gift for some but I LOVE ice cream. This is where the surprise comes in. On Ryan's mission there was an Italian Ice shop that he really liked. While working he came across the same shop and wanted to take me. Sadly, it had not opened for business yet but it has since then so we'll be going out to Santa Clarita soon for some Rita's!

Easter morning Dax got his first Easter basket from Grammy and Grandpa. He also got to wear his really cute blue Easter suit. He got a pair of swim shorts so as soon as it warms up some more Ryan will take him out in the pool.

Though I had to take Dax out to feed him, Sacrament meeting was really great. There were a plethora of spiritual musical numbers and great talks given by some of the amazing people in our ward. I was able to teach in Young Womens about the Atonement and the Resurrection. I had a really great time preparing and teaching the lesson it was nice to focus on those things for the Easter season.

Here are some of our Easter pictures:

Dax with his frog basket

Ryan even has a blue suit so he matched Dax

 

 



Two months old!

I can't believe that it's already been two months since I had my little Dax! He is now 13ish pounds and about 24 inches. Those aren't especially accurate but soon Dax will be going for a two month check-up and we'll be able to know for sure.

He is growing so much! He holds his head up well and loves kicking his little legs! He has been sleeping well and smiles all the time. Overall he is a really happy and playful little boy.

Today we decided to have a picnic at the park for our family night activity. We took Dax down a couple slides but it didn't seem like he could really tell. Next time we go we'll try the swings with the cool seats but tonight other people were using them.

After Christmas

Yeah it's been a month since Christmas but we just celebrated with my Grandma and Ryan's family so I'm blogging about it now. This Christmas I decided to give all homemade presents. Now that I've done it I don't know if I'll ever do it again. I will definitely make homemade presents but not for everyone all at once.

So here's the roundup of what I made, some pictures but I forgot to take pics of all of them.
My mom and grandma- brown sugar vanilla scrub
My dad- homemade almond rocca
Andy and Mary- Tardis picture and saying
Ty- bleach shirt(it was supposed to be cooler. But I didn't really follow directions.)
Matt- quote mug
My grandma- a photo book to put pictures of great grandchildren in.
Ryan's mom- a framed nativity
Ryan's dad- chocolate covered Oreos
Lea- a framed quote

It really was fun making all of these things but at the same time it was a lot of work! I

What a Week!

Dax is a week old! What a week it has been. He spent his first day sleeping while family came to meet and hold him and then decided to wake up while mom and dad tried to eat dinner. His second day he spent time in the nursery for routine tests and I got us ready to be discharged. After coming home it has been a whirlwind of nursing, sleep for Dax, little sleep for me, a doctors visit, some car rides, diaper changes, spit up and a load of laundry.

When we went to the hospital last Wednesday for me to be induced I had a plan. No drugs, I had a whole lot of faith that my body could handle labor on its own after the little push from the midwife of breaking my water. I was determined and especially when they said I was already dilated four cm. I knew I had it in me. I didn't feel contractions much but we knew they were happening because of the monitors. When a doctor came in to suggest I be put on Pitocin I almost crumbled. It was four hours after my water had been broken and it felt like she was jumping ahead too fast. I sincerely surprised myself by telling her I had to think about it. After the doctor left I took a walk with Ryan and by the time I came back I was feeling every contraction.

At three in the morning I got checked again and was given the go ahead to move into a delivery room. The contractions were worse but for some reason I did not even really think of drugs. As they got worse my wonderful husband got me through them. I had been a little worried that he wasn't going to know what to do or how to help but now I know I wouldn't have gotten through without his strength and support.

After an hour and a half of pushing I gave birth to my big, beautiful, boy at 7:09 in the morning. I'd also achieved a major goal. Labor and delivery without any drugs. I knew I was strong enough and I made sure I kept the end result of having my baby in my arms in mind through the pain.

I really believe that every woman has the strength to have natural drug free labors . I respect that every woman has their own choice of how to birth their children and I'm not one to push my beliefs on others but I also highly recommend trying it!

Now because no baby post is complete without pictures here are some of my favorites.