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.

Six more weeks!

In six more weeks I will have a beautiful baby! Unless of course they decide to show up late. The first part of this trimester has gone so fast I hardly believe it. We had a wonderful family shower last month which really helped us start getting things ready. The biggest thing left to do is pack a hospital bag which isn't really that big at all! Any moms who have advice in that catergory please let me know!

Also, I found out yesterday that my sister-in-law is having a boy! So come April I'll have a nephew! It is indeed exciting since the grand kids on my side of the family wil double with just four months.

Now, I just have to get through Thanksgiving, a dance performance, Finals, and Christmas and then we'll get to meet our Baby Dean!

The Clicking Experiment

This past Tuesday we had a great activity centered on positive thoughts and the clicking experiment. The clicking experiment started with the Mormon singer/songwriter and blogger, Hillary Weeks. She got a clicker that would count each time she clicked and at first clicked for ever negative thought she had. After not to long she realized that the negative thoughts in her life were outweighing the positive and decided to switch and count the positive thoughts instead. Now it has become a wide spread experiment with the goal of reaching one billion clicks.

Our young women and all the leaders were given clickers to track our positive thoughts.

Truthfully, my first day was not a great one. I missed my train, my salad exploded in my school bag and for a brief moment I thought I lost my clicker!
But I tried my hardest to think of the good things that came from these negative things.

The best thing that happened was the opportunity to go to an Institute class where for a little portion we talked about thoughts and what positive thoughts can do. In class alone I doubled my clicks for yesterday.

Today, starting new, I truly hope my positive thought will grow and I'll be able to remain positive even when I have days like yesterday.

If you want to know more about The Clicking Experiment check out Billionclicks.org and join the experiment!