8 weeks!

Mr.Dean has had a big week! He had his first two flights and did fabulously!
I flew the way down to ca alone with him. It was extremely stressful but he did great and everyone was so nice! I especially loved the woman and her college aged daughter next to me. They purposely distracted me and were genuinely fun to talk to. I wish we were friends! Haha. I purposely chose an early am flight so dean would sleep, and he did! I'm so grateful!
The flight home, KR was with me so it went equally as smooth. He held him most the flight so I could relax and watch tv to keep my mind off flying (especially since there was a plane crash in San Fran earlier that day).

*Dean is smiling a TON! And its not just smiling randomly; it's in response to us smiling at him! I love it so much and can't get enough!
*he loved meeting aunts, grandmas, cousins and friends while we were in town and loved that there was always someone to hold him. He slept a lot more than he usually does because normally he doesn't stay asleep when you put him down. Well, since he wasn't being put down at all, he slept!!
*he also has gotten good (knock on wood) at going to sleep at bed time and after his middle of the night/early morning feeding. I let him wiggle and talk for a bit (important to the recipe) and then as soon as I give him the pacifier, he pretty much quiets down and falls asleep. It's heavenly. Again, knock on wood.

*he had his first beach days and he did great!! He slept both times for a good amount of time, let me feed him right there and just chilled like the sweet baby he is. Im grateful because I need my beach time!! Haha. It was so nice, I wish we could go all summer.

*

5 weeks, almost 6!

We feel like Dean has made big progress this week! A few new things:
*he is holding his head up even better and for longer
*he has tears! Makes it even more heart breaking when he cries :(
*seeing a lot more eye contact and from farther away
*more and more smiles!
Lastly, this is more on my end-I take the blame. I've gotten a lot better at keeping track of exact minutes he nurses for, subtracting in between time to burp, wake up, etc. I also don't quit just because he falls asleep. If we haven't had at least 15 minutes, I wake him up by putting him down or changing his diaper. As a result, he can go long periods inbetween. This makes planning so much better. He still doesn't sleep much during the day but overall is doing so much better!

We love our new life with Dean and wouldnt trade it for anything!

Southwest Pizza

I found this recipe and trIed it tonight. Sooo delicious! And its very healthy!! http://drivefitnessco.com/2012/09/17/my-favorite-southwest-pizza/ I made the dough, spread the bean mixture all over and spread cheese everywhere, like a normal pizza, rather than the way they suggested.

I use this recipe for the dough. I've been using it for a few years and we love it. I use whole wheat flour.
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
Mix until dissolved
Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
Mix until its a dough and let rise (I skip this I'm too impatient ha ha) Sprinkle flour and corn meal. Roll it out and poke holes. So yummy and I roll up the edges nice and thick because I love crust. ta

27!

This weekend was my birthday and honestly, it was so great!! A few weeks ago, when I realized my birthday was going to be on a Saturday, I had the idea of going to the Saturday market. The idea was even more exciting when I saw the forecast! I was a little worried about how we'd do it, with Dean, but it worked out great, overall.
We packed both the ergo and the stroller and parked at the church on market street. We walked down to the water front, saw the rose festival and walked along, until we got to the market. We ate our packed lunch and then browsed the booths. When we were done, we headed back to the water front and Mr. Dean woke up. He had been sooo good so I wasn't upset that he woke up screaming. I just felt bad because he rarely does that and he meant business. But we still had a long way back to the car. Market street was several, several blocks over and the church was ten blocks up! We did a quick diaper change and I just carried him, walking as fast as possible. It wasn't terribly long before he found his arm and started sucking, which distracted him well enough. I still rushed though because I wasn't sure how long that would cut it. I should have known my sweet boy would hang in there long enough to get to the car and feed him.
After feeding him, we went hone, topped him off and headed for our second adventure: restaurant with an infant. We went to my favorite, souplantation/sweet tomatoes. Risky choice since you can't take your food to go if your baby starts crying. Haha. But again, he w as wonderful. We stopped at babies r us for a few supplies, where he got fussy but still did great. After topping him off again, we went to my other favorite, yogurtland. KR was so cute, he put a candle in mine. And Dean slept the whole time!

Sunday, we ventured out to church for the first time and, voila, he slept all three hours, straight! I shouldn't be surprised by all this, but as great and sweet of a baby he is, Dean isn't the.most reliable when it comes to him sleeping. I felt so blessed, especially when I realized how much I needed the relief society lesson. We then had a family dinner at KRs parents. Peggy made me a delicious banana nut cake with bananas and pudding in the middle, shaped like a heart AND had chocolate frosting. Can you say dream cake?

I'm so grateful for my life. It's not perfect, but I'm so very blessed and happy, I forget that its not.

And now, for those not on facebook, here are the pictures :)

Tummy Time!

Somebody likes tummy time, just like mom and dad!

And Baby Makes Three!

So remember this blog? Ya neither did I. But since Mr. Dean joined our family, I figure I should pick this up again. At least for my own journaling. </p>
<p>Well, May 11, 2013, Dean Markham Stevens was born at 12:57am. He was 8lbs 3oz and 21 inches long. He is so perfect. I can't even believe the love I feel for this little boy. Psh, and I thought I wanted a girl. Heavenly Father knows best. He knew what I really wanted was Dean. My sweet, mellow boy who looks supposedly like me but luckily is more like his daddy in his temperament. </p>
<p>The birth story is already journaled, but if you want to know, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I'm just going to jump in to our new life with Dean.

Since we were blessed with Dean, its been an adjustment but such a happy and rewarding one!
We have towels protecting our couch, we have a dresser in our living room(to go with our microwave right?), and sleep is ancient history.
But we love watching him stretch and listening to him coo or grunt. We love cuddling and kissing him...well I do haha.
We had a big day yesterday! First, Dean and I went to the Dr for the first time anywhere without KR. I was nervous but all went well. Dean is growing fast!! He had to get a shot but he took it like a champ. I think I cried longer ha ha.
Later that night, we finally for to go for a walk!! I've been dying for physical activity and fresh air, plus I really wanted to try out the stroller.
We took Dean on our usual pathway and showed his the neighborhood. It feel so great and he slept the whole time!
Last thing for now, KR has been working on tummy time with Dean. I love how excited he get about it.

Multnomah Falls! Round 2!

We hiked up Multnomah Falls again about 2 weeks ago! Last time we went, it was August and there was a minimal amount of water so we decided to try going during Winter! There was much more water, although it was very, very cold! Beautiful as usual though!

KR jumped so hard, he cracked the pathway!

 

Ok actually those pillars are to blame! Look familiar??

 

 Notice there are six sides?

 So pretty! It was nice to get away just for a few hours!

 This picture is from August 2010 and above was this trip.