In The Blink Of An Eye

Dean will turn one year old tomorrow.  It seams like just yesterday Mike and I were in the hospital excitedly waiting the arrival of our little man.  We had no way to predict the amount of joy Dean would bring to us daily.  That our lives, once again, would be changed forever.  We couldn't imagine what a happy baby he would be, how his infectious laugh would fill our house constantly or how his extremely sensitive gag-reflex would prove to make meal time so difficult.  How he lights up at the sight of Mike and I and especially at his big sister.  We also had no way of knowing he would be born with club foot causing him a heartbreaking rough few months to his life.  But Dean has proven to be stronger and braver than his mom and has taken most of the pokes, prods, casts, surgery and braces this past year in stride.  His braces are very uncomfortable which cause him to still not sleep through the night but, as parents, it's a very small price to pay for the miracle of modern medicine to give him the ability to walk.  In fact, his legs are so strong due to the braces he wears at night, he's been cruising with the furniture for quite some time.  He walks all over the house with his push toys and has even started to let go of the furniture to "walk" (fall gracefully) towards me, which I've been told is fairly early for a boy.
He also likes to do whatever we tell him not to do so I have a feeling that in a few months, our entire home will be on baby lock down!

Although it seems like only yesterday we were in that hospital room, it feels like he's always been in our lives.

I can't imagine life without him.

Dean's 1st Haircut

Dean got his first haircut a few nights ago. It was a little sad but very much needed. None of his hair really fell out since birth and he just kept getting more and more! The top has stayed about the same but the sides and the back were growing out of control which is exactly how Mike's hair grows. We used the clippers and he did fantastic! We put a towel down on the counter in the kids bathroom, Dean sat on the towel and Mike held him while I cut his hair. Luciana was in charge of keeping Dean entertained and looking forward which isn't to hard for her since he loves watching his big sis!

Here are the before and after shots...



Before - Looking a little Shaggy




And after - SO handsome!

We have scooting!!!

Last week Dean started to scoot a little! And every time, he's encouraged on by his cheering section led by Luciana.
He's only 6 months old so I'm a little in shock about this. I know boys usually do the physical stuff faster than girls do but still - Luciana didn't crawl until she was 9 months old and really only scooted for the first time shortly before that. I'm not sure if he'll start crawling soon or not but I definitely know I'm NOT ready for him to be mobile yet! :)

We took Luciana to Sesame Street Live again this year to rave reviews!



Dean is such a happy baby.


And getting so big!



They love to "play" together. Usually it's Luciana showing Dean all of his toys - so cute!
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Updates Galore

Lot of updates - First, Dean no longer has to wear his brace during the day!! We're so happy about that and so is he. He only has to wear it at night now and has been doing it for about a month. It's been so great to watch him with this new found freedom. The weight of the brace has made is legs really strong and his favorite thing to do is stand up (with us holding him up of course) but he actually stands and hold up all of his weight! He's on a pretty good schedule at night now and is basically sleeping through the night unless his brace comes loose which is then painful on his foot or if he gets his leg stuck against the crib rails. He usually ends up going to bed just before Luciana at about 7 or so and sleeps until about 6:00 am (sometimes eating and then falling back asleep!). Most mornings we can hear him wake up and he's just talking to himself. Then, when he sees us, he starts cracking up - so cute!

We had a great trip over MLK Day to visit family in MD, except for the fact that Luciana came down with Shingles while we were there (nothing says "Family Fun" like a trip to the urgent care...) It was the first time on a plane for both kids and first family trip since Dean was born. They both did fantastic. Dean slept for most of the plane ride and even though I brought a TON of stuff for Luciana to do, she didn't need any of it. She was so excited to be on the plane! She just sat and looked around most of the time. While we were taxiing after we landed in MD she started singing a concert of songs to which those sitting near us started clapping for after each one. One man even asked how much the cover charge was. She's such a ham!

They're both doing great at their new school and Mike and I like it MUCH better then the last place they were at for a few weeks right after I went back to work. Their school has in-room cameras too so we can go online and see them at anytime which is great but I'm becoming less and less productive at work... :)

I'm hoping to do updates more often but don't hold your breath!!! :)
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