No!

The good news....Olivia said her second word.  The bad news...it was not da-da.  I fear we may be hearing "no" a lot in our future.  We certainly did tonight - complete with head and hand shaking for emphasis! ;)

Dean Family Vacation 2012

Matt and I love the summertime -  mostly because of the opportunity to take a summer vacation.  And we really enjoy a good vacation.  Since we’ve been together, we have been to some amazing places: Chicago, London, LA, San Francisco, San Diego, Greece, and Hawaii just to name a few!

But this summer has been a little different.  Unfortunately we have both been swamped at work and haven’t had time to plan something great.  Plus, the fact that we have a 10 month old is somewhat limiting on the extravagance of the vacation.  A few weeks ago I made an executive decision that we’d take a long weekend and head to Austin and Matt eagerly agreed.  So we packed up and headed out.

We stopped along the way for a little break and to feed Olivia.  We taught her to cock her head to the side and cuddle whenever we say "awww."  Its freaking adorable and we constantly say "awww" to get her to do it.  Lately, she has started doing it on her own and apparently to everyone at school!

The weekend started out a little rough.  First of all it was terrible, rainy weather.  Then, once we got to Austin we realized that Olivia had a fever.  So we started out the vacation at the nearest Walgreens buying a thermometer and baby Tylenol – in the pouring rain.  After some medicine and some dinner, she went straight to sleep and we both went to bed that night a little worried.  In fact, I was convinced we’d have to come back to Houston early Saturday morning.

But, the stars were aligned for us because Olivia woke up happy and healthy Saturday morning and the sun was bright and shiny!  We stuck with our plans and determined to have a good trip. 

We headed to see our dear friends the Gleeson’s on Saturday.  TJ and Elisa have a precious son, William, who is few months older than Olivia.  William was very nice and shared all his toys with Olivia. 

Her favorite was this awesome tunnel that we may just have to buy ourselves!  There was a bit of a traffic jam!

Our good friend Keith also came with his girlfriend and her 2 daughters.  

Olivia really took to TJ and Elisa - she can tell another good mommy and daddy when she meets them!

It was a nice time to catch up with some good college friends.  As we sat around watching the kids play, we all commented how much things have changed in the past few years!  (The most telling sign was the lack of any alcohol whatsoever and abundance of baby food, bottles and toys!)

After we got back from the Gleesons and took a nap, Olivia enjoyed some pool time at the hotel.  She is a little fishy in the water and is practically jumping out of our arms! 

All that swimming will really wear a girl out – so a Cheerios snack break was definitely in order.

Between the playdate and the sun, Olivia was wiped and fell asleep before 7:00 that night.  

Which left Matt and I wondering how/if we’d eat dinner.  Luckily our hotel was minutes away from Sushi Zushi – so we got sushi delivery.  Delish!  And being able to eat sushi in your pjs while watching a movie?!  Now that’s a good vacation! 

And speaking of food – we ate really well (i.e. very unhealthily) on this trip.   We hit up some of our favorite places that we don’t have in Houston – Kerby Lane, Krispy Kreme, and a Sunday brunch at Trudy’s.  

Olivia kept us entertained at restaurants with some good ol' fashion peek-a-boo!

It turned out to be a wonderful vacation.  Matt summed it up well when he said it was the best vacation he’s ever taken because it was the first one with Olivia.  I agree…..although Greece is a VERY close second ;)

4th of July

We had a great Fourth of July this year!  We went to Mimi & GrandDad's house for lunch.  It was a fun day of grilling, family and food - our favorites!

Olivia refused to wear her bib, even after Aunt Yasmin showed her how to do it!

GrandDad loves to build towers, and Olivia loves to knock them down!

Aunt Yasmin showed Olivia how to blow a pinwheel.

Mimi (and I!) decorated the table so pretty & patriotic.

GrandDad, Grant and Tyler grilled up a delicious meal of burgers, chicken and fish - we were all stuffed by the time we finished eating.

Since Olivia refused to wear her bib, she got her pretty outfit all dirty.  So, she went in her birthday suit for a bit.

GrandDad was blowing bubbles for Olivia.  I don't know if she liked them, I clearly did not!

 After a new outfit, Olivia played a bit of Mehta musical chairs trying to decide whose lap to sit on.

Another exciting event from the day was me finally remembering to put these sweet bangles on Olivia.  My sisters & I all wore them when we were babies and it makes me so happy that Olivia can join in that tradition.  I only wish I would have remembered sooner because her wrists are almost too big for them! 

And we finished out the day with a little post-bath dance to "Lets Get Loud" - Olivia's latest obsession.

It was a wonderful day & I can't wait to celebrate more holidays with our wonderful family.