8 Months With Eric

We have had such a fun month with Eric!  He is scooting all over the place, very expressive in what he wants (and doesn't want), and is starting to show his little personality.

The monthly photo shoots are not going well.  He is on the move and is into everything!  (Please excuse the shiny cheeks - between the dry weather and his constant hands in the mouth/slobber - his poor little cheeks are super red and dry so I am forever slathering aquaphor on them!).

The two biggest newsmakers this month are moving  & eating.  This little guy is wiggling all over the place and can stretch for a toy like Michael Phelps reaching for the wall!

And he has been LOVING all food lately - cauliflower, broccoli, quinoa, apples, sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs, and most recently....CHEESE! (thank goodness said Olivia).

He has been into toys recently, especially if you fill the entire box up and put it next to him.  He will carefully pick the one he wants, chew on it for a while, throw it to the side and work on the next one.

And we've all been teaching him the ways of the world.  Daddy has been showing him how to really enjoy a weekend

While Olivia explains the importance of a good hair-do

I attended Arts Alive at Cathedral House with him a few weeks ago and he really seemed to like the singing and adorably ridiculous accessories (this was rodeo week in case that wasn't obvious)

Matt also surprised him at lunch one day and got to meet some of his baby friends (who were all completely mesmerized by his crutches)

This poor little guy has been to the doctor/urgent care so many times lately.  

It seems like we can't go 2 weeks without a visit.  But through it all, he has been mostly smiley and sweet.  He got tubes in his ears but ended up back at the doctor with ANOTHER double ear infection just 5 days later.  I am really hoping that these tubes kick in and give this baby (and his parents) some relief very soon.

One area we continue to struggle with is sleep.  He is currently on a strict 2 hour waking schedule at night to nurse.  Its really out of control but at the advice of some dear friends, we have gotten in touch with a sleep therapist and are very hopeful that our 9 month update will include SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT.

And thankfully, Olivia continues to be smitten by Eric and he continues to be mesmerized by her.  Olivia is really creative and imaginative.  She loves dancing and singing and putting on shows.  And, lucky for her, Eric seems to enjoy watching her dancing and singing and putting on shows.  She has been a huge help to me lately with Matt traveling/being hurt in sitting and playing with him while I make dinner or work.  She makes up silly songs that seem to soothe him, reads to him before bed, is loud and crazy when he's crying to distract him, and creates "baby obstacle courses" for him to maneuver.  She's protective over him - when we man-handle him to give him medicine, she gets so mad at us and has explained at least 5 times that it hurts him when we hold his cheeks and squirt the medicine in his mouth.  (Much to her dismay, we continue to use this technique and now she has given up and will leave the room when he gets medicine).  I feel lucky to say that she's gentle and smart and loving with him.  Now, granted, she did leave him on the edge of the couch and leave to go watch the iPad, so she's not completely ready for babysitting quite yet, but she's pretty close! ;)

All Ears

Well, if Children's ENT of Houston had a frequent user program, then the Deans would certainly qualify.  We were back last Friday for baby Eric to get tubes in his ears.  Given this is our 4th experience, neither Matt nor I were too worried.  In fact, I event sent Eric to school that morning and went into the office since we didn't have to be at the surgery center till 11ish.  I remember a similar timing with Olivia but I was so panicked and nervous that the thought of going into the office seemed ridiculous.

It was the exact same location that we went with Olivia and, coincidentally, the same location that Matt had his ACL surgery a few weeks ago.  In fact, right when we walked in, one of the nurses recognized Matt.  Same green chairs..

Same wagon and toys (literally I think the exact same toys because many didn't work) used to distract the kids from their extreme hunger

Same quick surgery (10 minutes) and heartbreaking view of your child after

But lucky for us, the aftermath -- the part we were both most worried about -- was not the same.  With Olivia, coming out of the anesthesia was hard.  It made her confused and nauseous, fussy and shaky.  Both Matt and I braced ourselves for a similar experience with Eric.  Thankfully, that was not the case.  He woke up quickly (after about 7 minutes) and immediately nursed.  (This poor baby was SO hungry -- the anesthesiologist said he was trying to lick his face mask because it was strawberry scented.)  And then, he was completely fine.  More than fine actually - super happy.  He was smiling and cooing for all the nurses and showing off his latest trick of "blowing kisses."  At one point, our nurse said "I'm going to open the door so he can look around."  And, without exaggeration, 5-7 nurses came out of the woodwork and stood at the door fawning over this baby.  Matt and I sat pretty speechless as he charmed all these ladies.  And then, we took him home.  He slept, played and ate as usual.  It was wonderful.  We stuck pretty close to home over the weekend so he could rest and hopefully this will clear up his ear trouble.

And...sister and daddy had a special date on Sunday afternoon to see the 8th grade play - High School Musical Jr.  The reports from Olivia were glowing.  My favorite story out of the experience was Matt said as he was watching he was thinking "My goodness this is cheesy.  I can't believe I'm watching this."  And just then, Olivia leaned over to him and said "Daddy.  This is so good!  Do you think there will be autographs at the end?"  God I love that girl.

This week marks the start of Matt's usual hectic travel schedule for the 1st Quarter.  It will be several weeks in a row of him being gone, which I never look forward to.  This year will also be with two kids and...I can't even really write about it yet...but he's back on crutches, so we will have to see what that brings.  But hopefully we will make it through unscathed.

Walk This Way and Ice Days

After about 7 long weeks, I am SO happy to say that MATT CAN WALK!  It will be a slow process to full recovery, but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is such a weight off both our shoulders.

The big day came right in the middle of some bizarre Houston weather - ice.  And lots of it.  School was cancelled for two days and we were both nervous the doctor's office would close too.  But luckily they were opened for that morning and he got in just in the nick of time to get the all clear. 

I hope that we always remember what happened when Matt got home from the doctor.  Eric was napping and Olivia and I were upstairs in her room cleaning up.  She was FaceTiming with Sofie and Minah.  All of a sudden we heard the door open and then Matt came walking up the stairs - no crutches - something we hadn't seen in months.  Olivia immediately handed the phone to me and walked over to him.  She asked "Does it hurt?"  He replied "A little but its okay."  She then paused and cautiously asked him "Can you hold me?"  He said "You want me to pick you up?"  She nodded.  He said "Okay.  I can pick you up" and leaned down to get her.  Once she was in his arms, she just had a huge smile on her face and touched his face as she spoke to him.  I was sort of taken aback by this moment because I hadn't realized how much she missed and needed that physical attention from him.  I don't really pick up Olivia that much anymore - she's getting pretty big and honestly most of the time I am holding Eric.  But, Matt does hold her fairly regularly.  Or at least he did before he got hurt.  And I guess that is something that she likes, that makes her feel safe and I am so happy that they were able to have that moment again.

And then...like most things with those 2, walking turned into a competition.

Olivia was initially thrilled about the ice

But was then sort of disappointed when she realized ice is pretty different than snow (i.e. it doesn't really make a snowman).  Nonetheless, she concocted all sorts of games and experiments to do with the ice.  (I lost at least 3 wooden spoons/spatulas + some food coloring to her imagination).

However, it did actually snow for about 5 minutes and she was lucky enough to be outside when it happened.  The snow immediately melted as soon as it hit the ground, so still no building of any snowmen.

Luckily, mamma was waiting inside with a big cup of nutella hot chocolate to warm/cheer her up.

As for Eric, he was less enthusiastic about the weather and much preferred to be sleeping inside by the fire with his daddy.

It was a weird few days and I think we are all hoping for clear and calm skies during the remainder of 2018!

New Year, New Start

We started off 2018 in the best possible way - with our best friends.  It was a cold and blustery new year's eve which called for bundled up babies and lots of cuddles.

The newest members of our little gang got to know each other

And the "bigs" braved the cold weather for a bit

We continued our annual interview, which really gets better every year.  I can't wait till the babes are big enough to be part of the group!

And marveled at the fact that these babies are now the "big kids"!

2017 brought some tough conditions for all of us, so to be able to send off 2017 and usher in 2018 with people who love us and know all we've been through was a real gift.  We are hoping 2018 is a great year for all us and we've got some fun stuff planned!

Unfortunately, we woke up on New Year's Day to discover poor Olivia had pink eye (and an ear infection), which she must have picked up from little brother and then promptly passed right back to him. So we spent much of the first week of the new year at the doctor's office.  It looks like little brother is going to follow in sister's shoes, as he has tubes scheduled for next week!

Poor Uncle Drew got really sick the first week of the new year.  It was a really scary and uncertain time and Matt flew up to Nashville to provide all the big brother support he could.  The uncertainty and spontaneity of the illness really shocked Matt & I and we both held each other and the babies a little closer that week.  We were all worried that week and were so glad to have him home. 

Olivia waited very patiently for his Uber to arrive back home.

And Eric basically stayed right here most of the evening.

Hopefully dear Uncle Drew is on the path to recovery and will have a healthy year the rest of 2018.

Seven Months with Eric

Little Eric is 7 months old now! 

Our usually happy little guy was in no mood for his 7 month photo shoot.  He was tired, wanted mamma to hold him and no amount of songs, toys, clapping could save the day.  (But, of course as soon as I picked him up, he was back to happiest baby on the block)

Physically, he is now scooting all over the place.  I can set him down in one spot and within a few minutes he will have rolled/scooted away.  I suspect crawling isn't far behind.

He is FINALLY eating foods.  Bananas were the gateway food and once we got him consistently eating those, he pretty quickly moved on and now seems fairly open to new foods.

This month has brought lots of sickness and germs at Casa Dean.  Olivia and Eric both had pink eye and ear infections.  But, they managed to keep each other laughing

The Christmas decorations are all still up because with everything else going on, I just can't find the time to cross that off my list.  But Eric doesn't seem to mind.  This is a pretty regular situation these days, I will put him in the walker in the kitchen after work when I'm trying to get dinner ready.  And inevitably, he will walk over to this same spot - perfect viewing of the backyard and the Christmas tree.

He continues to be entertained by Olivia.  We have been playing more in the playroom and I will put away laundry or do work while they "play."  And by "play" I mean he chews on his toys and she puts on a show for him or explains the inner workings of babydoll pretend play to him.

Also, his exposure to TV at this point is out of control.  And its 100% Olivia's fault.  I usually have a blanket or mat set up in the living room for him where he can play while I cook or work.

And inevitably, Olivia will come down for some screen time, pick him up and put him on the couch next to her.

Eric and daddy have been bonding lately and we are all in a heated competition as to what E's first word will be... ;)  I'm going to call it right now that I think he says "dada" as his first word and Olivia will LOSE. HER. MIND.

Sleep continues to be elusive and stressful.  He is on a strict 2 hour waking schedule at night.  And, the stress of work and all the other things we are dealing with usually get the better of me and instead of letting him "cry it out", I usually just give in and nurse him or rock him back to sleep.  That works until about 4 am.  At that point, he is unwilling under any circumstances to go back to his crib.  Usually I can rock/cuddle him until he is drowsy and then put him in the crib and he will curl up and go back to sleep.  Not at 4 am.  If he so much as feels me walk near the crib, he goes into hysterics.  So, our new solution is basically parenting at its worst.  I bring him downstairs and wake up Matt.  Matt might not be able to walk, but he can lay in bed with a sleepy baby.  So Matt will lay with Eric from 4-5:30 and I go sleep on the couch.  Both of us are super paranoid about letting a baby sleep in the bed, so Matt stays awake and watches Eric.  He says Eric usually babbles for a while and inevitably falls asleep. Matt jokes that all he needs to sleep are some expensive sheets and a Pottery Barn bed!

At this point, I feel like I "know" Eric pretty well.  We are moving less from those newborn days when everything seemed scary and unknown into him being more able to communicate what he wants/needs.  I like this stage (though I'm pretty sure I've said that every month).  He's sweet and smiley and we are starting to see some of his personality come out!