To say things have been hectic at Casa Dean for the past few months would certainly be an understatement. We have been traveling, working, planning for baby and...oh....buying a new house! All very exciting but all very time-consuming. Here's a quick photo update of what life has looked like lately!
Ryan came into town for a visit and the 3 Musketeers were reunited!
Daddy & Uncle Lloyd played and won a tennis tournament in Dallas
We celebrated my birthday with a special dinner out!
We enjoyed lots of time with the McGuires in Dallas and Houston (where they helped us with a bit of house hunting)! My favorite part was when Harris asked me - in all honesty and sincerity - which room he and Olivia would live in once they got married.
We went to the Rodeo!
We celebrated Miss O's 5.5 year old birthday. I won't devote an entire post to her but I do want to pause for a moment to remember what 5.5 looks like. It is smart and silly and big and little. In one moment she will be reading and doing multiplication, in the next she is throwing herself on the floor sobbing because she doesn't like her hair/dress/shoes/outfit. She is fiercely mamma's girl and has recently informed me that she will never spend the night away from me - "even in college" and she also has come up with a list of "approved babysitters" that can watch her but the time must be limited to a few hours and under no circumstances will she sleep (nap or nighttime) with anyone but me. So....as you can see I've got my work cut out for me. With baby brother coming, we know there will be some nights away from mamma, but for now, I'm planning on keeping her close and enjoying these moments when she wants to be with me....because I fear that those tween/teen years may be different.
From a play perspective, the babies and kitchen reign supreme. She has even gotten better about playing by herself. In fact, I think she would rather sometimes. She has a very specific idea about how the babies needs to be tended to and when my play doesn't match her ideas, it is a sticky situation! She's a good little mamma and all the babies get cared to daily.
As far as the real little baby coming soon to our family, I think the reality is starting to set in a bit for her. We recently had the most lovely, heart-wrenching conversation in which she sweetly and sheepishly in her own shy and kind way told me that she was worried about my relationship with her being affected by the new baby. In her 5 year old way, she said she wanted me to just be pregnant and not for the baby to come out. When I dug a little deeper she had very specific concerns and examples, all of which were some variation of her needing something and asking me to help her and me telling her that Matt/grandparent/aunt would help her. All of the examples ended with her saying "but that's not very nice for me." So, we talked about change and how its hard but can be wonderful, how she will always be my girl, and how I was actually nervous about it too. We thought of some ways to spend time just she & I. And we came up with the idea of a mommy/daughter journal. At times when she is feeling sad or left out, I told her she could write about it or draw a picture in her journal and leave it on my bed. That way I would know how she was feeling and we could fix it. We've already used it a few times and it seems to be an effective tool. This girl of mine has my whole heart and I worry about her settling into a new normal with baby. I know in my heart that we will be fine and all adjust, but the thought of her feeling sad or left out makes me feel pretty unnerved.
She is still liking school, though most Mondays are pretty tough. She would obviously rather be at home with mamma and daddy than go to school, so usually she wakes up on Sundays already sad and is furious by the time Monday morning rolls around. Right now, our Fridays together make the week go by easier but I worry about next year when she goes 5 days a week. Another adjustment we will have to figure out.
For her 1/2 birthday, all she wanted to do was wear her new bathing suit and wash my car. Ummm..no problem!
We headed back to Dallas for The Blast to raise money for neuroblastoma in memory of sweet little Arden. These 3 turkeys were happy to be reunited so quickly. Before Olivia was old enough to even remember, we would always plan our next Dean/McGuire visit so we knew when we would see each other again and have something to look forward to. Now, she clings tightly to these trips and after each visit is quick to ask when she will see Harris again.
She celebrated Go Western Day at school!
Olivia got into Kinkaid for school next year. Its a great little private school close to our house, so we were thrilled for her. Of course, the celebration called for frozen yogurt!
And...here she is at the new house! The day all the inspections went well, I had an interior designer and painter come over. Olivia has gotten pretty into the whole real estate experience. She now uses phrases like "this floor layout is weird" and when Matt told her to go look at mommy/daddy's room, she responded "You mean the Master?". Her memory has really served us well because she can keep track of all the different houses and remind us with things like "Remember it had the orange walls by the garage?"
We did a playdate with the Williams girls to see Annie.
She had some "cousin" time with Crosby
So that is what the past few weeks have looked like. We have an exciting few months ahead of us with moving and preparing for baby!
