Temporary single parent life...

I really have to commend single parents or parents that have to parent alone most of the time because their spouse is away. It really is a lot of work. In my case I still don't have to work as hard as a stay at home mom, but being on your own for those few days/weeks really is a lot of work. It always reminds me to be grateful to Matt and everything he does for Dean and I.
Sucky parts to being alone: have to play good and bad parent all the time by myself (I think I am slowly starting to lose credibility with her...), cooking for 1 adult and 1 toddler, being alone, cold bed and nobody to warm my feet, nobody there when I randomly decide I want to say something...although Dean does talk back now...not that all of it makes sense lol...it is almost Christmas and we are not near ready!!!
Good parts to being along: more bed space! I am always reminded of how much Matthew does around the house and for Dean and I and how much I miss him already and how much I love and appreciate him.

Today has been a long day. I don't think anyone in the family got any sleep last night (well maybe Caleb) Monica went into labour again last night...she is too early...I think her due date is Feb 8th 2014. We are all excited to meet the little lady, but at the same time nervous that she wants to come out so soon. We are all praying for the best. They managed to stop the labour but Monica has to stay in the hospital for now.

Dean was adorable all day...gave the best cuddles and kisses and helped with baby Kyler...she was truly such a blessing all day. I wanted to write down a conversation we had this week so that I wouldn't forget it, was adorable...was one of the first times I've been proven correct that she does listen and understand what we are saying to her...

Dean is a neat freak, she always has to be clean, she spills on her shirt, we change it, her hands are dirty we wash them, her diaper is dirty we change it, we walk to school in the snow and each step she has to brush the snow off her boots. The other day I was laying on the couch and she comes up to me all upset "mom, it's dirty" holding out her hand..."oh, ok...all clean now" as I wipe her hand off quickly (I didn't see any dirt) "No mom!! My finger..." holds finger out "Oh ok, I'll clean it" wipe off her finger and feel something kind of wet and chunky while I mutter to myself " ew...what the heck was that?" Dean thinking I was talking to her says " my bum..." ...I laughed so hard and was so grossed out....her diaper was dirty so she tried to take her pants and diaper off in one fell swoop and touched the dirty part...needless to say it was bathtime hahaha...I love that girl!!

Visit to Papa and Uncle James

Sundays we always go to church in the morning and then head over to Moma and Papa's for lunch and dinner...sometimes uncle James is there. Dean adores uncles James...when he comes to our house and rings the bell she just squeals with delight knowing that he is coming to play.
The bell she is reaching for is my parents dinner bell. Come 5:00 pm everyday they ring it and dinner is served...seems to work pretty well, although the first time Papa rang it when Dean was very little he scared her half to death and she just cried and cried...now she loves it...
Dean and Papa are BFF's...no joke...they are always scheming and planning behind my back..usually to go do fun things that don't include me or anyone else...Papa comes over for a visit and Dean turns to me and says "bye mom"...

Dean's one and only tub turd

We knew this day would come and we really hoped that it wouldn't. I rememeber Keenan pooping in the tub on a regular basis...always around 4 pm. Once I even walked in right when it happened...later it would happen and he would realize that he had pooped and would grab it and put in on the side of the tub as if to say " sick...I dunno who put that here, but it's gotta go...I'm having a bath". I prayed that Dean would not have the same bath time routine...luckily for us her one and only poop in the tub happened on papa's watch...fewf!!!

Dean's First Halloween

Dean came by the office for awhile today. She played with aunty Nicole in my office and then she went to the Physio office with Matthew for a visit and some candy. Later Papa and Dion swung by for some Halloween pictures...Dean is still too young to understand it all, but the outings and visits are so fun. I love that we live so close to our family :)

Almost 7 months

Since the very beginning Dean has loved apples...people were always telling me how much Dean would love bananas and all babies love bananas...she never liked them...she has such peculiar taste for a baby...loves apples and loves spicy food...it is always making us laugh..

Deans First Swim in the Hot Tub

So Aunty Nicole came over to play with Sweet Baby Dean. Matt and I had previously drained the hot tub, cleaned the filter and refilled the tub with warm water so it would be comfortable for Dean.
When I was in Kelowna last I went to the Children's Place in the mall and bought Dean a new swimsuit and sunglasses. I was soooo excited for her to try them!!

Dean absolutely loved the hot tub...she was so relaxed and just cuddled into me while we swayed through the water.
After the hot tub I gave her what I thought was going to be a quick bath to rinse off, but she was kicking and splashing and laughing her head off! It ended up being a longer bath...this baby girl just loves the water!!!

This morning our good friend Megan was going to come over for a visit, we were going to take Sweet Baby Dean for a walk. With crazy wave of rain all week, Dean has not had as many walks as usual. Matt and I slept in bigtime this morning, so did Dean!! Was crazy! We're usually up around 6-6:30. This morning we woke around 8 and it took me until 9 to get out of bed!! Lazy!!
We made a super yummybreakfast and Megan came over. She brought Dean the cutest little bib and some organic diaper rash cream.
It was nice to catch up with Megan and she was great with Dean! Most people hold her only a little while before Dean gets restless, but Megan held her through 2 naps and awake time in between!!

We spent most of today at home hanging around, this rain is freezing us out!! I was also super sore from Body Vive and Bikram Yoga this week...it is clearly going to take me awhile to get back into shape! My muscles are crying in pain!

We love how Dean loves bathtime...it is so fun for us to bathe her together....she just loves to swim around in the tub...she gets both arms and legs kicking and looks so proud of herself!! Today she was mega focused on Matt while she splashed away.