Dangerous Wonder

I was sorting through my photos today and was amazed at just how little (well relatively little) Dean was and just how big he's gotten. See for yourself.

Daddy and Dean at 6 wks old.Dean at one year!

Today Dean had his first trip to the Zoo. It was a very busy day and also rained a little so we didn't get to see many animals. I also realized that Dean had a hard time seeing the smaller animals. One, because he couldn't walk up to them and two, because they are just harder to spot. Dean did enjoy the giraffes and and gorillas. We will just have to return and see some more of the big animals! It was fun though to go with some other moms and kids near Dean's age. The socialization for me was great!

Dean and Mama feeding the giraffes

Dean and a burmese python, ick!

Dean and the daddy Silverback gorilla

Dean watching the gorillas

Dean loves the zoo!

Last weekend Dean had two more birthday parties. We hosted one for him on Sat at the park. It ended up being for Kyle's side of the family and some of our friends here in town. Dean was a bit moody for the whole thing, not sure why. However, we still had a great time. The next we went to Estes to spend Father's Day with my family and also celebrated Dean's birthday again. Dean was blessed with many great gifts and the company of some many who love him. I will add more pics as I get them (I forgot my camera!ugh!)

After much debate, prayer and deep thoughtfulness Kyle decided to find out the gender of baby #2 last Monday during our routine ultrasound. He is happy that we found out and that we are having a little girl. Kyle has had our first girl name picked out for a long time and is excited to finally have his Abbie! Her official name will be Abigail Joy which means "The Father's Joy". We pray and believe that she will be a joy to both her earthly and heavenly fathers!

Abigail stretching out.

Abigail Joy in profile.

Dean had his one year old check-up along with his shots :(. He did great however and impressed the doctor greatly with his size and good behavior. Dean is 25 lbs 4oz and 32.5in. That puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height. No wonder I have to keep buying him clothes.

In other random notes, check out my roses. With a little pruning and cultivating last year and the wet winter/spring they have exploded. They've never bloomed like this since we've owned the house!

Today we had a small celebration at home. Dean's big birthday parties are coming this weekend. Daddy brought home Chick-Fil-A for lunch and Mama made a small cake. Dean spent much of the morning crawling after the new balls he got from Grandma and Grandpa Francis for his birthday. He especially enjoyed the "bouncy" one. He loves to throw it, watch it bounce and then chase after it. Dean did so much crawling that his little knees were slightly bruised from our hard floors. :( He still kept on crawling though. It's amazing how fast a year goes and how much he has changed. We look forward to seeing how he grows and develops in the next year. He is a joy and blessing and we can't imagine life without him now.

Dean likes to sit in front of the oven and talk to the baby in the reflection.

Playing with his "bouncy" ball.

Dean's homemade with love Birthday cake.

The Birthday Boy enjoying his lunch.

See what Daddy brought me?

Having a "picnic" in the living room.

Dean and Mama and the birthday cake.

Happy 2nd Birthday Caeden! We miss you and wish we could have celebrated with you!

Love,

Kyle, Terra, Dean, and baby

So this has been an interesting week for me while Kyle has been gone. This is the first time that Kyle has traveled away on business since Dean has been born. I can definitely tell that Dean is missing his daddy and the role that daddy fills in the home. Daddy is much better at playing with Dean and having good quality time with him. I am often far too task-oriented and even when spending time with Dean am often trying to multitask or achieve some sort of objective. This week without Kyle here has been very productive for me and I've been able to accomplish a lot, but as the days have gone on Dean has become moodier and moodier. He's been highly emotional, very clingy, and obstinate. I kept trying to figure out what was going on as this hasn't been his usual demeanor nor do I want it to become the usual. I've been praying about it and trying to maintain my patience as Dean and I learn together. Tonight the Lord revealed what may be at the root of all this. In my effort to be productive and get stuff done around the house, I have neglected to spend the quality time that Dean needs and that his daddy usually spends with him. I'm there while he's playing. I take him to the pool and on walks. But it's not the same as direct interaction. One of the areas in which Dean has been acting out has been in eating. He has eaten very little since Kyle left and seems to be emotionally distraught anytime food is offered. I was at my whit's end to figure out how to make him eat. Tonight as I was beginning to discern the real problem, I decided to order pizza (don't have to cook) and we'd have a "picnic" in the living room to avoid the inevitable fight with just getting in the high chair. Dean at first didn't want to eat, but after a while of watching me eat wandered over and began to nibble off my pizza. Pretty soon he was inhaling it! He ended up eating a good amount of food and though it wasn't a perfectly balanced meal at least it was something.

I have known for a long time that I am wired to be task-oriented, but that is no excuse for neglecting the relationships in my life that are most important. Jesus had the same soft reprimand for Martha in the Bible. She was so busy with her "to-do" list and gaining her self-worth from that that she missed the relationship that was most important and better to define her. It's not easy to change a mind-set, but I shall set about working on it. The "chores" of life, though important, don't all have to be done before I can or need to spend time with those closest to me. I imagine myself spending hours "perfecting" my home, while neglecting my family. Only to find that when I am done with my list there is no one there to share in my joy, because I cut them out a long time ago. It's a sobering reminder that life is best shared with others even when it's not quite ready, clean, or perfect.

Funny how now that I'm not working at a "paying" job I have more to do then ever. Actually i think it's more that I'm finally making time for things that were just less important when I had to work outside the home. Honestly things don't feel that different yet. I don't think it's totally sunk in that I don't have to go back to work ever! I've been keeping myself busy around the house doing the usual weekly chores (but now having time to pace myself and get in a nap or two occasionally), sorting through my clothes, cleaning my closet, doing better at keeping up on correspondence, reading more, taking walks with Dean and a million other asundry tasks of a "domestic engineer"! I am enjoying the relative flexibility in my schedule to plan lunches out and visits to family without feeling the undo pressure that I'm leaving the house or other things neglected. Once I've had my summer of catching up on tasks, socializing to my heart's content, and preparing for baby #2 I hope to get involved with some groups outside the house for adult conversations. Anyway, one week at a time. For now I'm off to enjoy the beautiful summer and my new found freedom!