Dangerous Wonder

I can hardly believe that Dean is already 15 months old. He really is no longer my little baby! He had is check-up Thursday and did very well. Mama remembered to bring his Teddy (his best friend) to comfort him after his shots. He still cried a lot, if you know my son you know how dramatic he is, but clinging to Teddy seemed to shorten his hysterics a little. He weighed in at 27.5 lbs and is 34 in tall. His height is literally off the charts while his weight is between 75-80%. Dr Ryan says he still sleeps a lot because he still growing a lot. He grew 1.5 in and gained 2 lbs just since his 12 mon appt. I guess he's getting enough to eat! :)

Now that Dean has started using sign we are being more intentional about making him use it. He's gotten "more" down really well, especially cause he knows it has results! Now I'm trying emphasize manners and please and thank you. Still not walking yet and no one seems worried. I'm not really worried either, I'm just getting too pregnant to be able to carry him much! He walks along and around everything, now I think it's just a matter of him being brave enough to let go...... Funny how those life lessons repeat themselves in so many different ways over the course of our lives. How often do I fail to let go of something for fear of falling, failing, or the unknown? I hope to be able to teach my son to not only trust me, but more so to trust his Heavenly Father to always care for him.

So I think I'm seeing a type of Murphy's law at work in my life, but before I get to that... I'm realizing I haven't taken pics of Dean in awhile. I'll blame it on being preoccupied with many other things. We still take Dean to the park and swimming, but I just don't have the mental energy to keep track of a camera on top of everything else. I will try to get some taken though soon. Dean I think is finally slowing down growth wise. At least he still wearing most of the clothes that we started the summer with. He has put on a few more pounds, which is making my life a little bit harder. He is so close to walking, but just doesn't have the bravery to let go. When I take him to the park I let him practice walking after he swings awhile. He really does enjoy walking as long as he feels safe. I kind of wish we had one of those walking harnesses to try as I wonder if that would help. Oh well, not going to invest in one now. We have plenty of other more important things to get.

Ok, back to my Murphy's law statement. I am noticing that just as I am needing to get more things done in preparation for my sister moving in and Abi coming, I'm having more contractions. Not anything painful, but definitely more frequent especially as it gets later in the day. I'm not overly worried that I'm going to go into labor early, but I do try to lay down when I notice that they are getting too frequent. It is frustrating though when I want to continue to work on things around the house. I'm the type that will rest better after Abi's born if I know that there is nothing pressing to do. I have a hard enough time resting as it is. This time around though I am much more aware of the need to rest when you can with a newborn.

Kyle has been a great help though and we are getting quite a bit done. I had to laugh over this past holiday weekend. Both Kyle and I grew up hating the Labor Day holiday as it always meant work around the house and never felt like a holiday. Now that we are older what do we do for Labor Day?? Work around the house!!! :) Maybe our parents weren't so crazy after all!

Tonight I took Dean to the park for what is beginning to be a nightly ritual again. Now that it's cooler and I'm getting better at being done with my "chores" for the day before dinner, I am trying to take a daily walk. It's good exercise for me and Dean loves being outside, especially when we end up at the park where he can swing. Tonight I decided after swinging for awhile to let him walk around a little. I've been noticing that, though he walks along things, I don't walk WITH him very much. So why not try at the park right? He really does love to walk, but rarely has enough room to get worn out. As we were walking along the sidewalk we came upon this couple and their two dogs. Now of all the animals in the world, (or of the ones he's encountered) Dean loves dogs the most. It's funny to me how a loud sneeze or sharp voice can make him dissolve into a pile of tears, but the loud menacing bark of a dog doesn't faze him. Anyway, as we came upon these dogs he purposely let go of one of my hands and signed the word "dog". I couldn't believe it! I've been trying to get him to use sign language for the last 8 months and all I've gotten is a blank stare. For his birthday I did get him the "Baby Signing Times" video which he loves! It's the one time of day that he'll sit still for more then 5 min. I wasn't really sure though if the signs that they are teaching him were really getting through. Guess I was wrong! Honestly I had kind of given up and was just letting him watch the video when I needed a few minutes of him being quiet. Now if I can only get him to use signs related to proper table manners such as please, thank you, more, drink, etc. (sigh) Well one small step at a time! :)