Lake James Summer Vacation

Paisley went on her first family vacation this past week, we headed out to Lake James for some peace and tranquility (and craziness with 15 people)!

I did not get a whole lot of pictures as there was a lot of sitting around and the weather did not cooperate almost the entire week! When it was briefly sunny, Paisley and I elected to stay on shore as the required life vest ate up her tiny 9 lb frame! So, I am going to give you a look into our trip through the pictures I did get...these do not include the IPhone pictures, which I am sure you all saw all over Instagram and Facebook:)

Lilly getting so grown up.

Uncle Kamerin

After a long battle over the Snyders, Sebastian's hunger won out.

The long trek from the house to the lake.

Mamie and Paisley

Aunt Kristyn and Wesley...it was actually pretty chilly while we were there!

Uncle Kamerin

The boys getting ready to go out on the jetski, one of the few days it was sunny.

One of my favorites...LOOK AT SEBASTIAN'S GRIN!

Uncle Josh and Wesley

The floor is a great playground

Aunt Pilar

Pops and Mamie

Aunt Kelly

Watch out! He's lethal!

Don't know if you can tell but Sebastian is on there too.

Wesley enjoying the pool.

Despite the weather being horribly oppositional, it was a great relaxing week just hanging out with family...ALL the family, which is something that doesn't happen often.

Happy Birthday to my Love!

Happy Birthday to the most amazing man in the world! I might be a tad prejudice but I have the most incredible guy out there...handsome, intelligent, funny, charming, successful, responsible and an incredible Daddy all rolled into one guy!

It's hard to believe that we met when we were both only 21 and are now celebrating our 27th birthdays this year. I know it doesn't seem like very long but it feels like only yesterday I was waiting for him to come home from Iraq and that was actually 5 years ago. So much has happened in our lives in such a short amount of time. I put it all in a timeline the other day and it was cool to see.

October 15, 2008 - Jonathan finally stepped off the bus, home from Iraq.

December 2008 - I graduated from UNCC and began my full time job!

February 2009 - We bought our first house together!

June 26, 2009 - Jonathan finished his four years of active service in the USMC, inactive reserves began!

August 8, 2009 - Jonathan asked me to marry him...I said yes!

February 2010 - I took a significant role at work as President of the corporation.

October 22, 2010 - We said our "I do"s.

February 2011 - First Response test said "PREGNANT"

October 14, 2011 - Sebastian Henri Dean was welcomed into the world, 3 weeks early!

August 3, 2012 - First Response test said "PREGNANT" again!!! A little sooner than we anticipated but not any less exciting or wanted than the first time!

February 2013 - Jonathan received his official "Honorable Discharge" from the USMC...completely done!

April 2, 2013 - Paisley Sofia Dean surprised us all 4 weeks early!

May 11, 2013 - Jonathan graduated from UNCC! Took a full time position.

June 1, 2013 - I will enjoy being a stay at home mom, while working part time in my old position!

It has felt like the events just keep on coming but I wouldn't change any of it! We celebrated Jonathan's 27th birthday! I hope our next five years together are as busy and exciting as our first five, cause its keeping us young! We celebrated his big day at Lake James while on vacation. The weather had been a bit drab but its okay, we still celebrated in style!

Graduation Celebration

This post has been slightly delayed because I was waiting for some more, better than IPhone, pictures to post with it. I had to order some from the college and we all know they work at a slugs pace. So, let's begin:

It was an entire weekend of fun activities and hanging out with family and friends! I could definitely see the excitement in Jonathan, excitement for both seeing his family and finally accomplishing his goal of becoming a college graduate (in a field I would not have been able to pass in)! He was gitty and running around crazy trying to finish up his final exams, help clean the house, shop for groceries, spend time with his TWO babies, and arrange to start working on the Monday following his graduation.

Aunt Kristyn, Uncle Patrick and Wesley drove up from Florida for the weekend (for Kelly's graduation). They also got to meet Paisley for the first time and I got to hold my sweet nephew for the first time since Christmas!

Ten of Jonathan's family members made the long trip up from Florida to be here and support him on his big day...which meant the WORLD to him. Unfortunately but also very happily, Kelly was graduating from App State on the very same day and nearly the same time, so my family was not able to be two places at once. They were very sad to miss the festivities but had to be there for Kelly's big day!

The crew arrived around 10:00pm on Thursday, not the ideal time to see Sebastian is a good mood but we worked with it. He was on an antibiotic for a sinus infection and already felt crummy, the introduction of ten new people in his home proved to be too much at first. He was quietly sitting on the couch with his warm tea, just observing with hesitation, not crying or running for Mom and Dad UNTIL, he saw his Aunt Brandi carrying Paisley! He just lost it, pointing, reaching and sobbing...someone stole his baby sister! It took about thirty minutes in Mama's lap for him to finally realize they were all here to spoil him!

Friday was a very laid back day of just enjoying the company. We tried to go strawberry picking but as I feared, the farm was "closed for ripening" seems like it is ALWAYS closed for ripening! So, we explored the area with a nice scenic drive before heading back to the house to prepare some chili for dinner, it was some really delicious chili!

With Uncle Isaac

Saturday was a bit more crazy! Jonathan and I were running around making sure we had everything we needed and everything in place to arrive at his graduation ceremony by 2pm. Knowing my own child and having a barely 6 week old newborn to manage without the reliable assistance of my husband, we had already predetermined that we would be leaving Sebastian with a sitter for the ceremony. No toddler needs to sit through a three hour commencement, especially my very attention needy and hyperactive one...THANKFULLY, my Aunt Janet was available to watch him for the afternoon, lifesaver!!!

Jonathan very proudly strode across the stage to accept his congratulations! He was grinning from ear to ear and I was so happy to be there to see it, I guess his baby girl knew I needed to be there and ensured she arrived early enough for it to be possible. She was originally due a whole ten days before graduation. 

Afterwards, we headed home for a cookout! Delicious hotdogs and gourmet hamburgers graced the grill as we all just enjoyed the beautiful weather and wonderful company! 

Talking about logic with his Grandpa.

Sebastian played with his cousins: Hunter, Junior, Kayla and Abby and loved sharing his backyard with everybody. 

It was a beautiful celebratory weekend and we were sad to see everyone leave on Sunday but so thankful they were able to come visit! 

We enjoyed a quiet Mother's Day at home and Jonathan started working at his full time job the very next day!

Disney World...Booked

I seem to be one of those people who tries to do everything too early, like the I-want-to-get-Sebastian-a-bike-before-he-was-even-walking-sort-of-person...I think it is because I am so excited to see him do things that I just can't wait! So, in true fashion...I have been dying to plan a vacation to Disney World! Despite numerous recommendations to wait several more years cause my babies are too young and won't remember the trip, I am so excited to take my babies to experience the magical world of imagination! Jonathan and I have been on so few trips/vacations with just our little family that I figured this was perfect. I don't care if they remember the trip, they will have fun in the moment and I will have tons of great memories! We decided several weeks ago that we would plan a trip for Sebastian's 2nd birthday...I have since been firming up the details!

Now, it's officially BOOKED! Disney World, here we come...in late October 2013!

We will be staying in the Art of Animation Resort's Finding Nemo Suite!

We have asked Sebastian's dear Uncle Sam to come along for some fun...Sebastian adores his uncle and since Sam is still a kid for at least one more year ;) we wouldn't have him miss out on this adventure!

Paisley will not be old enough to participate in any of the activities but she can hang with Mommy and assume the role of princess of the caravan! I am positive she will be the best dressed the entire week!

She seems okay with that! Sebastian has grown a great love for movies so I am so excited for our trip...you better believe I will be posting TONS of pictures during and after so you've been warned!!!

First Trip to the Emergency Room

We were having such a wonderful day at home! Sebastian and I had decided a walk was a great idea since the rain was supposed to hold off til the afternoon and Paisley was due for one of her half dozen naps of the day, so a walk would be perfect!

We were headed to the neighborhood park but neither baby made it there conscious! It was okay though, it gave me a few extra laps around the neighborhood in complete silence! When the sun was blistering and I had quite finished sweating out my breakfast, I parked the double stroller on the porch and enjoyed fresh watermelon and a recently delivered magazine. 

Sebastian's nap did not last too long (they never do), but he was in a great mood and cheesin' up a storm for mama. 

After lunch, our afternoon took quite a different path then our morning! We were preparing to head out for some errands...we need to get daddy a birthday gift...and in his usual "I can do it all by myself attitude, Sebastian tried to go down the last step by himself...something he had done way more than once. Unfortunately, his little foot stepped a tad too far and he slipped off the step smacking his mouth against the railing base! The screaming ensued and I snatched him up in my free arm and whisked him off to the kitchen. I had to set Paisley down in the swing (she was screaming, he was screaming) and I tried to assess Sebastian. There was soooo much blood....gobs and gobs of it just pouring from his mouth, all he wanted to do was hug me so I was drenched in it as well. All of his teeth were in tact and when I was finally able to get the bleeding to slow down, I could see a significant wound on the inside of his bottom lip. I didn't notice the line on the outside right away, but when I did there was no doubt he would need stitches. 

So, since he refused to stop trying to touch it, I called Jonathan to come pick us up so I could sit in the back seat with him to ensure no extra damage was done. Jonathan made it home in record time and after speaking to the pediatrician, we were headed to the emergency room. Since the wound was on his perfect little face, Dr. Craig thought it best for a plastic surgeon to be available, just in case. 

He got to wear the most adorable little outfit and was quite intrigued by all the gadget and lights and tools! The nurse practitioner came in and assessed him and we all agreed that he would never sit still enough for them to stitch it with him awake, especially right there at his mouth. He suggested Sebastian be sedated (which meant full monitoring by a doctor, respiratory nurse, nurse and the nurse practitioner)...very scary decision to make over a cut. Since that seemed to be our only option, we agreed and preceded to wait two hours before getting to move to a procedure room.

Then it was the dreaded IV time. After telling us he never digs for a vein, our nurse proceeded to dig for several minutes on both his attempts...I'm not sure there is a better way to piss off a mommy then failing at an IV attempt. Finally, they got one in and now Sebastian was hysterical...every noise, every movement, everything sent him into a sobbing fit. Sebastian is extremely hard to soothe, always has been. 

Now, I pose a question to all my mommy friends out there: when the doctor says they plan to sedate your child, what do you take that to mean? I'm an intelligent adult as well as my husband and mother, all were present, and we are not shy about asking questions or ensuring we get the full scoop! When the nurse practitioner said he was going to knock out Sebastian for the procedure using a common sedation, we ALL thought that's what he was going to do, put him to sleep so he wouldn't feel or remember anything! Oh no, that was not what he meant at all. They ended up giving him a light sedation that pretty much caused him to be drowsy but he remained not only awake but aware enough to cry out in pain with every stitch! The local anesthetic was a joke...I have had it before and when done properly, you can't feel a thing...not even tugging. 

I was fuming halfway through the procedure because my baby was crying out in pain while sedated and he should not have felt a damn thing! I didn't know what to do, this was not at all how they said it would go and I can't very well stop them in the middle of the ordeal to have Sebastian wake up all the way and go through even more pain. I really hate doctors...they do everything so much and it becomes so routine that they forget they are working on human beings and in this case a one year old baby! They should have made sure he wouldn't feel anything, they have the tools, use them!

I have not had the best experiences with hospital doctors recently, I am paying thrm my life savings to get poor service at best. Anyway, he was already awake as they did the last interior stitch so Jonathan and I had the sad task of trying to calm him down as the side effects wore off...it took an hour to stop the sobbing. 

I was just ready to be done with it all...we finally got to leave shortly after he stopped crying. I gave him some Tylenol, juice and yogurt before snuggling up in bed with him. Definitely not something I want to do again...he has to have the stitches removed in 6 days and despite the nurse practioners wish to have us come back to he can take them out, we will never be going back there. Dr. Craig can handle 7 stitches. 

Poor baby had a fat lip when he woke up this morning but he is in good spirits!