Busy Week

   That burst of motivation and energy I got last week seems to have gotten the better of me. I took off full speed and I think my body is telling me to slow down a little. I woke up with horrible allergies/cold last Wednesday morning but with my newly made goals and the Robertson family reunion that weekend I tried to push through. My family came into town Wednesday afternoon which was the start of the three day Robertson reunion at Hobble Creek Canyon. It has been several years since I've seen a lot of my extended family on my dad's side so it was fun visiting and catching up with many of them. However, by the time Saturday night rolled around I was so exhausted and have literally spent the last three days recuperating.

   Addie has also decided to completely change up her sleeping habits and for the last week has woke up four or more times a night! I don't know why all of a sudden she wakes up every 1-3 hours but after a week of this we have sadly resorted back to having her sleep in her swing at night so we can actually get some sleep. The first night we put her back in her swing she slept for 8 hours straight! I finally ended up waking her up to feed her because I was afraid I might burst. We are still working on catching up on sleep and getting myself over this cold so we haven't really even thought about reintroducing her to her crib again. I just pray that when we do feel ready to tackle that issue that Addie will have an easy transition back to sleeping in her crib. Besides being a little pill at night she continues to melt my heart each and every day. I woke up today planning on being productive but instead ended up snuggling with Addie for a good part of the day...and to be honest, I don't regret it at all. She is such a sweetheart, I love her so much!

 Our little monkey. She went through a phase where she would smile really big every time Collin would say, "poopie doopie!"... so silly.

 During tummy time Addie happened to spit-up then dunked her face in it...haha this just cracks me up.

Last Tuesday we decided to go on a hike as a family near Bridal Veil Fall up Provo Canyon. It was a beautiful day, refreshing, and a great workout pushing her stroller up hill! 

 My sister-in-law, Annelise, let me borrow this jungle play mat and Addie just loves it. She will play under it for a good hour each day.

 Snuggling with daddy...oh how I love them...and her cute farm animal pjs!

3 Months

She grows so fast...

3 Months old

2 Months

1 Month

3 days old

Perfection

I think I've finally perfected the art of stir-frying! Recently we've been eating a lot of stir-fry for dinner, it is quick, easy, cheap, and delicious! When scanning pinterest several weeks ago I found a recipe for a glaze that we love and only takes three ingredients; honey, soy sauce, and garlic. If you are going for a cheap meal, but want great taste this is it. The recipe is normally for honey garlic pork chops (which we'e also made and is delicious) but last night I decided to use it over chicken and stir-fry-- very tasty!

After dinner on Monday we had family home evening which by the end turned into staying up till one in the morning putting together and rockin' out to a compilation of our favorite 80's music. Staying up that late quickly turned into a horrible idea when Addie decided to wake up every two hours, for the third night in a row. That morning Collin and I both decided that it was time to get her on more of a bedtime routine and not let her sleep so much during the day.While it was difficult keeping her up for most of the day it definitely paid off when she slept for seven hours straight last night! It was greatly needed too because by the end of yesterday I was seriously beat and lacking sleep. I'm hoping this routine will help Addie get to the point where she'll start sleeping through the night.

New Found Motivation

    Somehow two months have slipped by since my last post and we now find ourselves with a three month old! It has been such a delight to watch her grow and develop her own little personality. Of all of Addilyn's recent developments my favorite by far is her laugh-- it warms my heart and is just so adorable! While she is normally a very happy and smiley baby she is also very particular. We still haven't had any luck with the pacifier (her fingers are still her preferred pacifier) and she recently decided she doesn't really like bottles either; however, we do finally have her sleeping in her crib! Things are starting to feel a little more routine. Unfortunately I left my camera cord at my sister's house so I don't have any picture updates of the last couple of months yet but they will be up soon.
    Apart from the joys of motherhood I've recently been rediscovering myself and my life goals. For the past several years I have been so caught up in the hustle and bustle that I feel I have neglected some of the most important things in life. I keep waiting for a time when things aren't so busy, but I'm done making excuses for myself. Life is never going to slow down, in fact it may just get even crazier. I've found over the years that life is too short and to fast to simply hang on and get pulled along; therefore, I've decided to grab hold of the reins and take control. Time and time again I find myself making goals to later see them fading away in the past unaccomplished. Well I'm starting fresh with a new found motivation to be the best self, wife, and mom I can be. Here are my immediate goals:


1.   Journal. It is something I've never been good at (as you can see from how often I blog) but is something we have been strongly counseled to do. Journaling provides a way to look back and remember events and thoughts that may be forgotten years down the road. For me I've decided to use this blog as my journal, a place to record baby milestones, family memories, my thoughts, inspiration, and progress reports. 

2.   Gospel centered home. While we have let the hustle and bustle consume our lives, spirituality in our home as been somewhat lacking. Sometimes, many times I have to sit back and realize what is more important. It is easy to get distracted but I have a firm testimony about the importance of a gospel centered home. My goal is to be more diligent in having Family Home Evening each week (ideas are welcome) and attending the temple at least once a month with Collin.

3.   Get organized. Since becoming a wife and a mother I've had a lot more motivation to get organized in life. I'd have to say that my mother is a master at this, something she tried to instill in me growing up but never really stuck when I left home. Maybe it will be one of those things that will just hit me one day but for now I really have to work at it. I could go into many different ways on how I need to get organized in my life but for now I want to focus on getting financially organized, which leads me to my next goal.

4.   Budget. Now that we are not making as much money was we were when we were both working, and now that we are saving up for graduate school, sticking to a budget is crucial. I've written out a strict budget for the month of July for the first time and am anxious to see if we can pull it off... I'll let you know how we did at the end of the month.

5.   Exercise. Of course what would my list of goals (or anyone else's list of goals) be without mentioning exercise. I grew up in a home of physically active parents and am currently studying public health so it is about time I get a little more dedicated with physical fitness. I'm not really one for making big weight loss goals or constantly watching the scale but I do like the way I feel when I workout. I feel healthier, happier, and have more energy throughout the day. I've started this goal today and so far it's a success, now I've just got to keep this motivation going!

1 Month

Our baby is 1 month old.  Its hard for me to believe that five weeks have already past since the day Addie was born. I'm feeling like my old self again-- well except for now having massive breasts (sorry if that is too much info). Almost all the pregnancy weight has come off and I'm ready to start exercising to tighten things back up. Addie however has been putting on the pounds. She has gained almost three pounds since she was born-- they grow so fast! I feel lucky to say that she is a pretty good baby; she eats well, sleeps well, and is so darn cute! For the past two days she has been so cuddly I end up just snuggling with her all day long, I don't ever want to put her down. We've also found that she loves sleeping on her tummy. For the past month she would only sleep in her swing at nights but now that she has taken to her sleeping on her tummy she has been sleeping more in her crib. I feel a little hesitant and scared leaving her on her tummy at nights sometimes but it seem to work for now. And as you can tell from some of the pictures I've posted she as started smiling too! Anyway, here are a few more pictures of her cute little self!

The Graduate

While I was able to finish my classes before Addilyn was born, Collin unfortunately still had a week of school left. I was so grateful that my mom was here to help after I had Addie because we didn't see much of Collin the week after because he was so busy finishing up with his finals. I'm sure it was hard for him to buckle down and concentrate after just having a baby however, somehow he made it through-- with flying colors too! Collin graduated with honors from Utah Valley University with a BA in Psychology. I know he has worked so hard to get to where he is today and I'm so proud of him. I love the passion he has for learning and his desire to help others. Our plan now is to work and save some money for graduate school which we will be applying to in this fall. I still have three more classes to take before I can graduate, so I hope to be done with school by December. Collin also recently got a new job working at a youth residential treatment center helping troubled youth. He eventually wants to get a PhD in clinical psychology working with adolescents and children so hopefully this job will provide him with some good experience. Anyway here are some pictures from Collin's graduation. Enjoy!

(When Collin's mom came out of his graduation she stayed with us over the weekend to help out with Addie. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful mothers and family that are always so willing to help. I can safely say for the both of us that we would never be where we are today without them, they have done so much for us.)

Addilyn Fae Dean

We made it; we survived April. The first couple of weeks in April was like a mad dash to the finish line after a long, tiresome marathon.The Friday before I delivered was my last day at work, Saturday I took three of my five finals, Monday I completed my online class and that night around midnight I was admitted into the hospital. I started contracting Sunday night but they were very sporadic, happening every 20 minutes to every couple of hours. By Monday night my contractions were coming every 5-10 minutes but I kept holding off going to the hospital in fear that they would tell me I wasn't ready and send me home. Finally after an hour of contractions coming every 5 minutes we decided to grab our bags and head to the hospital. Leaving our apartment that night it was crazy to think that the next time we would come back to it we would finally be a baby to fill our empty nursery.

Labor was long and uncomfortable. Once admitted into the hospital they checked my dilation which was barely 1 cm. After about another hour of intense contractions they decided to get me going on my epidural. Even with my epidural I still felt uncomfortable and dilation continued to progress  very slowly. By 6am I was only dilated to 4cm so they started me on Petocin to get me labor moving along, but literally seconds after they put it through my IV my water broke and I began feeling strong contractions again. For some reason the epidural was not working and it took several different doses to finally get it to work-- by that time it was well past 10am. Finally by 11:30ish I had dilated to 10cm and was ready to start pushing. I was already so exhausted by this point from so much lack of sleep that I was barely coherent during the next hour and a half. Once the doctor came in we found out that the baby was posterior and needed to be turned. Luckily the doctor got her turned correcting using forceps and then at 1:09, after 13 hours of labor, our precious daughter, Addilyn Fae Dean, was born weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and measuring 20 inches long.

It has now been one month since our beautiful baby girl came into our lives and she has truly filled an empty place in my heart I didn't even know I had. From the first moment I held her in my arms my life has felt so overwhelmingly full. Being parents has brought us more joy then either of us could have ever imagined; no other worldly success or accomplishment can compare. Thank you to all of the many wonderful friends and family who have helped us over the last month, we couldn't have done it without you.

I'm especially grateful for my mom who has always been there for me. I was so thankful to have her there during my delivery and for all her help after Addie was born. She is truly an amazing women/mother and I know if I have any success at being a mother myself it will be because of her example. Thank you for all your love and support. I also wanted to say thank you to my sister, Hanna who I also could not have done without. It had not even been 24 hours after her surgery that she was right by my side in the hospital giving her support. It meant so much to me that she was there and excited for me even through the pain of just losing her little babies. She too is a great inspiration in my life and a strong woman that I deeply admire. Lastly, I could not have done without my husband. I am so grateful to have him in my life. He is an amazing spouse and a wonderful father. Life is blissful!