On Our Own (Yikes!)

So, here we are...just the three of us. Exciting, but a little bit scary. After 5 glorious weeks of Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Jack assistance (we learned from the best, really), Karen and I get to be parents on our own. It was nice to have no appointments and no visitors this weekend as we acclimated to life as parents without nearby family support. All in all, it was a successful first weekend. We can do this!

Here are some recent pictures for our patient blog followers:

Again, Jack and Bonnie, THANK YOU for being here. You have no idea how much it meant to us for you be here during these first few weeks. Lucas misses you so much already!

Any day now...

Which will happen first? Jay getting his braces off (January 21st) or Baby Dean's birth (due date January 25th)? Who knows? One thing's for certain: it's not up to us!

2010 is off to a rip-roaring start. Life at Crossroads has been super hectic for Jay as he clamors to finish 2nd semester scheduling and prep the teachers and kids for mid-trimester grades. Karen is down to only a few more days at The Willows and is taking a background curriculum-planning role as her replacement takes over the teaching reins.

We have also stayed busy socially, trying to cram in as much fun as we can before we can't just get up and leave whenever we want. Tonight it's a Clippers-Cavs game at the Staples Center followed by a birthday party in the Marina.

On Wednesday, we visited with Dr. Bliss for another weekly appointment and were treated to an ultrasound view of the baby. Highlights were seeing a close-up view of the face and four chambers of a beating heart! Check out the Flip video footage of our visit:








Well, back to enjoying our three-day weekend. Go Jets! Go Vikings!

Go Baby Dean!

Big Things (and one cute and tiny thing) Coming in 2010!

The California Deans spent their Christmas together on Kiowa Avenue and did their best to make it feel like the holidays, which is not easy to do when far away from family and with no cold weather or snow on the ground. Jay decked out the balcony, staircase and fireplace with candle light and cranked up the iTunes holiday mix so Karen could catch that Christmas Spirit when she came home from the Valley on Christmas Eve, but he was soon knocked out of commission with a fever and chills. Luckily, he was over the illness within a few days, but for someone who is never sick, the timing was pretty poor.


We feel very ready for Grover's arrival and I think we can officially say we have just about everything we need. The sight of the newly installed car seat (thanks, guy from CA Highway Patrol!) has helped the reality of it all to sink in. People have been dying for the latest Bump Watch Photo, so here's Karen (36 weeks) posing last night prior to leaving for our annual Maggiano's Holiday Dinner (what a hot pregnant lady, right?)...

For those of you who don't know, each year we go to The Grove in West Hollywood to an Italian restaurant called Maggiano's for a family-style holiday feast with our collection of friends all connected to Jay's Syracuse days. The group keeps expanding and changing (friends move away, new boyfriends and girlfriends join the fun), but each year proves to be a fun, festive night of food and wine to celebrate the holidays. Karen's doctor even made her promise she'd have a glass of wine. Here's the crew (someone commented we are all wearing blue. it wasn't planned):

We will be ringing in the New Year with our good friends Dara and Darren and their new dog Cooper (one of only 2 dogs in the world Karen likes). It will be pretty low key, as our entire holiday vacation has been, but that's kind of how we roll these days. I think we are doing what they call "nesting."

Thank you to everyone for helping to make 2009 such an amazing and unforgettable year! Now it's on to 2010, a brand new decade and certainly what we can call a new phase of our lives. Baby Dean aka "Grover" will be here (hopefully) in less than 4 weeks. One set of his/her grandparents, Bonnie and Jack, are scheduled to arrive on January 23rd and will stay in Los Angeles until the end of February. We hear the family support in the first few weeks is invaluable. We feel very lucky.

Happy New Year!

So Begins the Highlander Era

Here's a shot of our new car, the first brand new car either of us has owned. We're still trying to figure out the navigation system and how to connect Karen's phone to the hands-free system, but it's a smooth ride. Unfortunately, Jay has to find street parking for the Camry every night. The trade off is worth it for this guy. We love it!

Filling in the Blanks

To our ardent followers: I apologize for the delay since our last post. Things have been crazybusy this last month, especially since we've returned to school from Thanksgiving break. Luckily, we have only one more week at Crossroads and the Willows before we can enjoy two weeks off for Christmas and the New Year, our last as a couple without kids! We're sad that we won't be with family for the holidays (too late in the pregnancy to fly), but we at least got to see our respective families over the Thanksgiving break...

Jay left CA for a conference in Cambridge the Thursday before Thanksgiving and was able to get some quality alone time with Mom and Dad up there. He was also able to see some friends and take in a Celtics game that Friday night and enjoy his first (and probably only) Daddy Shower at Aunt Sue and Uncle Paul's house. The highlight was watching Nana take a condom out of her purse during a game we played.


THANK YOU Aunt Sue and Aunt Sally- That was exactly what this "Daddy" needed. Plus, now I know what it feels like to be thrown a shower. Never thought I would.


Meanwhile, Karen flew to Minnesota the Saturday before Thanksgiving and was greeted at the airport by her brother Brian who she had not seen in over 2 years, as he and his wife Kristy were in Africa in the Peace Corps. That night, Karen joined her college friends at Worm and Mike's new house for the annual Holiday Chili Cook Off (and now really wants a house, too!) The next day, she made lefsa with her mom. Jay flew in on Monday.

Among the highlights (this is Jay getting lazy and switching to bullet points):

• Watching Annika and Emerson at dance class
• Spending time with Max, Annika, and Emerson (oh, and Eric and Jessica, too)
• Timberwolves game with Brian and Kristy
• Running the Turkey Trot 5K with Brain on Thanksgiving Day
• Brunch with Brian and Kristy after the race

• Spending time with everybody on Thanksgiving

• Lunch with Carol
• Karen's baby shower
• Men's night out at Eric's while Karen was at the baby shower

Now we're back in Los Angeles, where we'll be until the baby is born! According to our recent doctor's appointments, all is well. Last weekend, we went to a marathon baby care class and loved it! We learned how to swaddle, how to bathe the baby, how to hold it after feeding, etc. Most of all, we were reminded that it is not easy!

Today, we head up to Tarzana to pick up our new car! That's right! We're going to get our brand new Toyota Highlander, charcoal with black interior (pictures in next blog entry). It will be the first brand new car either of us has owned. Next weekend, our final piece of baby furniture arrives, so we can finally get a sense of how much (or how little) space we have in Grover's room.

As of tomorrow, we're at 34 weeks!

Karen's First Shower! or Where are We Going to Put All This Stuff?

Karen had her first baby shower this weekend at the Chado Tea Room in Los Angeles. Here she is with (l-r) Stacey and Ali, the organizers of the event (thanks, girls! you made the mommy-to-be very happy!) and below you can see the arrangement of tables and the delicious treats. We got all kinds of stuff, but nothing impressed Jay more than Grover's brand new array of New York Jets onesies care of the one and only Ali Bell. I guess Grover has no choice in his/her choice of favorite sports teams (there have to be some traditions left intact, no?).


Then, the following night, we ventured up to the Valley and were treated to a delicious meal over at the Erlich's house (this place has been Karen's home away from home for years). We had an amazing meal (mmmm...squash soup! was it spaghetti squash I wonder?) with amazing company. Then, after dinner, we were completely floored when they presented us with not one, but both of our car seats! Thanks Erlichs! Now we just need the new car to put them in.

Karen is now in Week 29. Check out the Bump Watch photo below in the usual location against the wall by the door, but this time with balloons and baby gifts! By the way, tomorrow night we go for our second three-hour-long birthing class. The good news is Jay didn't pass out last time.

That's a Fast Heartbeat!

We had a nice experience with Dr. Pelino this week, our first time meeting with someone other than Dr. Bliss. We enjoyed her very much and we heard Grover's heartbeat for the first time. I never realized it, but baby's hearts beat about 130 beats per minute, much faster than ours. It was cool when Dr. Pelino moved the ultrasound machine back and forth from Karen's heartbeat to Grover's. It sounded healthy to me.

Karen and I opted not to do the costume thing this year for Halloween, instead splurging on a nice dinner with our friends Kevin and Stacey down the road at the Tavern. Worth every penny! Here's Karen, now at week 28, before we left:




Karen goes to her first baby shower this weekend, so we'll have to clear some space for all of our new gifts. Oh, and tomorrow night, we go to our first birthing class. We have our fingers crossed that Jay won't pass out during the graphic birth video.

Also, check out this fun thing we found in the latest Parenting magazine:


Go Phillies!