It's Official...

The Dean family is on SPRING BREAK! We started off our staycation(no busy aiports, luggage fees, time zone changes, or family) with a bang! Here are some highlights so far:

Sam visited Lucas and Phoebe in the babyroom at the Willows on Friday, the last day before break...what a treat!

Jay and Karen took down the calendar to plan different events throughout the vacation. We're trying to make the most of our last months in Southern California and scheduling ONE event a day so we can capitalize on our dwindling days.

Saturday: We're so proud of Jay for running the Aguora Hills half marathon in 1 hour and 56 minutes!

Saturday Afternoon: Jay was still mobile in the later afternoon, so we decided to take the family to the park. Lucas was making new friends with every kid who joined him on the swings.

Sunday: Options are limited in Los Angeles when it rains, so naturally our outing for the day took place at Target! Lucas picked out his first Sesame Street Elmo toothbrush and practiced after lunch.

Sunday Afternoon: The only other logical rainy day activity is watching March Madness at the bar.
Obviously Lucas needed to text with his friends after the kinds of upsets he saw. I hope this doesn't ruin his bracket!


Besides learning how to brush his own teeth, Lucas has also successfully, without resistance, dropped to one nap a day and gotten rid of his morning and afternoon bottles. We never thought we'd be able to get our kid to nap without a bottle...What a CHAMP!

Tomorrow Karen travels with Dara to lounge poolside at a resort in Palm Springs. It is her first night away from Lucas...very well deserved! They'll read trashy magazines, talk for hours, eat good food, drink cocktails by the pool and hit the outlets. Jay and Lucas plan to have some quality time together and go to the library for storytime. Or maybe they'll just hang out together. Lucas has a favorite new play spot...

He's under the coffee table if you can't tell!

And So It Begins...

It's tournament season and the Deans are so excited that March Madness has begun! Lucas didn't complete a bracket, but any team his daddy cheers for, he'll surely cheer on as well! Karen will even be on board with Jay's bracket picks if it means bringing home some fast cash. Even though Lucas is underage, we're hoping he'll pass with the fake ID he borrowed from McCaulay Culkin and be able to watch some of the games in the bar.

Take a look at the Dean boys in the spirit of St. Patty's Day.

Unfit Parents

It's been a month and a day since our last post and we're here to admit that we have been shirking the photography aspect of our parental duties. Since our last post, we have taken a grand total of 3 pictures of Lucas (well, today, feeling guilty, we took like 10 more). I know, pathetic.

In our defense, we've been very busy. Jay continues his Minnesota Job Hunt; he's in the latter part of the search for an Upper Grade Dean position at a school in Minneapolis. We have already started looking into prices for moving vans, etc. Scary! He's also training for a half marathon and ran 12 miles today! Let's see if he can get out of bed tomorrow morning.

We are looking ahead to Spring Break in two weeks. We plan on sticking around L.A. to soak in the southern Cal lifestyle as much as we can before we go. We plan on taking Lucas to the zoo, hiking in the mountains, visiting some restaurants we've been dying to get to, and, especially to visit the many babies our friends keep having.

Elvira loves rolling Lucas' sleeves up so she can see his buff muscles!

Lucas is loving his stuffed animals and he's trying so hard to say "dog"...sadly, this is the closest he'll get to a real pet...even against Toni and Dara's strong advice:( Lucas is also plugging along in physical therapy...I mean, what's not to love, a roller coaster ride to stretch his hips and a morning Starbucks to motivate him to stand!

The poor little guy was sick all weekend with a fever and only wanted to rest on our shoulders. Looks like mommy was catching up on some rest as well. Hopefully Lucas will be nursed back to healthy after Toni sent home cartons of homemade food for the Deans. Karen had lunch with the Toni and Dara over the weekend, and, as usual, Toni had been cooking since Friday in preparation for our Sunday lunch. We are all very glad to have leftovers in the fridge!

Lucas Turns 1!!! (and other Belated Updates)

Been awhile since our last post, but we now have a 1-year-old! Fastest year ever, by far! Unfortunately, the Birthday Boy was sick the days leading up to the big day, so we canceled the Party in the Park, but Karen's parents were in town for the festivities and we celebrated with lunch and watched Lucas eat his first cupcake.

Enough talk. Let's catch up through pictures:


Lucas training for the X Games on his new tricycle.


"Rubber Duckie, you're the one..."



Quality time with "Auntie Toni."



Grandma and Grandpa stopped here to see Lucas on their way to Hawaii.



(l-r, top to bottom): Visited by Dara and Darren, birthday celebration at The Willows School, in the playpen with Sam at Phoebe's birthday party (wish we had some pictures of Phoebe, Alex & Mike), Sam eating his first cupcake at his birthday party, Lucas' first Valentine's Day card, and his brand new blocks!

I hope that helps you catch up on the goings-on of the last month. Talk to you soon...it's off to Toddle Tunes. I wish they were doing Metal Week again - Lucas LOVES Metallica now.

White Christmas

Our trip to see the Extended Dean Family in MA started with a sleepless red-eye to Dulles, a canceled connecting flight, and a 24-hour separation from our luggage. But, when we saw Grandpa Dean in his Santa hat waiting for us at the Logan baggage claim, we knew things were looking up. Lucas' 13-hour marathon sleep session the first night didn't hurt either.


The California Deans enjoyed some Christmas Eve festivities with the whole family, ate tons of food (including Nick's grinders and breakfast at Cobblestone's!), played in the snow, enjoyed the musical stylings of the Banjo Man aka Jack Dean, watched the Celtics beat the Sixers in the Gah-den, opened gifts under the real Christmas tree (thanks, Mom!), Cousins Night at Beth and Walter's, visited Nana, and saw some old friends.


Some of the highlights in pictures:

Three generations of Dean boys (l-r: Jay, Lucas, Jack, Greg) ventured out during the big snow storm for a nice hike in the woods. Lucas was again able to experience the joys of sledding.


Lucas played host to tons of visitors including Nana, "cousin" Emily, Aunt Sue, Uncle Jim and Joanne. I need to mention Aunt Sally, too: unfortunately we don't have a picture of her with Lucas, but she visited more than once!


(l-r): Jay, Lucas & Karen by the tree before the Celtics game, Lucas and Emily with Frosty in the backyard, Lucas and Karen having some playtime.


Lucas would like to thank Grandma and Grandpa Dean and Uncle Greg for their East Coast hospitality and for babysitting while Mommy and Daddy went out on some dates.

Happy Birthday Elvira!

Elvira just happens to be one of our best blessings here in California. So, it was only appropriate for Lucas and Phoebe to make her 40th birthday extra special. She was overwhelmed with surprise and excitement when she opened the babyroom door to see 2 cute kids sporting their new wardrobe. . .compliments of Alex. We also bought her roses and made her a homemade lunch and chocolate birthday cake. I think she had a good day! We are so grateful for you Elvira! Happy Birthday!

Countdown until winter break!

Lucas is excited about his new expedition backpack and expressed his enthusiasm by flailing his arms in the air around the neighborhood! Everyone we passed thought Lucas was waving at them! Little do they know this is his signature move! This is a perfect carrier for him. . .he can see up and over Jay's shoulders and can take in everything happening around him...exactly what he loves being such a social butterfly. We are strongly considering taking him on a hike in the Santa Monica Mountains! Ambitious????

Have you ever seen a cuter pair of pajamas? or kid? or smile?

Jay and Karen have been working very hard these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas and are looking forward to seeing the Dean family next weekend! It will definitely be exciting to celebrate Lucas' first Christmas! I wonder what Santa will bring?