Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well, hard to believe that 20 months ago Sebastian was born, and now we are just days away from our SECOND Christmas together as a family. Sebastian continues to grow both physically and mentally. He is a regular little chatter box these days and you can really see a great personality coming through. He even has a sense of humor that keeps Todd and me laughing.


I get to be home for 2 weeks, and I am enjoying every day I can being home. It is great to be here each day and hang out with my little guy. He has started takign some occasional classes at COSI and loves every minute of it. He loves to visit as often as we can, mostly because of their 30 foot water table. Who wouldn't love a 30 foot water table?

The Christmas tree is up, so far Sebastian has managed to keep his hands off the ornaments-- he just stands back and says "COOOOOOL" on occasion. We'll see how long that lasts.

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a fantastic 2011!!

The Next Fabio?

OK I had to post this picture too. In between pictures at our last photo shoot Sebsatian got "loose" in between outfit changes. Our photographer snapped these and captured a real "model" moment. It won't be long before his first GQ cover.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a week this has been for Daddy. WHEW! It is the Friday before Thanksgiving and it has not yet sunk in that the holiday is so close. We are packing our bags and headed to NJ to visit my parents. I feel totally unprepared. As luck would have it the easiest and fastest trip for us is to fly to Baltimore and drive up. We'll see how it goes. We'll post pictures of our visit here.

Happy Halloween 2010!

Sebastian was a pirate this year for Halloween. Well, that's the costume he had, he didn't wear it for Trick or Treat night, or for the annual Halloween party we attend. You can only imagine that the hat, scarf and ear ring alone were tough enough for an 18-month old to deal with, let alone the cold windy night of Trick-or-Treat. I was traveling that night, so Todd handled it alone.

Sebastian has mastered his letters and numbers. He loves counting to 20, though he is skipping 6 for some reason, he doesn't seem to like it. He also gets Q and O confused, and if an A is upside down he says A. I am so impressed! His vocabulary is really expanding too. It seems like every week when I get home he has all sorts of new tricks up his sleeve.

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close. It won't be long before we are boarding a plane and heading to New Jersey for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see my family and let them have some quality time with Sebastian.

Another fun day at the zoo

Todd and Sebastian took advantage of the nice weather this week and visited the Columbus Zoo. Sebastian sure loves the petting zoo the most, evident in the pictures of him hugging the goats. I am glad there was a nice day this late in the year to go, and sure wish I could have been there with them!

Thursday was "Beggar's Night" here in Columbus. It was too cold and windy to have Sebastian in his costume, but he did help Todd hand out candy. It was more fun to chase the other kids down the street than stay on the porch with Daddy, so they gave up around 7 PM.

Tomorrow we head to the ALcorn's house (technically we are going to Stephanie's Mom and Dad's) for the annual Halloween party. We are looking forward to seeing everyone!

Fun day at COSI

We joined COSI, and Sebastian and I finally spent a few hours checking it out today. To be honest we could have saved the money on the membership had I known how entertaining the lobby would be. There is a "Clifford the Big Red Dog" display and Sebastian had a ball playing in the different areas.

We finally ventured into the center itself and went right to the 2nd floor's Kidspace area. Sebastian spent the next 90 minutes running around and playing harder than I have ever seen. I really think he had a great time. In fact, the he was not too happy to leave. I can't wait to take him back again and again and watch him experience and learn as he grows and understands the different areas more. For now, climbing all over the Kidspace is fun enough.

Catching Up

Hello everyone, sorry for the long time without posting. Things have been very busy with work and I am far behind on my updates.

The biggest news since I last posted was our Disney vacation. The entire Deans family went to Disney for a week of sight seeing and family "together" time. We had a wonderful time, stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (courtesy of our Vacation Club Membership), and visited 3 parks. Aside from some off schedule issues between the two kids (Sebastian and my niece Amalia) it was great. Some pictures are shown below.

The other big thing is that Sebastian now recognizes nearly all of his letters, all of his numbers up to 10 and can count to 12 (sometimes 15) on his own. Todd is doing an amazing job teaching him all sorts of things as they play and read books all day. I wish I could be home to see it.

Next post will be in a week, when I unveil Sebastian's 2010 Halloween costume!

Poolside at Animal Kingdom

Sebastian looked at a plate of lemons and said "BANANA!" and insisted on eating it. He sucked the juice out of 2 lemons before we were finished lunch.

Sebastian and Pop-Pop (aka Bop-Bop) drawing on Sebastian's light tablet. I think Pop Pop was more intrigued by the light tablet than Sebastian.

Sebastian hugging Amalia (aka Ya Ya) they were so cute together!

After a nap--someone looks so serious!

Big hugs with Tigger!



Happy Labor Day!

OK first of all, I did NOT encourage my son to clean with me, but what can I say... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He grabbed this brush and started cleaning the walls and furniture the other day while I was sweeping the floors. I can't wait until he gets the hang of it and I can give him chores. Did I say that? :-)

The second picture is of a new car we bought him to ride around on the sidewalk. The nice thing about it is its handle that is "Daddy height" and unlike the other car he as we can steer him despite the direction he turns the steering wheel. The other cars are small enough he can ride on them by himself. This new one has a removable floor so he can ride in it when he is bigger too, and use his feet to move himself along.

Today we tried one later nap rather than an early and a late. What a disaster. He cried through lunch and ended up taking a nap at 1 and again at 4:00. Who knows what time he will go to bed.

It is sad to see Summer 2010 go away, we didn't even get to see the beach this year. Three weeks from now we'll be at Disney and I bet that more than makes up for it. Here's to a great Fall!

Our BIG BIG Boy!

Sebastian is certainly growing fast these days. He got his first haircut a few weeks ago and doesn't look like a baby any more. Todd took Sebastian while I was in Memphis. I was actually against the haircut all together, but I am glad he got it in the long run. He did very well until the clippers came out then the tears started.

These pictures were taken at Schiller Park in Columbus, where Todd takes Sebastian to feed the ducks. It is becoming a favorite pass time of Sebastian's and he is getting the hang of throwing the bread at the ducks so they can eat it.

His other favorite thing to do these days is drawing-- any chance he can get his hands on a pen and paper he is very happy. The ink is getting onto the paper more and more these days, and less on his hands and legs.

Summer Days

Sebastian is making the most of the summer by enjoying the baby pool and/or sprinkler most nights. We had him to our friend's "big pool" twice as well. The first time he did just fine, and was very brave; not so much the second time.
I hope to join the YMCA soon so we can go to their pool and take advantage of their swimming lessons as well. We missed the early summer classes, but there should be another round starting up in August. Until then splashing around will have to do!

Our Big Boy is Getting Bigger

Someone the other day asked if we "stretch" the pictures of Sebastian-- nope, he is really this tall, 31.5 inches (and 28 pounds) to be exact. This picture was taken a few days ago. As you can see he loves to RUN and RUN and RUN. He also gets quite sweaty for a little guy. That smile is enough to make even the worst day seem wonderful. What a happy little guy. I hope this lasts when he is 15!

Daddy's Little Helper

To be honest, the head of the vacuum wasn't quite touching the floor, but you have to admit this has real promise. So far he loves brooms, the vacuum and mops. Now, if we can teach him to mow the grass and do laundry I will be even happier! I am of course kidding, but it is so cute I had to take a picture. Of course, my slightly obsessive cleaning explains where he gets this from...

Fun with the Sand Table

We took a few minutes before dinner to play in the sand table tonight. Luckily it is shaded out back, it is getting quite warm these days! Sebastian loves playing in the sand, even if he hasn't realized that the sand is supposed to stay IN the table!

He also insists on using both shovels at once. I can't tell if it is his desire to use both hands, nor not to share the shovels with me and Todd. Either way, it sure is cute.

Home Improvements

We finally got a new driveway and landscaping done. If you recall, just days before Sebastian was born the entire front yard was dug up so a new water main could be installed. Sebastian is test driving the new driveway in this picture. What a cutie!

We Love Hawaii

OK we've never been, but we decided to bust out the shirts the other day. How cute? I think Sebastian's is the best thought. His little white pants were the cutest. I had his shirt open and with his blonde messy hair he looked like a little surfer!

Happy Birthday Sebastian!

OK I have said it a few times already, but I mean it. We're busy, and my blogging has gone significantly downhill. This post is at least a week late. We celebrated Sebastian's birthday last week. My parents came in in Friday afternoon and spent the weekend. We met up with some friends and Todd's mom and aunt at La Fogata Grill (go figure) and had a nice little party. It is hard to believe our little guy is a year old already. This has been quite a year for us all.