Christmas

This the picture I intended to use on my Christmas card. Which is why I didn't post it sooner but for some reason I was never able to find the time to send out cards this year. I know, I should have made time.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Since Dylan wasn't able to fully appreciate opening presents we only got him one, well three if you include the bath toys and music CD we opened early. However he did get plenty of gifts from Grandma's and Grandpa's. He's been playing with everything and he thanks all of you.

Christmas Eve was the first time Dylan took any interest into the tree. He's know it's been there but I think it was the first time he realized that he was able to crawl for it. So he "inch wormed" his way over there from across the room.

I just love this picture. It's a classic.

This one is fabulous.

He was in such a great mood this night. Too bad he didn't sleep better through out the night.

Posted by Mommy.

Crawling

So I think this is what we'll consider Dylan's first crawl. He was over on his mat and saw the remote laying on the floor. He loves the remote it's the first thing we've taken away from him that makes him mad enough to cry. If he sees it he usually lunges for it. Well Today when he saw it across the room he instantly got this determined look on his face and was off. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening before I was able to grab the camera. He was pretty much already there when I started filming. But still at least we caught a little bit for Daddy.

Ignore the messy background. :(


Posted by Mommy.

I have a lot to share this morning. First I have some naked pictures to share. I know, I know, but he'll get over it. You can really see his lip in these pictures. I've also noticed a lot more people ask me about it, which makes me feel confirmed that it is in fact growing and not going away like we have hoped. It wasn't until I seen these pictures that I noticed how bad it sticks out. I look at him and see just a beautiful smile and now I often wonder what other people think. I think I know now that I'll get it removed for him. It's just going to be such a hard thing to have heal. Babies suck, chew and put everything they can in their mouth. I dread this time, especially since we're so dependent on his pacifier.

We also learned the other day how mobile he really is. I've found him in corners and messing with the Tivo and DVD player which happens to sit just at his level. He's all over the living room. It's hard to remember that we have a child now and we can't just leave something on the floor to pick up later. I constantly have to think about what's in his "area" when I leave the room to the kitchen or use the bathroom. Sometimes I have panicked and ran back in there to make sure I didn't forget about the scissors I used to cut the tag off his shirt. Which luckily hasn't happened yet, it's been a false alarm each time.

Speaking of just how mobile he is... He figured out that he can get on his knees and rock and fall forward to get closer to things. There's been a few times where I thought, "Here he goes, he's going to crawl" but then he falls. He figured this out one morning and hasn't stopped since. He has it mastered by now. He's so cute. I really think he'll be crawling before Christmas, if not then right after.

Here's some pictures of him in his Christmas PJ's. They're the kind that have the button flap on the bottom and to my surprise it really does unbutton to expose his bottom. :) No I haven't taken that picture just yet. But I'm so going to stick him in them diaperless after Christmas so I can take that picture. :) He's just way too cute.

Posted by Mommy.

The Latest Videos

Justin doesn't get home from work until 7 or a little later. Dylan normally goes to be at 7 or a little later so we frequently have "quiet" time together where we sing and rock. This is one of the first time I've sang him this song and when i got to the end for some reason he just started giggling. This is about the 3rd time in a row so he didn't react as much as the first time, which I didn't catch on tape, but it's still precious.

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Posted by Mommy

My sweet sweet boy.

Dylan,

I guess lets start with the name... We picked Dylan simply because we liked it. Although, Daddy likes to tell people that were were huge 90210 fans. He thinks it's funny, I'm sure by time you read this you'll think it's funny too (after asking "What's 90210?"). Before we knew you were a boy I had kept trying to think of a way to name my child after my Great Grandma Parker. In the beginning you were Sophia, because Daddy liked it so much and girl names were so much easier to come up with than boy names. I wanted Isabelle, but caved and eventually we both started calling you Sophia. We were so sure you were a girl. Although I knew you were a boy, I wasn't surprised one bit when the doctor told me. Next I liked Parker,(after your great great grandma, She was a strong and wonderful woman to be around) you're Dad liked Caiden and Dylan, I let your father pick your first name and I'd pick your middle. Of course there were stipulations, I had to like it. :) In the end we came up with your name together and we joke about how it sounds like a rockstars name and how when you grow up you won't have to change it.

People refer to you as Dyl, Tater Tot or Pickle. I have a tendency to call you Dyl, lover boy, or Baby. (You're only 5 months old)

It's Monday, and you're napping right now. We've been playing all morning. I dumped your whole toy bin upside down in the middle of the floor for you to play in. You were satisfied for a few minutes but grew very frustrated because you couldn't suck on things as if they were your pacifier. Yes, you use a passy. Or rather Mom uses the passy. I'm not quite sure if you "need" it as much as I need it, you're starting to be very vocal, which is good, sometimes. I've also broken another thing that I vowed never to let my child do. You have a blanky. I'm not sure if you'll grow to be attached to it as much as other children are but you love the feel of it next to your face when you're drifting to sleep.

Last night you woke at two and then again at four, this time wanting to eat. I made a bottle and you chugged it down still half asleep. You started signing to me in a quiet sweet voice. "Ahhhh, ahhhh, ahhh" as you drifted back to sleep. I put you back to bed and then Daddy came to get you when you woke in the morning. You have been fighting some kind of cold for the past 3 weeks, we all have. Daddy laid you next to me, you rolled over on your side and watched me for a second then reached out and put your hand on my cheek. You drifted back to sleep. I laid there only because you were asleep. I kept fighting the urge to move afraid I'd wake you. Finally after an hour you rolled over onto your tummy and popped your head up looking around as if you were unsure of where you were. Your eyes finally fell upon me lying next to you and your little face lit up with a smile. This is how I wish every morning went. Normally you're up at six and you don't want to snuggle anymore, you're wide awake wanting to play.

Things you like: Frog Song, We're a Happy Family song, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Pacifier, Camouflage blanket, Banana's, Pears, Applesauce, Twinkle Twinkle, The wind up musical star playing when you take naps, Bath time, sitting up, Chewing on anything

Things you hate: Falling asleep when you want to play, Car seat, strangers picking you up



posted by Mommy.

Dylan's plastic surgery appointment

Today we took Dylan to a plastic surgeon to look at a red bump he's had on his lower lip since he was 2 months old. Turns out it is a hemangioma which is nothing that can harm him, so thats great news. Its possible however that it could grow into something that could make him less cute. We've decided that we'll monitor it for a couple months to see if it either goes away on its own or whether it grows bigger. Its easier to remove when its small so we'll most likely have them remove it before the end of the year. They'll either just slice it off and stitch it up, or shave it down with a laser. Either way we are pretty sure he'll have to go under some kind of anesthesia which is kinda scary. So continue to pray that whatever route we take he stays safe and healthy.

posted by Daddy.

He's rolling!

Yesterday we woke up pretty early. I knew the time change would mess us up, I just wasn't sure how messed up. Anyway we've had a long morning. :)

Saturday Justin and I decided to go down to Virginia Highlands and check out a new somewhat kid friendly place for dinner. Dylan was laying on hid floor mat and Justin kept bugging me to go get ready. I was procrastinating because I just knew the second I went to shower Dylan' would roll over.

I came downstairs and sat down and put my shoes on. Looked over at Dylan and he was on his belly, I looked at Justin and asked if he rolled over. He so was going to let me think he hadn't. Needless to say Once again I missed him roll over and I was so disappointed. However this morning like he does it all the time, Dylan rolled over. I caught it on tape. I'm so that mom, I thought I was going to cry. lol

He's so cute. You know those parents who look at their ugly kid and you just know they're in denial, yeah that's so not us because Dylan's seriously the cutest baby ever. Right? lol



Here's some more pics to prove it.

Today every time he lays on his back he instantly tries to roll. I put him down to change, let go grab a diaper I come back to him on his belly. He has totally perfected this.

He's also discovered his voice. I read this morning this is their week that most babies discover cause and reaction. I noticed this today. He screams really loud, enough for me to turn my head and look. He smiles. This game is driving me nuts. I'm so trying not to react to it. Wish me luck. He's still so cute.

Posted by Mommy.

Trick or Treat

Here's some pictures of Dylan's first Halloween. I especially look forward to this holiday. Yes, I am that person. The one who loves to dress up and decorate the house all scary. This year Dylan and I dressed up and passed out candy to the 5 trick or treaters we had. I was a vampire and he was my bat. :) I know, I'm a dork but anyway here's the pictures.

Posted by Mommy.

Big Boy seat at Walmart

Speaking of growing up too fast...




We put Dylan in the big boy seat of the shopping cart yesterday at Walmart. He's probably just a little too early to really do it every time, but it sure beats lugging that 20lb (40lb with him in it) car seat everywhere.

He holds himself up on his own pretty good but it was around his nap time so about 20 minutes into shopping we had to prop him up with teddy bears to keep him from falling over. (FYI, the rule "If you slobber on it you buy it" isn't really law)

Mommy might not want him to grow up so fast, but I can't wait until he's a little more independent. It will be great when he can hold his own bottle, or sit there and play by himself.... or run to Walmart for us while we have "grown up time." :)

posted by Daddy.

A week of Change

This morning I woke at 6 and fed Dylan - he went to his crib on his tummy and I went to bed. An hour later when Dylan was up for the morning Daddy went to get him. He comes back in and says he found Dylan on his back playing. He so rolled over for the first time and I missed it! The other night he was so close, I got so excited but was relieved when he didn't do it. I don't know I already feel like I'm losing the baby in him already. He wants to sit up, he wants to "help" hold his bottles, he makes it well know he hates his car seat, he reaches for toys and he has 2 teeth. All of this has happened pretty much with in this past week. Last Sunday he had pretty much no interest in reaching for toys, no teeth, and would accidentally bounce in his jumper... today he was LAUGHING at the light the bouncer made when he jumped. Oh and then I picked him up and made an oink sound and he fell apart in giggles. Oh and he sings to me sometimes. I love that part. It's what makes me want to keep rocking him to sleep :). It's only once in a while though.

Anyway I have mixed emotions about this past week, part of me is super excited to see him grow up, but the other part of me hates that it's happening so fast! He's such a little person already. He has likes and dislikes. How do mom's cope?

(I bought batteries today so I'll get back to clicking pictures and taking movies again soon!)

PS. The "red hair like the mail man" Was funny when I voted... But who's the other one who voted??? What are you trying to say? lol
Posted by Mommy.

All the cool babies are on MySpace

Dylan is finally on MySpace. Check out his profile and add him as your friend, http://myspace.com/dylanpdean


posted by Daddy.

Make that two!

Ok so I've tried to take a picture of his new TEETH, (yes, TWO!) but my camera sucks and it just comes out all blurry and plus Dylan hasn't learned how to show off his teethies yet. So it makes it very difficult to take a picture.

He also almost rolled over today but my batteries died on my camera so he decided he's going to wait for me to buy new ones. That's how that works, right?

He's getting so big!

Posted by Mommy.

First Tooth!

Dylan had his first tooth poke through this morning. Which explains the crankiness and excess drooling. :) Anyone want to babysit today? lol. : ) just kidding.

Posted by Mommy.

OMG my BFF Connor

We let Dylan's cousin Connor babysit the other day when Heidi and I were at Taste of Atlanta. Cindi posted some cool pictures of the two hanging out, you can see them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Cindi.N.Tony/ConnorAndLittleBabyDylan

Dylan told me that Connor is his new BFF cause they both like trucks.



posted by Daddy.

Dad vs. The Boy

Wilkinson razors (which is Schick here in the US) has a great campaign out right now that really speaks to me on a personal level. Check out this trailer: http://www.ffk-wilkinson.com

It's scary how accurate this is.

posted by Daddy.

Jumping.

Thought I'd share the latest video.

Posted by Mommy.

Working the ladies at the Doctors.

Posted by Mommy.

Mommy's Sweet Boy

Posted by Mommy.

Take the Hair color poll

Dylan is currently going bald. I think its from all the baby stress. He was born with a TON of beautiful black hair. Now it all resides on the back of his car seat, his bouncy chair, the crib and I think I saw some on the couch. He still has some on the left side of his head because he sleeps on his right. Its very weird.

So we created a new poll (to your left) to see what y'all think his hair will grow back as. I was born with black hair just like Dylan, but it turned blonde. Heidi was born with brown hair and its still brown. So it will be very interesting to see what color Dylan's turns out to be.

Let us know your guess and take the poll. The winner will get a free Ipod!*



*this is a lie.

Posted by: Your Daddy

New website

Check out Dylan's new website at DylanDean.com. We'll keep it up to date with the latest photos and videos so check back often to see how fast he's growing up.

The site also links to this blog which will now be updated by both Heidi and I. We'll try to keep you posted on the latest things that Dylan is doing.

We'll add videos to the site often. Right now there is one up of Dylan playing Peak A Boo with Mommy.

Go check it out.

Happy Birthday!

So I ended up getting the coolest Father's Day present ever! Dylan was born 10:25pm on Father's Day. He's a whopping 9 lbs, 14 ounces! 21 1/4" long and he's doing very well. We are all back at home now and trying to get settled in.

I'll have to post more about everything later, but check out the Picasa album to hold you out for a little bit:

http://picasaweb.google.com/justinjdean/DylanSBirth

Or better yet, here's a slideshow:

Peace Out!

Here are some pictures from Heidi's latest ultrasound. Dylan is giving us the peace sign.

I just hope he doesn't come out with dreadlocks and smoking a joint.

You're going to push 6lbs through where?

Heidi just called me after leaving her weekly Dr's visit. Dylan is estimated to be 6 lbs and 10 ounces! Thats a huge baby, and he's only getting bigger! I can't even think about how Heidi is going to get him out of there. Its amazing that anyone is able to do it.

On Thursday she'll meet with her other Doc who will hopefully be able to give us a little better understanding on when he will be coming, or if there is a possibility of inducing early or if a C-section is looking more like the way its going to happen. With Heidi's gestational diabetes its definitely a possibility.

I have a pretty important business trip to California June 2nd through 5th so we are kind of worried that he's going to want to come while I'm gone. I know what you are thinking, how the heck can I leave when its this close (our due date is June 25th)? That's kind of why we are hoping that he'll be induced early. Obviously the health of the baby and Heidi is more important than anything, so we'll find out what the Dr. has to say on Thursday.

Top 10 Fears of Expectant Fathers

I found this top 10 list online somewhere. Some of them are pretty accurate, but it was helpful to find that a lot of them didn't worry me. I thought I'd just break it down for you here:

1. Will I be a good father?
Probably one of my biggest fears. When I think about how good of a father I'm going to be I immediately start thinking about how much I suck at sports. I think about whether I'm "man enough" myself to teach him how to be a good man. Am I going to be able to give him everything he needs... everything I didn't get growing up? Heck, I've still got a lot of growing up to do, so how good am I going to be at fathering him?

2. Can I financially support the family?
This was a concern. Things at work are actually going really great for me. We are able to manage our income so that Heidi can stay home and be there for Dylan, hopefully for the first 5 years. I still worry that he's going to be more money that we expect. Hopefully he won't have any really bad medical problems. But still, its going to be harder down the road if we decide to put him in private school. I'm convinced that this isn't going to be as big of a problem as it seems though. I really believe we've been blessed financially lately because we started tithing earlier this year. There's no way I'd stop now. I think God is going to take care of us financially.

3. Can I handle her emotional changes?
I already know the answer to this....no. Its been hard. Heidi gets crazy sometimes. Its hard not to take it personally like I'm doing something wrong or not doing enough. It doesn't make it easier that she doesn't communicate well when she needs help or when she's mad at me. Luckily this will all be over soon. I just feel so bad for her, shes going through so many changes in such a short period of time. Everything must be 100% more real to her.

4. Am I the real father?
If this baby comes out black Heidi's in big trouble!! Just kidding... I have to say this one is not even the slightest worry for me. If you are an expecting father and you are seriously worrying about this then you've got bigger problems dude.

5. What if I die too young?
This one makes sense. I've never been one to really worry about wearing my seatbelt, but since Heidi got pregnant its been more of a priority for me. And I can kiss my goal of jumping out of an airplane goodbye. I have more to live for now than ever. I have a baby who is depending on having a father around, and a wife that needs my support and help.

6. Will my wife and baby survive?
We have been so blessed to not really have any complications with the pregnancy so far, but its still a fear. My world would be over if anything happened to Heidi, but I'd be just as upset if I lost Dylan and I haven't even met him yet. I'm probably more afraid that he's going to come out with downs syndrome or something. Honestly, as horrible as this may sound I'd be devastated if something was wrong like that. There's no doubt I'd love him and deal with it, but it would be hard. I just want them both to be healthy.

7. Will she love the baby more than me?
She probably will, at times. She'll be the sole caregiver, being with him all day everyday. Before we knew we had a boy I really wanted a girl because I knew she'd be attached to me, you know daddy's little girl. But I'm pretty sure Dylan is going to be a Mama's boy. And thats great, it really is... but it makes me feel a little jealous.

8. How can I help during the pregnancy if I don't understand "women's" problems?
I try to help Heidi as much as I can, but I already get the feeling sometimes that she thinks theres no way I can understand what shes going through. I try not to get angry at her when she's in a bad mood, and I try to do things for her that I know she has a hard time doing now. Hopefully I'm being a good husband through all of this. I know its hard for her these last few weeks because I'm trying to focus on building my new career, while also trying to be there for her all the time. Its hard to juggle both... I'm not looking forward to throwing being a good father in there too. This pregnancy has been a lot easier then we thought it would be, but I probably never will fully understand what shes going through and what shes feeling.

9. Will I do a good job at the birth?
Will I be left out is more my fear. I don't want to be ignored. Its my baby and my day too. I don't think that will really happen, but I just don't know what to expect. Is she going to yell at me and hate me? Or is she going to be overly lovey and not want me to let go of her? Overall I think it will fine though...should be a wonderful day.

10. I don't even like children, so how can I cope with this?
I hate children. I really do. In fact when Heidi and I were dating I warned her that I wasn't sure if I ever wanted children. I just wanted her to know that I wasn't sure and that if its important to her that it just might not happen with me. But one day I just knew it was time. She never pressured me into it at all. We were only married like 8 months I think and I told her that I was ready to have a kid if she wanted to. She wasn't ready at that moment, but it was only a couple weeks later when she realized she was ready too. But to be honest, now that its only weeks away from becoming a major reality I'm a little scared that I'm not as ready as I thought I was.


I really am scared to be a dad. When I think of dad's I can't picture myself in that category. I really hope that changes quickly after he's born. Part of me knows its going to just fine though. I've been through quite a lot in my life and I've come out of all of it stronger and better.

Softcore porn and parenting videos

So Heidi got a DVD today on the basics of how to take care of a new baby. Its a pretty good video. Teaches how to hold the baby, how to change a diaper, and my favorite part...how to breast feed! If you ever need an excuse to watch soft core porn with your wife but you just can't get the nerve to ask her then I suggest the Very Best Baby videos. :)

Its fun learning this stuff. I had no idea about most of it. Did you know that its a good idea to flick the baby's lips with the nipple if he won't latch onto the breast when breast feeding? I can't wait!

And that baby talk voice that people use when talking to babies, thats actually helpful to the baby! I thought people were just idiots. In fact I had it all planned out to yell at people if they didn't talk to my son like a normal human being. But apparently babies really like the high pitched baby talk. It soothes them and makes them happy.

Heidi already knows this stuff. I guess women just know. I'm a little overwhelmed with everything you have to know. I'm so afraid that after the birth they are just going to hand us the baby and send us home without any help. How the heck are we supposed to know what to do?

The baby's room

For those of you who read my wife's blog you may have already seen these pictures, but here's Dylan's room. We've finally got it all setup. Well for the most part. It's all painted, the crib is built and the room is clean. We've still got some setting up to do and some things to buy, but I'm pretty sure the hard parts are over. Listen to me... I sound like I actually did a lot of work. Reality is that Heidi did most of it. I think she really did a great job with the painting. If you ever get the idea to paint stripes (especially two different colored stripes) then talk to my wife first. She's perfected a technique.

The room looks much better as a baby's room than it did as my office. Now that I've got the laptop my office has moved to the couch anyway, so Dylan can have it.

Notice I don't call it a nursery. I hate that word. Why can't we just call it the baby's room?

What happened to my wife?

Heidi has been pregnant for about 8 months now. It's hard to remember a time when she wasn't pregnant, but man I cannot wait until this is over. I just want my wife back!

She's turned into a crazy person. The other night we ate at the new Mimi's Cafe that opened near us. We got there and were told that the wait would be about 25 minutes. At the time that sounded OK to Heidi. We sat at the bar and had a couple of Cokes while she looked over the menu. About 30 minutes in she had not only memorized the menu, but she knew exactly what everyone in the room had to eat in front of them. She does this thing where she sizes up every plate that passes by her. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't cute, but its also getting very scary. A few times I was scared that she was going to steal one of the plates. I could just see the plan forming in her head. Maybe she'd trip the waitress and the food would land in Heidi's lap. Trust me, I wouldn't put it past her. We finally were seated after waiting about 30-40 minutes.

By this time Heidi is pretty hungry. When hunger hits a pregnant woman there is barely a waiting period. Once she utters the words "I am so hungry" you've got about 45 seconds to put food in front of her before she turns crazy on you. Unfortunately it takes Heidi about 20 minutes to decide what she wants to eat (even though she just spent 40 minutes memorizing the menu). She did this before the pregnancy but since then its been 10 times as worse. We finally order and Heidi asks for a cheeseburger, well done. The waitress (who's obviously not qualified to talk to pregnant women) tells Heidi that a well done burger will take about 20 minutes. I'm not really sure what happened after that but the police tell me the waitress has a pretty good chance of coming out of the coma.

OK just kidding. She ended up ordering a different sandwich and for a moment things seemed fine. Unfortunately 20 minutes later we still have no food. Keep in mind that its been about an hour and a half since Heidi said she was hungry (see 45 second rule above). I was starting to fear for the safety of the other restaurant patrons at this point. Luckily Heidi was able to flag the waitress down and we were able to get a muffin while we waited for the food. In the end only a few people were injured and we weren't even charged for the muffin.

It's an interesting thing eating out now. I kid around but Heidi is cute as hell when she gets hungry. And I'm loving all the attention we get now that she looks really pregnant. Everyone stares at her with big smiles and strangers will come and say "congratulations mommy!" Its like being married to a celebrity.

They forgot about me again

So the 2007 TIME 100 came out and once again they forgot to add me. Among the top "people who shape our world" are Brad Pitt, Kate Moss, Osama bin Laden, Tyra Banks... WTF? It's rediculous that Tyra Banks and Osama made the list, but President George W. Bush didn't!! Not that I read before, but I can assure you I will never become a TIME magazine subscriber.

Tonight the wifey and I are going to a Georgia Force game and if she's up to it a late night showing of Spidey3 (I can say Spidey because I'm going to be a dad). It will probably be the last late night we have before Dylan comes. I'm actually really looking forward to it. Lately I've had the "going out" bug. Which is weird because we didn't really stay out late before Heidi got pregnant. A wild night for us is going to a Habachi restaurant and getting a Heineken Light. But something about all this responsibility thats coming my way soon is making me want to get out and take advantage of the opportunities while we can.

Who wants to take bets that we'll be home before 11:00pm?

I hate Tyra banks... so what?

At work we have big flat panel TV's all over the place. They are constantly running day time TV shows or movies if someone isn't using them for Wii bowling championships. Every once in awhile I get the unpleasant experience of catching clips from the Tyra Banks show.

Apparently Tyra has a new publicity gimmick going on called the "Belly Brigade." She gets hundreds of women together to march the streets of LA yelling "so what?" and basically promoting that its OK to be overweight. People magazine said that Tyra was getting fat, and her response was "So what?" On the surface this seems like it could be a good thing. Probably the most recognized and one of the most beautiful super models saying its OK not to starve yourself, that you don't have to be 90 pounds to be beautiful. But the more I looked into it the more I realized that Tyra is a moron. There doesn't seem to be any real message to her "So What?" campaign other than you can do what you want regardless of health, safety, moral or religious obligations.

On the show they interviewed several women who were marching in the "Belly Brigade." The two women I got the pleasure of hearing had this to say:

Woman 1: "I used to have chubby cheeks and a fat face. But then I got liposuction and plastic surgery and now I feel great and revived, like a new person. So to all the women out there who are against plastic surgery, I say so what?" And Tyra supported her by yelling "And you're so beautiful."

Woman 2: "I've been on a diet for 7 months and have been cutting out carbs. But today I'm saying "So what?" and eating all the hotdogs with buns that I want!"

So to hell with natural beauty or being happy with the way God made you. No, thats not the message we are trying to promote. If you are unhappy with the way you look, just get liposuction and you'll be fine.

And to woman number 2 I have this to say: Screw trying to stay healthy and better your body, eat all the carbs you want girl! Because not only is fat sexy, its better for you! Four years from now when you are having heart problems, diabetes, depression and exhaustion from being overweight, just say "so what?," have another hot dog and everything will be fine.

What surprises me the most is that Tyra's sponsor is Dove. Dove has an awesome campaign called the Campaign for Real Beauty where they are promoting the idea that its OK to be beautiful the way you are. They show ordinary girls on TV with no makeup on, and show how beautiful they are. They show naked women in their 80's and say "beauty has no age limit." Dove tries to promote exactly the opposite of what Tyra's show is promoting.

I hope that I can impart to Dylan as he grows up that its great to be happy with yourself, but that its not OK to be fat or unhealthy. I'm currently 75 lbs overweight according to what 'studies' say a 24 year old 5'11" man should weigh. I'm completely out of shape and unhealthy. Sure I can say "so what" and live a happy life but that's not healthy and its not smart. And to get religious on you its not being a good steward of your body, your relationships, or your finances ... all of which God says we should take care of. Isn't gluttony one of the Seven Deadly Sins? Didn't Tyra Banks see the movie Se7en?

Meet the Deans

It occurred to me that you might want to know a little bit about me and the people that I'm writing about. Well let me break it down for you:

Heidi: thats my lovely wife. She has a blog too. Although she doesn't update much. Probably has to do with the fact that she's really really pregnant. We've been married a little over a year. You'll learn more about Heidi as this blog progresses. For now all you have to know is that marrying Heidi is probably the only good decision I've made in my life. Knocking her up might become the second.

Dylan Parker Dean: That's the name of my unborn son. He's negative 7 months now. Somewhere in the vicinity of June 25th he'll make his way out into the world. He's healthy, normal and as far as we can tell he's cute as hell. Weighing in at an estimated 4 lbs 6 oz's he's currently in the 79th percentile. Not that anyone really knows what that means.

Justin: That's me. I'm 24 and I work in advertising for AutoTrader.com. I also own and operate several e-commerce websites. I'm the man behind BlueFishTShirts.com, one of the fastest growing and highly trafficked t-shirt sites on the internet.

Me and my little family live just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I'm from Southern California and my wife is from Michigan. I'll save how we ended up in Atlanta and how we met for another post.

I'm young, I'm about to become a father for the first time and I'm both excited and scared to death. There's no real purpose for this blog. I like to express myself with writing and lately I've got a lot to write about.

First Post

In six to eight weeks I'll be a dad. Is it just me, or does that scare the crap out of you too?

Everything about being a dad scares me. Important things, like how I'm going to look with one of those Bjorn things on me. You know, the little sacks that hold the baby in front of you? They look so dumb, but they're probably a lifesaver when carrying the little guy around all day. Thats where the fear sets in. I know they are dorky, but I have a feeling that I'm going to like them too much. I'm pretty sure I'm going to prefer one to a stroller. Strollers piss me off. I'm worried about that too.

Heidi's normally the one who pushes the cart around when we go to Target or the grocery store. I hate pushing the cart, and I know I'm going to hate pushing the stroller. I can generally get away with not having to push the carts because Heidi's in charge of what we buy at stores that have carts. If Best Buy had carts I guarantee I'd be the one pushing it. The thing is, I can't expect her to always push the stroller. Honestly, having to push the stroller isn't what worries me. Its becoming one of those people that scares me. You know what I mean. The Stroller People. They drive their strollers around the malls and stores like they are little SUV's. Apparently there is some unwritten law that says if you have a stroller that you have the right of way. I guess this should be a positive thing but something about becoming a type of person that I hate bothers me.

Bjorn sacks and strollers aside, the thing that really worries me is how Dylan is going to interfere with the opening of Ocean's Thirteen on June 8th. With our due date only being two weeks later I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to catch the film on DVD. Which is a shame. A movie like that really needs to be enjoyed in a theater. I suppose this is the beginning of many small sacrifices that I'm going to have to make for Dylan's sake.