Kyler -- May 2014

At 2.5, Kyler has become so talkative and imaginative that I find I want to share almost everything he said or did this month. He has started to pretend with little stuffed animals, often wanting to have them touch books he is reading to them or tucking them in for a nap. He has also been catching on to emotions a lot more saying, "Devin sad," when he is crying or, "Mommy mad," when he does not listen to me. We also had a lot of great play dates and time with family, including his first time in the pool this year over the Memorial Day weekend. He loved it and can really swim almost completely on his own with his little puddle jumper on. He continues to jump off the side of the pool and the diving board too, but he has to wait for us to catch him or he will "drink too much pool water."

• At the pet store, he heard a dog crying at the groomers: "Doggie no like haircut."
• He called yard flamingo's at Lowe's ostriches.
• He is obsessed with the "Holy, holy, holy song" (a.k.a. "Open the Eyes of my Heart") on the Praise Baby DVD
• He got stuck under the blankets one night and had to be "rescued."
• At the store, Kyler said, "Lady pink face," when he saw a lady with REALLY bright lipstick.
• He helped to bring me medicine when I was sick: "Make you feel better, Mommy."
• He tried to "build a word" by putting letters in a row and saying them out loud.
• He wants to help with everything, saying,"I help, Mommy," when I was bringing up the vacuum.
• He started to draw lines and circles when coloring.
• He started doing an "ugga mugga" at bedtime; see Daniel Tiger to understand what this means.
• He likes to group his cars into piles of colors.
• When Ryan and I hug, Kyler loves to be in the hug too.
• He continues to help out with tummy time, wanting to put his hand under Devin's head to "help."
• He actually said to me, "Tired, Mommy--sleep," and took a really long nap. 
• He takes all the letters he has and starts to match them (e.g., flashcards, puzzles, foam tub letters).
• He constantly wants to sing the "W-H-Y" song from Super Why (see below).
• He fed a little chipmunk that comes by our slider and wanted to chase after it.
• When asked what a baby bird's name was, he said "duck".
• At his 2.5-year appointment, he was 31 lbs, 37 inches tall, and impressing the pediatrics staff with his letters.
• He helps to haul the garbage cans from the street back to the house.
• When he found two pieces of watermelon still attached on his plate, he said the pieces hinged together were a "treasure chest."
• We had a bonfire with the neighbors, and he joined some of the older girls to play truth or dare, just sitting by them and randomly shouting, "Dare!"
• He had so much fun at the Memorial Day parade, getting candy and loving all the trucks.
• He called tootsie rolls from the parade "dog poopies."
• When I was gone at Zumba one night, Kyler told Ryan, "Mommy come home. Mommy have white hair!" I dyed it that night, so that in the morning he said, "Mommy have dark white hair!"
• He had a lot of fun running around and jumping through sprinklers.
• He said, "Kyler make mommy happy!" which is so true kiddo.

Already becoming a hat lover

Helping to fill up the kiddie pool

"Mommy, I have boo-boo., Kiss it."

Someone loves to roll and "hide" in the big bed before nap time

Pretending to bake cookies in his "oven" and wearing his oven mitt

What a silly boy!

Gotta love time with cousins!

Hanging out in the big bed for a movie

Playing cars on the deck

"So tall, Mommy!"

Helping me make some breakfast

Playing in the pool with the "noodle"

All ready to swim

Aunt Lynsey and Kyler already causing trouble together

My sweet boy looking so much older...

...but he still loves his lovey

Running to get candy at the parade

He loved the cars and trucks...wanting to go to a parade every morning

My boys--brothers forever

Devin -- Week 32 (5/21/14-5/27/14)

We had another big week with lots of new experiences and exciting changes. The biggest change this week was that Devin has finally been able to get his rolling figured out. He was so good at getting onto his tummy, but now he can finally roll back over! I am hoping for less waking at night now that he can be flipped over on his own. While Devin has not been eating as well as before, I thought that I would try and entice him with something sweet like a banana mashed up into his food. Early in the week he still continued to push the food out of his mouth, but by the end, I could not get the food in his mouth fast enough! I feel like we can now get back on schedule with introducing new foods to him. I really do feel like he just had a sore throat or some kind of discomfort from his past cold that made him not want to eat. We continue to see more teeth in his mouth, as his fifth tooth (third on the top) has been starting to break through.

We attempted to put Devin in nursery at church while we supervised the toddler section. He started out okay, but when he could not see me, yet could hear my voice, he seemed to melt down and need to be held. It was not too bad to just hold him on my lap as I watched the other kids playing with Ryan and the other helpers. We thought we would see how things went, but I love to hold and snuggle him in church, so I really am okay with waiting a little longer. We also went to a parade for Memorial Day, which Kyler loved and Devin seemed to sleep through. I could not believe that the fire truck horns and sirens did not seem to wake him or bother him in the least! We have one chilled out kid when he feels safe in Mommy's arms.

Look at those little teeth!

Having fun doing tummy time with Daddy 

He thinks Daddy is hilarious!

He really adores his Daddy

...or maybe he just thinks he's funny looking

Devin -- Week 31 (5/14/14-5/20/14)

This week Devin continued to roll over in his crib and then fuss until either he fell asleep or someone would come in to flip him over. He also continued to gag on food, keeping it in his mouth, pooling it behind his teeth, and then pushing it out with his tongue. I think that his throat was bothering him, so I put a halt to new food and will start back up after he has been feeling better. Even with all these fussy points, Devin is still such a sweet little kiddo. He loves to be in the wrap, and when we go grocery shopping, it seems to be one time that he is happiest. I love to hold and snuggle him, but lately he has added some fun by trying to jump in the wrap. This kid really loves to jump! He continues to grow fast, and I have put away the 9-month clothes and brought out the 12-month stuff. He seems to enjoy the extra foot room! Although the bigger clothes mean he is growing, it also means that my little baby is farther in the past. We had a lot of fun visiting people this week, and I even discovered that his second top tooth has made it through.

Hanging out with Daddy

Laying around in the gym

What a serious little one

Our little jumping bean

He loves to jump!

Well...he can be serious

Devin -- Week 30 (5/7/14-5/13/14)

Devin started out this week with a very short night's sleep and an appointment with the doctor. He continues to be a very big boy, coming in at 21 lbs 12.5 oz (87%) and 29 inches long (97%) with a head that is 18.5 inches in circumference (97%)--much larger than his brother's head ever was. I know that we are not supposed to compare children, but I think that Devin's large head size is partially why his physical movements and growth have been slow. Devin is still not rolling over from belly to back (which explains why he is up all the time at night) or sitting up on his own. However, I know that it is just going to take some time, and he will do it when he is ready. Lately he has been coughing a lot and gagging on medicine and food, which has been a problem with him now eating solids. After trying to give him green beans and having him gag on everything, including really runny rice cereal, we decided to stop giving him solids until his cough is gone.

Devin has been sucking on his bottom lip a lot, which is just so cute. He has a lot of really cute smiles, but he is not one to smile very easily for anyone at all. He loves to lay on the ground outside and gets really excited when the leaves are moving around above him. He has also started to reach for his bottle and loves to hold it himself. He does not always get the milk in his mouth, but he loves to try. One of his favorite things right now is to be lifted up over your head in a flying position, but watch out--Devin drools a lot, so keep your mouth closed!

Sometimes this little guy actually remains still in his jumperoo

Hanging out with the little guy

Not sure if he likes peas

What a honey... He loves his changing table!

Devin -- Week 29 (4/30/14-5/6/14)

This week we had a lot of ups and downs when it came to naps and feeling well. Devin started out the week being fussy due to teething, but later in the week, he seemed to pick up the cold that I had. When Devin does not feel well, he often does not nap well, but after a few days of this, he often crashes. This means a few days of no naps followed by a few 3-hour-nap days. Kids are just always so unpredictable! We did run a few errands this week to different stores, and Devin seemed to really like going to the pet store to see fish and cats. I love when his eyes get really wide and his mouth is open while he seems to try and take everything in. We had some great visitors at the end of the week, when Ryan had his Calvin lab assistants over for dinner. Devin was loved on and held by some wonderful people, and he even got to be in the group photo. I hope that he continues to love being around lots of people and enjoys time with more students in the future.

We started a new food this week: peas! Devin was not too happy with the peas and made such a terrible face when I would feed him that Kyler would say, "Devin no like peas, Mommy." As the week went on and he started to have more cold symptoms, he seemed to lose his appetite even more, gagging on even the runniest cereal and spitting everything out. Kyler was always trying to help by making funny faces and trying to get him to smile in his high chair. Kyler really loves his little brother and often will wake up wanting to see him and kiss the top of his head. I really do have sweet boys in my life, even when they are sick, the fussiness is often just a desire to cuddle, which I love doing anyway.

My curious little guy looking around

Hanging out with my little boy

Duncan loves his littlest brother

Such a serious little one

"Look, Mommy--by myself!"

Kyler -- April 2014

We have really enjoyed the nicer weather that spring has brought us, which means much more time having fun outdoors and more play dates. Kyler has been speaking more and more, often with a lot of wonderful phrases. Here are a few highlights from the month.

• We took part in the Calvin nursing lab again this week. Kyler said, "No listen to heart," in the car, but then he was super helpful with the students. When we drove home he "pretended" to sleep in the car.
• He loves to wash all his small cars (Hot Wheels/Matchbox) in the sink to give them a bath.
• We had a flashlight party in the bathroom, and he enjoyed exploring in the tub.
• Some of his favorite phrases this month: "making music" when he makes noise anywhere, "swish" and "off the rim" when playing basketball, "that's cool" or "one more store" when we go shopping, "rescue them" when we saved worms on the driveway after a rain storm, and "making art" anytime he draws.
• Kyler has kept telling me that, "Mommy need haircut. Hair too long."
• Our cable went out while he was watching his favorite television show, so he checked every television with me and said, "I fix," while getting out his play tools. He "hammered" the side of our old television to fix it.
• With the nice weather, we took everyone out to the park, and Kyler loved the freedom to walk on the trails instead of riding in the stroller. He even looked at bugs and everything else with his magnifying glass.
• We had a great play date with our friends the triplets, even though sharing is still hard. Everyone loved to jump on the bed. 
• We had a great time out at the zoo, where we fed the ducks and geese. Kyler did not seem to understand that chasing the geese can be a big problem. Thankfully, they went into the water rather than after him!
• We had a great Easter. Kyler colored eggs for the first time, consumed massive quantities of jelly beans, and LOVED doing an Easter egg hunt.
• Kyler has been enjoying making a lot of messes, including dumping out a full box of baby rice cereal and a whole bag of pretzels. "I try them, Mommy."
• We had a great time at the Calvin 5k, where Kyler did his first kids race and LOVED IT! He wanted to do it again and again.
• He has a really great memory and can almost read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" to us from memory.
• He had a great time with Grammy and Papa visiting and babysitting while Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding. 
• We visited our friends Levi and Brady for a play date, and Kyler was very excited about their dog Bentley.
• He wants to watch "Holy, holy song" all the time on Praise Baby.

Look at that happy boy running in the middle!

He loved the run, but he really needs to learn to stay in his lane

A family of runners?

"Here, Mommy!" ...Not sure what it is!

Reading his devotions on his own.

Meeting the panda at the Hudsonville Expo

Coloring eggs

"This one is blue!"

He loved them, but would not eat them!

Doing a little "shopping" at home

Looking cute!

Spending time with his brother

Playing with his Loops 'n' Swoops

Playing with flashcards under Devin's jumperoo

Feeding geese with Mommy at the zoo

He tried to throw the bread really far!

Lots of fishies!

Hanging with the penguins

Posing for a picture at the zoo

Kyler and Devin with Grammy and Papa

Cleaning cars...

At the kitchen sink...

...washing more cars!

Mommy and her little guys!