I am sure that most moms feel this way, but I really just love Kyler's personality and find him to be so funny at times. With so much going on in the summer, it is hard to keep track of all the great things he says and does, but I do have a lot of great ones written down. So here are a few highlights from this month.
We received a "new" swing set from our neighbors who are moving, and Kyler loves to call it his "playground."
He will find things and have cute ways of saying their names. For instance, he found some ants on his "playground" and said to them, "Hello, little bugs."
Early in the month, he asked to use the potty, and he did so successfully. But it has yet to happen again. He is just not interested at all, even though he knows when he has to go.
He loves to help with everything. He "helped" Grandpa put together our new table by getting his toy hammer and putting in some "nails."
He will sound out words and tell you what letter they start with...on his own! You're too smart, little boy.
Out of the blue, he told me, "I love you, Mommy!" I was totally smitten.
A chipmunk has been hanging out in our backyard, so we have been watching and feeding it together.
He continues to love the pool and will jump in, sometimes without us there to catch him. He doesn't get too scared when he gets water in his mouth. He just says, "Drank too much pool water." His new trick is spinning around or riding on the big red tube, which he calls a "hovercraft."
We had a great time at the Summer Stroll for Epilepsy again this year. Kyler loves his purple shirt, and he always wants to wear "matching" shirts with me.
Me: "What are things that start with 'I', Kyler?" Ky: "Igloo. Polar bears live by igloos. Igloos cold. Snow by them. Build a snowman?" Just another fun day in his little mind.
Kyler will eat a whole hot dog at Costco (bun included) and then ask for more. Our grocery bill during his teenage years might be scary!
When Ryan asked Kyler to sit down on his buns, he pointed to his hot dog bun and smiled. What a cheeky little monkey...
He can draw lines and circles.
He saw a picture of our family from our wedding and started pointing out and naming everyone in the picture...except for Mommy. When Daddy asked where Mommy was, Kyler said, "Mommy looks like princess--Princess Mommy!"
He loves to pretend with play food, often making me "eat" lunch.
We saw an ambulance go by with its flashers on, and I tried to explain to Kyler that they go to accidents which are really big where people have bad boo-boos. So when I told him at the store that he had to hold my hand in the parking lot or he would get a big boo-boo, he looked right at me and said, "No want accident, Mommy."
We had a great weekend with Grammy, Papa, Parker, and Chase, in which we picked strawberries, jumped on air mattresses, and went to the park.
We went to the Saturday Slip-n-Slide, but Kyler loved riding on the school bus to get there more than anything!
He loved to jump in puddles on our walk with his rain boots.
At a picnic at Calvin, he made friends with a 5-year-old girl. He did everything she asked him to do...including jumping off a high wall. Girls can be trouble, little man.
He walked into church wearing his little backpack for nursery. He is looking so old these days!
Hanging out with "brudder Dev"
Matching letter puzzle pieces to letters in a book
Happy with his new "playground"
Sometimes, you just need to snuggle a lovey
Loves to climb in and out of his brother's crib
Hanging out in a blanket fort
Washing loveys in the tub
Cousins playing together...
...and showing off their bracelets too
Kyler with Great Grandma
His first temporary tattoo...he hated it and wanted it washed off right after the picture
Bike ride with Daddy...cool dudes!
Running...all the time
Loves to line up and count his cars
Playing in the new sandbox!
Movie time/sleep over with cousins
"This is a 'c', Mommy"
Jumping onto the mattress
Such a hamball at times
Sitting with "brudder" again
Riding on the "hovercraft" with Josie
Someone likes Cheetos...to eat or wear, we are not sure
Time keeps going, and Devin keeps doing new and fun things. It is always fun to go back and see how much he has changed over the weeks, but it is also just a way for us to keep track of what has been going on in our lives. Devin continues to roll all over the place, and once this week he had the edge of a blanket and rolled himself up into a baby burrito. He loves to look wherever he hears his brother and can often be distracted just by Kyler being in the room. He loves his brother's toys (especially the cars), but Kyler does not always want to share them. Thankfully, we bought Devin his own little car that he likes to play with. Any time he gets too close to Kyler's cars, Kyler will always bring Devin his "o-ball car." They do like to do a few things together though. Lately Kyler has wanted to take his baths with his brother. It is fun to see them in the tub together, but it can often be a bit "splashy" with the two of them kicking and dumping water all over.
Devin had a few firsts this week, including eating peaches and yogurt. He loved both of them and would lean in for more after each bite. Sometimes when you do not get him food fast enough, he will start to complain loudly until he has another mouthful of something. He has been in the pool a few more times this week and still loves to splash and kick his legs. This weekend he actually leaned over and put his face in the water, being only a little startled and not upset at all. We have also been giving Devin bottles of water to drink with the weather getting a bit warmer, and he seems to drink them almost entirely on his own. One thing that I have loved with Devin lately is having him smile up at me when we are playing and just grabbing onto my face. I love the smile he gives me and how much he just wants me near, even if that means my hair is a bit thinner from him grabbing it.
Hanging out and drinking on his own...a bottle, of course
Looking a little tired after some jumping
My boys together...so cute
Devin actually will look at me...
...but then back to Praise Baby
Having fun at Grandpa and Grandma's house with cousin Josie in the background
With two kids, it is so much harder to take pictures because both Ryan and I have a kid to wrangle, which means less time with the camera in hand to capture all the fun that takes place. This week we had a great time with family, but have very few photos to show for it. I try to keep taking pictures of the boys at home, but it seems like when we are out and about, it is rare that we remember to take the camera. Devin has been napping well, but often he will get his legs stuck in the rails of the crib, leading to lots of tears and a few times going in to rescue him in the middle of the night. Once when we went to get him in the morning, Kyler ran in saying, "Its okay, Devin, we're here!" Devin had a huge grin on his face as soon as he saw his brother. I love that Kyler seems to care about him so much! We had a great time with Grammy, Papa, Parker, and Chase this weekend going to pick strawberries, play in the pool, and even go over to the Saturday Slip 'n' Slide. Devin did not really enjoy the strawberry picking from his car seat and slept through most of the slip 'n' slide adventures, but he really liked going out to lunch when Papa fed him. Later in the week, we went to Calvin to enjoy a cookout and meet a lot of new friends.
Devin has been loving all the food he tries, including his new foods (squash and carrots). As many fruits and veggies as this little kid eats, he still has a few digestive issues and often gets very uncomfortable/constipated, which leads to lots of tears. To try to keep him feeling "good," we have tried to limit the rice and bananas for now, while pushing for some prunes each day. He seems to be doing a much better. Another big milestone is that he is sitting up on his own. We have been so close to achieving the independent sitter award, but he now has the ability to sit for a good long time on his own. He does tend to tip over when looking up or reaching around him, so pillows will probably still be around him for a while yet.
My little boy is becoming such a sweet guy. I love that he is starting to hug me back, with his little arms wrapping around my neck and giving me a squeeze. Devin continues to sit up better and better, but most of the time he wants to roll around and play with his new favorite toys...his toes. He loves to chew on them, but sometimes he will cry because he has some pretty sharp teeth. He really loves to watch Duncan, but now anytime the dog walks by, he is reaching out to pet or touch him. I think that Duncan is going to have to learn to walk at more of a distance soon. He has loved his new foods (avocado and zucchini), but he also really loves to eat quickly and will often protest if there is too much time between bites. Devin has become really good at putting his bottle in his own mouth and will often finish his meals with his own bottle time. At first, I think he got most of the milk all over himself, but he has been much dryer as the week progressed.
He has been still a big fan of his time in the tub, but now he likes to play with the cups and will often pour out the water. He learned the hard way to turn the cup away from his face when there is water in it. He was just so startled! He had a great time playing in the pool with our neighbors and splashed or kicked a lot, getting more water in his face, but he did not seem to mind one bit. Grandpa and Grandma watched the boys for us while we had a date night, but Devin has started to realize that the sound machine means bed time and cried when they turned it on. He is just growing so much!
My sweet little guys!
Not sure what to think of zucchini, but now it might be one of his favorites
We have a very busy boy on our hands these days, but I know that it is only going to get busier as time goes by. Devin has been rolling all over the place, yet he continues to have difficulty going both ways and getting out of corners. He also still loves to jump in his jumperoo, which is now on level two. While laying on his back, he often sticks his feet straight out into the air just like his brother did. He has started to give kisses; even though they are always open-mouthed, I will take them! Along with the kisses, he has started to wrap his little arms around my neck and hold onto me when I hug or hold him. He continues to love to eat, and his new food (sweet potatoes) may be his favorite, given that he kicks happily and leans in for more. He has also been helping Mommy out with the feedings by holding his bottle and trying to drink it on his own after the meal. I am not sure how much is actually getting into his mouth, but he sure loves to chew on it. With all of this eating, he continues to grow and move through his baby clothes faster than I would like. We are almost out of 9-month clothes and have had to put away the 6-month onesies for good now.
We had a very busy weekend, but Devin seemed to take it all in stride. We started out on Friday visiting a friend and her kids, where he enjoyed watching all the action rather than napping through any of it. On Saturday, we were able to participate in the Summer Stroll for Epilepsy at John Ball Zoo, where the whole family sported purple t-shirts in support of Team Morgan. Devin was happy to watch all the action, even getting to meet a few people with Grandpa. After the stroll, it was off to a birthday party before swimming in the pool after short naps. On Sunday, my little party animal stayed home to get some much needed rest and did not disappoint with a 3-hour morning nap and later another 2-hour nap. We also had a great time with family Monday night, watching lots of kids running around and meeting cousins from Washington.
My little baby boy is growing up so fast. Sometimes I just want to have him stay little forever, and then the next minute I am excited to see what new things he can do. This week he continued to roll over more and more and spit out some of his food (though he still eats really well). We tried a new food (prunes), and we also added dinner, which makes for a busy meal time for the family. We have been enjoying the nice weather with long walks at the park and time spent in the shade looking up at the leaves. Devin's biggest moment this week had to be the first time he was in the swimming pool. He loved to kick his legs and splash (getting both me and himself in the face). Devin continues to love his big brother, and Kyler loves to get him to laugh. Kyler would play peek-a-boo with Devin, which would just make him laugh and laugh, but he would look upset and even cry a little bit when Kyler would hide for too long. His brother has become a little crazy about animal crackers after a swim, so we let Devin suck on one, and he eyes got really big. I am pretty sure he loved it.
Not sure about the baby float...
...but he could still touch the water
Enjoying his first swing ride...
...but seemingly not too impressed
Hit a rolling roadblock :-)
Sitting up in the rocking chair...no timeouts for this one yet!
