Devin has been taking his time meeting different milestones, and I do not think it is because he cannot do them, I think he just is not worried about meeting them. For Ryan and I who have such type A personalities it is nice to see such a laid back kid just enjoying life and will continue to teach us a thing or two. He loves certain foods but has started to resist eating other things that he once would eat, which started to happen around this time with his brother. He is so cuddly and his smile just lights up our lives. Devin loves to be with Kyler more than almost anyone else and often will follow him around even if Kyler is yelling "no Dev!" Here are a few things that have happened this month.
He has been saying "Dada" when Ryan points to himself and asks who he is.
Takes steps barely holding onto our fingers but does not seem to want to let go even if it is one handed and barely holding on.
Helped out with the Calvin College Pediatric Lab and was a great patient for fussy kids, he did not enjoy the stethoscope at all and kept pushing it away.
Will gnaw on waffles but will not eat them
Has started to point to things that he wants, often phones, water bottles and remotes
Loves to join me in the bathroom when I am getting ready and will just hold onto the vanity and look up at me saying "mama" or grabbing onto my legs
Loves to try and turn pages in books, but will tear paper pages so we must be very careful
Wants to climb up the stairs so badly but just hangs out at the bottom looking up.
Smiles silly when we take a picture and say "cheese," which makes me laugh every time.
Has started pushing his walking toys all over but still does not turn them.
Enjoyed his first Little Debbie heart cake for Valentine's Day
Loves blueberries, mandarin oranges, and french fries!
Has a great time stealing silverware from the table and banging it on the high chair to make music
Hates to go back into the car seat after a short trip and often means a wrestling match - he is strong!
Took his first step on his own, but did not seem interested in more until we bribe him with remotes, phones, or basically anything electronic. Daddy had a few steps in a row, but does not seem to want to try otherwise
Using a sippy cup for milk at meals now
Tried to have him color in his high chair, but after some initial interest, enjoyed ripping the paper more.
Can have a terrible temper and scream when does not get his way (or the remote)
Tends to put messy food hands in his hair and spikes it up in a sticky masterpiece
Due to the above comment, has been getting his hair washed and seems to handle it better than his older brother
Just like his brother, he does not seem too interested in donuts yet, but we will see when that changes.
Kyler has not been the easiest child, but I know our hard times with him are not really all that bad. He is a really good kid who wants to make "good choices" but right now dealing with emotions is not something that he has total control over. We have been trying to teach him to take time away, deep breaths and to count to ten or just dance silly to shake off the bad moods. Sometimes we are successful and other times we have LOTS of time outs and tears. I know we are working on life skills right now and that there are no quick fixes, but there are some tough days where mommy takes these skills into practice. Through all these challenges we have had a lot of fun and really great times with these being some of the highlights.
We watched "Puppy Bowl" before the Superbowl and saw this ferret that made Kyler giggle over and over again! He called it a "easel" every time!
Likes to play "Vetch" which to Kyler is a combination of Volleyball and catch done on pillows
Tried doing some kids yoga from You Tube and LOVED IT! Cosmic Kids Yoga...thank you!
Has really wanted to help out around the house and now matches socks for me on laundry days
I love to hear the kids yelling "by Kyler" when he leaves his BSF classroom
Went to "fix some students" when we helped out at the Calvin Pediatric Nursing lab
Went with Daddy to Cabella's and the Mall, but had to have Daddy RUN through the mall to get to a potty because of a code brown, poor Daddy!
Went to Playworld and cleaned up all the lose balls, but would also walk up to strangers to hold their hands and pull them over to help. We might need to work on our stranger danger talks!
Had small group over and his buddy Cohen joined him to watch a movie in our bed.
LOVES Despicable Me movies and especially "banana"
Working on dressing self and almost completely going potty on own!
Love Wippers (Whoppers) as special potty treats
One morning he brought a whole basket of laundry upstairs, what a trooper!
Had his first Little Debbie - heart cakes for Valentine's day
On Sunday mornings he now eats 3 cinnamon rolls...mommy was downgraded to two.
Has been upset and refusing to go to Bible School in the mornings, almost terrified and hysterical. I told his teacher and she said she would pray for him and he gave her a big hug. Next week, no problems at all!
Loved helping me make chicken noodle soup but would not even try it later after being so excited and using alphabet noodles
Watched 1224 Marshalls = 101 Dalmatians with Daddy.
Started to Floss your teeth
Loved to help me sweep and mop the kitchen floors
Came upstairs to tell me that "my eye is runny mommy!"
Really likes to "crunch carrots" for a snack
At Coffee Break became upset when singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and went to sit in the corner all by himself, took a few breaths and then came back to the circle for songs. When I asked him what was the problem. He told me "I wanted to sing Jesus Loves Me, so I tried to calm down."
Had Cohen over for a full day and had a great time jumping in pillows, giggling at lunch and watching movies in a tent/fort but would not say good bye because he was "too sad"
Went to the "hardworking store" with Grandpa and Daddy to get faucet parts
This month Devin has had a lot of ups (getting closer to walking) and downs (eye surgery). He is still growing so fast, and he has started to say a lot more sounds, including "mama," "dada," "baba," "ssss," "gaga," and a word for Duncan that sounds like "shash." He still has his top two canine teeth coming in, but we have battled a lot of sickness too, including a terrible cold followed by a double ear infection and eye surgery. There have been some great snuggles and some very long days with very short naps. Hopefully we continue to have more healthy days and longer naps in our future.
I often find him standing up in his crib in the morning, smiling at me while bouncing up and down.
He often holds up his hands to be picked up.
He learned to drink from a sippy cup on his own.
At the ophthalmologist, he took a spill in the waiting room and hit his forehead on a piece of furniture. A bruise and goose egg formed almost immediately. We later went to the pediatrician to get it checked out, and she said that he just earned his #1 on his forehead. Pretty normal, kiddo.
He started to cough a lot and was up a lot at night, but during those long nights, I heard my first "mama."
Our furnace stopped working for a bit, and Devin still refused to keep his socks on. He loves to take his clothes off.
When anyone has the bathroom light on and the door shut, he reaches under the door with his little fingers.
He finally started to feel better, but when he went for his 15-month appointment, he had a double ear infection. He was also 31 3/4 inches tall (68%), weighed 24 lbs 3 oz (45%), and still has a large head at 19.5 inches (96%).
We went sledding in the backyard, and he loved to go down the hill as fast as possible.
During BSF, he is sometimes fussy, so he takes a "quiet time" in the pack and play with his bottle and then is happy as a clam.
He loves to eat his brother's fish sticks, and later Kyler helped feed him his bottle.
He does not like donuts, just like his brother at this age.
He hates elevators! He cries every time we are in them, even if I am holding him.
He has begun to play with doors and cabinets, often trying to get into so many new things.
He had eye surgery on the January 28 to clear out his tear duct. He handled everything really well, until he woke up from the anesthesia really angry. Daddy was finally able to get him to calm down and sleep.
When we got back from the surgery, he threw up all over me, and then napped on my chest just like when he was a baby.
Devin started to say "dada" when asked to do it.
We went to the pet store with Duncan, and Devin loved having the dog with him in the back seat. Of all that pets at the store, he seemed to love the birds the most.
Kyler is potty trained! I cannot believe how fast it went, but we got home from the holidays and literally within a few days, he peed in the tub and put it together that this is what he has to do in the potty. We went from pull-ups to underwear in a matter of a week without many accidents, and even learning to pee while standing up. I cannot believe how easy it was. Once Kyler was ready, he just got it, and there was not much we had to do. He even wakes up from his naps with dry pull-ups, so even then he has been wearing underwear. We had a lot of other big adventures this month, but saying goodbye to diapers was the big one!
He has been more adventurous about trying foods again, so he's had honey and avocado.
He came down with a really bad cough and had a super scratchy voice for a while
He is working on his "L" noises, slowly getting a bit better.
He loves to do yoga on the Wii.
All of us got sick, and when I was in bed trying to get some extra sleep, he came in to check on me. I asked him if he could be my doctor, and he said, "I no doctor, Mommy. I get you water though." He had a great bedside manner.
Ryan and I had an argument, so Kyler kept saying, "Apologize please."
He tried chipotle dip at store: "So spicy!"
He loves to play "volleyball" with a large orange ball in the living room. He likes to head it!
He has been having a lot of temper tantrums, and one day when I asked if he wanted to nap at 11:00am, he said that he did...and slept until almost 3:00pm!
He loves the taste of fondant.
He said, "Love you, Mommy," out of nowhere...makes my heart happy!
While watching a slideshow with family, he said, "Look at that!" for every picture.
He gave me a "spa day" by brushing my hair and wanting to use the entire contents of my bathroom drawer on my face.
He loves to give Devin a hug at night and gets great big smiles from his brother.
He has become obsessed with eating tortillas (plain) and nuts of any kind, but especially cashews.
When Ryan woke up from a long night with a migraine, Kyler said, "You should go back to bed, Daddy."
We went to Hudsonville Christian's early childhood open house and signed him up for 3-school!
He threw such a huge fit that I did not even get out of the parking lot at the grocery store (and he never throws a fit at the store).
When he pees standing up, he always says, "It's yellow every time."
He sang, "I am toot-toot-toot-tooting on an adventure," while watching the Cat in the Hat with Daddy.
He did very well getting his hair cut, but he always wants the "black one," not the fishy cape at the hairdresser's.
He had a great time at the pet store and really wants to get more pets.
