Kyler has been so much fun this month, but really the kid is always making my day. He is so funny even when he tries not to be, but one thing that I love most about him is that he is so kind and loves so many people. To Kyler every one is a friend and he always wants to talk or get to know someone. He loves to teach things too, even though Devin may never share his enthusiasm for letters (not many adults would). He has been saying funny things and watching his little mind work always make me so happy. I love who Kyler is becoming and I am always so thankful to be his parent. Here are some of the highlights of this month:
When in his car seat, he told me he hated his ribbons (what he calls his collar of his coat). When I told him that his ribbons are the coat collar, he said "no mommy, collars are not for boys, girls, or grown ups, they are for dogs."
At church when the pastor asked the kids to hold out their
hands to receive God’s gift Kyler piped up saying “What is it?” Everyone
laughed and it sparked a good talk later
When he was up late one night, he told me in the morning “I
cried because I love you mommy!”
Loves his new train puzzle and often likes to call the
jaguar the “Jagwater”
When visiting Grandma, said a pink stuffed turtle was a
girls toy…already gender roles starting to encroach
Picked up some medicine for Devin, came home and got right
next to Devin to say “We got your medicine Dev!” So sweet
When I was not feeling well with a cold, he came to visit
me in the bed to tell me he loved me…I love this!
Had a great time going to the butterflies and playing in the
snow with his cousins
We planted seeds together and he was so excited to see them
grow every morning
Working on drawing lines and circles
During prayer time asked Jesus to help him “Trust and Obey”
which he sang at BSF that week
Had a great time at the project neighborhood house with
college students and often just makes himself at home in any place.
“I’m a good soccer boy” after playing soccer with Daddy
outside
After helping me wash the dog he say “Duncan, we do water,
soap and then water, like a pattern.”
Every time he helps us to put groceries away, he always
called tomatoes potatoes and vice versa.
Had a fun with Grammy and Papa eating at Rainbow Grill,
going to the butterflies, Costco, McDonald’s, Sprinkles donuts, and reading
funny books
We had a fun time on a walk and explored some new houses
being built
Playing outside, he has been trying to ride his tricycle, but
often prefers to just push it around
When we went to visit Grandpa and Grandma Kyler asked if it
was the “regular ones?”
When we have a little girl Lily over during the morning,
Kyler LOVES to show her different letters
Made me a green noodle necklace at BSF and was so proud
to give it to me. The string was too short otherwise I would have loved to wear
it proudly!
Had Kyler run next door to return something, and after
forgetting to knock he just went right into the house to play (good thing we
have great neighbors). When I went to get him, he said “They have a nice house”
and then “Watch out for dog bombs mommy!” as we ran across our yard to get
inside
Washed his hair and said “I look like Cohen”
Woke up one morning and said to me “Mommy, I really love you”
We played a new game called “find it” where I hid four balls
around the room
When I was gone for the weekend, Kyler sent me a sweet
message telling me goodnight and that he loved me.
When I brought home a new bin from Ikea, he loved to playing
in it. When we asked him to get out he said “But I cannot get out, it says so
in my story. Kyler plays in the bins.” Silly boy you sound just like Super why!
Made a very bad choice crossing the street without me which
meant we had a long talk. When he told Daddy about his bad choice he told
him “Mommy wants to keep me forever so I have to make good choices.” Yes I do
honey!
Bedo-Bedo” when we talked about Despicable Me 2 movie
Playing with his new Alphabet train puzzle
Selfie time!
Not thrilled in the car seat
Running around at the Gardens
Mommy loving time
Helping to bake, with a little chocolate chip on his face
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.
