This was a big week for the family, as Ryan and I celebrated our 9-year anniversary and went away for the weekend for the first time since we have had kids. Devin and Kyler both did well, but it was hard to miss out on any time in their lives. Devin had a great time getting plenty of snuggles, hugs, kisses, and practice sitting up, which showed when we got home! He sits up so well and only tips over when he gets distracted and looks around or just gets too tired. When we first got home, Devin cried when I picked him up, but after a minute, he realized Mommy had him and soon calmed down. It was hard to have him cry when I picked him up, but I know that he was well loved and taken care of, and thankfully he was soon leaning in and had his arms around my neck and grabbing my hair. In the days after we got back, it seemed that Devin did not want to be put down much at all.
Devin tried apples and potatoes this week, both of which he loved. He had a doctors appointment for his 9-month check up and found out that he is 21 lbs and 15.5 oz (72%), which means he is only 0.5 ounces away from needing the next car seat. He is also still really tall at 29.75 inches (87%), and his head is 18.75 inches (99%). So keeping his head balanced is pretty hard! Kyler has started to pick up on the little nick names we call Devin, so now he is often called "Dev" or Dev-Dev" by Kyler. Devin loves to watch his big brother and often smiles and laughs whenever he is dancing. We also had a great play date with our friend Olivia, and both of them loved to play with their toes, but never at the same time or when we had a camera ready!
Eating a few peas at Grandpa and Grandma's house
Sitting up with toys that his brother brought him downstairs
Devin loves the wheels...but he really loves any truck
Hanging with Olivia
Never wanted to hold toes at the same time though!
Devin does not mind going places, but he isn't really all that excited to be there either. Every Wednesday, when we go to the farmer's market, there are animals that he can see from the stroller, but he just does not seem all that impressed. This week I took him out of the stroller and had him touch a kitten through the cage, but this still did not seem to change his opinion of the animal at all. Devin also did not seem too excited to be at the library, which was a very large contrast to his super enthusiastic brother running around and squealing while looking at different books. Devin may just be a more laid back and relaxed child, or maybe he is just taking it all in and will become more excitable when he is older. I am just going to enjoy the moments and wait to see what this little boy will become. One thing that Devin does love to do is sit by the window and watch his Daddy mow the lawn. He kicks his legs and bounces in my lap as Ryan goes back and forth in our yard. He gets really excited about faces too, often wanting to grab and pull anything that he can. Speaking of pulling, grass is something that Devin is very fond of pulling. If left alone in the yard for too long, he will often have it all over himself and even put it in his mouth.
Devin's food list has continued to expand with the introduction of egg yolks and asparagus this week. Asparagus was not super exciting, but he loved the egg yolks and soon was leaning in for more. At the pool, while his brother was eating an entire continent of animal crackers, Devin sucked and chewed on his very own. He continues to grow teeth quickly, with two more bottom teeth popping through by the end of the week which now brings his teeth total to eight (four on both the bottom and top). He continues to practice sitting and rolling, but at night, he still seems to get his legs stuck between the crib rails, necessitating late night rescues from Mommy.
Diaper and bottle...does life get any better?
Sorry, you gotta have shorts on for leaving the house little guy
Without kids, I used to love the 4th of July, but when you have kids, you start to loathe the sight of fireworks being sold in parking lots all over town. Thankfully, Kyler pretty much just slept through the fireworks or woke up only slightly before going back to bed. Devin has been a superstar as well, sleeping through everything and not being phased at all by the new noises associated with the holiday. Devin had a great time hanging out at the pool and enjoying the new patriotic pinwheel we gave him. He is always so happy being outside and could spend hours watching the leaves on the tree move or just looking around at all that is going on. It was actually a fairly mild 4th, which meant that he did not even go into the pool this year. Grandpa and Grandma always love to take pictures, and this year we got some great brother pictures in their patriotic holiday clothes. We also made a trek out to Lake Odessa to see some of Ryan's old college friends and enjoy some time outside. Devin napped terribly that day, but he was still his charming self and happy to just be with people.
The rest of the week included a lot of rolling around. Devin is becoming really good at rolling to where he wants to go and has started to grab and reach for things that Kyler does not want him to touch. We are having to make sure certain toys are moved to the basement or are only played with on the couch or table out of Devin's reach. At the end of the week though, Kyler was volunteering some of his cars for Devin to play with, and it was fun to hear him tell his brother all about the car he was slobbering on. Devin has not really gotten much out of animals lately, not really enjoying the kitties or rabbits at the farmer's market or the pet store, but he does love Duncan and wants to touch him anytime he passes by him. Duncan tolerates the grabbing really well and knows to just walk away before Devin gets too good of a grip on him. Along with rolling and sitting up better and better, Devin has started to try to sit up and roll in the tub, which makes for a very busy and wet bath time. We introduced pears at breakfast time this week, which seemed to make Devin excited to be at the table with his brother. They always smile and "make music" by pounding the table together. Oh, brothers. One thing that I was slightly surprised by this week--and which I never had to deal with for Kyler--was that Devin likes to play with the velcro on his Bum Genius diapers and has successfully undone them a few times. Pretty soon we might need to use exclusively diapers with snaps!
The boys and their loveys
Not sure about this lovey thing
Right now I think that he would rather just play with toys
Happy 4th of July, everyone!
What a sweet little guy
Someone loves pinwheels just like his older brother
My two silly firecrackers
Some brotherly love...
...and some more--Devin is not sure what to think of this!
Red, white, and baby blues.
So happy to be in the grass...and have the pinwheel
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
