Everyday Devin

The past week has been rough. My sweet boy has been waking in the night for some reason, making for an overtired boy. Which means there have been meltdowns, much screaming, and full-on mischief making. 

But I love him still.

Some Outside Things

Running through the sprinklers never gets old.

 

These are a little blurry, but he was snuggling so adorably with his daddy I had to save them. 

The Faces of Devin

He plays.

 

He experiments.

He pretends.

He thinks he's bigger than he is.

 

I love all of him.

Videos for Grandparents

Some more videos for the grandparents to see what Devin's acting like these days.

Product Plug

I know everyone says that they're going to make their blog into a book, so it's kind of cliche at this point, but I really am not a crafty person, and the blog is the perfect place to keep all our photos and memories together. I finally got 2009 and 2010 blog years made into books, and they turned out great. I used Blurb to make the books, and I love the final product. I know there aren't a lot of companies that will upload directly from the blog, so I thought I'd mention how much I liked using Blurb. My cousin (from whom I get all sorts of great ideas) recommended this company, and I agree with her: The books are worth the work. The Blurb software is a little quirky, and takes some getting used to, but I picked up on it pretty fast, and I loved having the ability to edit text and pick the sizes for different pictures. The books are kind of expensive, and thankfully I had a coupon, but I also think the quality is worth the money.

Just thought I'd share in case someone was looking for a way to get their blog into a book and wanted an editable format.

The end.

Swimming Lessons

I decided to participate in a Mommy and Me swim class this year. I was really excited for it and was hoping we'd learn some good water techniques, but it ended up being pretty low-key. I'm still glad that we took the class, as it was good bonding, we met a new friends, and Devin was pretty happy about getting to swim every morning for two weeks. Hopefully next year he'll be able to take the next class up--we'll have to see if his skills are up to par.

 The hardest thing for Devin was floating on his back, which he worked at like a champ and could do without flailing or crying "done" by the end of the class. He is quite the little swimmer and looks adorable doggie paddling; his favorite thing is jumping into the pool without any warning. Most of the classes he was preoccupied with the rubber duckies. If asked about his swimming lessons, he will only tell you that there was water and that there were duckies.

I know we both look super awesome in this photo, but it's all we have to remember the joy of Devin's first swimming "lessons."

Camping

We got an invitation from Kathy and Jake to go camping this past weekend, so we decided to make it work. We had to borrow most of the gear because we don't own nearly enough of the important stuff. The camp was in Richardson Grove State Park, and it was in the middle of the Redwoods--super pretty. As soon as I told Devin we were going to sleep outside he was pretty excited. He was not excited about the 2.5-hour drive. The rest of the trip was great, however. I loved the river along the camp, and we realized that we should have headed down there sooner. Devin ended up getting something in his eye right before the swim, so he didn't enjoy it as much as I think he could have, but Rich, Kathy, and Jake decided to take the plunge off the jumping log, so that made everything more exciting. I did not participate further than taking pictures. We discovered Rich is an expert s'mores maker and Devin ensured he made thorough messes every time he ate, or really walked around. It was so nice to have some time away and to visit with friends. Thanks to Kathy and Jake for letting us tag along!

 

18 Months

Devin was actually 1.5 years at the end of June, but he didn't go to the doctor till the end of July because the doctor was out of town. Devin was declared healthy, if a bit dramatic (read: screaming, a lot, and no shots were involved), and his growth is right on track. For my records, his stats are:

Weight: 24.10 pounds

Height: 31.75 inches

18 months is a fun age. We're having a great time, aside from a few tantrum-throwing episodes. Devin is super communicative and loves to tease. He's understanding so much and is definitely showing his personality more and more.

Some great things to remember about this age:

*Devin loves his letters and likes to point them out whenever he spots them. He's able to correctly identify almost all his letters, and it's so fun to see him looking at books and pointing out the letters. It's also a great way to keep him occupied while running errands--I just ask him what letters he can see and he starts spouting them off in a very excited manner. Sometimes the letters are nowhere to be found, but he can see them in his mind apparently! (BTW, I contribute most of this knowledge to the show "Super Why" on PBSKids. We just watch the ones available on Netflix, but I thought I'd mention this since I got the suggestion from my cousin's blog, and now this show has become Devin's favorite. We don't even watch an episode every day, and he totally learned half his letters from this show.)

*He knows at least 80+ words. The boy is ridiculously chatty, which I love. The doctor asked if he was pointing at stuff (one of the developmental questions), and I had to pause to think because he doesn't really point to what he wants but it's because he doesn't have to. Most of the time he can just tell me what he wants. This is a blessing and a curse :) His favorite word is "No." He says no even when he means yes.

*Like I mentioned in the reading post, he is inserting words into the stories we read. One day I went into his room to discover he'd positioned all his stuffed animals around him and was apparently reading to them because he had a book in his hand. Something wonderful must have been going on.

*He is happy, happy when he's outside. He is definitely loving the backyard his daddy created for him, especially now that the swing is hung. And if water is involved, then it's especially wonderful.

*He does like things other than reading and books. He's into puzzles and magnets and cars.

*At the beginning of the month he reached a big milestone according to his dad's standards--he was able to reach the next step on the basketball hoop. He still has to go on his tippy toes, but he can definitely get the ball in the hoop.