22 months: Devon (July)

Does this look like a Gap add, or what? Beautiful boy.

Since 4th of July fireworks took place close to 10:00 pm Devon did not get to see any this year and neither did Joe and I. Joe fell asleep around 9:00 and I was too embedded in the couch to get up and look out the window when I heard them going off. We're not terribly into holidays so it's not a big deal for us. When Devon gets a bit older we will definitely make the effort to make sure he gets to experience these things, but for now it's bedtime at 7:30 ;)

He had a great time with "Gamma" and "Papa" picking "tatoes" from their garden and eating them right off the vine.

I am continually amazed at how lucky I am to have such a great little guy. He is just the coolest little kid. He is easy going, sweet, affectionate, gentle and on and on. Gushing mama over here! It feels like I tell him 100 times a day that I love him and that he is such a good boy. We have been enjoying having friends over for play dates and going to more play dates which I'm sure I enjoy more than he does. He isn't into playing much at all so he sits on my lap and watches the other kids play, but it least he gets to see new things, we get out of the house and to be around all different kinds of kids. He eventually warms up the the idea of new toys and will venture away from me, but soon wants to be picked up. I have yet to find a kid with his same temperament that he will actively play with, but I like to see him interact with outgoing kids so he sees that it's fun! I have had a few moms tell me that they thought their kid was calm ... until they met Devon ;)

He loves Popsicles, mini marsh mellows, apples, miso soup, graham crackers (which he calls cookies) and broccoli. He ASKS for broccoli. It seems that his appetite is coming back which has been such a relief to me. He has been napping longer lately as well (3-4 hours) and I had to wake him up twice in one week because he was pushing the 5 hour mark. I guess he is going through a growth spurt and needs all those calories and all that rest. He is getting 3 teeth right now so a lot is going on in that little body!

He still loves to take baths, but he is a boy through and through and (sigh) has discovered that farting in the tub is hysterical. He just laughs and laughs and calls it "burping". He also giggles uncontrollably when you pretend to throw up or fake sneeze and your hair flies everywhere. He does say,"Skew me." (excuse me) so at least there's that. You really can't help but laugh right along with him which only, predictably, spurs him to do it more and more. He and his Daddy love to wrestle, practice Ju Jitsu, punching, balancing and kicking. Devon loves this kind of attention and I think it is about his favorite part of the day when he gets to clobber his Dad right before bed.

It is too hot to go to the park right now, but a few nights a week after dinner I take him into the backyard, give him the hose and he gets to water the plants. He mostly waters weeds and rocks, but he thinks he's helping so he has fun with it. He still loves to collect rocks and watches the lizards and bunnies that pass through the back yard. We have been having an amazing nightly congregation of Palo Verde Beetles on our back porch. These beetles are all black and I've seen them get up to 6 inches long ... so gross. Anyway, we have been seeing 4-5 a night which is a TON. There was one that was still lingering on the porch in the morning and when Joe showed it to Devon he said,"Pretty. Hug! Hug!"

I have been trying to talk to Devon about the baby in my belly. I will point to my belly, say the baby's name, or say baby and talk about him being a big brother who is going to get a sister, etc. I think it's pretty sweet especially because often he will say her name and pat my belly on his own. Joe keeps telling me that this will backfire on me and in a way it sort of has because he will point to Joe's belly (which is 6-pack flat) and say the baby's name. He also did this to the babysitter which HORRIFIED her since she just lost a bunch of weight. It sort of feels like he thinks a belly is called a baby. I have backed off the whole baby-in-the-belly thing and I just tell him that the baby will be tiny, they will get to play together, share toys, etc. He still doesn't really get it, but it's all I can do until he meets her.

It was a sad day at our house a few days ago when Joe and I were reading books to Devon. I pointed to a horse and Devon said,"Horse." I know that may not sound like something to be sad over, but it's sad because he usually says "hoice" (like voice with an h) and he is slowly giving up some of those cute, baby versions of words that we love so much. I told Joe that we need to cling-for-dear-life onto "wonkey" (monkey)because it's all we've got left ;) He is slowly starting to do a few 3-word phrases, but we understand him perfectly well with his 2-word phrases right now. It's amazing how good his language skills have gotten over the past few months. He doesn't talk much when other people are around, but he talks (seemingly nonstop ;) when he is at home.

He has a new interest in Egypt and Egyptian art. No joke. I have an art guide book from the Met museum and he will flip right to the Egyptian statues every time. We even tivoed a show on Egypt and the pyramids and he watched, fascinated for about 30 minutes. He still loves books and will even look through our old college text books and point out brains and body parts. This kid loves books and reading!

This morning when Devon woke up I heard him calling me,"Mommy! Mama! Mommy! Mommy! Mom! Mom!" It was pretty funny. It was like he was trying to figure out which name would get me to go up there and get him out of bed. I was about to give in and go get him until I heard him switch gears and he said,"Daddy!Daddy! (long pause) Honey! Honey!" I call Joe honey so we both got a good laugh at Devon calling his Daddy "honey".