23 months: Devon (August)

Devon went through a big change over the past month ... he became a big brother! When I came home from the hospital he was pretty mad at me to the point that he ignored me completely for 2 days. The baby, he was fine with. He's pretty taken with her actually.

His beef was with me. It was pretty heartbreaking when I would try to hug him and get forcefully pushed away, but we are back on track and doing great. It was a great moment when he started asking for me first thing in the morning and reached out for me to put him to bed. All is now right in the world ;)

Devon is doing a fantastic job as a big brother. He throws out her diapers, brings me blankets, if I give her a bottle he holds it, finds her pacifiers (without putting them in his mouth which I am surprised at) and he loves to touch her head, hands, feet and points out her eyes and nose. This past week I found 3 of her pacifiers, a diaper and a quarter in her crib. He loves to bring her stuff even when she's sleeping ;)

I have make a point of saying that he is doing all of these things on his own without Joe or I prompting him to do it (with the exception of the bottle holding). He also lets me know when she is crying, sneezing, coughing, or sleeping and tells me that we have to be quiet so we don't wake her up. He loves to check on her during the day and peers into her crib standing up on his tippy toes. He is very attentive and is really proud of himself when he helps her. I am so happy that the transition from one kid to two kids has gone so well.

Devon and I went on a "date" to the mall just the 2 of us to play and I got him his first ice cream cone. He loved it! Now he says what sounds like "Eye creams" (ice cream) at least every other day. And yes, he stayed this clean.

Whenever he gets the tiniest bit of food on his shirt he says "mess" and makes me clean it right away. If he gets food on his finger or arm he says "owie". Love my clean kid!

Devon loves to eat pizza, My little pony fruit snacks, melon, hamburgers, apples, pears, meat and his new favorite ... ketchup. He will say,"Meat. Ketchup. Dippin'." It's pretty adorable. He dips everything in ketchup. Even watermelon. It's gross to watch him, but if it gets him to eat them I'm OK with that. He loves to help his Daddy,"Fire. Meat. Cook." so he will pretty much eat anything that has been grilled. This got me to notice that he will eat what he helps to cook so I let him stir and pour things when I am making dinner. He calls every meal lunch. I let him put all the asparagus (one piece at a time) from one container into the pot and not only did it occupy him for a few minutes he got to feel like he helped cook and he loves to cook! He loves to watch Ratatouille and shouts at the TV,"Cookin. Knife. Cut you, Cut you. Fire. Ummmmm."

We have been at home more these past few weeks since I can't really go anywhere with the new baby for a month so we are enjoying playing with his toys, reading books, Hot Wheels cars, exploring around the house and watching his favorite movie Toy Story. He doesn't care if it's part one or two, but he wants to watch "Woody" at some point everyday. I will usually give him some cut up fruit after nap and we will snuggle on the couch together and watch Woody completely captivated. It's a nice option to have if I need to occupy him while I nurse the baby or to just sit with my sweetie and have our alone time together ;) He also wants to dress like Woody as a cowboy so I put on this little leather sheriff's vest, his cowboy boots and hat. Oh ... and don't forget the Gucci purse, of course.
He has gotten into Egyptian art and wants to watch it on "To tube" (You tube), in books, magazines or shows on Egypt. He talks about "finx" (Sphinx) and "tatues" (statues) all the time. It has been to fun to see him get to that age where he actually starts to have preferences for stuff that he's interested in. He still loves "tashures" (tractors) and also loves talking about the moon, stars, astronauts, "rockeets" (rockets ... complete with hand movements and rocket sounds) and robots. He plays hide-and-go-seek and hides in the same place nearly every time, but it is my new favorite game. He will hide in a completely dark closet and not get scared. This kid loves to run. He loves it, especially if we are chasing him. He runs into our closet, throws himself down on his belly, squeezes his legs together, points his toes and declares that he is now "safe." I tickle him, flip him over onto his feet and the game continues.
Devon loves go to Gamma and Papa's house to pick tomatoes from the garden. He will eat half a dozen tomatoes from the basket before they even come back into the house.

He will eat however many tomatoes you give him. Seriously. If you give him 5 or 15 he will eat them all and ask for more. That reminds me, Devon no longer says "meer" when he means to say "more". He just says more. Another cute baby word bites the dust :(
Devon loves his Uncle Ben, Hannah, Harrison, Autumn and Sadie. He hasn't had much exposure to Sadie's older siblings since they are usually in school, but he talks about my brother and these 4 cousins all the time. When Uncle Ben comes to visit Devon has an absolute blast with him. He wears Ben's watch, they play toys, Devon gets "tickle tortured" (tickled in both armpits and belly at the same time ... Devon LOVES IT and is happy to perform and show him all his tricks.

Devon is doing great with potty training. Sometimes he tells me he needs to go and sometimes I ask him, but he makes it to the potty a few times a day. I offer him "potty candy" (Smarties or Gummy bears), but more often than not I will give it to him and he will just hold it and not eat it. If I don't offer him candy he doesn't ask so I'm thinking I may not offer it at all and see how he does. I think he's still a little young to really get potty training 100% at this point so I'm not being crazy about making him go every hour or whatever "they" say to do, but we're trying.

He loves to go into the garden, pick an herb and smell the fragrance! This time it's rosemary. By the way, he picked out this hat himself. We were at the Gap and he pointed to this hat. He insisted on seeing himself in the mirror before committing to the purchase.

Devon is on his way to learning his ABCs. When we color I choose one letter to focus on and we sing the song at least 100 times a day. He is able to "sing along" for more and more letters each time. We are working on his counting, colors, shapes, countries and he is starting to say 3-word sentences. He is definitely at that age where you should only talk to him about things you don't mind him repeating because he will! Although he has come to that age where tantrums seem to be a daily occurrence, Devon is still the sweetest boy on the block. We love to hug and kiss him and snuggle on the couch. He is so thoughtful and gives out massages, high-5's, fist bumps, kisses, hugs and wants to share all the time even if it's with someone on the TV or in a book. He is so smart, funny, handsome and awesome. Ask him and he'll tell you the same ;)