21 months: Devon (June)

Devon continues to amaze me day after day. He is starting to regularly use 2 word sentences and it is really starting to feel like we communicate with a bit of back and forth information and not just me saying a word and he repeats it. That still happens, but less and less every day.

This morning (6.11.10) Devon pointed to a Connect 4 board game lid. Out of NO WHERE he points and says,"M! B!" He has had TONS on exposure to the alphabet through songs and books, but it's not something we actively work on. To my COMPLETE surprise I look at the box and sure enough there was an MB plain as day for Milton Bradley right there in the corner. My eyes teared up I was so impressed! Joe and I were both there, eyes wide, in total disbelief that he recognized 2 letters in a row and actually read them right in the right order. It's not like we were saying,"Devon, what letter is this?" and he said it. It's not a trick we're teaching him. He did it on his own. He's not even 2! It was totally amazing. Joe was reading by the time he was 3 so I'm hoping that Devon will grasp that skill early which he clearly seems to be doing. He can also count to 9!!!! How fun is that?

I am actually getting tired of getting him to do "tricks" and I'd rather him just learn stuff instead of him having to feel like he has to perform. It's fun to see him grow and progress every day and it's amazing to hear his little voice start putting together all these things we have taught him.

I did buy Devon a little training potty and put it in the bathroom upstairs. I don't ever ask him if he has to go since I don't want to make a big deal out of it at this early age, but when he says,"Potty" or "Pee pee" I take him in there, sit him down and give him a chocolate chip. We don't keep candy or chocolate in the house, but for some weird reason I happened to have chocolate chips. Since he's never really had chocolate I thought it would be a good training treat because it is totally new to him. He is getting the hang of getting on and off by himself, but doesn't really use the toilet for anything other than getting chocolate chips. We're in no rush. I really hate it when people say,"Wait til you have to change 2 kids in diapers!", but I honestly don't mind changing diapers so when he gets it he gets it and whenever that is is fine with me ... as long as he's trained by 3 ;)

We did get the wood floors in, but we still need to do baseboard so they're not totally finished which is why I haven't posted about it yet. Since we didn't re-do the floors in Devon's new room I moved all this stuff in and he has been sleeping in there for nearly 3 weeks now. The first day he refused to nap so he sat in his crib playing. It took a lot of coaxing, books and songs to get him to sleep in there the first night, but he finally gave in. I love the furniture and I am slowly accumulating things to go in his room to make it cheerful, fun and to grow-it-up a bit away from baby stuff.

I put glow in the dark stars all over the ceiling, some wall hangings, a sweet sock monkey clock and some of Devon's art that he did at the Children's Museum.

I took the wooden letters out of his old room and repainted them. I am not done with the room yet, but I don't want to over do it and have it look cluttered so I am going to leave it as it is now for a while. How cute it that room?!?!

I have to admit that he is starting to be more challenging to take to stores and run errands with and I can't say that I blame him. It's really hot and uncomfortable and he wants to walk everywhere and isn't too keen to ride in the cart. He used to be my little golden child and just sit happily in the cart or in the baby carrier. People would always comment on how well behaved he was. I am feeling quite pregnant these days and I am just not in the mood to have to wrangle him. We either run one short errand together in the morning when he is well rested and it's not too hot or I end up running errands in the evening after he goes to sleep which I hate to do because by that time I am exhausted. It is nice to go and do these things by myself, but thinking of doing that with 2 makes my head spin.

Devon loves to eat pickles, Cheerios, fruit snacks and pizza. He has been sort of a picky eater lately and hardly eats anything at all other than fruit snacks. I always try to give him healthy meals, but sometimes I worry that he isn't getting anything into his belly so I give him Ramen noodles and he pretty much eats the whole thing. I've tried all the pediatrician's suggestions and basically he eats when he eats and there's nothing I can do about it. Kids go through phases of eating and not eating and that's where he is right now.

He has been saying more sophisticated words on his own lately like scissors, mayonnaise and my favorite ... fierce. He loves to read about fierce dinosaurs, cars going "vroom, vroom" and birds saying "tweet, tweet." He says "awesome" in a high pitched voice and if you say,"Devon you are so ..." he will fill in the blank with funny, smart, big, tall, handsome, awesome or cute. Gotta build that self esteem early ;)

The other day Joe was gone for work from early in the morning until about 7:00 at night. Devon missed him so much when he finally saw Daddy he said,"Daddy. Up. Up. Hug. Hug. Kiss. Love you. Friend. Buddy. Pal." All the while he was patting Joe on the back. I damn near cried it was so cute and he did it all on his own. He missed him so much and was happy to see him. I was feeling left out that he didn't call me his friend, but he said it to me a few days later so I'm OK now ;)

He drinks from a regular cup for meals and I will let him walk around the house with a cup with just water. He is really good about not spilling and if he does he tells me where the mess is and he cleans it up right away. He loves ice and munches on it all the time. He has started to ask to help me cleanup, he loves to swiffer and helps me push around the vacuum. I'm not kidding here. He'll say,"Clean up! Help you!" a million times until I give him a cloth to help me dust. He also hands me dishes out of the dishwasher to put away, even the glass ones, and he hasn't broken anything yet. It is so cute to see him watching what Joe and I do and copying it. It is a bonus that he actually is starting to help.

34 weeks

I have been having TONS of Braxton Hicks contractions and in spite of what the "experts" say they have been painful and very uncomfortable. I think they noticeably started on Father's Day. We haven't figured out what we want to do with Mother's/Father's Day as a tradition, but Joe said he wanted to sleep in and play guitar. Easy enough.

I got up before Devon to get ready and make breakfast. We ate upstairs so we wouldn't disturb Joe, slipped out of the house around 8:00 and headed to the park. Can I just mention that at 8 am it is still in the mid 80's ... it gets extra hot when you're running around plus the hot temps so we were both sweating and poor Devon had red cheeks and ears. We stayed for 45 minutes and both of us had had enough. We did a little shopping then over to my Mom's until 12:30. I got Devon down for a nap, ran to the store to get groceries and got home to make Joe fillet Mignon with a brandy shallot sauce and bacon and walnut mashed potatoes. Yum! (I skipped out on the meat and just had potatoes. Not into meat these days). I literally had about 10 minutes to eat before Devon got up. We played for about an hour before heading over to Joe's parents house for dinner. We stayed until 7, drove home just in time for Devon's bath and put him down. I was contracting A LOT during the drive home I really was getting worried that I was going into labor. They weren't regular contractions and didn't get more intense, but they were painful and very uncomfortable.

I laid down for a while and took a long bath and that helped immensely so I knew it wasn't actual labor. I can tell that I am doing too much and not resting like I should be so it's no wonder that I am contracting. There is so much that needs to be done! Plus, it is SUPER easy to get dehydrated in this heat and I'm sure that has added to it as well.

Anyway, I have been enjoying decorating the baby's room and girly-ing it up a bit. I would have loved a room like this when I was little and I think it will last her a long time since it's not very babyish. I am still on the fence about weather or not to get another crib so I don't have to move Devon out of his before he's ready, but I'm just going to wait until after the baby is born to decide unless someone wants to buy me a crib (hint! hint! www.babiesrus.com Status Richmond Stages Crib - Walnut Finish) and spare me the time and expense of having to go and get it myself. It would be nice to have it here before she arrives so she has a bed to call her own and doesn't have to get used to one bed and then be moved to another one. Plus, I really want to put up the bedding which is SO cute!

This past Sunday was my last day teaching until after the baby and even though I really enjoyed being there it is a relief to know that I get to take a break. It is always so hectic before I leave to teach so it will be nice to just be home and have family time. My students have been so supportive and have had nothing but completely nice things to say. I am so lucky to have been able to be surrounded by such sweet people who want nothing but the best for me and my family.

I am trying to hang in there, but I am definitely getting to that point where I am getting antsy to have this baby. I am not losing-my-mind-gotta-have-this-baby-now antsy, but I am starting to feel pressure in my belly, I get little pains in my back, Braxton Hicks and getting down on the floor and playing with Devon is getting harder and harder everyday. I just want to be normal and wear jeans again ;) I had a doctor's appointment today and everything is fine. My doctor even commented that I don't have a single stretch mark ... go ME! My next appointment is in 2 weeks and they will start checking to see if I am dilated so I really am getting close! I still really love to feel her kick and I know that she has some growing to do so NOT going into labor for a few more weeks is best for her. I really don't have that much longer to go and there are a few projects we are finishing at the house that I would like to get done first. I also would like to finish sewing her quilt (read that as start her quilt ;) and finish the afghan that just needs a border. When it comes down to it I really only have a maximum of 5 weeks left. In 3 weeks she will be full term, but I can manage for 5 weeks ... I think ;)

32 weeks = 8 months = Almost there!

I passed the 30 week mark and just as I thought ... days and WEEKS are flying by. My doctor said that she would induce me a week early if the baby appears to be ready and I think I may take her up on that if the baby doesn't arrive earlier than that on her own. When I think about holding that little, pink baby in my arms my eyes just well up with tears. I am so excited to have her in our family and begin the rest of our lives all together.

I've put on 23 pounds so far so I think I will probably be around 30 pounds by the end. NOT putting on pregnancy weight is harder than it looks ;)I was trying really hard to stay at or below 30 this time around so I am happy with that. In spite of the horrified looks I get at the gym, I am still running and have started wrapping my belly with a 6 inch wide Ace bandage (thanks Amber for the suggestion) and though it has helped with feeling more supported which is been SO great, I think it gives me cramps from the compression. Not feeling like working out as much anymore, but we begrudgingly go anyway because I feel like a slug when we skip it altogether. (Can I just point out that I am wearing NON stretchy pants that are NOT maternity ... AWESOME!)

Speaking of which, I have decided to take maternity leave from teaching yoga starting in July and for a couple months after the baby is born. Every week when I come home from teaching I seem to be more and more tired as the weeks go by. I got a sub yesterday and it was so nice to have a whole day at home "resting" and spending the day as a family. We even went to the park all 3 of us and it was nice to have "play ground back up" with Daddy to help me keep an extra eye on Devon and we got to talk and hang out as well.

Even though I sleep great at night and only get up once for a bathroom break I am definitely feeling more tired these days. I know I stay up too late, but night time is when I am able to get things done around the house (like mopping the floor or getting the baby's room ready) that I can't do when Devon is awake. I am trying to just skip doing those things and go to bed, but I can't really relax when the house is not clean.

Aside from some heartburn and round ligament pain, overall I am feeling good and enjoying these last weeks of being pregnant. My friend just had her baby 3 weeks early and it totally put into perspective for me that my time is right around the corner. I know that this time with Devon is so special when it is just the 2 of us during the day and I am trying to fill the days with fun activities. I feel bad that we won't be able to go and do things together that first month after she is born, but it's only a month and we will just have to get creative at home, go to the park or arrange for one-on-one play dates.

Mom has been out of town this week and I had to have home made cinnamon rolls. Since she wasn't around to make them for me I made them myself for the first time and even though I over cooked them a little (which made them a little dry unless you heated them up) they were pretty good and not as big of a production to make as I thought. Going to make more over the weekend. Yummmmmmm

20 months: Devon (May)

Most of the new things Devon does now has to do with the ever expanding cuteness of his vocabulary. He loves to go out into the garden to pick tomatoes and help his Daddy water the plants. He says hose for about an hour after they come back into the house since he is still so excited from being such a good helper. He now says "water" (replace the "T" with a "D") and not "wa-wa" which is sort of sad that he has out grown that, but it's cute to hear him say real words. He loves to collect rocks and plays with them for hours putting them into a plastic cup and dumping them out over and over again. Every time we go outside he has to pick up rocks. He is learning his shapes and can identify a circle, heart, star, moon, oval and octagon. If you show him a shape he doesn't know he will default to circle. He has started saying 2 word sentences regularly like,"So good", "Go jeeze", and "Come here" among others.

He loves to eat tomatoes, yogurt, gummy fruit snacks, grilled chicken, hamburgers, grapes, melon, mashed potatoes, tortillas (tias), hard boiled egg whites, pears and red apples. He a rediscovered his love of milk and now prefers it cold which has been so nice to not have to warm it up first.

He found this bottle of protein powder and opened it himself. I have no idea how he does this. It's not the first time he has opened a child proof cap. Remember the Nyquil he dumped out? Oh and when he sees something out of place (like 4 drops of milk on the floor) he will grab a towel and say,"Mess" until it gets cleaned up. He said mess about 50 times by the time I got the powder swept up.

Joe got Devon to paint on a canvas when I was teaching this past Sunday. I thought it would be covered with hand prints, but he hates to get dirty and only wanted to use brushes. Any amount of paint that got on him had to be washed off.

He sometimes asks to be picked up at inconvenient times. I'll say,"Just a second, buddy." and his tactic will change to,"Hug! Hug!" So I, being the sucker that I am, bend down to hug him. He then proceeds to cling to me with vice-like grip with his arms and legs and I have no choice, but to pick him up since he is now attached to my body. I figure, since he was smart enough to trick me the least I can do is reward his ingenuity. He is learning to be a good helper and is excited to throw his diapers away in the garbage. He is getting better at putting away his toys before getting out other toys which is a great thing for him to learn this young.

His new trick is to get down on his belly and do push ups. No joke. It's hilarious. He even makes a grunting sound with every push. He will do this when he feels like he needs an energy boost ;) but he also does it when he sees "lilards" (lizards) in the back yard. Once he's done with push ups he will stay on the floor, stick his arms out and fly. He is so shy when other people are around so I'm sure some of this stuff doesn't resonate with the shy boy they usually see, but I assure you he is quite out going when he's at home.

I don't know if this means that he is ready to potty train or not, but several times a day he will grab his crotch and say, "Pee pee" or touch his bum and say,"Poop", go to the bathroom door and knock on it so I will take him in there. I sit him on the toilet and of course, nothing happens, but I may get him a little toilet and see what he does with it. I think he does it so he can have an actual reason to flush the toilet and wash his hands. He LOVES to wash his hands. I wasn't going to start the potty training process until after he turned 2, but I think it's OK to introduce it to him in teeny, tiny doses since he is showing an interest on his own.

He prefers books over toys any day of the week and will literally have me read to him for hours a day. I'm not exaggerating here. Hours. It gets a little tedious reading "Baby's pumpkin" 20 times in a row, but he loves it and I can always go to the library or Bookman's for some "new" used books. He loves to go to the park to dig (and eat) the dirt, watch the birds and say hi to the dogs. We had some landscaping done and Devon is now fascinated my tractors (tashures). He points them out and says,"Wow! Tashure! Yellow!" (Video on Facebook when it lets me load it).

I don't know that I would say that we are "actively" working on getting rid of the pacifier even though he is past the time of when our pediatrician says we should take it away. Devon calls it a "papash". He only uses it for sleeping and will usually hand it over when I ask for it. He sometimes even gives it to me when I don't ask. I'm sure he will give it up in the next few months ... just in time for the new baby and all her new pacifiers to tempt him back to the dark side ;)

Devon gives out the "Triple threat" of love and affection. It starts with a kiss, then a hug followed up with a "Yove you" (Love you). He will do this all on his own without any coaxing so he really does make you feel loved. He is such a tender little boy. He is starting to pat the baby in my belly and says her name when he does it. I know that he doesn't really know what a baby in my belly actually IS. He's only 1 after all. But I do know that he knows more than I think he does and I hope that doing this small exercise will, at the very least, get him use to hearing her name as well as when I describe him being a brother, getting a little sister, etc. I think he will make a very sweet big brother.