DEVIN'S NEW BFF!

Vikas's brother, Nilesh, and his wife, Neha were expecting their third baby on February 14th :-) But, their little bundle of joy just couldn't wait and instead arrived 5 weeks early on January 15th!  I'm happy to say that they are now parents to a healthy, happy, and sweet little BOY!  Arjun Nilesh Patel weighed in at 5lbs, 14 oz. and 19 inches long, and is home and doing great!  We are so happy for the entire family, and can't wait to see Devin and little Arjun grow up together.  At just six months apart, I think it's safe to say that Devin has a new BFF :-)

Arjun and his Vikas Kaka

Isn't he a cutie?

DEVIN'S HALF BIRTHDAY!

On January 13th, our little peanut officially turned six months old!  The past six months have been amazing, and we've loved watching Devin grow from a sleepy (but sweet) little peanut to an active, smiley little man!  Devin has always interacted with us really well (maybe even too well--see my post from his birthday!), but for the past few months, he's become tons of fun with all of his adorable baby talk, his "hugs" and "pats on the back" because he's so excited to see you, and his irresistible smiles and belly laughs! He starting sitting for a few seconds at a time when he was five months old, and now that he's six months old, he sits pretty well (though he falls over eventually!). He amazes us each and every day with all of his new skills :-)   As for his official stats, as he's always been, he's tall and skinny, just like his Dad:

Weight: 16lbs 3oz. (24%) . . . our LP is still just a little peanut!
Height: 27.5inches (82%)

Just a few recent pics of our little guy:

My little froggy!

I'm pretty sure Vikas has the same outfit :-)

Devin and Mommy at breakfast :-)

Eyes that melt your heart :-)

Happy as ever!



Devin loves his daddy!



My sweet angel :-)

Sitting like a big boy !

My Nana is so silly!

Fun day with my Nana and Nani!

It's crazy to think that our little man is already half way to one year old :-)  It seems like time is flying by much too fast.  At the same time, it seems like Devin's been in our lives forever (lucky us:-), and we couldn't imagine our lives without him.   From the day that he was born and each day after, he's been the sweetest little boy. He's honestly the greatest blessing that we could have ever received, and we feel very lucky to be his parents. 

THE NEW KID AT SCHOOL!

We always said that once Devin got a little older, we wanted to put him in daycare so that he could play with and learn from other kids.  So, just two weeks ago, after checking out a few places, we started Devin at Kindercare in Troy.  It is brand new, clean, bright and colorful inside, full of fun developmental toys and games, and most importantly, has an awesome staff!  The main infant room teachers are wonderful, and it is absolutely clear that they simply just love kids :-)  But, even though we had made the decision to put him into day care and picked a great place, I was so nervous about how they could possibly give him enough attention with all those other kids to take care of.  And, what about making sure that they worked with him on all of the skills he's developing? How about making sure that he is fed on time and changed often? What about napping? How could they handle it all? 

Well, my nerves were put somewhat at ease as soon as we walked in the door on his first day.  They had a sign on the door that said "WELCOME DEVIN"!  It was a small gesture, but so thoughtful and made me feel just a little better. Even still, it was extremely difficult for us to drop him off for the first time.  I literally cried half way to work :-(  I ended up calling them every few hours to see how he was doing, and they told me that he was doing great and it was as though he had been there for months! What a relief :-)  When I got home (Vikas picked him up), I was happy to see that he came home with even more thoughtful things welcoming him to the infant class! 

Welcome, Devin!

So sweet, right?

He was a busy boy on his first day!



Devin and Ms. Danielle!

Each day seems to get easier and easier, particularly because I know Devin is very happy there.  He lights up when he sees his teachers! It's nice to know that he's in good hands.

NO MORE HELMET!

Now that it’s two months after Devin first began wearing his helmet, we are THRILLED to report that Devin’s head is absolutely PERFECT!  We met with Dr. Rozelle on January 13th (Devin’s half- birthday), and she seemed as though she was in complete disbelief that Devin’s head wasn’t even a little bit off.  Apparently, kids usually need to wear the helmet full time for about 4-6 months, but we got the green light to only have Devin wear it at night! Hooray! 
Here's one of his last pics with his helmet on during the day.  Such a big boy!

Could this little guy get any cuter?!  I'm one lucky mom :-)

HELLO 2012!

We began our New Year’s Eve with a little road trip down to Toledo to celebrate Devin’s buddy Kingstyn’s first birthday with him!  Kingstyn and his mom and dad (our friends Natalee and Chad) live in South Carolina, so we don’t get to see them often.  So,  we were so glad that we could be there for such a big milestone! 

After we got back, we got ready quickly and headed off to my in-laws to drop Devin off and pick up Neha and Nilesh (my sister-in-law and brother in law) for dinner.  My in-laws were planning to be home for the evening, so they agreed to watch all three of their grandkids so that we could all have a nice night out together, since it would probably be our last before Neha had her third little angel!  That was so nice of them.

We headed out to Toasted Oak Grill in Novi and had a wonderful dinner.  We had just ordered dessert when Vikas’s dad called and asked us to come home as soon as we could.  Unfortunately, Devin and Avni, Neha and Nilesh’s ten month old, were both a mess.  Apparently neither would fall asleep and wouldn’t cry as soon as the other started to cry :-(  Yikes! So, needless to say, we had them pack up our dessert and headed straight home to pick up Devin. 

We were actually home and in bed before midnight.  I know, kind of lame (or maybe just different from our crazy past NYEs).  But, it’s a good thing we came home early since New Year’s Eve proved to be Devin’s worst night yet.  He was literally crying or fussing every 15 minutes!  After a few trips back and forth between our bedroom and his, I finally caved in and decided to just sleep on the foam mattress we have in his nursery for precisely this reason.  I’m not sure if it’s because he was starting to get a cold and couldn’t breathe well, because he was teething, or both, but he was simply miserable that night (and, unfortunately, for nearly 2 weeks after).  I tried everything to soothe him (I mean, everything), and threw the sleep training that we had worked on for the month before out the window.  With all of that, he was able to get some sleep, but, unfortunately for me and Vikas, we pretty much were up for two weeks straight :-(

But, even without a wink of sleep on New Year’s Eve, I can say that 2011 was our best year yet! What an incredible feeling to begin 2012 as parents of such a sweet baby boy!  We are beyond blessed and can’t wait to see what this new year has in store for our family :-)

DEVIN'S FIRST CHRISTMAS

Christmas this year was totally laid back.  We spent the 23^rd at my parents’ house with my cousins and their kids, went to Vikas’s parents’ house for Christmas Eve, and then we had everyone over on Christmas morning.  Everyone came in their pajamas, and our little nieces came wearing the Christmas pajamas that we bought for them.  They were too cute!  While the girls were opening their gifts, we were busy opening the great gifts that Devin got from both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and other loved ones.  He got SO many wonderful gifts, and we feel so lucky that our little guy is so loved and spoiled J We can’t wait to see Devin’s reaction to Christmas next year!  By then, he’ll be old enough to get excited for all the fun toys that he is bound to be spoiled with (again)!

HOLIDAY PICTURE SESSION a/k/a WORST. IDEA. EVER

We had Devin’s holiday pictures scheduled for the day after we got back from Myrtle Beach.  Unfortunately, with the craziness of October and November, we just did not have time to get them done before then.  Well, calling that decision a bad move is a complete understatement.  Devin was SO incredibly crabby and tired from the previous day that he literally cried and fussed through half of the photo session.  It actually got so bad that I had to ask the poor photographer to go grab a coffee for 45 minutes so that Devin could nap!!!  In the middle of the session, Vikas had to go to work, so then we had an even harder time getting our pictures since we needed someone to hold him up (me), someone to make him smile (Vikas) and someone to take the pictures and only had two people!  We were so glad when Vikas came back toward the end of the session.  He was able to help be that third person that we needed, and even ended up getting thrown into some quick family  photos!  You would never know from Devin’s adorable little face that he was so not himself that day.  We ended up with some AMAZING pics! 

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Seriously, I know I'm biased, but this is guy is pretty stinkin' cute! 

THANKSGIVING 2011

Just a few weeks after Devin got his helmet, and just as we were beginning to sleep train him and get into a good routine, Devin also had his first experience on an airplane! Talk about a lot of new experiences all at the same time.  We were off to spend Devin’s first Thanksgiving with my parents and my sister and her family in Myrtle Beach!  That was just what I needed after being so busy at my first month at work.

We had nothing on the agenda—just enjoying some quality time with the fam.  We spent the weekend just relaxing and hanging out together and just plain being thankful for all that we have, especially one another!  We went down to the beach (it was in the 70s!), went shopping, out to some great dinners, to a fun park with mini golf, go carts, a climbing wall, and all kinds of arcade games!  Everyone, especially Anjeli, Ethan and Eidan, had a great time!  Honestly, the weekend was wonderful, and we’re so glad we were able to spend some QT with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece and nephews, though it’s never enough time and we always we wish could be together more often.  Great weekend, nonetheless.

 

 So how did Devin do on the plane?  Well, he did pretty awesome on the way there, just a bit of fussiness around nap time.  But, on the way home, let’s just say, Devin was NOT happy at all, and I spent nearly the entire flight walking up and down the aisles trying to get him to fall asleep.   Plus, as you all know just how small an airplane bathroom, is . . . well, try changing a baby in there while the plane is experiencing turbulence!  Talk about a challenge. 

My first time on an airplane!

Beachfront with mommy and daddy:-)

Nana and Nani with all of their grandkids



 My beautiful sister and our adorable niece and nephews!



I love my masi and my big cousin, Anjeli!



Ethan was a rockclimbing champ!

 


He made it all the way to the top!



Anjeli did awesome too!



Getting ready to race!

Poor little Eidan is in the yellow car with Royal, but he's too small for you to see him :-(

My BIG kid!

I can't believe Anjeli is tall enough to drive her own go-cart!

70 degrees and sunny in November! Not bad, huh?

In any event, Devin had an awesome first Thanksgiving with his loved ones (as did we).  We could not be more thankful for all of our blessings, especially our little man :-)

ACCESSORIZE, ACCESSORIZE, ACCESSORIZE!

On October 14^th, the Friday of my first week back at work, we had Devin’s appointment with Dr. Rozelle down at Children’s Hospital to see if Devin needed a helmet to help round out the flat spot on the back of his that developed because of his torticollis.  Dr. Rozelle confirmed that Devin’s head was not quite proportionate and that he’d definitely benefit from a helmet.  Well, a few hours and several stressful and traumatizing (I mean, who wants to watch someone  pin their 3 month old down while he’s screaming bloody murder?!) xrays later, Devin had been fitted for a helmet and could expect to get it a few weeks.  

About a month after that appointment, when Devin was about 4 months old, he got his helmet.  Our instructions were to have him wear it every day for 23 hours a day, removing it only to clean it and to give him a bath.  The first few days with the helmet were tough, and we were convinced that Devin absolutely hated us. After all, that helmet wasn’t exactly as light as a feather, especially for such a tiny little peanut.

But, within a week or so, Devin had pretty much adjusted to the helmet, smiling and laughing as though he had no idea that it was even there.  Check it out!

BACK TO THE GRIND :-(

Well, here we are, more than three months since my last post, and I have to admit, I am pretty disappointed in myself.  When I started this blog, I did it with intention that I would update it at least a few times a month so that I could chronicle each and every moment of our journey through parenthood.  And while I did a decent job keeping up to date through pregnancy, it became harder and harder to find time to update the blog once our little guy was here.  Add a career that requires more than just the typical 8-5 commitment, and it becomes nearly impossible to find time to do anything more than just keep your head above water and not drown in all that there is to be done.  In any event, now that I’ve had some time to adjust to being back to work, hopefully I’ll be able to do a better job of updating the blog.

So, how was the adjustment?  Rough, but not nearly as rough as I thought it would be.  As so many people told me, the anticipation of going back to work and leaving our little guy all day was much worse than the reality of it.  I mean, don’t get me wrong.  It was absolutely brutal the first few days, and I cried multiple times before leaving for work, a few times while I was at work, and on my way home when I got stuck in traffic and was losing precious minutes with Devin before he went to bed.  But, I was SUPER busy right from the start, and that definitely helped keep me from spending my entire day wondering about Devin and calling to see what he was doing.  While that was a blessing, it also made going back to work less of a transition and more of an abrupt change.  There was no time to ease back into it.  And, trying to balance it all was quite a challenge. . . . it still is. But, I’m also glad to be back to work.  Though it can be overwhelming and down right exhausting, I like what I do and am glad to be working.  I know it makes me a better wife and a mom


Here's a pic of me and my little man on my first day back to work (after crying for three times already that morning).  I'm smiling, but I'm anything but happy to be leaving him:

Here are a few more pics of Devin from a few months ago.  It's amazing how little he looks in these pics!

Devin loves the "D"!

Michigan, baby!  That's how this little man rolls :-)

Devin's first Halloween!