Devin's First Christmas

Devin's first Christmas seemed to go very well.  We did not get to go to the Fassler and Goodburn family Christmas in Des Moines due to the wonderful weather we had.  However, most of us were able to get together.  On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, Ben came to Cherokee and we, along with my parents and Grandpa and Grandma Goodburn went to Kim's house.  My dad was able to get pictures of Devin opening his presents, which is a great thing because I forgot my camera for the entire holiday.  S,o I am waiting for pictures from Grandpa Steve.  Ben, Devin and I then left to go to Vermillion where we went to Ben's mom's house for Christmas with his family.  The boys and Talen were all there to open their presents.  Grandma Teresa gave him a Zebra he can bounce on and dance to, which he loves!   

The next day we went to the Thompson family Christmas where there were many cousins for Devin to play with.  Riley was able to join us and opened his presents with Devin on Christmas day.  (and I didn't get any pictures :(  )

Then on Saturday before I had to go back to work we went to my Grandma's house for lunch. Devin was well behaved, as always through the Holiday.  It was good to see almost everyone.  Thank you for everyone who gave Devin all of his wonderful toy and to Grandpa Steve for the toy box he made to store all the toys in!  Devin's things are definitely taking over the living room.  

Saturday we are celebrating Devin's First Birthday!  It will be at 3:30 at Kim's house, so if you are a reader of this blog, then you are welcome to come!  

Devin and I were able to go spend a few days with papa this past week.  We left before the storm and were snowed in for a few days, which was just fine with all of us.  Ben and I worked on the trailer and it is ready to go!  Ben worked hard on the bathroom which looks amazing!  I wish I had a bathroom like that.  We did some touch up paint and put up trim and now we just need to get rid of the thing... and soon!  Other then that we didn't really do much just spend some much needed time together.  We tried to get Devin to walk, but he is just not interested.  He is capable of walking and stands on his own quit a bit, but as soon as he realizes what he's doing, he will sit down real quick.  We are in no hurry for him to walk, he gets around just fine.  That's probably what he thinks too.

I can't wait to see everyone for the Holiday, I'm ready for Christmas to be here already!

BUSTED!

Devin is hiding behind the chair with the kleenex box... I eventually heard the sound of them being pulled out of the box.  Wipes and Kleenex are not safe! 

So Smart!

Christmas Picture

KISSES!

I went to Vermillion other day and Ben told me that Devin had been giving him kisses. He tried a few times and Devin wasn't interested. A while later Ben asked Devin for a kiss, sure enough Devin puckered up his tiny little lips and leaned forward to meet daddy's! Then I tried it and he gave me a kiss too! The best though was a few days later, I was sitting on the couch and Devin walks up to me, puckers up and leans into me for a kiss. I didn't even ask! Awe, talk about knowing how to make momma tear up.

My 'lil Puppy!?!

I always joke about how Devin is my little puppy because some of the things he does such as beg for food, follow me around the house (at my feet), and cuddle up on my lap.  But the other day takes the cake!  I went down stares looking for something and when I came up stares I couldn't find Devin.  After looking around for a minute I saw the door on Sydney's kennel open.  Sure enough Devin had crawled into it.  I took him out and he went right back in, shutting the door behind him.  So i let him play for a little while and he kept opening and closing the door, it was very entertaining.

  

This video I took with my phone and I can't rotate it without buying a program... I'll just have to remember to take videos the other way with my phone.  Also I added a video to an earlier post- Check it out!

Thanksgiving

I hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving!

Devin was the only one of us who was able to have an actual Thanksgiving with great food and family.  Both Ben and I had to work over night Wednesday night so Devin was able to spend the night with Grandma Teresa.  On Thursday Devin went to Ben's Aunt Brenda's house, where he became her new best friend.  Devin was able to eat mashed potatoes, ham and other Thanksgiving favorites.  I didn't get a lot of details, but I'm sure Devin had fun playing with all of the kids.  Thanks Grandma Teresa!

I did get to eat Thanksgiving diner at Kim's house.  I stopped at the Robinson Thanksgiving on my way to work.  It was good the first time anyways.  I'll spare you the details, but about 11:30 Thursday night I had some kind of flu or food poisoning.  It was not a good night for me.  By Friday evening though everything was just fine... it was strange.

On Thanksgiving I was at work all day, but we had our Goodburn Thanksgiving on Saturday.  The DLD crew (Derek, Logan & Devin)  were everywhere and keeping everyone entertained.  Everyone is walking, except for Devin.  However both Ben and Teresa said that he was standing on his own for a while.  Then he would realize what he was doing and sit down, not fall down though.  It is going to be very soon, I'm sure by Christmas the three of them will be running everywhere!

Also, it was great to see Aunt Pam who came to visit us from Texas!

I was not able to... borrow (ok steal) any pictures of Devin and the boys from Kevin, but he did send me one of Saturday night of Aunt Lynnette reading to Sophia and Devin.  They both sure love their books!  

Christmas is Getting Closer

I wanted to share with everyone what I am getting for Devin, I think, for Christmas; 

http://www.vtechuk.com/smartville/

I ordered him all but one of the sets, I'm sure by his Birthday he will have it all, I'm so excited about it!  Probably more then he will be.  I like being Santa makes Christmas more exciting.  

Does anyone have any advice, tips or suggestions for me about Devin's Birthday and Christmas?  The only thing I have been told, on several occasions, is not to wrap his Birthday presents in Christmas paper!  I guess that is a bid no-no.

Thanks for a Great Time!

Hello Everyone- Yes, it has been a while, a pretty busy while.  

For my birthday Lee took me to a Nine Inch Nails concert last Thursday night.  After traveling to Des Moines we headed to Cedar Rapids to the US Cellular Arena.  It was quit small, but that's good for a concert.  I made it to the front and fought to keep my place through out most of the concert.  The last few songs I gave up my spot so that I could go and watch from afar.  They put on an incredible show which was very impressive.   

 I had a lot of fun!  Thanks Lee!

During our trip to Des Moines we were able to spend a few nights with Lynnette, Kevin, Sophia and Derek!  It sure is amazing how much a little man can change in two months.  Derek looked much more grown up, his face looks a little more trim, probablly from all that walking and his new hair cut makes him look like a big boy!  

Sophia is a chatter box who's vocabulary and word usage is way beyond her age.  You can tell that Denise really works with the two of them, they sure are smart.  Everyone needs a Denise!

I want to thank Lynnette and especially Uncle Kevin for watching Devin on Thurseday night.  Everyone, except The Hillabolts, know that Devin sleeps through the night, right... WRONG!  Poor Uncle Kevin was up from 1- 3:30am with Devin!  I came home at about 3:30 am to take care of the little man and before we even hit the bed, he was out!  

On Saturday we headed home for Logan's first Birthday party!  Devin and I left at about 9am.  By 9:45 I was on the phone with Kim crying that I was going to turn around.  It helped to talk to her because it got my mind off of what was really going on.  I drove right into a snow storm on the interstate!  There were cars and semis in the ditch all around us.  It was nice when people slowed down to about 40 mph, I felt much better.  After 4 1/2 hours of driving (the trip usually takes 3 hours) we made it to Logan's party!

There were a lot of people at the party, some I had never met.  There was  lots of good food to eat and a bunch of kids playing.  Devin and I shared some cake and ice cream and then we helped open all of Logan's toys.  I don't think he got any clothes, just LOTS of toys!  

It was all lots of fun!  Thanks Again!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LOGAN!

Dancing, Bath Time & Lady Bugs

I just wanted to share with you three of Devin's favorite things.  First, he loves to dance!  We are not sure where this came from, but about a month or two ago Devin all of a sudden started dancing to every song he heard.  It's so cute, he simply sways back and fourth or moves his head up and down.  His favorite thing is to go to either his Trainstation or his toy food dish and turn on the ABC's.  He's a pro at it.

His next favorite thing is his bath time.  From the second you put him in until you take him out he will sit there, cheesing out, hitting the water as hard as he can.  He's a splasher and by the end of his bath, we are both soaked as well as the entire bathroom.  It's so cute though to watch him splash and there is no telling him not too, so I just watch with a smile.

The last of Devin's favorite things are those beetle things that look like lady bugs.  All I will say is that they are his favorite snack.  YUCK!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Thank you everyone for your Birthday wishes!  Especially to Lynnette and Sophia for singing me Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!

For My Sisters

It's not all the time you and your two older sisters are all pregnant, with boys, due 6 weeks apart. It may  not all have been planned by us, but obviously someone up there knew what He was doing.  It has not been an easy past year and a half for me, however, having my sisters there whenever I have needed them has been an enormous help!  From the random phone calls with urgent questions to helping babyset Mr. Devin in times of need.  Either way Thank You both; Kim and Lynnette for everything you have done for me.  This is the greatest experience of my life and I'm so glad that the two of you are there to share it with me!  

Just to add we would also like to thank Uncle Kyle for being a great landlord and for your baby-setting services and to our photographer Uncle Kevin!

Happy 10 Months!

That's right, Devin is 10 months today, a day that is going to go down in history.  Two more months and he will be a year old, where does the time go?

Ben took Devin to his 9 month Doctor's appointment on Friday (yes, a month late).  He's not sure on the exact weight, but his guess was 20.5 lbs.  He's a very healthy little man!

During his appointment he was given two shots.  One was the flu shot and it has not had a good effect on him.  On Friday Ben said he was a little groggy and not quite right.  Since then he has had very messy diapers and a lot of them, but he is his cheery self and it's not slowing him down at all.  For babies first flu shot, they are given half at one time and then the other half after four weeks.  So, he still has one more to go.  Good thing he's such a trooper.

This picture was taken by his uncle Kevin, thanks!

Jurzee's Visit

      Devin did not go out for Halloween this year, but he was able to do something even better...  Devin's sister Jurzee came and spent the night with him!  That's right Ben spent two days with Devin and Jurzee.  He said that it went very well and he can't wait to do it again!

      The last stop for the three of them was to the park.  I'm not sure what Devin was doing at this time, but Jurzee sure had a good time.  I gave my camera to Ben and he actually used it.

      Thanks for coming and visiting Jurzee!

DEVIN'S FIRST HALLOWEEN!

Getting Updated

Many of you have been waiting for this, sorry about the wait... 

Devin will be 10 months on November 4th already, I can't believe how quickly time goes by.  Although Devin is the youngest out of Cousins Cullen (15 mo) , Derek (13 mo) and Logan (11 mo) , he is bigger than all, except of course Derek.  Devin is very mobile with his unique army crawl and he is pulling himself up on everything.  He walks well as long as he gets help with his balance.  It won't be long until he is walking on his own! 

I recently graduated from the University of South Dakota with a B.S. in Criminal Justice & Political Science.  I plan to continue my education beginning in January when I will begin working on my Master's in Education Administration.  I am currently working at the YES Center in Cherokee, IA, which is NW Iowa's Juvenile Detention Center.  I really enjoy the work that I do and working with the Clients.  Recently I began substitute teaching here in Cherokee at Washington High School.  It is a little weird to say the least, considering that this was my High School.  So far I like it and I know that it is great experience!

Ben is still in Vermillion for now working at SAPA in Yankton.  He is looking and applying for jobs here in Cherokee so hopefully he will be joining his family soon!  We are also working on selling our mobile home in Vermillion, his motor cycle and hopefully his boat (he just doesn't know it yet)... any interest?  

Anyways I hope you enjoy our blog space and watching the milestones our little Devin accomplishes daily.