Fort Wilderness - July

We went to Disney's Fort Wilderness in July. My brother and niece were here from PA. We had a good time. Devin really loved the pool and the slides at the pool.

Mommy & Devin looking at the ducks

Mommy & Devin with his cousins Michelle & Marley

Mommy, Marley, Devin, Devin's uncle Mark, & Nanny
Devin liked Chip from a distance. When he got close to us Devin cried. His head is burried in Daddy's shoulder

Daddy & Devin singing along with Chip & Dale

Roasting marshmallows by the campfire... Yum!!

Daddy & Devin by the pool

Devin's favorite thing to do.. Go down the slide by himself

Gotta have my juice

The camper that we used 3 times. Already upgraded!!!

The family hanging out by the camper

Look Who's Two...

Our little baby is 2 years old!!! He had a great birthday weekend. We took him to the Omni for the weekend. We hung out by the pool all weekend. Devin loved that. He got to practice some of his swimming skills he has been learning. He can swim between Philip & I with no help. He is doing so good. He loves the water. He loves to go under the water. He comes up with a big smile on his face. He started swimming lessons about a month ago.

Today we had a small birthday party for him with just our family. We had a great time. Devin got to spend some time with his Grandpa, Nanny, Uncle Tim & his cousin Michelle....

He got some money for his college fund, Thomas the Train track, bike helmet, wagon with blocks, batting stand, clothes, books, and I am sure I have missed some things. This is the first time he actually unwrapped gifts. Last year at Christmas he was just to young. He loved playing with the paper.

Here are some photos of his very special weekend.........

Playing with my sticker books with Michelle


Daddy & Devin playing with Thomas the Train

Going crazy with the wrapping paper

Puzzled look after we sang Happy Bday to him

Nanny & Devin

Uncle Tim & Devin

Grandpa & Devin

Birthday Cake & Balloon

Mickey & Minnie surf cake

Having a blast rolling down the hill with Daddy

Devin playing soccer with Daddy

Playing in the water fountains

Hanging by the pool with Daddy

My new helmet (aka monkey hat)

Trip to Pennsylvania - July

riding on 4 wheeler with Aunt Kim - look of concern

hanging out by the pond and playing ball

riding the 4 wheeler with Aunt Kim and cousin Nathan

Mommy's Boy!!!
How about those boots...

Looking at all the calf's with Nanny

Getting ready to leave Orlando

June Pictures

This is what I do when mommy's trying to cook dinner

This is the aftermath

1st Camping trip to Wekiva River Falls

Playing peekaboo with mommy

Hanging out reading books after my bath

Mommy & me on Fathers Day

Daddy, Grandpa, & Uncle Tim on Fathers Day

My new sunglasses

Hollywood

I love those uncrustables

Tired boys after a trip to SeaWorld

May Pictures

I have some catching up to do with pictures. Better late than never...

Daytona Beach - hanging out by the pool

Gotcha Day - Eating chips at my favorite restaurant
helping dad around the house

Dog Tail anyone?


Hanging out with my puppies

Eating some yogurt - learning how to use a spoon

23 months old

I know it has been a long time since I updated this blog. So, this may be long because I have a lot of catching up to do.

First of all, I can't believe our little man is going to be 2 years old in less a month. He turned 23 months old yesterday. He has changed so much in the past few months. He is becoming a lot more vocal. He is saying a lot more words. You may not always be able to understand him but he is trying. In the past week he has started to say mama... Finally!!!! I thought I would never hear him say that. Mama was actually his first word when he came home from Guatemala. However, all the change from bring him home into a totally different enviornment was a shock to him. It was like he took a step backwards with the talking and babbling. He is definetly making up for it now. Now he will make animal sounds and he will say things you ask him to. The animal sounds he makes are meow, moo, buzz, panting like a dog. Some words he says are dog, bailey, gracie, dada, mama, yes, juice.

We just got back a few days ago from a trip to Pennsylvania. Devin, myself, and my mom went to Pennsylvania to visit family. Devin got a chance to meet all the family. We celebrated the 4th of July with the family at my Aunt Marianne's. I found out Devin is very afraid of fireworks. Although I am sure most kids his age are. He was extremely tired and it caught him off guard. I had to take him in the house to get him away from the fireworks. I thought Devin would be really shy around everyone but he was not. I think daycare has really helped him come out of his shell. It still takes him a little bit to warm up to people but nothing like it was before. Before people could not look or even talk to him without him crying and clinging to me.

Devin's uncle Mark and cousin Marley are getting ready to come visit from PA. We can't wait for them to come. We are going to Disney to stay at Fort Wilderness for a few days. In April we bought a travel trailer. Fort Wilderness will be our second camping trip in the travel trailer. Camping with a bed, a/c, electric, and running water is my type of camping....

Devin moved up to the 2 year old room at his daycare this Wednesday. He is now in the Magic Mansion classroom. He is adjusting well to his new teacher and classmates. I had to go pick him up early today because he was running a fever. I am not sure if he has a virus or if he is teething. He doesn't actually have many other symptoms of being sick. We have actually had about a month where he wasn't constantly sick. I thought he would never build up an immunity to the daycare germs. He still has the daycare cough. However, other than today, he has not been sick. I think he is cutting his 2 yr molars. His Aunt Kim thought she saw them cutting through and he is constantly chewing on his finger. When he was teething with all his other teeth he would constantly chew on his finger.

Devin is starting swim lessons again on Monday. We had him in lessons last year but it was just to teach him how to float on his back. This year he will actually learn how to swim. I hope!! He loves the water and doesn't seem a bit afraid of it. We will see if that changes after next week.

I will post some pictures soon of our last few months.

A lot going on.....

Life around the Buster household has been extremely chaotic for the past month!! We have had so much bad news. I am really ready for things to turn around for us....

In the middle of April Devin's nanny (my mother) was diagnosed with breast cancer. The good news is it was very early on and her prognosis is good. She just had surgery this week and everything went well. She will have to undergo radiation treatment. Fortunately, she will not need chemo.

On April 30th Devin lost his grandmother. Philip's dad's wife, Anita passed away unexpectedly. Luckily we just got to spend time with both of them on the cruise. We all know she is in a better place and pray that his Dad will have the strength to get through this difficult time.

On May 2nd, we ended up in the ER with Devin. He was staying at his nanny's and dislocated his elbow. He was playing on the steps where he was not supposed to be. Nanny grabbed his hand to get him off the steps and he threw himself. My niece tried to catch him by grabbing his other hand and his elbow dislocated. We were very thankful when we got to the ER that they had a pediatric ER. The knew exactly what was wrong with him when we explained what happen. I guess this is pretty common injury in children. Once she put his elbow back in he was fine in about 5 minutes. Thank Goodness!!!!

The beginning of April Devin started daycare. Prior to this, my niece was watching Devin at our house. It was time for her to start getting serious about job hunting and it was time for Devin to socialize with other children. He is extremely shy around other children and adults.

The first day of daycare was the worst. When I left him he was fine because he didn't realize I had left. When I came back to get him that evening he was a mess. He was crying and looked terrible. He didn't eat or sleep, he cried all day, and he got sick to his stomach. Can't get much worse than that... After I picked him then I was a mess because I felt so bad for him. I couldn't sleep that night because I was dreading taking him back to daycare the next day. It really took him about 2-3 weeks to get settled in.

One of the challenges has been keeping him healthy. He is constantly sick. The doctor said it would take a few months for him to build up an immunity to it. I can't wait for that to happen. The latest sickness started on Friday, May 8 and I just made my 3rd trip to the doctor in 10 days.. UGH.... He got sent home on May 8 from daycare with pinkeye. That day I took him to the doctor and they gave him an antibiotic. By the next day he had major diarhea and that continued for a week. Going through 15 diapers a day is not fun for him or us. Monday, May 11th I picked up from daycare and his eyes looked like someone punched him. They were red on the outside and swollen. So, I took him to the doctor to make sure he wasn't having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. Then yesterday he got a major diaper rash. He went to daycare today and cried all morning because he was in pain from the diaper rash. So, back to the doctor today to get him some prescription strength creme. I feel so bad for him. I just want him to get back to his healthy self...

Enough of the bad news, now for some of the good things that have happen to us over the past few weeks.

Devin turned 21 months old on May 9. On Wed, May 13th we celebrated the one year anniversary of our forever family day. It is hard to believe that Devin has been home for a year. We are so thankful that we were able to bring him home at such a young age. We celebrated by going to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner. I was going to make a cake but Devin was on a strict diet and could not eat it. We were trying to get rid of his stomach issues he was having.

Things Devin is doing:

* Riding his bike - or should I say walking his bike
* Even though he is not talking he has definetly found his voice - he used to be a quiet kid -
those days are over
* He will try to say things you ask him to
* He knows sign language for more and all done
* He climbs all over everything
* Starting to feed himself with a spoon - he makes a mess but he manages to get it in his mouth
* Expressing more interest in coloring