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

Around the house

Here are some photos from the past few months.

Look who's forty...

crash......
off roading on my bike

My sad face

If Daddy sees me on this I am in big trouble

I love my blanket

Pudding anyone?

Daddy's 40th Birthday Cruise

We went on a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas for Philip's 40th Birthday. My mom and Philip's Dad & wife went with us. This was mom and Devin's first cruise. The both really enjoyed it.

Devin did so good. The only time he really had a melt down was during the lifeboat drill. He really did not like wearing the life jacket but he tolerated it. They put a plastic bracelet on all the kids on the ship that are under 10. This really put Devin over the edge. He did not want this thing around his wrist. He screamed and pitched a huge fit. Philip took him towards the back of the room and he just would not stop crying. He finally calmed down a little when Philip took off the bracelet and life vest.

When we docked in Nassau we went to Atlantis and to the beach. Atlantis is a beautiful resort. The water in the Bahamas is such a pretty blue, but boy was it rough!! We watched 3 people have to be rescued from the water.

playing around on the boat...

Mommy & Me at Atlantis
The water was beautiful in the Bahamas but very rough

I loved the waterpark on the boat

Get this thing off of me!!!

We haven't even left the port yet and I am worn out....

Decklan's Birthday

Devin’s friend, Decklan, had his 5th birthday party at our favorite park, Gemini Springs. The weather was great and we all had a good time.