Recent Pictures

My new favorite toy...the door stopper!

My good friends, Ashley (left) and Sydney (right). Also my first swing ride. Loved it!

Mr. Smiles

I see your icecream daddy...no more sneaking it by me!

Ok...just one small bite. Mmmm

10-Month Check Up

Devin went to the doctor yesterday for his regular baby care appointment and everything was great. He weighed in at 24 pounds putting him the 80th percentile for weight (our boy is starting to slim down by being on the go so much). And he was 30 3/4 inches which is in the 90th percentile. His head is still in the 50th percentile...he will likely have mommy's tiny head. :-)

The doctor said that Devin looked great and we were doing a good job. Not that I ever questionned it, but it is nice to hear it from the doctor directly.

We haven't had any more head shaking issues, so there really is nothing for concern as far as his health goes. He is making all his other milestones. And he is trying to use his voice more and more each day. Seems like we are saying "inside voice" more and more to keep our loud and rowdy kid in check.

I have a bunch of pictures to post, which I'll get to in the next few days. Last week was crazy with my work travel and since I got back, we've been helping our neighbors get ready for their move to Hawaii. So, I hope to get those pictures dowloaded and then uploaded to this blog very soon. Promise!

Our Happy Boy

Can you see all my teeth?

Loving Obstacle Courses

Is that Devin under (or inside) his exersaucer? Yep, that's it. Devin loves climbing into anything he finds. Tonight, he kept trying to climb through the base of the exersaucer almost ten times before he managed to get himself all the way in. And yes, he's carrying a toy in his hand at the same time. The trick though is that Devin hasn't figured out how to get out the other side yet. Devin is our adventurous one alright.

10 Months Old

Devin has crossed the 10 month mark. It is hard to believe his first birthday will be here before we know it. Devin is doing great. No more shaking issues. I'm convinced that taking him to the neurologist was all it took to resolve the issue. We are very thankful of course!

I tried to capture some pictures tonight, but our little guy is on the move and none of the shots turned out. I'll give it another try tomorrow.

Devin is very focused on not only opening and closing the kitchen cabinets, but now exploring what is inside. Looks like I have some more baby proofing projects on tap for this weekend.

Devin is a great sleeper now. He is super tired in the evening but we hold him off until 8 p.m. Then he goes down for the count. We do hear him in the night occasionally, but he puts himself back to sleep before I get to his room. It is true when you say, "early to bed...early to rise." That would be Devin. He is up at 6 a.m. to the minute. I haven't set an alarm clock for work in ages. He's got that job covered.

Devin is a really good eater still. He is all about table food and will pretty much eat anything. Fruits are a huge hit of course. And his latest favorite is sauted mushrooms. We've been trying to make almost every possible vegetable coupled with pasta and beans. Watermelon and pasta are probably his two most favorite foods overall.

When we went to the doctor last Wednesday, Devin weighed in at 23 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 29 inches tall. I'm pretty sure he'll be off the charts at his next appointment towards the end of this month. Devin is wearing mostly 2T clothes, except for Gap which runs larger. In that case, he's in the 18-24 month size.

Devin is very mobile now. He crawls everywhere and insists on pulling up into a standing position whenever he has something to grab on to. He is also getting very brave and letting go and standing on his own for a few seconds before sitting back down. He will move from one piece of furniture to another. He is also a big time climber. He can almost manage to climb up and out of the bath tub. For that reason, we have a seat with suction cups for bath time. I have to contain that boy!

Dadda and momma are his favorite babble words. He is a very vocal little guy and you can tell he has lots to say. He definitely understands words and signs. He has even starting signing "more" these past few weeks. We just need to keep doing more signs with him and I'm sure he'll be telling us everything he wants very soon.

The biggest challenge these days is changing his diaper. You have to be quick! He can flip himself over at the blink of an eye. In most cases, you hope to have someone nearby to help. Or I've become pretty proficient at putting a diaper on Devin while he's on the run.

Devin is quite the flirt and will crack a smile for anyone. He doesn't seem to have much stranger anxiety so he takes advantage of every opportunity to flirt with any willing participant. He has such a cute personality. And I can see he also will be a very determined boy growing up.

Group Family Picture

Here's the group family picture. We haven't all been together in about 20 years, so this is a special picture to say the least.

From left to right: Jen, Devin, Rich, Roger, Cathy, James, Phil, Madison, Shannon, Malcolm, Kristi, and Victoria

Some More Pictures

Steck Family Reunion

Yesterday, Devin had the opportunity to meet his second cousins for the first time. My uncle Malcolm and his daughters, Shannon and Kristi, came to town for a family get together. Shannon and Kristi are my only cousins, so our time together was such a treat. Shannon and her daughter Madison live in Oregon. And my other cousin Kristi and her daughter Victoria have been back east but are about to move to Germany for four years.

Devin thought Madison and Victoria were great. And he especially liked pulling on Victoria's hair. She was such a trooper. James was there too, but slept through the photo session. I'll try to post another picture of all of us when I receive a copy from my dad.

Devin and his second cousins (left to right: Devin, Madison, and Victoria)

All Is Well

We have been very concerned about Devin this past week, but thankfully everything is fine. We were at breakfast last Saturday and Devin started shaking his head. What concerned us was that it would happen for a few seconds and stop. Then it would start up again and stop. We didn't know what was going on and were concerned that he might be having a mild seizure or something. But the good part was that he was completely alert and would continue going about his business when it stopped. We went straight from breakfast to the doctor (and of course it wasn't happening when we got there). The on-call doctor thought he looked fine and said to just keep an eye on him.

Then on Sunday night, it started up again. I took some video film of the head bobbing/shaking movement. Thank goodness our neighbors are doctors because I was beyond concerned about what was happening and they were very supportive at the moment I needed it. Devin really was great through all of this and just kept smiling as if nothing happened.

We went back to the doctor Monday morning and they didn't know exactly what the problem was, so they referred us to a specialist. Thankfully, we were able to get in with the pediatric neurologist on Wednesday morning. After a quick review of the film and Devin, the neurologist said that Devin was just fine. Phew!!!! He said that Devin has so much going on developmentally right now and that things like this can happen. He didn't really think the head movement was involuntary or neurological. I thought it seemed pretty involuntary, but who knows. Anyways, we were very relieved to see that the doctor was not concerned at all. He said to keep an eye on Devin and this movement thing should pass in a few weeks.

Since the appointment, Devin had just a few small instances, but nothing as major as before. We now know that it is not something to be worried about as long as it doesn't move to his arms or cause his eyes to glaze over. And thankfully, that has not been the case in the slightest bit. I think we are all much more relaxed now knowing Devin is just fine.

9 Month Pictures

We had some great pictures taken yesterday. We are a few weeks later than planned, but still pretty close to 9 months. Devin was so photogenic. The whole photoshoot took less than five minutes. It was so easy!

Here's a link to the pictures. http://smilestore.picturepeople.com/my/images?tk=f51ae63c-b4e5-487c-ba29-411be3675cba. Click on the slideshow link to view them full size.