The Valdez Family Blog: November 2007

Trip to the Aquarium

A few weeks ago, we went to the Monterey Bay
Aquarium. Devin loved it!

Jen and Devin

Devin sees a shark.

Rich and Devin

The absolute highlight of Devin's day was chasing the birds on the patio. He is walking really good now as you can see.

Here birdie birdie...

I think Devin is still looking for the birds - and not the camera!

The jelly fish exhibit is quite impressive.

13 Months Old

Devin has crossed the 13 month mark. He is a busy boy these days walking all over, and almost running too. He still has a love for the outdoors. Being outside is his favorite activity (he is his daddy's son). In the past month, we've really seen Devin's personality shine through. He is a really sweet child. He will give hugs and kisses...just melts your heart. And his smile is specactular....not that I'm biased or anything. :-) We always get so many compliments on his beautiful eyes. I never thought brown eyes would get so much attention.

Devin has a whole vocabulary of his own. The only two words I can really make out are "nanna" for banana and "daddy." I'm still waiting for "mommy." The rest of the time, Devin is chatting away in his own little jabber. It is so cute to watch him walk around and chatter away as if he was having a conversation.

Music is probably Devin's second favorite thing (besides being outside). Whenever we turn on his CD's, he grabs your hands to dance with him. He also will start moving his arms up and down when he hears music while riding in the car. Speaking of car rides, Devin is a great traveler. He made the 5 hour road trip back to Sacramento super easy. He just played with his toys and ate a few snacks. Yeah.

Devin has started to slim down a bit now that he is walking. I've got him now in 18 - 24 month shirts and 12 month pants. The pants have to have an elastic waist though to work with his belly. But the length is perfect (for now).

We think Devin has finally cut a molar on the bottom. He hasn't been sleeping very well for a while now, so we figured some teeth had to be coming. Now, I'm ready for some good sleep!

Bath time is also a favorite activity. He loves the water and will move all around the tub including laying on his belly with his chin in the water. I bet he'll be a fish next summer when we can go swimming.

We weighed Devin last week and he was 25 pounds (unofficially). I say unofficially, because we used the scale at the vet (versus the doctor) when we took Piper in for her appt. And on Halloween, Devin was 30 inches tall. He's really sprouting up. Such a big boy!

Quick Trip to SLO

We recently traveled to San Luis Obispo to attend the funeral service for Devin's great grandmother. When we arrived at the hotel, Devin thought the bellman cart was very cool!

Hey look - I can climb on this.

And across it too.

And over to the other side. So fun!

Now, on to having some banana chips with daddy.

Cruisin' the street with Uncle Roger (left) and Grandpa Phil (right)

Rich and Devin looked so handsome for the service.

Devin spending time with Ella. She is Devin's great grandmother's sister.

Signing

Devin having some O's in the hotel before going to the aquarium.

Signing for "More." He really has the signing thing figured out. It's great.

"Eat"

I don't have a picture of it here, but "All done" is his absolute favorite sign.

Hugs for the Piper Dog

Devin loves giving his doggie some hugs! Each morning when he sees Piper, he starts signing for his doggie. It is very cute.

One Year Pics

A couple weeks ago, we went to have Devin's pictures taken. Here's a link to the online album. Just click the "Slideshow" link in the upper left-hand side of the page. Enjoy. http://smilestore.picturepeople.com/my/images?tk=0c14c22f-0cb0-4dde-9a56-92d04b52cffe&CMPN=EmailAlbum

We Love You Grandma

Devin's great grandmother passed away today. She was such a caring and amazing woman. There are several pictures of her in this blog (scroll down). She lived to be a few months shy of 91 years old. When we found out we were having a baby, we planned to use her middle name, Olivia, as the middle name if we had a girl. Olivia is both my grandmother and great grandmother's middle names. Hopefully, we will be blessed with a girl in the future and will be able to carry on her namesake.

We will truely miss Alice, Devin's great grandmother. She was 100% Swedish and grew up on a farm in North Dakota. Her tireless effort and will to live was amazing. She was always a pleasure to be around - a very happy and positive person. We are very sad that she is not here but, at the same time, very happy that she's been able to move on to her next life. We loved, and will continue to love, her so very much.

Happy Halloween

Devin was a monkey for Halloween. He loves to climb and eat bananas!

So Handsome

We love this picture.

Devin's Friend

Here is a picture of Devin and sweet baby Lexi. She used to live across the street from us until her family moved to Hawaii. Thankfully her mom and grandma brought her back to Sacramento for a quick visit. Now we need to go to Hawaii. :-)