On Friday, the day before Halloween, Tony’s work had what we thought was going to be a trick-or-treat party for the kids. Turns out it was a haunted house. DeVon cried through the entire thing. He usually loves being scared so when we arrived and found out it was a haunted house, we thought he would be fine. No. After we left that, we went to go get some food. We went to a mexican restaurant and got our favorite – a carne asada fries burrito. We also got some chips and guacamole. We didn’t think about DeVon’s avocado allergy until we were already eating (and we didn’t expect the chips to be smothered in some gross guacamole water instead of a scoop of guacamole on the side). I gave DeVon some meat out of the burrito that was on the opposite side as the guacamole and I also gave him little bits of chips that didn’t have any guacamole. Apparently his allergy is more severe than we thought. I guess he’s so allergic that if anything was even near avocado, it affects him. He immediately stopped eating and went to go play with the quarter machines. He didn’t eat for 2 days after that. Every time he tried swallowing something, he would throw up, so he just didn’t even try to eat. I figured he was getting sick and had a sore throat. When that was over and he started eating again, I was so relieved! That’s when the rash showed up. When he has avocado, he gets a rash all over his stomach and back. That’s when I figured out that he had had an allergic reaction and that’s why he couldn’t swallow anything. It’s weird the rash didn’t show up till 2 days later, but I’m glad it did cause that’s how I figured out what was wrong with him. Needless to say, we’ll be staying farther away from mexican food. The other day we went bowling with some friends. I don’t think I broke 70. DeVon used the bumpers and the little ramp and he beat all of us! He seriously got so many spares, and even a strike! He bowled a 124 The video isn’t uploaded onto the computer yet, so I’ll post that next time. Here are a bunch of pictures and some videos:

He had just started throwing the ball this way and it was pretty funny. Tony made fun of him. The music in the background is his favorite show – The Fresh Beat Band

Loves playing in boxes

His new Spongebob jammies. He picked them out himself

For a while he wouldn't eat anything but frozen blueberries so his face was always blue

Not the first snow, but the first snow you could play in.

 

He really likes throwing balls into the parking lot and making me chase after them. He does this all the time:

He found a stray piece of halloween candy on the floor and got into it. It was either a jawbreaker or a fireball, I'm not sure. The outer red layer got all over his face and hands. He's crying cause I wouldn't let him touch the camera

Crying cause I was trying to make him stand up

We bought him some boots and I just had to take a few photos

 

DeVon’s baths usually last half an hour – I read a book while he plays. Well, last night football was on and from the back of the tub, he could see part of the TV. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to get out and watch football or stay in the bath and play. At first he decided to do both. He just stayed in the back of the tub where he could see the TV, but he ended up deciding he couldn’t play in the bath AND watch football so he decided to get out and go watch football. He’s Daddy’s boy for sure. Here are a mumble jumble of videos, nothing important, just everyday things.

Not a lot to write about because everything is pretty much the same. DeVon now deliberately makes messes so he can vacuum it up. It drives me crazy. I’m working on losing weight. So far, so good. It’s an easy diet because I don’t have to watch what I eat, just the total calories of the day. I’ll save some room to eat a cookie after dinner and such. Here are some pictures.

Tony took him to the park and DeVon got to see a dog

Playing at the Spray Park

There was a cat wandering around the apartment complex so we gave it some milk

There is a local dairy store down the street with yummy ice cream

I had been telling Tony we needed more pictures of the 3 of us and yesterday we got haircuts so we decided it was a good time to take a picture.

So I always wondered what I would look like with a more “glam” look, plus I’ve been trying to edit faces in photoshop for a while and this was my first successful try. Here are the before and after photos

Before

After

Before

After

Yes, DeVon LOVES M&Ms. It started with the gum ball machine filled with MMs at Tony’s parent’s house. He saw us eating them, so, naturally, he wanted some. We gave him one and he was hooked. We now use it to bribe him. If he won’t lay down to get his diaper changed, M&M. If he won’t get his nails clipped, M&M. If he’s screaming throughout the store, like tonight, M&M. I know, we’re bad, but it works, and it’s the only sugar he ever has. He’s also discovered the pots and pans in the kitchen and thinks they’re toys. I keep them in the drawer under the oven hoping he wouldn’t find them. It keeps him entertained though. He destroys the kitchen though. He always pulls the cutting boards out of the cupboard and also hides toys in that cupboard. He also pulls everything out of the drawers. Nothing he can break though. It’s actually pretty cute – seeing him discover stuff and all. And he still loves to vacuum. Our vacuum is too big for him, so I just give him the hose and he starts vacuuming up whatever his most recent mess is. Tonight he spilled a bunch of popcorn on the couch. When he got off the couch, he saw it, and ran over to the vacuum. Hopefully he will always like to clean. I would be a very lucky mom. He still loves his baths. Today he probably played in the bath for half an hour. And he doesn’t even have any toys in the bath. He entertains himself with all the shampoo and soap bottles, and of course splashing. His new favorite show on TV is the Fresh Beat Band on Nick Jr. (unfortunately, our cable here has never heard of Noggin). It’s just a group that wears bright colors and sings and dances. I’ve DVRed them all, so if he’s awake, that’s what’s on the TV. It’s the only show he’s ever been able to sit through for the entire duration. If you know DeVon, you know how surprising that is. He’s also getting really good at golf. He doesn’t hit the ball into the hole yet, but he does hit it really hard and really well for the most part. It’s amazing how much he loves all sports. Tonight at WalMart he had a field day in the sports isle. Even in the electronics section he was totally enthralled with the golf and soccer they were showing on the TVs. Then at Albertson’s, There was an ad for Anytizers and in the background was a picture of a football. It was covered with words and he still was able to point it out and get excited. Yes, lots more, but this is getting long. Here is a video of DeVon in the bath and some pictures:

The playground we go to almost every day

This sits next to the park and he always wants to get on it. Mommy doesn't let him, but Daddy does

His new best friend (that we had to leave at the store)

He actually had tons of fun with this balloon. He's just mad Daddy made him turn around. This was on the 7th, it's now the 20th, and that balloon is still floating high. We tied it to an empty soda can so he can reach it whenever he wants (he wouldn't let us tie it to anything else). Oh, and there are now Fruit Loops in the can, so it's a noisemaker as well.

Going down the slide all by himself

His cute jammies

Tony copying DeVon

Yes, he copies EVERYTHING we do

His "pet dog"

I’ve fixed the sb page post a few posts down. The pictures are now visible. Here are some more scrapbook pages:

Here are the pictures from DeVon’s buzz. To see other pictures up through August CLICK HERE

Yes, we are now in Idaho. The trip getting here – not so fun. We drove straight through from Houston to Murrieta, CA which was about a 24 hour drive. Tony drove most all of it, but he made me stay awake with him so he wouldn’t fall asleep. We spent a week in Murrieta. We had to stop there because all of our stuff plus our other car was stored in Tony’s parent’s garage. We then rent a uhaul trailer and then we both have to drive up to Idaho. I was in the EVO with DeVon. No way I would pull a trailer in the truck. DeVon slept about half the time. the purr of the car puts him to sleep really well. We stopped in Vegas to see Tony’s brother and decided no way did we want to continue on to Provo, where we originally planned to stop. Slept at his uncle’s house, then drove to Provo the next day and saw some friends and spent the night at a friend’s house. Then onto Idaho. We stayed at my Uncle Paul’s until we found an apartment. So now we are finally in our own place after 8 months of living with other people. Tony starts BYU-I in January. Mom and Dad Karissa and Reed have moved to Switzerland. I’m excited for them. Yay Europe!

DeVon’s such a big boy now. He’ll be 17 months in just a couple days. He helps me clean. He LOVES to clean. He’ll bring me dirty dishes and help me put away any dishes he can from the dishwasher. He’ll also go play with his toys on his own in his room for a little bit. It’s nice not having to constantly entertain him, though he is still attached to my hip… His hair was getting way too long it started mushrooming so we went to trim it and Tony got carried away. HE BUZZED IT TO A 0!!! It’s actually kinda cute though in a funny way. Picture coming as soon as I get it on the computer. It’s definitely different. Hopefully now that I’m finally able to be on the computer a lot more I can start updating and start scrapbooking again.

It’s the cutest thing; DeVon has learned to snap. He was eating and his hands were dirty so he was just trying to get the food off and he started to snap. So I copied him and taught him the word and now he’ll do it when you ask. He can’t always make a sound though. He’s also learned the sign language for ‘hat’. We were looking at his sign language book and I was flipping through looking for a word he would know. I passed the ‘hat’ page and he just up and did the sign. He doesn’t wear hats; I thought he wouldn’t know that word, but I guess I was wrong. I’ve shown him the sign before, but it never seemed like he paid attention. Guess I was wrong. He also knows ‘eat’ and ‘hug’. He’s a cute little thing. Here’s a picture of him from last month. CLICK HERE to see a few more pictures from June.

yes, i know the lyrics are misspelled. I copied and pasted and havent gotten around to fixing it

We’ve been in Houston for a month and a half now. We’ve decided to go back to school so we’ll be moving to idaho shortly to go to byu-i before transferring to byu provo. DeVon has his first molar. Another one is on the brink of breaking through, and in the meantime he is chewing up EVERYTHING. He’s totally off formula now. He loved all solid foods at first, but now he’s become picky. He doesn’t like spaghettios or ravioli. He loves meat though. He’ll devour a piece of turkey in no time. He’ll only eat fruit on occasion. I remember fruit being all Reed would eat when he was little. I probably need to give DeVon some type of vitamin supplement, like a drink or something. He’s still little – 21 lbs. When we first got here, he swam in the pool every day. Now he’s not really into it. Still loves to play on the swings though. He likes ping pong and it’s annoying cause playing ping pong with him is so boring… He loves making any mess he can. When we go shopping, he won’t stay in the cart/stroller, he has to get out and push the cart/stroller. We spent 45 bucks on a pair of sandals for him a while back. waste of money like i was afraid it would be. We rarely put them on him, but since they’re velcro, he takes them right off. Velcro – never again. We took him to a pet store a few days ago so he could look at the dogs. He loved it so much. Once we left, he wouldn’t stop whining. Reed has some dog stuffed animal things here and DeVon now has possession of them. He loves hugging them. The other night Tony and I came home, and there was an armadillo in the driveway. Mom and Dad won’t be happy when the get home from Florida today and see their garden all dug up by the armadillo. Here are some recent photos: To see all of them CLICK HERE.

He always has to push the cart. We need to start shopping at Randall's where they have carts for the kids.