last day of quarantine?!?!?!?!

this is so surreal! i cant believe we're going to take devin out in public TOMORROW! im feeling pretty nervous about it. we plan on bringing him to toys r us which may seem like a crazy idea after not exposing him to any germs or people, we're going to go all out and bring him to a store filled with nasty little children? the one we're going to is always empty, its kind of in a weird place and every time i've gone, there have been maybe 10 people in there so i feel ok about it, plus it just feels like thats what we deserve to do with our kid after so long. i want to go in there and show him all kinds of fun stuff hes never seen before and problably overwhelm the crap out of him :) this weekend for easter sunday we're bringing him to michele's (fabian's sister) to meet his cousins! i plan on calling michele to explain to and warn her about the fact that this is a HUGE step and im going to most likely act like a freak the whole time. she has 3 kids weston, who's 10, alex, 5 and amelia, 4. i have already promised that amelia can hold her cousin... eeeeek! so there will be kid to baby contact and im so happy that we're at this point but oh so scared at the same time. im going to be very "safe" and have them all wash their hands and sanitize them before touching devin and im probably going to be on the verge of a heart attack the whole time. we only plan on staying a few hours because im assuming this will be a great deal for devin to take in. i'll update of course after the fact about how it goes.

oh! i got a nice ass new camera that im so excited about, so i will have much better quality pictures to post from now on! here are a few that i took the first night i got it :)

we gave devin some gerber puffs and yougurt meltaways for the first time last night and he actually picked them up on his own and ate them! it was so cute! he really enjoys feeding himself and i think hes going to do much better with that than with us trying to feed him pureed babyfood. im going to start baby led weaning with him and i really think hes going to take off with it.

here are a couple more pictures i've taken with the new camera. i have'nt read much of the manual yet so im just taking them with the "easy" function for now, but i hope to figure out how to take advantage of all the great things this camera has to offer as soon as i get the time to really play with it and learn more. i really like it so far! its the sony cyber shot 9.1 megapixel.

devin's first chomper!

devin got his first tooth today! its one of the little bottom ones and its just about the cutest things i've ever seen! all you can see is the bumpy top of it but it sure is SHARP! he hasnt even been overly fussy today so i really hope that tells us something for future teething times. he was very drooly today, but i'll take buckets of drool over fussiness! he's napping right now and im going to try to get a picture when he wakes up, i dont know that i'll have luck, but i'll try my hardest :) i feel so proud of him, i know he didnt really do too much to get his first tooth, but it really makes me think of him as a big boy. what a good little guy!

devin and his baby leg warmers!

 much to fabian's disapproval, i made devin several pairs of baby leg warmers last weekend and they look so cute on him! i had been wanting to get some for him but just didnt feel like buying them online and paying about $10 for a pair. i found pairs of women's socks at target that were just the right length and cut the feet off and stictched the ends and they work great! and no, they're not just an embarassing 80s blast from the past, they actually serve a purpose! im able to put them on devin while hes just in a onesie instead of having him in pants. this makes for much easier access at diaper change time! he also has very stinky feet and wearing socks all the time really does'nt help that so these are great because they cover some of his feet keeping them warm but allow his toes to get some air, kind of like those weird fingerless gloves. i'll also put them on him this summer while he's hopefully learning to crawl, but i'll be honest, functionality is the least of my concerns, they are just too cute!

fraggle hitched a ride with his bff and stayed there for an unbelieveable amount of time letting devin "pluck him" and squeal with delight right in his ear! there is something truley wrong with this feline and it does'nt ALL have to do with his excessive amount of body fat.

i found this fisher price satge/mirror toy at a thrift shop the other day and he LOVES it! he gets so happy when he sees himself and makes the lights and music go on. he'll play and then look over at me with a huge smile and go right back to playing. so cute! oh, i scored this for $2.50!

ooooh ipod...

we let him play with the mesh feeder again (our second try) and he loved it. he sucked it dry! i had offered it to him with a mango chunk the first time and he was'nt interested. this time i mashed it a little and he ate two big chunks out of there. he could'nt get enough!

and he can never get enough of daddy :)

happy 9 months devin!

i cannot believe devin turned 9 months old today! 3 more months and he'll be 1? what the hell? he's such a big boy! i still have to say i feel pretty sad that that 1 year milestone is creeping closer and closer and im still feeling like im getting jipped somehow, or that he is? i dont know, like i've said before its hard to explain but i know that every preemie mom feels the same way, i just wonder when i'll get over it. i feel like hes going to be turning 21 and i'll be yelling at him that its not ok for him to go out to the bar yet, he needs to wait another 3 months! i took these next pictures at exactly 10:51 am this morning which is the time he was born 9 months ago! so now hes a 9month/6month old! its his half year adjusted birthday tomorrow! :)of course he was acting adorable and posing perfectly for the camera.

we walked to the park this afternoon and gave the bucket swing a second try and it was much more fun than last time. he actually smiled a few times and did'nt arch his back and try to pop himself out once. oh!!!!! and this was a huge step for me (which is pretty sad) but i let him stay in the swing when a little girl got into the one next to him! a month ago i would have turned right around and not even attempted to enter the park if there were any other kids there (its really small and there are'nt usually any other kids). he was just staring at this little girl with his mouth open in awe! i wasnt having a panic attack like i thought i would have either, but as soon as about 3-4 other kids came over, i whisked him away :( making the transition to exposing him to people is going to be tough but i hope i get used to it quick because i seriousley cannot wait to have a "normal" life.

we have his 9 month pediatrician appointment tomorrow but i have to reschedule that and he hasnt been weighed for over a month. i wouldnt be shocked if hes hit the 20 lb. mark, he might have even passed it and hes probably about 27 inches. i'll add the facts when we get them. hes definitely getting big and hes doing so many things its crazy! he's really starting to look more like a little boy to me and not so much like a baby :) he's such a sweet heart!

look at this chunky monkey!

happy st. patrick's day!

we miss you aunt kathy!

so like i said yesterday, my aunt kathy (my mom's sister) came to visit for a few days and it was so much fun. she was devin's first visitor since he came home from the nicu on 9/9/09 and it was so nice and "normal " feeling to have someone besides me, fabian or my mom in the house playing with him and giving him love and attention. we figured it would be "safe" since she does'nt spend any time around young children and had'nt been sick recently. she also totally understands why we are so cautious and follows our handwashing rules :) we went for a walk along the chattahoochee river, went shopping, got take out and ate at home with devin and she and my mom babysat while me and fabian went out for a while. here are a few pictures from the visit that came out great. i cant wait until we see her again (for devin's birthday in june)!

so much to talk about!

first of all my aunt kathy came to visit and it was soooo much fun! it was really great to spend some time with her and my mom together and get to see her and devin together. im going to make a seperate post about that this weekend sometime once i get those pictures on the computer.

i have way too many cute new pictures of devin and there will be a ridiculous amount of them in this post :) hes doing some new stuff and its pretty cool. hes getting so big, hes now wearing 12-18 month clothing and it just amazes me! every time i dress him i keep grabbing 3-6 month stuff and expecting it to fit, but it doesnt even come close to squeezing on! i look at the 12-18 month gap footed onesies and think "yeah right, maybe next year", but they fit him perfect right now!

i found an AMAZING deal on the exact convertible carseat that i planned on getting him in the next few months and had to jump on it! we paid a total of $96.44 for the graco my ride 65 which is pretty much an unheard of price for a good quality carseat. we ordered it from bed bath and beyond and i was able to use one of those 20% off coupons that are always coming in the mail. i just had to go to the store to have the clerk apply it. the price was actually $99.99 but after 20% it was brought down to $96.44 after tax and shipping. i was so proud of myself for saving so much there! and devin is so cute in his big boy seat! we have'nt installed it yet, we just have it in the living room for now acting as a baby couch, he loves it! i stitched some cute little animls cut out from two of his preemie onesies onto the strap pads.

in this one hes just chillin watching some sponge bob, i want a seat like that!

here are some that i just love

so devin obviously doesnt have much hair at all. you can see it better in real life than in pictures, sometimes it actually lookes like we wax his head! he looks so bald in some pictures... but i have proof that he has SOME hair-

look! you can see about 7 of his hairs standing up! we gave him a bath one night and that little clump is always standing up now, i love it!

he also just realized that feet are not only for grabbing, they're also for tasting! which is pretty gross because devin's feet smell pretty bad. even very shortly after a bath (i pay close attention to the little piggies during bathtime too) they still smell! i even wipe them down with baby wipes a few times a day! i guess it doesnt bother him beause he discovered he can eat his toes the other day and they are a new favorite treat.

hes been getting stronger and stronger about standing lately but hes really started to feel confident with it in the last week or so. he loves to stand on our laps and can even hold himself up on stuff now.

look at that little butt!

i cant believe how many things happen in just a week.