Catching Up with the Devereauxs!

It's been almost 3 months since my last post, mainly because I've been busy, as well as the rest of my family, but also because my blogging efforts were directed towards my marathon training and fundraising for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program. I have since met our fundraising goal, trained for and run a half marathon - go me! My sister and I finished the race together as the Martini Moms and she won, like, the Most Kick-Ass Fundraiser award of all (that's the technical name for it:)

So we're done with that and I must say, it was a truly life-changing experience. I think I need a separate blog for marathoning and fundraising, truth be told.

On to the bebes. My, how time flies. I am sitting her during Stella's nap time trying to get in a million things before work, and I'm watching my littlest crawl around on the office floor after having just fed herself a bottle, thinking how just a short bit ago it was Stella in her place.

Stella, 10 months

 Truth be told, Stella didn't so much as crawl at 10 months as just sort of lay there looking cute and fat, like a little hot dog. Man, she was easy to be mesmerized by - just all those fat rolls oozing out and those crystal blue eyes STARING you down with a cheesy grin until you smiled. Mary Tucker is my stoic baby, though she's been giggly and goofy these last few weeks. She's as bald as they come and tiny, too.

 Ok, let me organize myself by child...

Stella is now almost 2 1/2 and is the smartest (no lie) kid I know. She speaks so clearly and with actual reason and cognition, it's scary. This morning Matt said how she answered a question superbly and in a full sentence and we joked about our surprise. "Well, she will be reading Tolstoy tomorrow, I don't know why we are still surprised."

 She's not into potty training (though we've tried) and not excited about giving up the paci at nap time or bedtime (oh lord, have we tried), and I think I'm ok with that for now. I want to encourage age appropriate behavior - not try to make her reach a milestone she's just not physically or mentally ready for. I learned that with her gross motor skills. So what if she didn't walk til 18 months? Shes perfectly fine now. Of course, hind sight is 20/20.

She's got a (large)head full of curly blonde hair, which we now attribute to Matt's grandmother Billie Sue. We walked into his mother's room one day and she saw a picture of Nannie on the wall and said "Look! It's Stella!" The resemblance is truly amazing. She's plump and ticklish and has perfectly porcelain skin that swells up after a mosquito bite, just like her Daddy. She loves Mother's Day Out at St. Timothy and talks about her teachers and her friends endlessly. She's incredibly in love with her sissy, but has shown her 2 year old colors recently with snatching and not letting Mary Tucker play with ANY toy in sight, but we're working on that every day.

Mary Tucker is a tiny, little thing coming in in the 5th percentile for weight and 10th percentile for height. Her little blonde locks are finally starting to sprout and she's got her mother's gray/turquoise/blue eyes.

Friends joke that Stella is Matt made over and Mary Tucker is undeniably mine. She's a wonderful sleeper and eater, which we are thankful for!! Not many people have 2 consecutive sleepers, but we do, well, for right now, anyway:) She breastfed for 10 months and is officially weaned and on 3 formula bottles a day. She's met her milestones a little sooner that Stella and is already sitting up on her own perfectly, crawling like a champ and kneeling without assistance. She's beginning to test pulling up on furniture that's just her size, which scares me to death. My house is still not very baby-proofed from Stella and it looks like I'll have a curious cat on my hands. She's a mover and a shaker, folks.

Both my girls are lovely and I try to stop, slow down and appreciate them for who they are each and every day. I'm not great at this yet, but I'm trying. We're learning-as-we-go parents and I'm really lucky Matt's on board with every organic, homemade, backwards, odd, health-conscious, expensive, new-aged, old school parenting choices I suggest. More to come later!