Thursday, July 28, 2011

He wasn't supposed to see that!

Silas, yesterday Daddy caught me teaching you to be right-handed. Oops! He wasn't supposed to see that!


These pictures are after a while of you feeding yourself, so they don't represent your true right handed skills. I still stand by my decision to put the spoon/fork/pencil/crayon/anything you pick up in your right hand.


Actually, you do usually grasp, hold, and throw with your right hand (answered prayer from Mommy), but you are left-footed. You kick and climb left leg first.

This is what Silas does if you ask him if he is "Home Alone".

Ahhhhhh! is right! We'll will just have to be more sneaky with our practice next time.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Say Ye-ye-ye-ye-yes to Vuh-vuh-vuh-V-B-S!

This year was Silas's 2nd to attend Vacation Bible School at our church. Last year, he was a bed baby and got rocked everyday all day. It was baby bliss.

*None of my pictures are edited and some are pictures of pictures from my back door. Hey, I have to work quickly before Si's nap is over!

VBS 2010
Babies from L to R: Paxton, Cooper, Silas, Susanna, Hadley

Silas's first VBS Picture! (Western theme)
 
Sometime, at about the age of 7 months, Silas began to hate church. As soon as we would pull into the parking lot, he would begin crying. Once he got a little older, he would cry and plead, "No! Please! No! Please! No! No! Please!" until we dropped him off. Talk about breaking a parent's heart! Then, he would continue to cry until his wonderful teachers could get him distracted and calmed down.We tried everything. The "Goodbye, I love you," the patented "Drop and Run," and even the "Look! Here is a ball!" Nothing could curb the meltdown. Can we say separation anxiety?

Well, when time for VBS rolled around this year, I was determined Silas was going- like it or not. Honestly, he had to go the first 2 days since Richard had basketball practice and I was volunteering, but I was determined that he would attend all week because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting the t-shirt with his footprints and craft bag at the end of the week! Selfish on my part...maybe. :) (I am telling you, our preschool teachers are so amazing! They do adorable crafts with everyone from bed babies on up!) Richard was anti. He said there was no reason to torture him. I over-ruled. (HELLO!!! THE T-SHIRT!!)


So the first day of VBS rolled around. Even after much pep talking of how much Jesus loves him, how Mommy always comes back to get him, how he would get to see his friends Cooper, Susanna, Hadley, Paxton, and Joshua, and how many balls there are to play with in his classroom, Silas lost it. He cried from the parking lot until I picked him up at lunch. Poor little buddy just couldn't get it together. I felt bad, but the adorable, foot-printed  t-shirt was still calling my name. (I did realize once we got home that he missed his morning snack and goldfish just weren't cutting it.)

Mrs. Amy and Silas

Day 2- Silas arrives armed with a banana and yogurt for snack. We enter the lobby. Tears and screams commence. Thankfully, his teacher, Mrs. Amy, scooped him away quickly. I think he finally quit crying once they took him on the tractor ride. This baby loves to ride, and he loves tractors/wagons. It was a win-win! Also on this day, they decided to split Silas's class. Cooper, Hadley and Paxton were in one room. Silas, Susanna, and Joshua were in the other. Laura Ashley and I decided it was because they didn't want two screaming babies (ie: Si and Coop) in the same room again! Ha!

Cooper, Mrs. Dianne, and Silas

On the third and fourth days, Silas put up a fuss only once I got him to his classroom door. It was terribly sad because as I was holding him, I could feel the cry formulate all the way from his toes until it reached his mouth. He then proceeded to wail for about 15 minutes until he noticed the balls and his buddies.


What happened on Day 5 can only be deemed a miracle. Silas shed no tears!!!! He went straight into the arms of Mrs. Dianne, pointed to the sheep on the wall, told her what it was, and made it's sound. I couldn't believe it! It did momentarily make me slightly sad, but I quickly got over that and skipped along to meet my 4 year olds.


After VBS shock therapy, Silas has not shed a tear about or at church since! He goes right to Mrs. Jessica each Sunday morning. When you tell him we are going to church he begins naming his friends, and when we pick him up, he greets us with a huge smile and a hug! What a blessing!

Silas's class 2011
L to R: Susanna, Mrs. Amy, Joshua, Mrs. Dianne, and Silas

Coveted Crafts from 2011 = One happy Mommy!

15 Month Update


Silas is 15 months old and a regular chatterbox! At his appointment this week, he weighed in at a heavy 27.5 pounds (85%). He was 32 3/4 inches tall (82%), and his head was 49.5 centimeters around (95%). Silas is definitely in the big head club with his mommy. We can't help it; our heads contain large brains... well, that is what I tell myself anyway. Si has eight teeth. Four on top and four on bottom. He is working on cutting his molars, and I can assure you we will all be excited when they FINALLY come in! Silas's hair is very blonde, skin is olive, and eyes are bright blue. In case you can't tell, he looks just like his daddy- with my skin tone.


Si still loves all things water, book related, and that roll. This includes everything from balls to wheeled toys to Cheerios. As far as food goes, Silas's main nutrition still comes from baby food green beans (or bean greens as he sometimes calls them), squash, and chicken noodle. He has a texture issue, so we are working on eating more "grown-up" food. Using a fork for almost everything has helped him. Acutally, baby food is very easy for us to do,  so I don't mind! Si also LOVES yogurt, bananas, pizza, puffs, Cheerios, Mum-mums, crackers, french fries, and cheese. He will ask for all of those by name. The only nickname he has is "moo" which refers to milk. He made it up himself and stands completely by it. We say milk, but he will answer us moo. Cracks me up!


Like I said, Si is a regular chatterbox these days. I am going to try to list all of the words he says and uses correctly on his own (not words he parrots). All of these words he says clearly so that anyone can understand. Here we go: ball, monkey, slide, swing, chair, basketball, cart, wagon, car, truck, tractor, 4-wheeler, bicycle, Elmo, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, more, please, motorcycle, big, flag, door, frog, book, moon, tree, sky, flower, abacus, stable, horse, sheep, goat, duck, banana, apple, pinwheel, no, hi, bye-bye, baby, sleep, shoe, sock, shirt, pants, giant-excavator, steering wheel, zapper, remote, bath, belt, kicking, highchair, eat, drink, juice, moo, alligator, dog, cat, chicken, haybale, plow, barn, Bobcat (front-end loader), lawnmower, firetruck, boat, airplane, TV, helicopter, giraffe, bat, light, Scout, John Brown, octopus, Murdock, yummy, yucky, blanket, P.U., teeth, hair, ear, eye, nose, cheeks, arm, knee, elbow, belly, toes, foot, tally-wacker (Yes, you read that correctly. Thanks Daddy.), knuckles, hand, wipe, mouth, table, bed, towel, washcloth, lotion, bottle, shower, poo-poo (more thanks to Daddy), open, boom, closed, off, on, pool, penguin, Orajel, choo-choo train, Daddy, Mommy, Si-Si, Lottie, Mimi, Chubbs, Cici, Caddy, Bunker, Doodle, G-daddy, Gigi, Juju, Barry, Gates, Anna Reed, Emi, PayPay, Graci, Cindy, Boy, Jonathan, Zachary, Yaya, Grandmother, Irene, Tori, Biscuit, Susanna, Cooper, Hadley, ice, water, wet, rain, thunder, mailbox, again, leaf, window, wave, umbrella, ma'am, bubbles, fish, crab, hanger, trash, phone, outside, hello, cat, vase, mess, diaper, basket, bucket, toolbox, ice, dot, hole, hammer, rock, Jesus, brush, teeth, toothpaste, green beans, blinds, window, drive, DVD, read, dot, building, and endless animal sounds. That is all I can think of right now, and I am positive there are many I am forgetting.

Silas can also put words together into phrases and sentences. Here are some examples of what he has said today:
Throw it away.
Outside trash.
More moo please.
No ma'am.
All done Mum-mum.
Bye-bye Susannah.
Daddy's belt.
Daddy's shoe.
Mommy's shirt.
Oh-wee Monkey.
Slide down.
Again please.
Bye-bye baby.
Sit bottom.
Light on.
Read book please.
Apple-juice.
Take bath.
Brush teeth please.
Brush hair.
I love you, too.


Each day he learns and says new things. It blows us away! The other day, we had friends over for dinner. On the table, I lined up three of the cups we were drinking from. Silas named them with me: Mommy's cup, Daddy's cup, Cooper's cup. Then I mixed them up, and he correctly named them all again by himself! I couldn't believe it! This was the first time I had tried to do that. We are having such fun watching him learn.


Silas is working on switching from 2 naps to 1 nap. Some days we take 2, and some 1. He goes to bed between 7 and 8. Wake up comes between 6:30 and 7 in the morning. I go get him when I hear him fussing through the monitor. The first thing he asks for is always moo. After a quick diaper change, we grab his cup of moo and head back to Mommy and Daddy's bed. Each morning he sits between us, drinking his moo, and watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He loves that show! Especially the "Hot Dog" song at the end. Richard and I are cherishing the snuggle time too. Summers are a wonderful part of teaching. Even though we both have a million school things we have to do each day, it does allow us the time to slow down and enjoy snuggles!


Silas has FINALLY learned to climb up and slide down his slide by himself. He also loves to climb and stand in his chair. Rolling cars and trucks on the floor while crawling behind them is most definitely his new pastime. I love watching him do this- it makes him look like such a big boy! Si looks for any opportunity to sneak into a bathroom. I think it is his favorite room because there is so much to get into in there.When we catch him in ours, he is either playing with the toilet, digging empty toilet paper rolls out of the trash, or hitting the empty hangers in our closet to hear the noise they make. In his bathroom he tries to pull up the white screw covers on the bottom of the toilet, slams the toilet lid, opens the cabinets, or pulls back the shower curtain and yells, "Bath please!"

I think that might catch us up some. Happy 15 Months, Silas! (Here is a pic with John Brown, of course!)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Granny Armstrong turns 90!

We were so blessed to celebrate a wonderful birthday with Granny Armstrong this weekend. Silas lovingly calls her Irene. She turned an ever so young 90 on Sunday!


There was a grand weekend of festivities. Everything began with a delicious cookout on Saturday. It was great to see so many family members and have them all under the same roof. Silas hadn't seen many of them in a long time.


Silas and Granddaddy- Ok, so they do see each other frequently.

Tori and Silas
This is only the 2nd time they have seen each other, but Silas points to her picture and says, "Tori!" everyday.

Granny Irene with her children, Uncle Jerry and Grandmother

Aunt Doris with Silas

Silas, Aunt Doris, and Aunt Mary

All of the great-grandchildren
Back: Tori, Jonathan, Erik, Zachary
Middle: Sara Grace, Megan, Will
Front: Granny and Silas

Of course, no birthday is complete without cake, and Granny got two! (You go to certain extremes for someone reaching 90. I mean, it is a big deal!)


Granny got some wonderful gifts and very sweet cards. We actually helped to get her a digital picture frame so all of her pictures from her albums can be on display. She loved it!

The celebration continued with lunch at the Blue Plate on Sunday. I didn't bring my camera for this, but we had a blast. Granny was surprised with a humongus chocolate sundae. I wish I had been able to take a picture of the genuine surprise on her face.

We are so blessed that instead of living far away in Luverne, Granny now lives with Richard's parents. When I am working, Si gets to spend every day with her. I am so thankful that he has that time to spend with such a special person. He loves Irene and so do we! Happy Birthday Granny!

Cow Appreciation Day

Our family loves cows. Especially the smallest of us. (The rest of us love to eat them, but don't let out our little secret.) Silas points them out. He gives them a big hearty "moooooooooooooo" every time he sees them, and he'd rather eat chicken than, well, any other meat. So, to show our appreciation (and with a little convincing from our friends) we decided to celebrate Cow Appreciation Day this year.


Now I said that Si loves cows- however, his affection does not include those of the large character variety. As soon as Richard got in the vicinity of the cow in question, Si did the monkey-cling-while sliding to the other arm and let out an extra loud "No ma'am!" He did "moo" at the cow from across the restaurant, but that was the best he could offer. At least the cow waved.


Silas also made some buddies in the play place. Actually, the spot where he chose the play was their "base" in a way too fierce game of hide and seek. We jetted quickly. Si 's little head can be seen in the back right corner.



Our sweet, yet somewhat blurry, little cow!

We couldn't properly celebrate without the great Aunt Cici! Thanks for the cow shirts!

Props to the Blakeneys for the great idea!