In a cabin in the woods...

Rewind to May 2010: I am sitting at my parents' house enjoying a nice Saturday with my beautiful 1 month old bundle of joy, and I receive the following phone call.

Richard- Hey! Guess what? I WON! I WON!

Me- You won?

Richard- YES! I WON!

Me- You won what?

Richard- A MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN VACATION!!

Me- A majestice mountain vacation?

Richard- YES! A MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN VACATION!

Me- WOOHOO!!! How did you win that?

Richard- Well, I bought it.

Me- You did what?!?!

Richard- Remember me telling you about that auction at school? Well, one of the items up for bid was a MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN VACATION AND I WON!!!

Me- How much did you win it for, dear? We have a 1 month old and I am on maternity leave.

Richard- Well... it only cost $xxx.xx but normally it would have cost so much more than that and it sleeps about a million people and it is extremely nice and it has a pool table and air hockey and a jacuzzi and we can take Silas and it was such a good deal and I would have gotten it for less if Mr. Steed hadn't started a bidding war but I WON A MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN VACATION!! Oh yeah, I wrote a check.

Me- I can't believe you did that.

Richard- How are you not excited?! I WON!!! I love these auction things. We should really start going to more of these.

Me- Oh no. I don't like peanut butter and jelly and we have to buy diapers, lots of diapers.

Richard- What?

Me- I don't like peanut butter and jelly and we have to buy lots of diapers.

Richard- I don't know what you are talking about.

Me- I don't want to eat peanut butter and jelly and have Silas naked and diaperless because we have to pay for a Majestic Mountain Vacation.

Richard- Jenn, I am not sure why you are not more excited about this! Do you hear what I am saying? We are going on a MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN VACATION because I WON!!! I ACTUALLY WON!!!

Me (tearfully)- I am glad you won, babe. Looks like we are going to the mountains.

It turns out that even though my husband "won" a Majestic Mountain Vacation in a cabin that sleeps a million for a measly $xxx.xx, I never had to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and my son always had plenty of diapers. In a post-baby hormonal state, I slightly overreacted (and so did my overly excited husband who had just won a Majestic Mountain Vacation.)

Fast forward to January 2011: I tell my principal that I am taking a Majestic Mountain Vacation during the peak of SAT prep season because my husband, the basketball coach and PE teacher, decided to schedule it after basketball season but forgot about his wife the elementary school teacher who was in her crunch time. I tried to bribe Mrs. M with a scrumptious brownie (nevermind the fact that her husband baked it and she brought it to school) and with a semi-frown and a nod, her exact quote was, "Well, I guess you'll just have to work that much harder." As if there already wasn't enough pressure. The good news: my children work really hard and I am going on a MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN VACATION!

Jump to February 2011- Majestic mountains here we come! Our friends, the Blakeneys, decided to experience the Smokies with us. Since they also have a baby, the husbands decided to rent a van so we could all ride together, drive all night Tuesday night and arrive in the mountains Wednesday morning. The premise was that the babies would sleep the entire trip. Yeah. Right.

Picture this- Procrastinator me planning sub lesson plans for 3 days of lessons including small group reteaching plans, packing for three, one being a 10 month old who eats like a 350 lb grown man, being told that there is limited space in the van so be sparing, funeralizing our humble abode and having our first Bible study at 7 when we plan to leave at 9. Slight stress. When I left for Bible study I gave Richard specific instructions not to leave without sweeping the kitchen floor and most definitely not to forget Murdock the frog. (Allen, Silas, and Richard were packing our stuff in the van and picking LA, Cooper, and me up from the Blackneys after Bible study- yes LA hosted Bible study the night we were leaving for our Majestic Mountain Vacation. Props to her.)

When the loaded van arrived to grab the 3 of us, Silas was in the back seat screaming to the top of his lungs. Richard looked at me with an encouraging smile to remind me of the Majestic Mountain Vacation that was coming our way in a few short hours. As we climbed in and took our seats, Cooper was wimpering because he had just been snatched from his bed, and my knees were up to my ears- by "pack sparingly" I figured they meant only 3-4 super large bags per member of the household. Because of my slight miscalculation, I rode to the mountains propped on a toy bag, diaper bag, laptop, camera, video camera, clutch, a pillow and my Bible study book. Oh, and did I mention Silas was still crying? His crying encouraged Cooper's crying, and I figured we were in for a long, long trip. Si did finally quit about 10 minutes into the trip when he realized he was not getting back into his bed and that he did like his carseat.

219,342,576,238 hours later, we arrived in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I will pick up with our arrival on the next post. Stay tuned!

Vroom Vroom

I don't know how you like to spend your Sunday afternoons, but ours seem to be looking more and more like this.

First, the little buddy has to get into his car and buckle up of course.

After I take about a million pictures of him sitting still in the same position, I receive this look... the "can we please go now because I have been doing my best to sit still for you, crazy lady" look.

Before he pulls out into traffic, he must look both ways and check his blind spots!

A few moments later, the car begins making a strange noise!

Seems to be nothing a little banging can't fix.

When that doesn't work, our little fix-it dismounts to check out the true source of the problem. He does not get this from his daddy. Must be from Uncle Greg and Gruncle Barry.

Ahhh, a job well done! (So well done, in fact, that he decided to sit and promptly lay back to reflect on his hard work- hitting his precious noggin on the hard driveway. Oops!)

Looks like we will take her for a spin again tomorrow!

Two digits! The big 1-0 (months that is)

Silas is 10 months old and I can't believe it! He has officially taken his first steps, can identify your nose, coughs when you ask him if you need to call Dr. Blaxton, calls the puppies with a squeal, clicks his tongue like teeth clacking together when you ask to see his teeth, growls when asked what a shark says, claps to cheer himself on, and can find his favorite book no matter where you hide it. Even through all the sickness over the last month- including our first stomach virus, I do believe month number 10 has been the most fun.

Si is truly a cruising machine. He can walk all over the house hanging on to things. Honestly, if he would just let go, he could walk. It is ridiculous! We don't tell him though because it is hard to keep him contained as it is. Silas's crawling skills are much improved as well. Now, he isn't as quick as Cooper, but he can be gone in a flash! It is a gimpy army crawl with his right arm folded in. He still won't get on his hands and knees.

Our little buddy has learned a new trick as well. He jumps on the bed. Yes, you read that correctly. Silas holds on to the side rail of his crib and jumps up and down like crazy. It is like he is in the bouncer except he isn't safely secured in place. Though it makes me absolutely nervous, I let him to it anyway. Ha! Speaking of the bouncer, about the only action it has received this month is playing around the outside. It seems their love for each other is dwindling.

He still ADORES bath time and kicks galore the entire time. Silas will let you know when he is done by pulling up on the side of the tub. Then, you must swing him side to side to get all of the giggles out and excess water off before sitting him on the counter beside the sink. While he is getting dried, he turns the sink water on and off and on and off and on and off. He fusses every time you take him to his room to put on PJ's and a diaper but pauses long enough to flip the light switch off on our way out the door.

Food is still going well. There have been a couple days that Si has refused to eat baby food because he wanted to feed himself, but he is mostly still happy and full. I am planning on going ahead a purchasing some whole milk (yuck) so we can begin giving him a few sips here and there in preparation for the one year mark. He loves cheese, waffles, bread, muffins, Cheerios, Gerber cheese puffs, and puffs. Si doesn't like non-baby food fruits yet. I think the texture gets to him.

Silas loves to go bye-bye. He talks and talks and talks and talks in the car. I have also noticed that he will put his thumb or pointer finger inside of his paci when he sucks it in the car. It looks very funny. I am very glad that we can turn him forward facing soon as his knees are almost up to his ears.

Outside is where Si chooses to be. If you hold his hand and let him lead, he takes you to an outside door every single time. I can't wait for this summer! Between his love of the water and his love for the outdoors, we will both be brown as berries and having so much fun! I am ordering him 18-24 month clothes for this summer. I can't believe this is the only summer he will be able to wear bubbles!

Si refused to give us smiles for any John Brown pictures. Instead he went for a leaf snack.

Full planning mode is on for a wagon birthday. I cannot believe I am typing that. These 10 months have flown past. Silas is such a joy. Richard and I never dreamed we would be so blessed with such a beautiful, perfect, funny, loving, snuggly, amazing boy!

A BIG First!

I don't have a picture. I don't have a video. I do have big news! Silas took his first steps today! He took three fussing steps from the coffee table to his daddy- mad because I set him down. When he got to Richard, he was so tickled with himself that he could hardly stand anymore. Richard hollered at me to come back to the den and told me what happened. I put him back beside the coffee table and watched as he did it again!! I can't believe my 10 month old can walk! I will be back soon with a 10 month post and many pictures.

Sledding down south!

Well, schools were closed today because of potentially hazardous winter weather. While I do cherish a day off every now and again, I was keeping my fingers crossed for a late start so that we did not have to make up a whole day. Not only do we have to lose another holiday, but there was no snow! Boo! Daddy took Silas sledding anyway. Gotta love a good snow day!



Pull me Daddy!



Showing off his teeth



He made this horrible face when we tried to take him out! He loved sledding!



When you are having a good time, you always want to invite a friend.



Who knew indoor sledding could be such fun?

9 months

It is official. Two thirds of the first year of Silas's life have now come and gone. We are working on the last third. Scary. It has made me begin realizing that I am about the be 27. This means that about 1/3, give or take a few years, of my life has come and gone. Whew, that carries a lot of weight. I digress, this is about Si. :) I can't believe my little buddy is 9 months old! He is truly a greater joy each and every day.





Silas is becoming more hard headed as each day passes. It is unbelievable how opinionated he is already. Silas knows exactly what he wants and when he wants it. He also knows that complaining gets him things. I am not quite sure how to handle the situation. I mean, he can't talk. Whining is the only way he can communicate. Now, when he pitches an all-out fit, of course he doesn't get his way. The complaining, though, is usually answered. I am beginning to wonder if "no-no" will be his first word...







Eating is still going very well. I am lucky because he is a very clean eater. Usually food does not get all over the place. He will never know how grateful I am for that! I would say that all in all Silas is just very clean altogether...guess that is because I make him that way! He loves green veggies except peas (I don't blame him), anything orange, all fruits except mangoes (he will deal with peaches, but doesn't love them), Cheerios, yogurt, puffs, breads, and has discovered pancakes. Juice is going ok. He will drink an ounce or two each day if offered. Sippy cups have been set aside for now. We weren't being very successful, so I figured we could pick them up at a later date.





Yesterday, Si crawled 3 feet. Today, he crawled zero. Zero feet, zero inches, zero seconds on his stomach without screaming. He did move all over his bed when I was trying to take pictures with John Brown. If it was on the floor, I would have categorized it as crawling. He has been moving all over his bed for awhile now. Everything Silas tries to pull up on turns over. We apparently have super baby, aka Bam-bam, on our hands. By everything, I mean the push car walker, the frog, the toy bucket, everything. Richard picked Si up while he was hanging onto the frog rocker with one hand, and Silas picked the rocker up too. He is really strong! I am very surprised, though, that he hasn't pulled up in his crib yet. I guess that will come when he can go from laying to sitting. These are all struggles for a big baby. (I will come back and post his height/weight after our visit with Dr. B next week.)



This afternoon Si was rather fussy. I thought it was because he missed his morning nap. It probably was somewhat, but he also is about to have 2 new teeth! You can see both top teeth through his gums. That will bring our total to 4. Si will soon have a toothy grin!



Goodnight Moon is still Si's favorite part of our bedtime routine. Instead of turning each page like before, he only turns the black and white ones. He will never turn a colored page. Silas just sits there and studies it until you turn it. As soon as you hit a black and white page, he is jumping to turn to the next colored one. He loves any toy that rolls, spins, or has wheels. Silas will spin things all day! His newest sound is a growl-like gremlin noise. I think Cooper taught it to him.



Another favorite is looking at the baby in the mirror. Si gets so excited when he knows we are about to pass the foyer mirror. You must stop each time to talk to the baby. He is about to be somewhat sad though. I am packing up the nativity scene, and he really enjoys playing with Joseph.

Each day with Silas gets better and better. I can't wait to see what he learns to do next!

We are mobile! Well, somewhat...

December 31, 2010

Silas turned 9 months old today! He pulled up to standing on the bouncer Friday (December 31) and CRAWLED today! Well, we are calling it his first crawl. He army slithered about 3 1/2 feet across the floor today to get his basketball that had rolled away. Yes, he fussed the whole time, but we made him do it. And he did! Pretty quickly too! Both pictures are in pj's because I forgot to take them until right before bed. :) 9 months' post to come.


January 2, 2011