Just because babies are so darn cute!

I thought I would write a shortie since I had a couple of cute pictures to post! So far our new child care situation has been the best. Silas stays right next door with an 18 month old baby girl and Tony, our new care taker. We are going to have him go to be red cross certified in pediatric first aid and CPR. Otherwise, thus far, he has been the most attentive and interactive caretaker we have found.

With christmas upon us, we decided to get an xmas tree! This our first actual christmas tree since Andrew and I have been together!!

Silas' s Nana and Grandpa helped pick the tree.

Among other things, Silas has been working hard at growing.

Until next time...

11 Months old

Its only been two weeks since the last update but, no kidding, he started doing new things since then!! For one, those two top teeth finally popped threw and his lateral incisors are working on it.

A lovely shot I know..but there they are!

 He started walking a few steps at a time right after I posted last time!!

Ignore the noise, I was sick when I filmed this.

Silas has always loved music, but his recent fervor for Andrew playing the guitar has captured all of our attention. This boy can twerk!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152091491815955&l=4683060046666686579

We visited all three families for Thanksgiving. It was fun but exhausting.

Thank you tryptophan!

After the Drumstick Dash

Baby in a sink!!

 We hope everyone had a great holiday and we will keep you posted on this little man's adventures!

Whoops...10 1/2 months...classic October delay

 Happy Fall!! This is such a great season. Humanity decided to cram all of its best holidays in this season so we could all be pleasantly depressed between January and March. Anyway, sorry for the delayed update on Silas. Its been a crazy month. Silas is doing wonderfully, as usual. Since we last spoke I have successfully trained this boy to pee and poop in his little potty every morning! Periodically through out the day, if I am at home, I can get him to pee in the potty as well. I'm working on the hypothesis that if I make him aware of going potty as he gets older his natural biological instinct will head him towards a receptacle other than pottying on himself. The justification behind this idea is that no animal naturally wants to potty on themselves. I'm thinking we teach babies to be ok pottying on themselves via diapers. Another perk of cloth is that they can feel when they go potty vs. disposables where it immediately wicks away the moisture. Like any good educated experiment, it is just that, so who knows how this will pan out.

working hard!

Silas is VERY close to walking. He has taken a step here and there independently and moves around furniture and between very well. He babbles ALL the time and says mama and dada although it isn't always directed at the right person. He has also pretty much moved himself down to two naps a day and since day light savings he has started going to bed early and getting up early again. Lucky us.

practicing walking...there were too many snaps for
 him to sit still, so yes, those are saggy drawers

We have been in the throws of mid-semester. Between Andrews service hours as faculty and a couple of intense experiments/presentations for me, we are TIRED! Negotiating baby is a full time job all on his own. We have managed to keep him part-time in daycare despite these obstacles.     Daycare    what a bear. Speaking of that, we have been in the process of trying to find a situation we trust. 

bite mark from another baby at the new daycare

All babies bite things. We honestly weren't mad about the idea of one baby biting another...although I need to track down the one with four teeth up top and two on the bottom ;)! We are finding we expect the kind of care that can only be given by a lower adult to child ratio. I'll keep you posted when we resolve that. We have a trial run with a nanny of sorts. Two weeks seems to be the magical time frame for determining if a care taker can provide what is expected. It only took two for this last daycare to have two incident reports with our child on top of a list of other issues. Its hard for me not to just stay at home and teach online courses while I raise my baby.

Playing in grandpa's backyard

Go Steelers!!

Destined to play disc golf

Silas has begun sharing his food and other objects with us. He will hand them to us and then take them back. He likes to try and feed us as well. I was fed a delicious floor pretzel the other day...disgusting!
We had some family visit. Andrew's cousin Sam stopped by after an interview with Microsoft. He got the job, by the way!!

Aunt Peg and Uncle Mike stopped by for a night as well. They are the best! We loved seeing them and Peg definitely knows how to handle a baby =)

That about wraps it up for now. Until next time!

That moment you wish you could cut your arm off

He is the best at cleaning out the dryer lint!!

9 magical months...he's been out as long as he was in.

He has made it to 9 months with a smile on his face 90% of the time. This last month has been monumental as usual. This whole first year appears to be epic in the amount of physical, emotional and mental growth. Our new move of pulling ourselves up on furniture, or people, or dogs, or anything that looks unstable, has become second nature.

Silas is really good at unloading the dishwasher

delicious granola

Baby leggings or dress socks?

sweet puppy

Pluto has been amazingly patient with Silas pulling himself up on him, hitting his back, playing with his feet and splashing in his water bowl. It seems right as Josie exits stage left, Silas begins to play with Pluto. Perhaps a healthy distraction.

We decided to rid ourselves of the gas suck that was the Ford explorer and bought a Chevy Volt. It has been an excellent decision on many levels!

We have seen family through out the last month. A new house and a baby tend to draw people out for visits =). Silas got to see his Uncle Bob and Aunt Jane again for the first time in a LONG while. He crawled all over them. I'm sure he totally remembered them from the wedding. They were the prettiest creatures there after all!

Si, Uncle Bob and Grandpa

Lastly, but certainly not least, Silas went on his first camping trip!!!!! It was INTENSE! We accidentally took a trail called Cabin trail in Linville Gorge. Lets just say that the elevation changed by a 1000ft in 3/4 of a mile. There was lots of passing the baby and the hike out about killed us. Silas did great and loved playing in all of the leaves and dirt.

Andrew and Pluto at the campsite

This is what I was talking about with a steep

elevation change! 

That is a part of the trail...

mmm PB&J breakfast

 At Silas's 9 month visit he weighed 17lb 8oz and had grown longer...;) He's very healthy and happy.

Goodbye Sweet Josie

We had a major loss in our family this last week. Our sweet brindle hound, Josie was hit by a car on the evening of September 4th and died. Josie and Pluto, in a miraculous effort, escaped the massive fence Andrew had set up the week before Sept. 4th at around 8pm. Pluto came back within an hour with no Josie in tow. We continued to look for her throughout the night and the next day. This dog never missed a meal so it was VERY strange for her not to be home by the morning of Sept. 5th. Andrew found our fuzzy love on the side of Rocky River road about a mile or two away from our house on the afternoon of Sept. 5th and with the help of some very kind people, brought her home in the back of their pick-up truck.

I'm not sure how to explain to those who have not had a pet so integrated in their lives. But Josie was a constant and necessary part of our daily lives. She was Andrew and my first puppy together and was a soul firmly planted in our hearts. Something so normal, she felt like background noise that when gone, the world became quiet and a shade darker for her loss. Our hearts ache and we miss her so much. We love you little girl.

We are going to plant a japanese maple over her grave. Andrew found her collar on the side of the road yesterday so we are going to wrap it around the trunk of the tree. Pluto seems to be managing well. We think he knew when he came home. We allowed him to say goodbye to her before we buried her.

I hate to end a blog with such a sad topic so I will not. I will end it with sweet pictures of Silas. Give all of your puppies extra cuddles. This was a hard reminder of how transient life is.