This last month has brought on a huge leap in cognitive development for Silas. So much so, that I feel Andrew and I are still catching up. We can and need to explain more as situations arise. His vocabulary has greatly expanded as well as his comprehension. He is definitely still hard to understand, but he is working on delineating between words that sound similar or that he used to call something different based on his experience as a younger baby.
He has learned how to swim with a life jacket on!! He is leaping into the water and holding his breath while kicking up to the surface, as well, and LOVES it. He is definitely a water baby. Andrew took him to a lake about 45 minutes from our house often during the middle of the day while I was in the lab and they would hike and swim around.
We went to the pool just about every day, either to the YMCA or to our friend's pool at the apartment complex right up the road. If we went to the one next door, we threw Si into the little bike "rickshaw" and rode up there.
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| Sometimes I was able to go hiking and swimming! |
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| Is this strange? |
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| Soooo freeeeeee |
Using diapers has also becoming a thing of the past. Diapers are only used at night at this point and we are working on that one. It took a few weeks for the transition, but Si has become extraordinarily consistent in letting us know when he needs to go potty. He also was able to hold a little longer than previously, by the end of 18 months, which made a world of difference for car rides. This version of potty trained definitely relies heavily on us since he can't effectively manipulate his clothing yet and really can only use the baby potties by himself. But it has been totally worth it not to have to make him lie still for diaper changes and I can't even tell you how nice it is to not clean poopy diapers anymore! There are misses here and there when he is tired, playing hard or clearly working on some new mental thing. But 90% of the time it is in the potty ( or on the grass, or a rock, or …well anywhere outside).
I know this is old news, but we have to mention that Silas participated in his first official race in June. We ran a 6K with Rob and Jane in Raleigh-Durham. It was a well paced race considering we had to let Si take breaks from the stroller every ten minutes after the first mile and a half ;). There is no tolerance in that kid to sit still and just observe.
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| Yes, that is an Uncle Bob foot. |
We had multiple visitors during July, including Victoria and her sweetheart Michael!! We had a blast hanging out, eating and sitting around the fire pit =)
My best friend from middle school, Kelly, came to hang out for a day or so since she was in for a Phish concert. It was her first time hitting up our house too! Silas thought she was a trip.
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| This is how ties are supposed to worn…right? |
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| How to properly hydrate a toddler |
It has been an awesome summer and I can't believe it is almost over!! Andrew has had so much time with Si, which was well deserved and needed. Those two are peas in a pod. Kelly and I went to see Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails as a sort of end-of-summer extravaganza. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!! Andrew and Si had no problem crashing with out me. A pretty big marker as to how grown up this little man has already become in such a short time.
