SIlas' 1st time sledding!

So the day after Silas was in the ER for dehydration, he and I were needing to get out of the house! It was a balmy 40 degrees here yesterday and the sun was shining, it was AMAZING!! So I bundled up the babe and took him outside for his first time sledding (and by sledding, I mean pulling him around in the yard in his sled). :) He seemed to really like getting outside and loved being pulled around in the yard. It was so fun to watch him discover snow and feel it.




And since it was so warm out, we decided to try out the new jogging stroller and take it around the block. Silas LOVED getting out and going for a walk again - it's been so long since we've gotten to go for a walk so it was really, really fun getting out there. He is going to be the best running partner this spring, I can't wait!!


Here's my little man and I ready for church. Doesn't he look cute in his little vest??

1st trip to the ER

When I found out I was having a boy, visions of evenings in the Emergency Room with broken bones, bruised & swollen ankles, busted open chins, eyebrows and lips danced across my thoughts. I didn't, however, think our first visit to the ER would be when Silas wasn't even 10 months old.

Tuesday we had a follow-up appointment to have his ears checked. Coincidentally, Silas got a fever Tuesday of 103.7 and was miserable. Thankfully Jake had him that day so they got lots of snuggle time together and neither of us had to miss work. Yesterday as I was getting ready to take Silas to the gym, he began throwing up and had lots of diarrhea. (TMI, I know.) That continued yesterday he didn't have a wet diaper at 10:30am. So today by 11:30am, he still didn't have a wet diaper so Jake brought Silas in to the ER.

Poor babe was poked 3 times in attempts to get an IV (which was never obtained), his blood levels indicated dehydration, and he had lost one pound in a matter of a day and half. They wanted to give him IV fluids but since they couldn't obtain the IV (and no, I didn't even want to try and get it myself), we pushed pedialyte (which he wouldn't take at home). Finally after almost 30 hours without a wet diaper, we got a wet diaper and he was able to keep fluids in without vomiting or having diarrhea! Yay!

Anyway we're home, Silas has kept fluids in for the most part and hopefully we're on the way to healing. :) Next up, we're looking at getting tubes put in his ears - I've heard it works wonders and I'm ready for a healthy baby again!!!

Silly Nilly

Oh boy, it is SO funny to see your baby develop a sense of humor! The other night we found one of Jamis' whiskers and tickled Silas' ear with it. He shuttered and gave a little shiver, making Jake and I laugh really hard. Last night we did it again and would absolutely crack up each time he did it. We put the whisker down and told Silas "do it again" and he would shutter and shiver just to make us laugh - making us laugh even harder. It was so stinkin' funny - I wish I could have captured it on video but we were stuck in the moment, laughing too hard to think of anything else. What a funny kid!!

It's so awesome to watch Silas learn words and what they mean. When we say "clap", he claps. When tell him to dance, he dances. It just amazes me how smart he is. How FUN!!!

Snow & snuggling

Monday we got something like 8-9 inches of snow and Silas & I had a great time snuggling up inside & watching it fall. He seemed to take a special interest in this snow and I got some great pictures of him watching it! Aren't these so cute?

















We've had a great time this winter snuggling up often on my days off and I AM LOVING IT!!! He loves snuggling up with his blanket and me and loves taking naps that way. I don't get much done during his naps when we snuggle up like that, but who cares. :)

Silas is currently pulling himself up to everything - the couch, the chairs, the freezer, dresser drawers...anything that has something his height for him to grab. He's a pro at crawling now and enjoys making his way around the house discovering everything. Jake put the "tot loks" on the cabinets in the kitchen a couple weeks and thank goodness he did! We now need to install the baby gates but getting Jake home for more than a couple hours at night seems to be impossible this time of year so we have yet to put those up.

We have booked a trip to Marco Island, FL for March with my family so we're pretty excited about that! I'm a little nervous about Silas' first real trip - the drive to Chicago, the flight to Florida...hopefully he'll be a good little traveler and charm everyone the way he always does. :) In the meantime, I'm hitting the gym hard!! We're all excited for some warm weather and sunshine!

She bit me!

Poor baby Silas got bit today at the daycare at the gym. Some little 2-year-old girl sunk her teeth right into his squishy little cheek and chomped right now. Poor babe! I was told he didn't cry very long and evidently this little girl did it last week to an 8-month old so her Mom said she wouldn't be coming back for a while. I can't say I COMPLETELY blame the girl...after all, I'm tempted to bite his little cheeks myself! :) They are pretty tough to resist if I do say so myself.

Oh well, no big deal. He survived. He does have a red mark where she drew blood and broke the skin, but he's ok. The provider came right out and told me and apologized over and over but what can you do? Kids will be kids and as long as the little girl's mother is aware and will deal with it, I'm fine with it. And Silas is tough - he hasn't acted like it's bothered him at all. :)

Stats update

We had Silas' 9 month check-up today so I thought I should update you real quick on his stats! He weights 22.6 pounds and is 29 inches long - both in the 75th percentile!! Today was a no-shot check-up (thank goodness!) so it was pretty easy. The doctor did say he still has an ear infection so we're attempting a last ditch effort with a stronger antibiotic and if that doesn't work, we'll probably be headed towards getting tubes placed. :( I hate the thought of him having to get tubes, but if it makes him feel better (and some of my good friends swear by it) then I'm ready. I just want my babe to feel better.

That's all for now!

Aaaaaaand he's off!

Silas is really getting the hang of walking with the cute little walker my parent's got him for Christmas! He's able to pull himself up to it and walk across the carpet, occasionally falling to his knees. He is SO PROUD of himself and I love watching his sweet little face look around for adoring fans when he pulls himself up to a standing position. He looks around like, "are you gonna clap for me?" and gets a huge, cheesy grin when we cheer.

Jake has a new theory now on having more children. He thinks since we've hit perfection with the first one, we better just stick with one 'cause perfection couldn't possibly happen twice. :) I'm okay with that for now...wait 'til Silas starts to talk back and get in trouble - maybe Jake will change his attitude on how perfect Silas is. ;) For now I have to agree, though...he is definitely PERFECT!

Look at that wonderful face!! Doesn't it make you want to snatch him up and kiss all over him?? I'm so thankful I get the chance to love all over him daily!!

I think back to how badly I wanted a girl. I was desperate and absolutely convinced that I was having a girl and if I said I wasn't a little bit disappointed to find out I was expecting a boy, I would be lying. I can't even begin to imagine how much I would be missing out on if I'd had a girl! This boy stuff is even better than anyone ever told me. All close girlfriends with boys assured me that they are in fact wonderful, but I had my hesitations. Fast forward to now and I can't imagine my life being any different. I live with the two amazing boys - my hubby and my son and I am absolutely content and thrilled with having two boys in my life! My dear friend, Jenn, put it best when she said that having a son was like having a mini-me of your favorite boy (your husband). And anyone that has seen Jake and Silas know that Silas is Jake's mini-me. :) I do love and I am so, so grateful for these two amazing blessings!

Illness, illness go away...

Unfortunately, we've been dealing with a whole lot of sickness in this house! And I am sick of having a sick family!! As you know, Jake was sick the week before Christmas and missed two days of work, Silas was sick all through Christmas. Well his illness continued into the week and now through this weekend too. Boo!!! I was called at work on Wednesday from daycare to come pick him up because he had a fever and wasn't acting well. Then on Thursday I had to call into work because I was sick. I ran a low-grade fever Wednesday night-Friday night and poor baby Silas is on DAY 9 of having a fever (minus Tuesday and Thursday when he didn't have one). I know, I know...9 days of having a fever?

I called one of the docs I work with last night and he was gracious enough to offer his opinion and advised I take him back in on Monday, which I was going to do anyway. At least Chad (the doc) gave me a peace of mind about meningitis, pneumonia, or anything like that. Last Monday when I took him in, they started him on Amoxicillin for [another] double ear infection. Silas acts somewhat okay when his fever is controlled with Tylenol and Ibuprofen. I just feel so helpless having a baby with a fever for this long.

And it seems that the upper respiratory crud has come back for second rounds on both Jake and Silas. I still haven't gotten over my first round yet so hopefully I can bypass the second round. So if you think of it, say a quick prayer for this household! We are all miserable - I'm headed back to the store for more Tylenol and Ibuprofen for Silas, and more cold meds for Jake and me. I've done my best to disinfect, sanitize, and even sterilized bottles, floors, door knobs...pretty much everything I can think of. We're just one big loving family that shares germs over & over. :)

Daddy and Silas got some snuggle time yesterday afternoon watching Baby Einstein. You can tell Silas doesn't feel well because usually he doesn't sit still like this. :) He's usually on the move ALL the time!




On a lighter note, hope you all had a wonderful New Year! It's funny to me to read what everyone writes on their facebook status on New Year's Eve. I didn't know what to say and at the risk of sounding cheesy or cliche, opted to say silent (I know, odd for me). ;) Maybe it's the post-holiday blues or seasonal depression (and I use both of those terms lightly) that got to me, but I'm not really as excited about a new year as so many other people are. There are many things I'm looking forward to, but in all honesty, when I step back and look at how fast 2010 went, I feel a little sad at how fast time passes.

Silas is now 9 months old...9 MONTHS OLD. This baby stage is so, so precious to me and I feel like I'm having a tough time letting go (oh Lord, please PLEASE help my future daughter-in-law). :) This morning we were all sitting in the living room - Jake was watching something on TV and I was sitting watching Silas from across the room as he played with his wipes dispenser. He pushed the button with his index finger and the top opened. He shut the lid and opened it again with his index finger. He repeated this several times and I thought to myself, "He is so smart! He has figured out exactly how to open and close it - not by chance, but intentionally opening and closing the lid!" And he has such sweet little "tricks" like waving "bye-bye" and "hi", raising his arms above his head to say "so big" when asked how big he is. He's learning to clap, dancing, give hi-fives. And all of these little tricks he's learned in a matter of a couple weeks!

::sigh:: I am not ready for my sweet baby boy to grow up and be so independent. I am relishing in all the snuggles I'm getting while he is sick and taking every opportunity to hold and kiss him while I can, before he's old enough to wriggle out of my arms and want to do things on his own.

Boy, I wish I could capture Silas' sense of humor in words, in a picture or even on video but none of those things do him justice. He has started laughing at me...laughing at him. When he does something funny and I laugh...he laughs right back. Not loudly, just a little "huh-huh-huh" with a silly grin. All that makes me laugh even harder! He is so funny!

Look at this little man taking apart my dishwasher! He thought it was so fun.


Silas easily pulls himself up to a standing position...I think this picture looks like he's trying to climb his toy. :)



Silas has also started dancing - which is so funny to watch!! When he's sitting down playing with one of his new toys that makes noise and a song comes on, he starts bobbing his head up and down and his whole upper half starts going. HILARIOUS!!! I haven't been able to catch this on video. Silas also has the sweetest laugh. There is nothing I love more than getting this sweet boy to giggle and giggle. It is absolutely precious and Jake and I will do just about anything to get a laugh outta him! He's really started laughing out loud and giving little chuckles here and there.

Okay, okay...I think I've said enough. Thanks for hearing me out, letting me vent about our sickness and letting me get all sappy about my growing boy. Somebody once told me they understood why women end up wanting a second child...the desire for the second child hits when the first one becomes independent and no longer wants to be held or wants to snuggle. I fear that I will be that woman who once that stage hits, I'll be begging for another baby. ;) Look out Jake...