Summer lovin'

I know I say this with almost every post, but we are loving summer!! We are enjoying the pool (of course), the zoo, the State Fair, the park, going for walks, and just being outside.

Silas got a new big boy bed a few weeks ago and adjusted easily to his new bed. I kind of knew he would. He is so easy to transition anywhere with anything. He still gets up somewhat early...or at least earlier than he had been for the first two years of his life, but there were no issue transitioning to his big boy bed and he even got truck/construction bedding which he loves. :)  Silas looks so small in his big boy bed which reminded me of how small he looked in his crib at first. It makes me so sad to realize how quickly he grew in his crib and how quickly he'll grow into his bed. It tugs at my heart to know these years are going fast.  But before I start tearing up, take a look at the little man in his new bed!


 We went to the State Fair Friday and Silas LOVED it - he talked non-stop about the animals (big and babies), we rode the sky ride, did the big slide, rode Ye Ole Mill, and stopped to watch every tractor go by. And of course we ate a cup of cookies and JP donuts (twice). :)

Entering the Fair!

Sky Ride with Daddy

On the Sky Ride

Running through the fountains at the Fair

Silas has become a great helper. He loves to help me at the store, around the house, cleaning, ANYTHING! I asked him the other day if he would be my housekeeper when he grew up. He agreed. I'll get it in writing when he's old enough to sign an agreement.  ;)  He helped Daddy fix the garage the other day.

My big guy has also started loving showers. I captured his first solo shower....look at that face!

Look at that tan line!!

This boy is so amazing. His sweet, sweet spirit is evident every day (his not-so-sweet side usually makes an appearance too at this age...ha!) and his sense of humor is awesome. His vocabulary blows my mind and his joy and spunk make this the best job in the world. Hardest job, but the also the best. I love to watch him treat other kids with kindness and care about his friends, his teachers, strangers, and animals. Speaking of spunk and attitude....

I love this kid.

4th of July madness

Oooookay, so I'm a little behind on my 4th of July post. What can I say? We're loving summer!!  Silas and go to the pool or splash pad 2-3 times a week and occasionally on a Saturday with Jake. That little fish has made such huge progress in the pool and it's so fun to see him getting his head wet now without batting an eye, jumping off the side, going down the slide, etc.


The 4th was a lot of fun - it was a steamy 100* day with heat index near 105-108* if I remember correctly. We did the parade in the morning in Urbandale. By now Silas is a pro at parades and knows how and when to grab the candy. We came home with a huge bag full of candy that we'll never eat and sweat through all our clothes (no worries, we showered after the parade!) but had a blast doing it.

 

 Our dear friends, Jake and Katie Bonner, were home for the week too so we had some extra fun hanging out with them and watching the fireworks. Silas LOVED Katie (and her family) and immediately hugged her (she knows how to bribe him with ice cream and lemonade when he walks in the door). It was awesome to see my little man loving on one of dearest friends.  And Kate is preggo with TWIN BOYS!! Hallelujah! She and Jake have been trying for about 3 years to get pregnant and these two boys are such a blessing! I loved her bump...

 We wanted to be pregnant together, so I improvised.  :)

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We have been loving the sweet corn this summer! Silas has been a good helper in shucking the corn...even getting those teeny, tiny, little hairs...

  Okay, these makes me laugh out loud. Silas looked so cute all dressed for church so I hurried him out to the deck to take a couple pictures.  Here is the photo shoot you get when you ask a 2-year-old to say cheese....

 "No, really, Silas...say cheese for Mommy..."

 "C'mon, buddy...one more, just say cheese..."

We love summer!

What a great start to the summer we've had!  Silas and I have been to the pool a couple times each week (usually to the splash pad at Ashby Park 'cause it's free) and he has definitely turned into a little fish.   :)  He blows bubbles in the water, lays on his tummy and pushes himself backwards, jumps off the center ledge (the pool only goes up to 1 ft.) and loves splashing. I'm so glad he's warmed up to the pool....I debated on putting him in swim lessons but I think this is pretty much what they'd be doing - blowing bubbles, jumping to someone, etc. - so I think we're right on track.   How CUTE is this picture?? Unfortunately, I captured it on my phone so I doubt the quality is very good.

I feel redundant when I say that I can't believe how much Silas is talking...but I seriously cannot believe it! He speaks in full 10-12 word sentences, uses hilarious expressions ("Wow Mommy, that's pretty cool!") and just has a great sense of humor.  And he is sweet! Jake went into Silas' Sunday school class to pick him up and had to wait in line while other parents picked up their kids, which gave him a chance to just stand back and observe him.  He said two boys collided and one was really crying.  Silas got up from playing with his tractor and took it over to the little boy and said, "Here ya go."  One of the teachers saw it happen and told Silas that was very nice and gave him a hug. Hearing that story completely warms my heart and makes me realize that every person in Silas' life who routinely has interactions with him must be doing a good job. I give a lot of credit to his teachers at daycare because that is where he is around other kids the most. I am so thankful for his caring spirit.

Silas and I had a wonderful day today. Nothing special occurred. We went to the gym this morning, followed by the pool and picnic lunch at the pool, then a nap for him while I showered and cleaned, and went to the store for groceries but he was acceptionally good today. Obedient, content, and very helpful.  It's days like this that I relish and take great joy in the child he is.

That's all for now. I'm hoping to post after the 4th, which I am so excited for. Still one of my favorite holidays!!

"Happy Mommy Today!"

"Happy Mommy Today!!" was how Silas told me "Happy Mother's Day" all weekend long (last weekend).

It was so cute hearing him say it. Some things he says, like that...or "Mommy lee lu" (Mommy hold you when he wants me to hold him), I hope he never can pronounce correctly. It absolutely melts my heart to hear his version of things and some are so precious, I hope he never can get it right. ;)

We had a fun Mother's Day weekend just the three of us. We spent all day Saturday outside - farmer's market, Asian Fest, lunch, took a long nap, went for a long bike ride, played at the park...it was a great day!

One of my co-workers told me recently that her daughter loves being a Mommy.

I wondered if that's what people say about me? Do my actions and words give people the impression that I love being a Mommy? Because I do. I really, really do. This amazing little boy was so good the past few days - as in, absolutely delightful to be around. You can't always say that about a 2-year-old so I relished every second and praised him often for being such a good boy. He was helpful, polite, caring, fun, obedient (!!!) and just a joy to be with!


 Kellee (Kiki to Silas) and Josh came for a short weekend to hang out - Silas LOVED having them here. He wanted to sit by them in the car, hold their hand, sit on their laps and read books, play soccer with them...whatever they did, he was there. It was fun hanging out with the two of them and we talked about getting a babysitter so the four of us could hang out, but I knew Silas would be devastated if he was left behind. Anyway, he and Kiki got some quality time in. :)

This past weekend at the farmer's market was Law Enforcement appreciation week. Mercy One had their helicopter out for people to see/sit in. For those of you that know Silas' passion for helicopters, airplanes, trains, tractors, etc....you can only imagine his excitement at getting to sit in the helicopter! He was THRILLED!!

Okay, check out these next few pictures of Silas and Daddy. They crack me up!! In this first picture, Silas grabbed my lunch box and kept telling Daddy he had a purse. Much to Jake's dismay, he walked around saying "My purse, Daddy! Where Daddy's purse go?" Jake got his computer bag and told Silas that he did not carry a purse, it was a computer bag. Needless to say, I snapped a picture of my boys and their "purses". :)

And here is Silas shaving like his Daddy:

I love these pictures of my boys mowing!!!

Easter & my growin' boy

I'm slightly behind on updating you about our Easter. We went home to IC for the weekend and got to see my whole extended family. My grandparents (GiGi and Great-Papa to Silas) were back from wintering in Texas so they were anxious to see him.

A couple days before we left, Silas and I came home from the gym to find our driveway had been "peeped"!! We were so excited to discover these and found out later that it was Jake's Mom that had "peeped" our driveway!



Silas had a great time discovering his Easter basket. He was most excited for the M&M's and other candies in the basket. He did get a great bug house too so he and Daddy collected ladybugs ("lee-lee bugs") around my parent's house to keep in the bug house. Ha!













It's come to my attention lately just how sweet Silas is becoming. I am told nearly every day I pick Silas up at daycare just how sweet, caring and adorable he is. He loves to give hugs to our friends, neighbors, the teachers at daycare and just about anyone.

The other night we were coming inside and I asked Silas to take off his shoes. Each time I asked, I got a "nope" from him. I was so frustrated by the time we finally got upstairs for his bath because EVERY single thing I asked him to do, I received a "no" in response. I said to Jake, "Why does every single thing have to be a struggle?" (Mind you, I had just spent 5 days alone with Silas while Jake was away on business and I was needing a break) That night Jake was rocking with Silas before bed while I showered. Jake said Silas told him, "Silas naughty" and Jake said, "Why are you naughty, buddy?" Silas responded with, "Shoes off....sorry Mommy" Jake asked if he wanted to say sorry to Mommy and Silas said he did. They came and found me and Silas said, "Rorry, Mommy" Hearing what he told Jake completely brought me to tears. I felt so bad about feeling frustrated and losing my temper and making Silas feel that he was naughty. I never used those words, but he must have sensed it. My heart was broken thinking I'd given him that impression. Looking at the situation now, I am able to see what I did wrong, but also recognize and greatly appreciate that my sweet son is learning to say he's sorry and realizing on his own when he's upset someone.

Monday we were playing at the park and Silas hit it off with a little boy that was 3 1/2 years old. They were taking turns climbing up a wall when Silas accidentally stepped on the boy's fingers. He said it was sorry and hugged him. They shared toys well, the communicated well, the played great together. Silas even tried to help him up the little rock wall they were climbing on. I wish so much I'd had a video of it. I walked away a proud Mama, my heart warming at the idea that Silas was so kind to the little boy. It's so fun as a working Mom to see Silas interact with other children. I know he plays at daycare and we haven't had any issues reported, but I don't often get to see him interact for long periods of time with other children. I pray Silas continues to be sweet, kind, caring and gentle towards others.

One of my favorite things right now is when I kiss Silas goodnight (or sometimes just when I ask for a kiss). He puts his hands on my cheeks, puckers up, and kisses me. His hands on my cheeks are so endearing and I relish the sweet gesture SO much.

Anyway, that's all for now. Let me leave you with a cute little picture of Silas playing basketball. It was such a hot day so we lost the shirt & little stud man just shot hoops in the driveway. He says, "Silas shoot" :) I think we're going to be playing it a lot this summer!


Oh! His 2-year-old stats are: 30.4 pounds {72nd percentile for weight} and 34 inches {99th percentile for height...yeah, we're wondering if he's really Jake's kid. ;) }