Our baby is crawling!

Yes, it is true...Silas is crawling! He has been close for awhile, but he really started over Thanksgiving while my mother was visiting. Since then, he is always moving! 

I wanted to post about this earlier, when it first happened, but was waiting for a good picture. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get a picture or video of him because he always stops crawling when we are trying to document it. Typical!

His crawl isn't a stereotypical crawl...it's almost more of an army crawl. He uses his forearms and pulls himself forward. We call it the caterpillar crawl because he sticks his butt in the air and uses his arms to pull himself forward--in the same way a caterpillar would. Whatever you might call it, it is definitely cute!

With the crawling around, he is also crawling up. It sounds weird, but he is trying to climb on things even though he can't stand, yet. One of us will hold him, and as we do, he will jump up and down on us and then try to climb all over us. We have a feeling that standing/walking will be coming soon!

Here is our happy little crawler!

Sunday Mornings

Sunday mornings in our house are quite different from most other mornings. Because the church is half an hour away, we don't drive separately. So when Alan has to leave for Sunday School, we all have to go with him. This also means that Silas has to start his day a little earlier and differently from other days. 

First of all, we have to wake him up on Sundays. This does not produce a happy baby. Silas may not nap much, but when he sleeps at night, he sleeps solidly until he is good and ready to wake-up. When he wakes up on his own in the mornings, he is happy. When we wake him up, not so much. 

Then, we have to feed him immediately. Silas has suddenly decided that he is tired of his banana oatmeal in the morning and takes forever to eat his food. Seriously. This morning, he even discovered how to use his tongue to block the spoon from going in his mouth all the way. Stinker. 

After that and his bottle, we usually have to put him into his church clothes and get going. Most mornings, Alan and I have a pretty good system with getting him and ourselves ready, so we are normally out the door on time, or just a few minutes later. 

Once we get to the church, though, it never fails. Silas poops. Always. When we pull into the parking lot, turn off the engine, that's when he does it (we know by the hilarious sounds he makes as he completes to task). Then, we have to go through the fun task of changing him (parents know that this is a MUCH harder task to do in public). 

Finally, Silas and I settle into the balcony area of the sanctuary while Alan teaches Sunday School. There isn't really a class for me to go to, and we aren't comfortable leaving him in the nursery alone (long story there), so I'm OK with it. We set up the media for the service and then play together. 

I love Sunday mornings with him. It is our special time. What I really love is that his morning nap is usually at 11:00 AM. Guess when our morning service starts? Yep, 11. So, during the service he usually ends up sleeping in one of our arms...and it is priceless.  

click on any of the pictures below to make them bigger

Thanksgiving

I'm so amazed how time is flying by! Thanksgiving has come and gone, but we had a wonderful time as my mother was able to come up and spend a couple of days with us.

She arrived on Wednesday morning and the we all went to pick her up from the airport. On our way back home, we stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up a few things, then ate lunch at the Village Deli in Wake Forest. Finally, we headed home and spent the evening there. Alan wasn't feeling too well, so he was able to take a nap and get some much needed rest. 

Thursday morning, we all slept in, then lounged around the house. I (Courtney) took a nap around lunchtime and awoke to some yummy spinach/cheese/bacon dip and chips...and lots of football! Early afternoon, Alan and I began cooking our Thanksgiving meal--green bean casserole, scalloped potatoes, deviled eggs, crescent rolls, black-eyed peas, and our delicious bourbon-glazed ham. Nothing special, but oh, so delicious! We topped it off with pecan pie and vanilla ice cream. We were beyond stuffed!

Friday, we decided to brave the crowds and do a bit of shopping. None of us really wanted to do official Black Friday shopping, but there were a couple of things my mother wanted to look for and see, so we decided to drive into Wake Forest. Amazingly enough, the traffic wasn't bad and the crowds were sparse. Apparently, everyone else was in Raleigh!

After shopping, we came home and settled in for some Iron Bowl action. What a close game! Afterwards, my mother wanted me and Alan to go out and have a date night since we rarely get that opportunity. We had a gift certificate to the Gatehouse Tavern in Wake Forest, so we went there and had a good time. For dessert, we went to A la Mode in downtown Wake Forest to savor some gelato. We didn't stay out very long, but it was so nice to have a couple of hours to ourselves.

Silas officially LOVES his Gigi (my mother). When she first arrived, he was a little grumpy because his schedule was off so he didn't open up to her very much. By the end of her visit, though, he was relishing every bit of playtime, soaking up her attention, and indulging in lots of cuddle time. In fact, he was so excited that he quit napping while she was here! We think he already misses her...whenever we walk by the guest room with him in our arms, he peers into the room--as if he is looking for her. 

We are incredibly grateful for a family that loves us so much. Gigi, we had a wonderful time, and can't wait to see you again at Christmas! Thank you for everything--we love you!

Click on any of the pictures below to see a bigger version. 

  

 

  

 

Notice his "guard" dogs 

Silas at Seven Months

Silas is such a ham these days! And, he is changing and developing more and more.

On Wednesday, October 13, I noticed that he was getting tooth. He had been a little cranky lately, and had trouble staying asleep (he would go to sleep fine, but wake up a couple times in the night). That night of the 13th, he was a little fussier than usual and after examining his mouth, I found a tiny tooth!

Then, a few days later, another one started coming in! As of now, his bottom incisors are the ones in. It also feels like one of his top teeth is trying to break through, now! Because of these teeth, though, he is chewing on EVERYTHING he can get his hands on. Even the remote!

Silas still doesn't nap very well...if at all. He sleeps about 11 hours at night, but absolutely refuses to nap during the day. He will fight every bit of fatigue. Nowadays, he will take a short nap in the mornings--anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, and then another one later in the afternoon--usually a little longer, about 1-1.5 hours. When he is tired, he is so fussy and it is really the only time he cries.

Early in the morning he will sometimes wake up a couple of times, fuss a minute or two, and then go back to sleep. We know when he is good and ready to get up because he will wake up happy, cooing, and playful. Naps are a different story, though. He usually wakes up fussy from naps. After a few minutes, though, he's OK. Oh, and he still makes the puppy noises when he sleeps. And when he sleeps, he sleeps on his stomach, with his butt in the air. Too cute!!

His eating habits aren't very different. He has a bottle at every meal, along with some type of food. Usually, he has banana oatmeal in the morning (with his reflux medicine), a vegetable at lunch, and a fruit at dinner. Then, he has just a bottle sometime in the evening.

We are using sign language with him on a few things like milk, food, change, mom, dad, and puppy. We have both noticed that he is attempting to mimic the signs for milk and food--he knows what is important! He also gets excited when you use the signs with him. 

He is holding the bottle himself, as long as he is lying down or back. He is sitting up all the time, and for extended periods. He is still such a quiet observer--he is constantly examining things. When he is in his stroller or car seat, he loves to play with the straps, as well as study them. For awhile now, he's been able to pull his pacifier clip off whatever we clip it to--he prefers to chew on the hard end.

Back to the studying--he loves to play with his V-Tech ball (it lights up and makes noise) and tries to "get" the images off the ball. It is almost as if you can see him thinking, "How do I get the bug off the ball?" or, "How does this thing work?"

He LOVES to giggle. We've figured out his tickle spots and will tickle him mercilessly. He is just too cute when he laughs! His giggles are turning into bigger laughs and we love it. He loves being thrown into the air, or bounced around. He also loves when I sing to him--especially in goofy voices.

Perhaps the biggest milestone is that he is crawling! It's more of a scooting, or caterpillar crawl--his butt sticks up on the air and he scoots himself forward on his forearms. Nonetheless, he is getting around a little bit. It's not much, and he still gets frustrated, but we can see this progressing into something more, very quickly!

Here are some pictures of him from the last month or two...click on any of them to make the picture bigger. 

My new trick! I flip over when I'm being changed. 

Downtown Wake Forest       Sitting on my own!

 Hamming it up...               First trip in my new car seat

Playing with my V-Tech ball          'nuff said.

                   Passed out.              Hanging with Mommy in Subway. 

I jumped myself to sleep...

Weekend with Jenn and Scott

     Last weekend, we were blessed to have Alan's sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Scott, come visit us! 

     Scott works in construction and has a special talent for carpentry. When he heard that Alan was having some difficulty completing the upstairs addition to our house, Scott graciously offered to come up and help. We were absolutely floored (no pun intended) and so grateful for his offer. Jennifer had already planned on coming up at some point, because she wanted to see Silas again, so this past weekend seemed to work out well for all of us.

     Jenn and Scott arrived Thursday afternoon and stayed through Sunday morning. The weekend was jammed packed--the boys spent Friday working upstairs ALL DAY, while Jennifer got to spend the entire day with Silas while I was at work. It was homecoming week for the high school I work at, so I really couldn't take any time off. Jennifer had a blast with Silas, though! That evening, Jennifer, Silas, and I all went to the Bunn High School homecoming parade while the boys finished up some evening work. 

     Saturday, Alan and Scott still had some work to do upstairs, so they spent the morning doing that. After lunch, we all headed into Wake Forest and spent a little time perusing the shops downtown. After that, we went driving around Raleigh and made our way into downtown Raleigh--and discovered a neat little section that Alan and I had not really frequented before. It was great!

     Finally, we headed back to Wake Forest and sat down for dinner at the Carolina Ale House--just in time for the Tennessee vs. Alabama football game. We had a blast! What could be better than watching the first half of the football game on a big screen, eating wings? At half time, we paid the bill and hurried home to see the rest of the game. 

     Overall, the weekend was truly wonderful. It was so special to spend time with family and to have a little bit of help with the work on the house. There's still a little bit to be done upstairs, but nothing extreme. We are almost done! At any rate, we had a fantastic weekend, and again, are just so grateful for Jennifer and Scott!

Fall in the NC mountains

Since we've moved to North Carolina, we have taken at least one trip to the mountains each fall. The colors are absolutely beautiful in the Blue Ridge Mountains this time of year, especially in Blowing Rock and Boone, so this is where we always venture.

The first year we went, it was just me and Alan. The next year we went alone, but left with two adorable 6-week old kittens--Rocky and Boone. Two years ago, we went twice in the fall--and added two puppies to the trip (and Cliff and Samantha to one). Last year, went made it an overnight trip with the pups. Last weekend, we left the pups at home, but got to take Silas!

We had an absolute blast...the weather was perfect and the colors were beautiful. The weather was almost too perfect--the sun was so bright it cast a slight haze on some of my pictures. 

We took Silas to the top of Grandfather Mountain, but unfortunately, he didn't enjoy it as much as we did. Between the pressure on his ears and the high winds, he wasn't a fan. But, he was SUCH a trooper! He only fussed a little, and wasn't a true fussiness--it was more like a confusion with all that was going on. He did look adorable bundled up in his little outfit, though. Nonetheless, I stayed inside with him for a little while while Alan ventured onto the mountain.

We have so many beautiful pictures from the trip. Below are just a few of the many pictures. If you'd like to see them all, click here: Our picture site

Potential Christmas Present?

While we were out running errands on Saturday, we spotted this rocking horse. We thought it would be cute to see what Silas looked like on it: 

He fits so well! If only he could hold himself up...

We aren't really into the idea of a ton of gifts at Christmas--it takes away from the true meaning. Plus, he won't even be 9-months-old; he won't remember a thing! But, we wouldn't mind getting him one or two things. 

What do you think? Should we get it for him for Christmas?

New Stroller

This past Saturday, Kaitlin of 2point5d.com took Silas' 6-month pictures. We started early (well, early for him) at 8:30am. The day before, Silas refused to take a nap at all. I mean, not a wink of sleep. We went to eat Friday night and figured he would sleep in the car and/or while we ate. Nope. So, on top of an early start Saturday morning, he didn't go to bed until 11pm the night before. WOW. 

Surprisingly, though, Silas did really well Saturday morning. We had hoped he would bring his bubbling personality out, but he has some stranger anxiety (sorry, Kaitlin!) and is intrigued by cameras so he was in his "quiet observer" mode, as we like to call it. But, he was a trooper and endured about an hour of pictures, including an outfit change. Then, he put up with a couple of hours of running errands with us!

While we were out running errands, though, Little Bit started getting heavier and heavier to carry around. He's almost too big for his infant carrier (and that just adds even more unnecessary weight to lug around). We didn't have the Ergo with us and also didn't have our travel system stroller. We were shopping at BJs, and as we were going down the baby aisle we spotted this stroller. It was on sale, had a higher weight capacity, and was a lightweight stroller. Sold! 

This stroller is amazing. I have been searching for lightweight strollers online and had the hardest time finding one, but this one is perfect! Alan put it together at our next stop that day. Silas LOVED it! He loved being able to see everything and kick his feet while we pushed him around. It made the afternoon so much better and more relaxed. 

Here is a picture of him while we were in downtown Wake Forest: 

He's so cute!

As soon as we get his 6-month photos, we will be sure to post these for everyone!

6-months old

Silas turned 6-months-old this past Saturday! What an wonderful blur these last 6 months have been!

He had his 6-month check-up yesterday morning. He did have some vaccinations, but Alan said Silas was a trooper and cried for only a few minutes when the shots were first administered. And, he came away with a couple of cute Band-Aids.

Silas is 27.75 inches long and weighs 18lbs 3oz. This puts him in the 90th percentile for height and the 65th for weight. He has a head circumference of 44.5 cm, which puts him in the 70th percentile. We were incredibly shocked over his weight. We truly thought he weighed much more than that. In fact, his weight gain has dropped quite a bit. The doctor isn't worried about this, though. She said that right now, he's fine, but if he continues to drop in percentage with weight gain, then we'll look at what to do next. He is longer, though, so he could just be having a height growth spurt. We aren't sure where he is getting his height from, though!

Before the appointment, Silas' reflux had been so much better. We were feeding him a large amount of oatmeal for breakfast, baby food at lunch, a little baby food for dinner, and about 2 bottles throughout the day. Because he wasn't getting as much formula, but more solid food, this helped his reflux. However, the doctor wants us to give him more formula--at least 16-24 ounces a day. This means, we need to fit in at least one more bottle, if not more.

Well, we started with this right after his appointment, yesterday. Already, his reflux has increased and he is in more pain. The doctor didn't want to increase his Prilosec (he is still on 15 mg in the morning) if he didn't need it. But, we are currently awaiting a call back from the nurse to see if we can increase it now that he is getting more formula. We will be so happy when he grows out of this completely!

Silas is right on track with his motor skills. He LOVES to play with us--he laughs, giggles, grabs, pokes--whatever he can to get and keep our attention. The silliest things make him laugh, too. Funny faces, sounds, singing, peek-a-boo, tickling, smiling--it all gets a reaction out of him. He grabs at things, can pick up things (cell phones, remotes, food, etc.), and loves to throw them, only to pitch a fit when we don't pick them up. Also, he is pretty much sitting up. He needs one of us (or something) for balance, and doesn't stay up long, but he's there.

He is still a quiet observer. He loves to be held and just look around a room and examine what is going on. He has also started grunting all the time. We thought this was a weird quirk, but apparently, it is common for babies. His napping schedule is still minimal--we usually have to force a nap on him. But, he still sleeps through the night like a champ. We aren't complaining.

We are having his 6-month photos taken this Saturday...we can't wait to post those for you! For now, here are some recent pictures of Silas.