Happy Halloween!

If you guessed Silas would be going as a Turtle for Halloween (as if the blog entry entitled "the ultimate turtle boy" didn't give it away all together), you were right! Mom made his hat and dad painted his "shell" which was made from a bike helmet. Green clothes and socks with turtles on them completed the costume. We headed downtown with our friend Jessica to take in the festivities. Bainbridge Island closes it's downtown to traffic for Trick-or-treat, and all of the businesses pass out candy. It was so much fun to hear little kids cry out "look, it's a turtle!" If you would like to see more pictures of Silas and his first Halloween, please visit mom's Flickr page.

What Silas' has been chillin' to...

The ultimate turtle boy

The ultimate turtle boy, originally uploaded by knitbook.

You saw the hat, now see the jumper as well!

Dragon Boy

No, Silas isn't going as a dragon for halloween, but both mom and dad couldn't resist pointing the camera in his direction once mom put him in this adorable dragon outfit (see previous movie, too!). And speaking of Halloween, Silas is previewing part of his costume in one of these pictures--the tri-colored crocheted hat mom made for him. Can you guess from this hat what he'll be for Halloween?

Chewy McChewerson: The Video

The Ergo Baby Carrier isn't just good for carrying Silas, it also makes for good chewing. If you'd like to watch our baby chewing up as storm for 3.5 minutes (all the while sitting up on his own, mind you), just click "play."

Sitting Update

Silas has been taking more "steps" towards autonomous sitting. He is so close to unsupported sitting now, we can leave him in the positions you see here (with just a little protective cushioning) for longer and longer stretches every day. The papasan (1st picture) is a great location for Silas to practice his balance, since its bowl shape prevents him from falling out. He loves to bang on the birthing ball (note: we borrowed this for mom's labor. The baby is now old enough to play with it...perhaps it's time to give it back?). We will all celebrate the day when no cushioning is needed and Si can play to his heart's content without getting so excited, he topples over!

Baby's first power outage

Well, technically, Si's first power outage happened when he was still in the womb--1 whole week without electricity last December. But now he's experienced first hand how dependent mom and dad are on electricity. We lost power Thursday, around 5 pm due to a windstorm, and just got it back this morning. Thankfully, we have heat while the power's off, but no water, which is most unpleasant. Mom and Dad really hope to go solar some day! Power outages are a fact of life out here, so Silas will get used to it fast!

7 Months Old...Silas Goes Green!

It's a little hard to tell from images on the computer, but Silas' eyes have slowly changed over the past several months from blue to green (Just like his mom and dad's eyes!).

7 month updates: No new teeth to report (he still just has the lower front two), but he seems to be working very hard on acquiring additional ones. He loves his wooden Haba ring (pictured in the previous blog entry with his friend Milo). Basically he will bite down fiercely on just about anything. He can be irritable when his gums are really bothering him. The fixes: homeopathic chamomile pills and/or walks outside.

Modes of movement: He's not on the go yet, but is gradually moving towards crawling. Today he pulled himself forward a bit while on his tummy. He'll also move around, basically in circles while on his back by arching his back. Mostly, what this kid likes to do is stand. It's hard to get him to sit because he'll make his little body rigid so that you're forced to stand him up instead. He loves to stand and bounce, and really, he's been doing this since he was just a few months old. In a related note, Silas is still not sitting up all on his own, though he sometimes does pretty well for a minute or two. He still needs to be watched as he will often topple over, especially if he gets excited. I expect he'll gain the balance he needs to sit on his own before too much longer. Of course, I thought that months ago! Regardless, the next month promises to be an interesting one...

New Growth meets Old Growth

There are many great areas around our neighborhood to walk to--the trails leading through the salmon stream and woods which link neighbor's houses, The Grand Forest up the hill from our home, and Meigs' Forest, just down the road. This old growth Spruce is in Meigs' Forest, just a few minutes walk from our house. In the first picture, we are standing in between two of the roots. Amazing! Living in the Pacific Northwest, Silas should have no problem living up to his name, which means "man of the forest."

Rest assured

We just bought a safety rail for the bed. Now that Silas is able to roll over and scoot a bit, the rail makes us feel much safer. Mom can put Silas on her side of the bed now without worrying. Silas doesn’t know that the rail makes him safer, but he does love to reach out and grab it and also practice standing with it. Before we know it, he’ll be able to hurdle it!

BFF

On Monday, Silas got to hang out with his friend Milo while their moms visited. The boys are just a few weeks apart in age. What fun it will be to watch them grow together!

Ridiculous

Silas got this ridiculous horsy outfit from mom's friend Jill, who has two adorable little boys and lots of great boy clothes. As silly as this outfit is, he still looks pretty cute. Mom couldn't resist snapping the last picture of Dad and Si reading in bed this morning. For those of you unfamiliar with the book "Seen Art?," Silas highly recommends it.