Leap Day Update

A splendid Leap Day to all of you!

Just wanted to let you know that we had a GREAT night last night. Everyone slept well for the first time in quite a while. Everyone, that is, except for the poor unfortunate country mouse that found its way inside our house only to play out Wild Kingdom-Living Room Edition with our very able cat Sobin. The mouse is currently camped out below the stairs, and Sobin has been taking him out and playing with him every now and then. Poor mouse. Just a few minutes ago, Sobin tried to give the mouse (still alive) to Silas. Supposedly, in times of plenty, cats will help each other out by hunting for the weakest member of the group. Judging by the number of dead things our cat has brought us over the years, we can determine that he thinks we're not quite up-to-par, hunting-wise. That's what he gets for taking up residence with vegetarians.

Anyways, we all seem to be on the mend, FINALLY!

Ear Infection, Thou Art Our Enemy!

A message from Silas:
Ear Infection, I challenge you to a dual on the front lawn at dawn. You don't stand a chance against me as I am armed with an array of western medicine plus the love of my mama and daddy and the occasional lukewarm affections of my cat. Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Okay, all laughing aside, we just got back from the doctor's office and it's official. Silas has his first ear infection (both ears). The Doc says it has just begun within the last 24 hours. This explains why he was tossing and turning, complaining and unable to sleep for over 2 hours last night, and why he spent the entire morning crying. After several phone calls from Drew In which I could here Si screaming in the background (for those of you new to Planet Silas, Drew is a stay-at-home dad and I am a work-way-too-far-away-from-home mom), Drew and Patrick took Silas to the doctor and I rushed to meet them there. Good thing too as we got our diagnosis and can treat him for it. He's been given something for the pain (he fell asleep as soon as it kicked in) and Drew is picking up antibiotics to give Silas a big advantage in that dual with our enemy, the Ear Infection. It's been a rough few days for him, but we're confident he shall prevail!

Sleep vs. Snot--who will be the victor?

Falling asleep is so hard when you're a little bear with a stuffy nose and cough. After many tears, breastfeeding followed by a mucus-driven cough leading to a forceful expulsion of milk all over mommy, baby and bedding, and much tossing and turning, I finally figured out how to get him into a position he seemed to like--with the help of his Llama. Ok. Long sigh...lights out and walk slowly from the bed...and......two minutes later, I went in to check on him and found that he had thrust himself forward. At least he was still sleeping:
I moved him back and, several hours later, he was snoozing away comfortably (it didn't last):
It was a rough night, with ups and downs and everything in between and an even rougher morning. I stayed home from work, as I am sick now too. Silas was up a bit past 5 as though everything was perfectly fine in his world, but he crashed big time around 9 am. Repeat the bedtime routine I outlined above, substitute "expulsion of milk" with "puking of stewed carrots" and again substitute "bedding" for "daddy" and you have our morning. He crashed for about an hour, was up again before 11 and has remained awake till about 5 minutes ago (5:15). This time, his daddy walked him around in the ergo baby carrier until he drifted off. It's an improvement over last night. We'll see how things proceed from here.

Polaroids by Dad

Dad shot these Polaroids in Gerry and Erika's orchard earlier this week before Silas got sick. We've had some very spring-like days. In fact, today it was warm enough to bring Silas outside for a bit, despite the fact that he is still unwell. Although we didn't stay out for long, Silas seemed very grateful to spend some time outside after being cooped up inside for days. We enjoyed the sun, the green grass, and the crocuses, which are in bloom in abundance. The time spent outside, plus a long-overdue bath were the highlights of an otherwise somewhat miserable day for Silas, who felt yucky, had only 1 half-hour long nap, and fell twice, once scraping his neck, and once bumping his forehead. Another development I must mention: after his bath, I brushed his hair. He grabbed the brush from me and I expected him to shove it in his mouth (standard behavior). Instead, he brought it up to his head and started brushing his hair himself! Those synapses are really connecting!

Smile, the flu loves you!

It's been a rough week. Dad is on day 7 and Silas is on day 3 of a respiratory flu bug, or what we unaffectionately call, the plague. I am currently plague-free, but missed some work (and sleep) in order to take care of my boys. Let's hope they get better soon, and I avoid it all together!

But our week is nothing compared to the one our friends Jessi, Dave and Alden have had. They've had a trying time with Doctors and tests for Alden, who was born prematurely. He may or may not need surgery in the coming weeks, so please hope for the best for them (no surgery, healthy baby, no surgery, healthy baby, say it with me!). If you are able to do so, please consider sponsoring Alden's Team in the March of Dimes March for Babies. I'll put a link on the sidebar as well.

High Steppin'

11 months old -- Toddler Preview!

Silas turns 11 months old on Saturday. Although technically not a toddler until his first birthday, apparently, he is trying to earn his toddler chops a bit early. Here's a glimpse of Si's current "antics" and a preview of what lies in store for us over the coming months.

Washing machine. Silas loves opening the door. Over and over again. And over again. The only way to prevent him from doing this all day long is to close the bathroom door (where our washer and dryer are located) and keep him out:
Yes. He knows how to turn the dials, push buttons, etc. This is probably because we often have him help us start loads of laundry (hey, get them working young, right?):
Drawers are made for opening, and clothes are made to be tossed on the floor:
This is the window ledge above the bed. We're SO glad he can reach it now:
We just discovered that the baby gate we got for the stairs will not work on ours. Until we find one that does, we'll have to watch him like a hawk (notice the outstretched hand):
Fire place. I don't think I need to say anything more about this one:
Not pictured: Silas can reach the dial on the stove and can turn the oven on. We're so proud of him and hope that he never unintentionally blows us all up.

Let the countdown begin!

In just over a month, Silas will turn one year old! Woo-hoo! The new doodad I've added above will count down till the big day. The counter will reach 0:0:0:0 at 11:04 am on March 16th, the exact time of Si's birth. 30 days and counting!

"Real" Food

Introducing new foods to babies, as most of you know, is a matter of trial and error. When we first started Silas on solids, I naively thought that I'd make all, or at least most of his food fresh. But after he repeatedly rejected anything that didn't come out of a jar (except bananas), I all but gave up. Food sent through the baby food mill, while perfectly pureed by adult standards, met with gags and tears. With the successful introduction of Breakfast O's, however I've now begun again to offer him other finger foods. In the picture, Silas is eating a piece of mango, which he actually does like, though you'd never know it from his expression. He's also eating cooked green beans, blueberries, brown rice and the occasional teething biscuit. He does not like cooked carrots, potato, or pears (unless they come out of a jar of course). And, unlike his buddy Alden, Avocados are a no-go. We'll try them again some time when we're feeling adventurous.

A-Caucusing We Did Go

Yesterday was the WA state caucus. It was the first time Silas and his mom and dad attended a caucus (there is no such thing in WI). You basically have to hold an advanced degree in mathematics to figure out how the Democrats translate votes into delegates, it is that complicated. Our precinct had 80 voters. The initial tally was 59 for Obama (woo-hoo) , 19 for Clinton, and 2 undecided. After that tally, Clinton and Obama supporters got to debate for their candidate in order to sway the undecided voters or anyone else that may want to switch camps. In the end, one of the undecided people swung for Obama. Our precinct has 6 delegates, so that means that 5 will go for Obama, 1 for Clinton. They will meet at the county convention in April. There were a lot of people from three precincts crammed in a small elementary school gym, and I'm pleased to say that Silas did very well, taking in all of the hoopla with no major meltdowns. He won't tell us who he's leaning towards in the presidential race, however, but that's ok. We respect his right to voter privacy :)

Books are not for eating

Silas LOVES books. He thinks they are an excellent source of fiber. We have to watch him pretty closely to make sure he doesn't take a big chunk out of whatever he's "reading." For this reason, we have to limit his access to books all together :( Since we still want to read to him everyday, we've developed a new technique wherein one parent holds Silas while the other holds the book--just out of reach. Tonight we read a book that Silas adores; Close Your Eyes by Kate Banks. He did cry a bit when we put it away, but otherwise did very well and really enjoyed it (we read it twice!). By the way, Silas is examining a very cool board book that Heather sent from Korea in the first two pictures. Thanks, Heather!

A short film in which Silas crawls

When I was on the phone with Si's Grandma and Papa Bryant on Sunday, they mentioned that they regretted not seeing him crawl (he'll probably be walking at the rate he's going by the time they visit in May). So, I shot this quick video. Proof--he does crawl. Fast. Very, very fast.

Discovery

Look, our son is a genius! He stacked these discovery blocks all by himself!
Ok, maybe mom helped a little. Ok, maybe mom stacked them and Silas knocked them over so that mom could stack them again. All part of the creative process. He actually will try to take off blocks without knocking the whole stack over, but his motor skills are not quite there yet, and 9 times out of 10, they all go tumbling. He likes to examine each block and will shake the ones that make sound. His favorite is the blue block with the red circular piece inside that he can push in and out and shake. And for some reason, he likes to hold the red one and chew on it from time to time. The red one is the tastiest, apparently.