And...he's done!

 Silas' last day of preschool was on Monday.  I won't lie:  It made me a bit sad.  Drew, on the other hand, was elated, and Silas only cared about the fact that he'll be going to camp there later this summer.  In his mind, it's not really over till camp ends.  I asked him how all of his classmates felt about it being the last day. Were they sad, did they hug, that sort of thing.

"I laughed when the girls cried,"  he responded.

"That's a habit you should rid yourself of before you're a teenager," I told him.  "Would you laugh if "A" (the girl he has a crush on) was crying?

"No, I'd NEVER do that!" he declared most adamantly.  Well, that's something, at least.

The first four pictures are from the sing-along last week. Videos are on Facebook, if you care to see them.

 He wrote out his whole name on his crown, which, due to our bleeding-heart- hippie-hyphenated family name,  ended up overlapping and somewhat illegible. But it is a grand crown, none-the-less.

 Silas' friend "I" is a riot.  You have to see the videos for the full effect, but this kid has a future on stage.

 Fast-forward to Monday.  Silas asked Drew to take pictures of his classroom.  So, these are for you, Silas!

Here he is, looking sadder than he was willing to admit. Circle area:

 Loft and the imaginative play area:

 Art and exploration tables:

 The volcano his class built:

Next stop...Kindergarten/!

The big P-S

My baby started preschool this week. Here he is, above, just before we left home (I took off of work, naturally, cuz there was no way I was going to miss this moment), and here my boys are on the steps to the school. Silas loves their big flag.
We actually didn't expect him to start school this week. He was on a waiting list and I didn't think there would be an opening till about mid-year or so. But on Sunday I got the call. They had an opening for Silas in the Woodpeckers class (his age group), effective immediately (this is the first full week of school). On Monday afternoon, we filled out a bunch of forms, signed a check, and most importantly, met his teacher. I can't say enough about her. I knew right away that she would be patient and caring with Silas. Separation anxiety is a big deal for us. Silas is used to being with us ALL of the time. If not us, then with Patrick or his grandparents. We've never had him in daycare, never left him with people he didn't know well. Although his class is only two hours long, we knew he would freak out when we didn't stay with him.

On Tuesday, we dropped him off, stayed a bit, just like the other parents were, and then attempted to leave. He clung to us and cried. His teacher picked him up and held him and told him he could wave to us from the window. Seeing his sad little face through that window was so very hard for me. I went back to the car and balled. But we did it. We left him in the care of competent adults and then walked to a nearby cafe and and actully had a lovely child-free time. When we returned, we could see from the road that the class was outside on the playground and we searched for Silas. At first, we couldn't see him (we were a good 50 feet away) and I had this fear that he was inside, too traumatized to play. Finally Drew spotted him: "he's there, by the slide. He's having fun." Relief!

At the end of the day, the kids have music time and the parents gather outside in the hallway. The teacher says goodbye to each child individually and they come out one by one. When he saw us, his reaction was, well, nonchalant. Oh, you're back. Okay then.

The teacher said he did very well. He was upset for less than 10 minutes and then was fine. We'll see how he does tomorrow.

Just a few things about the preschool we chose. It's a cooperative school, meaning it's a non-profit and the parents are expected to participate periodically in the classroom as well as be on committees and attend parent classes. Drew will be doing a lot of that as he is the stay-at-home parent, but I will be involved however I can be. I was pleased to see just as many dads as moms dropping off and picking up their children. Times have changed in that regard.

This year, he'll be attending two mornings a week. If we keep him in this school, he'll attend four afternoons a week next year. For now, the two mornings a week is the perfect amount. The curriculum is play-based rather than academic, and that was perhaps one of the most important factors for us when choosing a school. They explore the senses a great deal. For instance, they used paints with various scents, like rosemary and lavender, added to them. The children could then go out and find the plants in the garden with those smells.

To give you an idea of their philosophy, I will end with an excerpt from the Coop's webpage (for security reasons, I won't be publishing the name of his preschool or linking to their webpage, I will simply call his school the Coop):

Research in the area of early childhood education indicates that young children learn best through play. In the process of exploring and manipulating materials in their environment, they gain an understanding of their world. Programs that provide a wide variety of experiences appealing to all of their senses, appropriate to their age and developmental level, are the most valuable. Young children are natural learners. Their curiosity and desire to make sense of their world lead to spontaneous, self-directed learning.

It is for these reasons that a large part of our school day is devoted to free play. We plan experiences to involve the child's senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. The more fully a child explores, senses and interacts with real objects, the more meaningful and long-lasting this learning will be. Our school is committed to developing the whole child - physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually - by allowing space in which each child can explore the environment, interact with peers and adults, and have the opportunity to experiment with materials not readily available at home.

We believe that each parent and child is unique and deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. We realize that the Coop is each one of us individually and all of us collectively. May we learn together, support each other, and may our family lives be enriched from the experience.

2 1/2

(Our friend O's trike, which she graciously loaned to Silas till she's big enough for it.)

Today is Silas' "half birthday." A book we were reading a while back (the name of which I now forget) suggested celebrating half birthdays with young children because they hit so many milestones and change so much in 6 months time. We decided to celebrate just a bit in order to share with Silas how proud we are of how far he's come since his birthday in March. I brought home a treat (cake truffle) from the bakery near my office which we all enjoyed for dessert. We let Silas pick our meal (hummus and pita with olives, cucumbers, and vegetable juice), and as you can see I took some pictures while we were playing outside. I took a video too, which I'll upload some other time.

I wish I could write a lengthy post about all that Silas has been doing lately, and how much he's changed since his second birthday, but it's not going to happen tonight. Since this is a post about Silas turning 2 1/2, however, I did want to say that we achieved another milestone today. This is a big one and everyone in our little family was very pleased with it. You may recall that we started potty learning in a very gentle way long ago. For quite a while, Silas was consistently using the potty as long as he was sans pants. As soon as you'd put anything on him--training pants, underpants, etc., he reverted. Well, no longer! He's been starting to tell us he needs to use the potty even when he's fully dressed and today, for the first time ever, Silas went the entire day using only the potty. Not one "accident."

I'll post more on language development and other such things soon. For now, happy half birthday, Silas. We're so proud of you!

Big swing on the old oak tree

Our little boy is growing up way too quickly. This swing, which is on the big Garry Oak outside our front door, is a favorite with the neighborhood kids. A few months ago, Silas would not have been able to safely sit on this swing by himself. It's very wobbly. But look at him now!

I'm FINE, Mommy... just swing me again!

That's better.

I was surprised by how high I was able to swing him without feeling like he was going to fall off at all. And of course, the refrain "again again, please!" was heard countless times. This swing promises endless hours of fun this summer (and fall, and winter and spring...)
What else have we been up to? I took some time off last week (spring break for the school district I work for). While I was off, we hung out, took walks, went to the local children's museum, had a play-date... And Silas watched me knit (but really, that's everyday :). Just happy domestic stuff to fill the spring days. Also, we are going to be doing more vegetable gardening this summer, including quite a bit of container gardening on our deck. So we started that whole process. I will devote another post to gardening later on.

This weekend, we hope to work outside some more, attend a baby shower, and have an Easter egg hunt for Silas. Busy busy busy!

Pure bliss

I can't believe it, but my baby is now big enough to ride on the big swing hanging from our oak tree. Drew took a bunch of pictures of us playing on the swing this past weekend. I'm still sorting through them all and will post more images later, plus update you on our family's goings on, as of late, as soon as I have a bit of time.

This changes everything

So, for all of you following Silas' life, I think this video will be cause for joyous celebration. I don't want to give anything away with what I write here because it will be more fun if it's a surprise. I like to say that this was Uncle Patrick's birthday present from Silas (this was filmed at Patrick's birthday bash).

(PS. A hint for Grandma and Papa: He did this after I talked to you and said "no, he's not doing that yet.")

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.

Stands With Crocodiles

Just yesterday Silas was able to stand solo with his crocodile walking toy for the first time. He's improved at both crawling and walking over just the past few days. Our awesome new bamboo shag rug probably accounts for the improvement in crawling, since we're able to have him on the floor a lot more. We have a great play area now. In the background, you'll see the neglected play pen. It's good at holding things and acts as a barrier to keep Silas from crawling in that direction, but we never really put him in it. He's inclined to hate it. Oh well.

Silas really likes his wooden toys, including the new pull toy and xylophone Grandma and Papa just sent him. It's wonderful to have a few quality and ascetically pleasing toys for him to engage with in creative play. He's having a lot of fun, these days!

First Snow

Snow is a rare treat here in the Puget Sound Region. Usually, we only get a tiny bit, perhaps a few times a winter, if that. Silas got to experience it for the first time yesterday afternoon. How beautiful it was, and Si had so much fun! We've posted a video as well (below). Like the other videos of Silas that we've posted, this one is an "old school" home movie as our little camera has no sound capabilities. So, do not attempt to adjust the volume on your computer when you play it. Just enjoy!

8 mo's old--new achievements, teeth, & rashes

Silas turns 8 months old tomorrow! Here's the low-down.

First up: New achievements. He continues to improve his sitting up skills, as you've probably noticed in recent pictures. That's great, but the big news is that this evening, for the very first time, Silas pulled himself up from a seated position to standing by holding onto the guard rail on the bed--no help from mom and dad! Wow, were we impressed! Note: he still can't pull himself up to a seated position when he is laying down, no matter how hard he tries. Such is life. Overall, he is a lot more animated and able to scoot and pull and move himself around. He also likes to pull himself into mom's arms and cling to her, much to mom's delight!

Second: Teeth. He now has all 4 front chompers. The upper right tooth just broke through a few days ago. Let's hope we get a slight respite before he cuts anymore.

And finally: the rash. We noticing a rash all over Silas' back a few weeks ago. When it hadn't gone away in a week and a half, we called the Doc's office. We brought him in this Tuesday and she diagnosed the rash as eczema. Some infants are prone to it and he'll probably grow out of it eventually. It does seem to itch him sometimes, but luckily, he can't really reach his back to scratch it. We think he may have had a reaction to the foam mattress topper we had on the bed (which has since been removed). It was causing him to overheat at night and his back would become sweaty. Now that we know the rash is eczema and not heat rash, we know how to treat it. Mom's giving him nightly oatmeal baths and both mom and dad slather vitamin E cream all over his back several times a day. It's already looking better!

One more Planet Silas factoid to end this posting: at the Doctor's, Si weighed in at 20 pounds 4 ounces.

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!

6 months old...and big news!

Our big news: Just 2 days before Silas turned 6 months old, he cut his first teeth --the bottom front two. We're very proud of our little guy, whose been working at those teeth for quite a while now.

At 6 months, Silas weighs 18 lbs 8 oz and is 27 inches long. He's a healthy, active boy who loves to stand and bounce, babble and laugh.

Huzzah, Silas!

Please Mom, may I have some more?

Yes, it's official, as of yesterday: We've started Silas on "solids." Right now, he's eating about a tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with 3 tablespoons of breast milk every morning, which makes a messy (and apparently delicious) porridge. He loves it, although he's still getting used to the concept of swallowing it. Quite a bit still ends up outside of his digestive tract, but he opens his mouth quite eagerly for each spoonful and laughs as well when he sees more food is heading his way. So, a good start to solid foods, all in all.