Family Photos

Here are a few more pictures taken during Grandma G's visit. Grandma took the train from Wisconsin in order to see Silas. Grandma's husband, Merlin, joined her here this week. They are now enjoying a cruise to Alaska! We're looking forward to next weekend when Grandma will return from her voyage to visit with Silas some more before returning to the Midwest. Hopefully, Si will be feeling better by then. He is sick (with a cold) for the very first time, poor baby. We will let you know how he fares in the coming days.

Grandma G comes to town!

Silas met Grandma Gammon this week. We had lots of fun visiting and enjoying the Island. Silas even took his first ferry ride with mom and grandma!

We'll post more pictures soon.

Maya Wrap Revisited

To mom's immense joy, Silas has now adjusted to being carried around in the Maya Wrap! It's wonderful to hold him so close and he loves to nap in it.

Silas met Grandma Gammon (Drew's mom) this week. Pictures from the visit are coming soon...

Tummy Time

Silas has never been a big fan of tummy time, till recently. The ability to raise his head up and keep it up for long stretches seems to have changed his opinion. He now tolerates being placed on his belly for a few minute at a time and will shuffle his legs back and forth in an attempt to crawl.

Three months old

Sporting the prepster look for his 3 month-old photos, our little scholar looks like he's ready for his Princeton interview, or perhaps he's contemplating beginning his own punk band. Whatever he chooses, mom and dad will be be very proud!

Silas' first home movie

Monkey Business

Silas has been up to his usual antics: standing, sitting-up, chewing on things, and looking as cute as ever:

In the morning

Here we are spending a typical morning with Si. Dad and Silas are still in bed and Dad gives Si a morning hug. Later, we take Silas into the shower with Dad to scrub him clean, and he then enjoys some skin-to-skin time with Mom (who clearly has just woken up!). Following this, we enjoy a few good books. What a great start to the day!

Electric Warrior

Here Silas is seen showing off his affection for 70's glam rocker, Marc Bolan. Thanks to Patrick, Shannon, and Carmen for all of Silas's custom-made onesies. We love them!

Sit-Up, Stand-Up

Silas would like to take a moment to show you two of his favorite activities: sitting and standing. His balance and strength have really improved, though he still needs a helping hand. Silas loves to go from a seated position to standing, and will initiate this by pushing upward on his legs. Mom is happy to help him up a bit and support him while he learns to balance on those wobbly little legs. We suspect he will be sitting up on his own before to much longer.

Baby Bjorn

Silas has decided that he no longer hates being carried around in baby carriers. He tolerates the slings for a limited period of time now. But the clear favorite (at least for this week), is the Baby Bjorn. Mom's been out and about on lengthy walks, carrying Silas in the Bjorn for an hour or more at a time, and he's been quite content, as long as she doesn't stand still for too long. He seems to like being able to dangle his feet, all the while actively looking at the world around him.

Si did not like the Bjorn much when he had to face inward, but now that he has better neck strength, he's able to face outward. Mom uses a bolster behind Si's head, just in case. Instead, when our walk is nearing its end, he leans his head forward a bit and dozes off.

It's wonderful to be able to enjoy a daily walk together in our beautiful neighborhood!

New Skills

In this image, Silas is demonstrating two new abilities.

Grasping: Silas is able to grab on and hold a small rattle for an extended period of time. Whether he knows he's actually holding something, or connects the movement of his arm to the noise that results, well, that's anyone's guess.

Hand sucking: He's actually been sucking on the side of his hand since he was in the womb (we saw it on the ultrasound at 19 weeks), so what you see here I'll call "advanced hand sucking." He now makes a fist and attempts to insert the entire hand in his mouth (sometimes both hands, if the second one is available). What's changed in just the past week is that rather than doing so only because he's hungry, he now sucks his fist just to suck his fist. No other reason is needed, but I suspect that since we haven't introduced an artificial pacifier, the hand is a readily available alternative. Thumb sucking may be just around the corner.