silas' first farmers' market

Oh how fun!! We went to the Dragovich's this morning and hopped in the car with them to go to the Raleigh Farmers' Market. Guess who met us there? Oh yes, the one and only Candy Tennant. We shopped and stopped for a freshly squeezed lime and/or lemon aid..... while Silas took a short nap.

It was a great way to start a holiday weekend...thanks girls (and boys)!

never thought i'd hear myself say...

"Darlin', Momma doesn't want you to chew on the carpet."
[hold on while i get the camera...this is bloggable...]

"No chewing on the carpet!"

I love my little carpet chewer. I know those of you that are germ-a-phobes are totally grossed out.

Silas is practically crawling! He does the inch worm scoot and usually is making his way toward one of Sophie's toys. The funny part is, she thinks he is playing with her, so she plays keep away and then drops the toy in front of him so he'll do it for her.

I knew they would be bestest friends.

happy 9 months, silas!

a sweet exchange

The cutest thing happened today and I want to get it on here before I forget.

Silas was playing on the living room floor, on his tummy, with some toys and such. Sophie came running into the room and jumped up on the loveseat and started rolling aroud and snorting and acting crazy.

Silas turned around to see the commotion and then busted out with some genuine "you are totally cracking me up" laughter. It was the sweetest laugh and so fun to watch him enjoy her.

Sophie? Well, she scratched whatever was itching her and moved on. After 3 months, they're pretty funny together.

Sweet dreams!

where have ya'll been?!

I have been here waiting for you. I know, I know. I've been AWOL from the bloggy blog. We've been busy, but I couldn't think of anything to blog about. I'll warn you in advance that this may be random...

Please welcome the newest member to our family. It's a girl! Priscilla is our new, hip (work with me, people) minivan. I think we've been a single car family for at least 5 years and it's worked. But here, 2 cars will be much more convenient. Silas rides in style and it's so easy to get him in and out. I'm enjoying being back in the front seat of the vehicle when we're all together. Marshall won't call her Priscilla, but we're working on that...

We miss Daddy. He's in Houston participating in his Fantasy Football Draft. Please ya'll, don't tell all of these Fantasy Football people that it's not real. We don't want to burst their fantasy bubbles. I'd rather him be here, but I'm really glad he got to go. In previous years we've lived more locally and he has been able to go to Houston and other years he's drafted from my parents' house and Iraq. He deserves some fun, I say. The night before he left I felt like I was sending him off to Fantasy Football camp. Excitement! He'll be home soon. :)

Silas and I had a lot of fun yesterday. We got to meet Candy and Igor Tennant!! They came over for a visit and it was so fun to hug another friend that I've only known via the internet. The Tennants are waiting on a toddler boy from Ethiopia. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures. I failed you, my bloggy friends. We're looking forward to seeing them again soon. Thanks for coming, Candy and Igor!!

And last night Silas, Priscilla and I went downtown to what's called Fourth Friday with our friends the Trimbles. All of the shops stay open and there are street vendors, concerts, evangelists with bullhorns and the guy with the evangelist with the bullhorn wearing a sign telling everyone they are going to hell, and then some belly dancers. It was a well rounded evening. Really it reminded me of a summer fest in Europe. I had North Carolina BBQ for the first time (vinegar based) and it was scrumpteous. Silas eyed my plate, but was satisfied by his bottle. He had his first picture with a fire truck. Fun times at Fourth Friday!

What is Silas up to? Well he's growing like a weed, still drooling with no teeth in sight and babbling. He's said "ba-ba", which I think he got from his exersaucer, and maybe a "da-da", but we won't write that down until we know he knows what he's saying. ;) He's not crawling yet, but doesn't seem to have a lot of interest in trying since he has figured out how to scoot on his belly, any place he needs to go.

Yesterday on our morning walk, we left the house with a pacifier in his mouth and came home without the pacifier. Uh oh. We only have two that he likes. So yesterday I left it out of sight except for sleepy times and he drooled, talked and SCREAMED that HIGH pitched scream all day. I kept telling him that he didn't need to scream that loudly, but he pretended not to hear me. I've done the same thing today with the pacifier and he "talked" a lot this morning. He cracks me up. I should probably go ahead a pop a tylenol. He's loud and happy...

And toes. If they are in his reach, watch out!

That's all I can think of for now. Good to see ya'll!

sleepy?

I put Silas down for his morning nap. Sometimes we rock all the way to sleep and sometimes he puts himself to sleep after watching the mobile. We did the latter this morning. He never fussed or anything. About 5 minutes after the mobile music stopped I went in to see if he was sleeping or needed me. This is what I found:

Totally zonked out. It's hard to see in the dark photos, but he was using the bumper as a pillow and was quite content. He makes me smile every day. Sometimes before the sun comes up.

team dragovich, baby!

Shari above and Wyatt and Isaac below with Silas.
What a fun day! Team Dragovich (minus the head coach, Tony) came by this afternoon. It was so good to meet Shari in person and her boys. We headed over to the park so the big boys could play and the Moms could visit. Silas had his first turn on a swing....he loved it. We're looking forward to spending more time with the Dragovich family and meeting Tony too.
I've been letting him do more self-bottle feeding. He likes to take breaks and go at his own pace. It's also really quite cute.

There are four families in Ethiopia right this minute. They picked up their children today. You can follow three of the four on their exciting journeys here: Moles, Cox, and Ducommun. Keep them in your prayers, especially that they stay well and enjoy these first days with their babies.

We had 3 month post placement visit from the social worker last night. It went really well and I just enjoyed visiting with her. I like talking about Silas. :) No, really, she was easy to talk to and I am thankful she is our social worker.

That's all for now. I need to go check the above mentioned traveling families' blogs and then get to bed.

cousins

We had a fun time with Uncle Todd, Aunt Melissa, Ryan, Griffin and Collin! I'm happy to report that Silas is on the mend and is 100000000% better than he was. He's still on his antibiotics...oh that was terrible. He's such a laid back baby that his screams of pain did not go unnoticed. So glad my baby is on the mend.

I do want to clarify that the photo of him crying in the previous post is not current. I took that the day before we left Germany. I know some of you thought I took that picture after he had the ear infection, and probably thought I was crazy! I am crazy, but not cruel. :) My sister told me all she wanted for her birthday today was for me to take down that terrible picture...it was breaking her heart every time she checked the blog.

These are my guys before church last week.
This is Silas this morning. He LOVES him some Praise Baby. He used to watch it in his bouncy seat, then he moved to his tummy and now he sits all by himself. My Praise Baby is growing up!

Social worker comes tomorrow for our 3 month post placement visit.

Must go be productive. Happy Birthday Katy!!

stink

Poor Silas has a double ear infection and is feeling quite terrible.

As his mom, I feel terrible. I'd trade places with him in a hot minute. Makes me think about God and how much he loves us with His Fatherly love. Even when stinky things are going on, He wants to be the one to hold us, administer care and tenderness, and spend the whole night in a rocking chair if that's what we need.

Praying Silas bounces back to his happy self very, very soon.

all he needs now....

is a bottle with an umbrella in it. We're going out today, so we had to put on shoes and everything.