He doesn't care for green veggies. In fact, he cried when we gave him peas, but during a wagon ride on Friday, I caught him eating dead leaves. And he wasn't crying. Nope! Not a bit. He almost seemed to enjoy them. Dead and brown and crunchy and curled up and nasty looking.

he's at the top of the charts - for his weight and height anyway. Yesterday, Silas weighed in at a whopping 24 lbs/6 oz (92%tile) and measured 31.25" (98.7%tile). He has been sporting eight teeth for at least a month, and he is doing very well with his developmental skills. Sight/hearing are fine. I think his favorite sight is Mommy, and favorite noise is music. :-) The only area where there is a slight concern is his leg muscles. Silas loves to kick and moves them well, but he refuses to stand. Even when you hold him up, he will pull his legs to a sitting position which looks as if he has an invisible chair. Rather funny! So, as to give him a little boost, he will see a therapist who can target those muscles. We are very pleased that his lung development, our original fear, appears fine!
My happy/clapping, chubby/thighed, huggin'/lovin' boy! (This picture is for you, Susan M. :-)

Yes, I actually typed that! My leaning has always been toward the end of the day, and consequently I was landed with the famous "Night Owl" label. After several months of rising in the 6:00-6:30 range, I do believe I have successfully banished that title! I knew it would be the only way I could survive motherhood and keep my sanity. (I do still have some, right?!)

I had forgotten how much work a sweet baby brings - especially when they are as fond of long, sit down meals as Silas is. :-) My life was drowning in coping after the baby was done eating. It wasn't like I turned over a new leaf just to have time to relax or do extras such as clean my baseboards. Nope! It was to get laundry/dishes/life-in-general done and be presentable by the time the kids hopped out of bed.

After setting my will, it was amazing how easy this new way has become, and how much I absolutely love mornings! I now enjoy hours of peace and soft background music, uninterrupted personal devotions, morning grooming with no stops, and I am so ready to see the kids when they greet the day (not to mention the loads of housework accomplished)! This morning alone after devotions, I was able to clean the fridge, do a HUGE pile of dishes, get the laundry started, sort through some papers, and a favorite ~ tend to my outside flowers. Doing the work on the morning end of the day, frees me up to be such a better Mom during homeschool and the rest of the hours left. Ahhhh. . .yes. . .so glad I made the switch!

Although I am sure you decided I left a long time ago. :-) As of late, my life (aside from the "normal" duties which are a full time load in themselves) has consisted of:

1. Watching the neighbors' quail chick and lizard. And just for the record - - I hate lizards, and think they are evil!!!!! They give me the creeps!!!!! I do not mind snakes but disdain lizards! Seth was quite fascinated to feed it live crickets, but I prefer to not see the food chain so up close and personal! Now the chick was cute and adorable. Well. . .except for the potty trail. I can barely handle that from anything! We had a scary moment when showing it to Silas and all the while talking in the famous baby voice, "Oh, wook at du widdle chick. He so coot!" Apparently the child decided to see for himself and grabbed it in a death grip which I had to pry open! It was a bit difficult as I was engulfed with laughter! :-) The poor "widdle" chick was traumatized and avoided us for a spell. By the way, lizard cages stink!
2. Picking, cleaning, and freezing more gallons of strawberries! 3. Pressure washing the house and trimming (And I mean trimming because some of them look naked.) the bushes in the front and removing the ones in the back.
4. Most exciting activity was putting in a shed (with the wonderful help of Paul Churchill)! The boys were eager to work at times.
5. Mulching and planting flowers, and don't my "mulched" arms look so attractive?! Never mind the ingredients of mulch!
6. We started a stream of company with the Meltons.
7. Seth's friend, Josh, stayed with us for a few days.
8. "Uncle David" and Jamie were here for a night. (I kindly refrained from sharing the charming picture of a pajama clad David and the boys wrestling and tickling. :-)
9. My sister, Joanna, topped it all off with an almost two week stay. 10. School commenced on August 7, and we officially have a boy in Kindergarten and a boy in 3rd. I decided to make a cake for the occasion, and I think it actually turned out a bit better than some of my other creations. In fact, it has inspired me to want to take some classes.

P.S. Never mind the freshly painted room! Three walls need to be sanded, and I am very disheartened about the whole process. I still need to write a letter to that company, too.