t h e . r i d i c u l o u s . p a n d a

silas woke up bright eyed and happy at 8am this morning.
the least we could do was indulge in a bit of baby massage.

silas and i spent part of the morning watching the o'hare flight pattern
out our living room window. we counted the seconds between planes in english,
then in spanish, then in english again. i wish i could count to one hundred
in german but i can barely make it to ten without laughing. that's where sam
comes in handy.

friday night with rosie & annie

saturday morning flight lesson

it's been an eventful week, even though it's only thursday. today we're taking it easy waiting for our local vegetable delivery. last night, we left silas in eliza's loving care while we traipsed off to see the sabres beat the blackhawks. even though i'm pretty sure silas would have been transfixed by the high-contrast hockey arena, eliza convinced us that we would enjoy the game more sans baby. i gotta give her that one, i felt like i was at a party with all sorts of friends (hi kat & woody!) draft beer and hot dogs! and i didn't have that guilty lump in my throat as i drove to the arena. i guess that means i'm making progress.

silas hosts the professor from philadelphia

after waking up in full scream wednesday 5:30am & only being soothed by papa, papa
and more papa, this is the look i get in the morning on the changing table.

i take a long shower while scott and silas check out the playmat

a quick photo session before his morning nap

silas has been working through his first cold for the past few days. he rubs his snot filled nose on our shoulders and chests whenever he has the chance. he has lulled sam and i to sleep with his congested breathing and loud snorts. i finally figured out to put tissues in the pockets of his pajamas. of course, being very silas about the whole experience is the baby himself, who has also decided all at the same time to start sleeping six hour stretches at night. fantastic.

saturday morning comedy with papa

my turn to hold the baby

visiting the garfield park conservatory with amma & charles

taking advantage of the humidity in the fern room

the only moment splashy silas held still in the bath

yesterday, i had the luxury of making a meal from scratch. the farm delivery service that sam signed us up for has us scrambling around for recipes for crazy vegetables that are new to us like it's farmer's market season. last night was a winter root stew centered around the sunchokes and tonight is all about the cipollini onions and winter spinach. it's like taking a small vacation from my son in the kitchen with beer.

sam and silas doing a bit of reading before dinner.

that snowsuit really brings out the blue in your eyes.

yesterday would have been my first day back at work after my maternity leave. but instead of being at the office on the 12 weekaversary of silas's birth, i was in good company and very much entertained. it was an excellent day, to say the least.

we started the day with silas charming the entire staff of the diner. he woke up before our food arrived and spent the rest of the meal wide-eyed and smiling. once he started to get eh in the sling, i handed him off to sam. for the first time in almost three months, i drank my coffee with two hands.

my baby and my mama

saturday morning alone with papa=diaper photo shoot

i think the baby is still trying to make sense of all the football he watched yesterday.

click here for the preamble to today's afternoon nap.

oh silas, how you make us laugh. it's been three months of pure entertainment around this place. everyday we laugh at something new: a face you make, a sound you produce.

earlier this month, i spent lots of time researching what the perfect toy might be at this stage in your motor development, what object would be so undeniably enticing that you just had to reach out and grab it. we took quite a few walks to the toy store to peruse their selection of flashy baby things. even though you flex your hands and often swipe at the objects we hold in front of you, sam discovered that nothing gets you to reach out and grab so consistently as our fat grownup thumbs. it's almost as if the sight of our thumbs taps into some perfect baby grasping accuracy.

you have given us hints of your general amusement for quite a while now: non-stop conversations when prompted, great monologues on the whole baby experience from your point of view, frequent smirks and occasional high pitched sighs of contentment.

but the other night, you just full out let loose into giggle mode. we had just finished dinner and i took you off your papa's lap so you could look at him for a change. a few bounces on the knee, a crazy face from sam and you were in full laughter mode. it was, without question, the best sound that we have ever heard. so pure and clean.

during your third month, you spent a full day with papa while i traipsed off to get recertified in tax preparation. i came home to you both relaxing on the couch, a pile of read baby books , a sparkling bathroom, clean laundry and a whole roll of half naked baby pictures. you'd think sam was interviewing for my job.

silas, you and i went to see our first matinee. sure, your papa and i took you to see borat when you were just two weeks old, but this month we hit the movies alone. i predicted maybe i'd get to see an hour of dreamgirls before you decided you'd had enough, but how wrong i was. you woke up moments into the opening number and stayed awake for the ENTIRE movie. you nursed twice, burped efficiently and quickly got back to watching the movie. the only time you complained was when i had you over my shoulder, the illuminated exit sign had nothing on the big screen and you let me know very clearly that you didn't appreciate missing any of the musical numbers. and apparently you are a big fan of mr. eddie murphy, babbling loudly every time he came on the screen. the only time i was concerned with disturbing the other movie patrons was near the end of the film, when you decided to fervently & noisily slurp on your fist.

but our daily adventures are all just a prelude to the moment when we hear your papa's key turn in the front door. it takes you a few moments to register his returned presence, but once you do the evening takes on a whole new energy. just the other night, after four straight hours of playing with papa and a bath you fell asleep and stayed that way for seven hours. we couldn't believe it when i woke up to nurse you at five am. of course, you haven't slept that long since, but it was nice of you to tease us with what you are capable of.

to celebrate your three monthaversary today, we suited you up in your best duds and treated ourselves to a morning yoga class at bloom.

you cooed and babbled to the other babies, cried when i left you on your stomach too long while doing the cobra and then fell asleep on my chest during the final meditation. i've done alot of yoga over the years, had a lot of time to relax and meditate at the end of classes, but today was a whole different experience. feeling your entire body, the weight of your head to your wiggling toes, on top of me while lying on the floor, actually sensing the moment that your eyes closed by the change in your breathing - it was fantastic. then we walked home in the bright january afternoon sunshine.

thanks, silas, you honestly make our everyday even more ridiculous.

we spent a large part of the weekend playing on the floor.
it's extra fun with a baby like silas.

today i experienced what it might be like to have twins that aren't so fond of napping. they got the hiccups at the same time and neither wanted to be put down unless they were right up next to each other. georgia showed off her karate chopping skills and silas slobbered on georgia's fingers when they lingered by his mouth. and now silas is knocked out napping like he's never napped before.

ah yes, my sweet...

silas finally follows georgia's lead and tries to grow some hair of his own