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

silas and i spent the early part of the week at grandma and grandpa's place. not only did silas get an awesome noisemaker jingle belly type of thing but he spent ample time naked (naked!) in the yard, sunning his backside.

also...
is this a sign of teething or rhythm?

now that silas can move from one end of a room to the other in the time it takes me to pour a glass of water, he gets to hang out with us in every room we move to. we graciously accepted a hand-me-down playmat for the kitchen.

baby pauses to watch papa teeter on the counter.

the weekend came and almost went before we realized we hadn't snapped any pictures of silas. sunday night right before books and bedtime, silas lazed in the setting sun.

something about lunchtime and avocados brings out the hilarity in our household. silas justs laughs and laughs at everything that happens while he's in his little seat with a mouthful of mushy green aguacate. there's about ten pictures of yesterday's open mouth guffawing but the moment he took to compose himself is my favorite.

yesterday evening, silas and i wandered the streets of chicago looking for lady georgia's new digs. finally we found her and her mama lounging in their backyard rolling on a blanket. we spent the dusk having a beer, eating cheese cubes and pulling up chubby fistfuls of grass.

georgia urges silas to the sitting milestone. "come on man, laying on your back is for babies!"

watching her mother dance is hilarious.

if you can't make 'em bend at the waist, you might as well join 'em.

the eliza show continues to slay the crowd.

silas inquires about turf variety.

seriously, could the summer be looking any sweeter?

our wednesday library group of friends has emerged from the indoors! we spent the afternoon in the park, squinting in the muted sunlight, watching our babies roll around, and working together to try and figure out this whole child rearing thing. next week, champagne & sandwiches!

baby forrest

clare

sofija

charlie

beasley waits patiently for any baby to drop their squeaky toys.

most days are all about silas. but in celebration of sam's thirty third year, today was all about him.

up and at 'em before ten.

silas waits for his banana order at earwax.

silas swims circles around his papa.

opening presents on the sly.

silas focuses in on the package that smells like chocolate.

bouncing with friends at anton and rie's house.

happy birthday, sam. none of this would be any fun at all without you.

sam brought silas home his jeero uglydoll from his recent business trip. he'd been launching himself at it for about five minutes before we thought to get the camera. hence, silas is looking that awesome combination of crazed and focused.

we just returned home from a long weekend in new york city. our first official family vacation with real hotels, airplanes, a pile of family & friends and a wedding. as much as i love chicago, nyc is quite the fantastic place to spend a few days. within hours of our arrival, sam and i were calculating just how much we'd have to earn to buy a little place overlooking central park and silas was charming passersby out the taxi cab window. we took hundreds of pictures, but here are some of my favorites...

apparently letting your baby only watch jeopardy and sabres games primes him nicely for 24 channels of direct tv.

eating some mashed avocado at our holiday inn home away from home.

the first stroll through central park.

silas takes in some natural history.

suiting up for some lunch at the museum cafeteria.

us three.

the whale in the marine room.

reflecting on our visit.

silas swings like a local at the toddler playlot in central park.

sam and silas make some small talk with a mother of three (her husband was working away on his laptop on the other side of the park. nice.)

private party, please move along. scott, silas and sam take a breather at the rehearsal dinner.

courtney brings it down a notch with the baby, well past his bedtime.

saturday morning with cousins and charlie!

priya on her own turf.

i am overwhelmed by the sweetness of quinn.

eric & silas - a rare moment with the groom!

kate & sam - an even rarer moment with the bride!

jerilyn & scott - these two just look better and better every time we sit across from them at a wedding.

clint pauses between courses.

kate and eric looking freshly wedded.

thanks to kim and bart and the girls, sam and i enjoyed the wedding reception as a couple. neither of us bouncing the baby on our lap, the other constantly wondering what we could do to help. it was awesome. i felt like i was going to puke all day saturday, knowing that we were going to ditch our baby so we could party and drink cocktails. but by the time i saw my sister (the valet babysitter) waiting for us at the reception site to strap the baby on and take off for the upper west side, all nausea had subsided. like i said, it was awesome. when we got back to their place late, late at night to collect our child, silas was knocked out sleeping so we had time to have one more beer. cheers to the babysitters!

sam and silas make up for missing swim class on sunday morning.

reem and dylan make a silas dumpling at vegetarian dim sum.

giant robot ny. sam takes photos in order to restrain himself from purchasing the entire inventory.

reem shows silas proper street crossing technique.

markus mollicus and silas in tompkins square park.

wandering through chinatown brings out the napping.

mark tends to the baby.

reem gets a good whiff before the drive back to connecticut.

silas and celeste wrap up the evening with some zen palate takeout and a bedtime story.

the baby lounges while the parents pack up.

waiting for our flight at jfk.

a complete seven months, silas lee.

i remember the first time i brought you to baby yoga at bloom. you were exactly three months old and the woman sitting across from us introduced herself and her baby with the disbelief that she already had a seven month old. i remember thinking "holy crap, seven months. she's a true professional. she's had a baby FOREVER. where does she get off being all wide-eyed and crazy like me, an actual newbie?!" well, hello, our time has come.

we have to start introducing ourselves as the parents of a seventh month old (which for the record we started practicing in nyc last weekend). and believe you me i am just as wide eyed and surprised as i was at the whole thing when you, silas lee, were just an itty bitty teeny tiny three month old. so what comes around goes around, i suppose.

we barely feel comfortable referring to you as a baby any more. you still totally act like one at times, but you barely seem like one, if that makes any sense. quite often, with no prompting our friends refer to you as a little man. and i think it's quite fitting: you have a funny little bald spot, all your pants fit you strangely and you usually get quite pissy in the late afternoon.

but what about this past month, how are you different than when we last spoke at six months? ah yes, the mobility. silas lee, you are a rolling fool. you roll for everything, clear across the room. we barely have the chance to put a toy far enough away from you and give you the "go for it" cheer before you are halfway there. grunting and reaching.

the best part is that you don't even register the clunks when your head hits the hardwood floor. you just keep on going. lately, in this household, we say "clunk!" more than anything. because, of course, your papa and i like to alert you to your big headed talent.

you popped out a third tooth this month. right on the bottom, next to your first two. much to your delight, you now have your very own toothbrush. nothing has fascinated you more than watching us brush our teeth. you look equally interested and freaked out whenever we brush so it's funny to see you take it so seriously when it's your own turn.

and the functionality of your chompers has also been discovered. you like to gnaw on everything: breakfast o's, spoons, apples, backpack straps, shoes, bananas, blankets. even sitting out on the balcony while helping me water our garden, you've been heard chewing on a rock or two.

the past couple of days have been a bit rough on all of us. you came home from nyc with a new strain of stuffy nose. the complications don't rear their pissy heads until it's time for you to sleep so nap times have been a challenge.

you cry, you smear your snot, you call out in congested consonants the injustices of that moment. when i finally get you to close your eyes and relax, i can't help but wonder about how much i suck at this part of my job. but then last night papa gets home from work and his big bike helmet and funny sunglasses are enough to snap you back into silasness. last night you and sam bounced and laughed so much after dinner that when he handed you over to me to nurse one more time before sleeping you were straight up sweaty. little beads of perspiration on your forehead, enough that i could spike your hair up on top and slick the rest down. your nose had finally started to clear up enough that you didn't have to pull off every few drinks to breathe. so you laid with me and nursed and hung your fingers on my lip. it was perfection. then while sam was reading books to you before bed, you laid your head on my chest to listen. we looked at each other in disbelief. you've never been a cuddler. i think that was the first time you had stopped all the rolling, lunging, and bouncing and just snuggled.

and i was so thankful. thankful for sam, thankful that you have two different parents to console you, thankful that a boatload of boogers is our biggest concern, and thankful for you. thankful that you, silas lee, chose to be a part of our family. honestly, you've made an excellent choice. sam and i were having quite a good time before you showed up and now that you're here, we're just starting to understand how much more ridiculous it can be.

going camping with a baby sounds scary in theory, but in actuality, it was quite awesome.

rie and anthony graciously invited us up to nelson dewey state park to share their site for the weekend. it was our maiden camping excursion as parents. we have emerged stronger, more confident and with a baby blanket that still has that sweet smell of campfire.

silas knocks out for his morning nap in the tent.

taking a break from our hike to wait out the rainstorm.

sam and anton compare beer cozies.

momo catches some air.

silas and anthony.

the view from our campsite.

anthony and rie.

saturday morning.

silas wakes up with the sunrise.

breakfast with rie.

catching a ride with papa.

ah, wisconsin.

a bath at home to wind down the weekend.