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

last week, we checked off another location on our quest to swim in every city pool this summer. silas, sarah, olivia and i lounged in the baby pool out west on devon. the water was crisp, the sun was hot and the babies skipped their morning naps to have a splash off instead.

the babies discuss ditching their moms for the family the next blanket over that brought two pizzas to the pool.

tuesday night, sam came home early from work to scoop the sludge out of our flooded basement. silas and i waited patiently with cubs tickets in hand for papa to finish. we made it to the game by the third inning and were relieved to see that anton and eric hadn't auctioned off our seats.

silas "way past my bedtime" lee and his parents.

we just got home from another official family vacation. we brought silas out to las vegas for some serious swimming, buffet cruising, air conditioning and quality time with a whole handful of grandparents - amma, charles, grandpa jerry and debi. silas was fantastic the entire vacation. he blinked wide eyed at all the casino excess, smiled at total strangers in elevators, hung out for a little bit at papa's conference and saved us yet again from having to shop for souvenirs for the baby by popping out a big fat tooth on the first night of the trip. every time we take this kid on an airplane, he comes home with more teeth. we spent one afternoon at the mgm pool, swimming on the lazy river, drinking margaritas, watching our baby duck under waterfalls and laugh at all the other kids. ridiculous. sam and i even got to spend some time together swimming in the moonlight, drinking wine while amma and charles watched the baby. turns out silas is just as good as going on vacation as sam and i. now, where to next?

baby conks out somewhere west of the mississippi.

while sam spent wednesday at a good toy group function, silas and i took on vegas together. here he is in between layers of sunscreen and hand me downs (thanks, aunt kim and cousin li!) before we hit the hotel pool.

wednesday night bedtime. silas stayed awake just long enough to laugh with the room
service waiter dropping off my dinner and to watch the sun begin to set outside our window.

thursday morning, wake up to papa!

grandpa jerry and debi. hey man, nice hat.

silas had his first taste of watermelon at that morning's buffet. then he ate another bowlful at grandpa's house for lunchtime. that's the great thing about vegas, there's always a pool within tossing distance to clean watermelon off of your baby.

amma meets us on the strip to squeeze her grandbaby before bedtime.

seriously, kid, you got it rough.

amma and silas wait for the cabana boy to take their drink order.

we thought he was sleeping, he was really just unpacking sam's bag.

amma wakes the baby up with early morning hugs.

silas tries to find our condo upon landing in chicago.

we packed up the baby and headed up north to see my parents and celebrate the fourth in a quiet wooded retreat. by my calendar calculations that means that silas swam in all three of his grandparents' pools in one week (with two hotel pools thrown in for good measure). that's gotta be a baby record or something.

morning stretches with grandma.

experiencing grapes on the screened in porch.

drinks at dusk with the neighbors. helena, silas and sandra.

peter and silas.

helena on the hammock.

silas finally convinces helena to have a turn holding the baby.

when we returned home, we were delighted to see that our german friends hadn't skipped town yet. so last night it was babies, wine and indian food at our place.

kai and silas communicate on the sly with blocks and discreet hand signals.

kai and the green bus.

julie and i still think it's funny that we have babies.

the city pool that sees the most of silas is at river park. it's within walking distance of our house and if i can get it together enough to have my baby napped and dressed by 10:30am, we can make it there for the 11-11:45 baby swim time. after that the day camp millions get unleashed on the waters and silas and i would rather avoid that intensity. so friday was one of those days, the credit in having a baby that had sufficiently napped is due all to sam. he actually got out of bed with silas at 6:30am as i just laid there and mumbled something to the effect of "too early, mama still sleeping, too early little baby." a baby that wakes up that early is ready for a nap at 9am sharp. so we swam and splashed and made new friends at the pool. the real fun started when i attempted to get myself and the baby dressed on a 18 inch wide bench of plywood while naked women tell him how adorable he is, what a heartbreaker he's gonna be and how he's very observant (hello, you're naked. he likes breasts).

baby in the public dressing room.

then we go to the park for some mango on a fork.

friday night was the perfect evening for a backyard celebration. silas (the baby in the foreground) basks in the glow of julie and simultaneously tries to figure out the puppy.

if you could see his face you would note the look of concern.

kelly and silas gear up for their walk around the garden and a swing in the hammock.

another nice thing about sam and i having a baby together is that silas will always have two photographic points of view on his childhood. sam is one of the most amazing photographers i have ever known, it always amazes me to see the images he captures of our life. we are always trading the baby for the camera and saturday was no exception. we went to garfield's park current special exhibit of niki in the park. it was awesome. we took more photos during our visit than we've taken during our recent vacations and that's quite a feat.

the fern room with papa.

what green feels like.

setting sail.

family portrait.

silas helps himself to some sedum snacks.

just trying to figure it all out.

sam, silas, alligator.

the teething baby finds a sympathetic ear.

waiting for the bus in the future.

we've had fun up until now.

a trip to feed for silas's first lunch of beets and lima beans.

silas had a farmers market peach for breakfast. within five minutes he was using his teeth to try and crack the pit. it was like watching one of those time lapse pbs videos of ants eating a leaf.

sam took half a day on friday to start the weekend early and take silas to the cubs game. i was going to pack a bottle for the baby, instead we added yet another chicago landmark to our list of places where silas has nursed. but i'm quite sure it's not the first time someone has flashed a breast at wrigley.

o say can you see...

let's get some runs!

we spent saturday evening with georgia & her parents. georgia is quite the inspiration to silas. her "how to clap" tutorial was so effective that silas has been applauding like a crazy accordion monkey ever since we left their backyard.

you go that way!

georgia tests out silas's flinching skills.

one last glimpse before bed.

i knew the weekend had potential when silas and i spent friday evening with eliza and georgia at the nature museum. eliza and i attended a lecture by ina may gaskin while the babies crawled around the kid care room. afterwards there was wine and desserts for us and silas and georgia swapped mangoes for oatmeal.

babies and babies' mamas on the rooftop.

silas crossed off two more states on his list when we drove to warren dunes on saturday. but does indiana count if he slept through it both ways?

baby at the beach, thinking about the potential of sand.

taking a break on b-rad.

the lake was too cold for silas. he busied himself in his tent chewing on some swim trunks while the rest of us gasped in the freezing waves.

lake. baby. papa.

evanston ethnic arts festival provides some serious tactile stimulation.

silas gets out some ethnic arts of his own before bed.

washing up with papa.

how did we get here? you, me and sam. all of us sitting stunned at the nine monthaversary of your birth. i looked at the clock today ten minutes after the moment you were born. we were playing on the couch together. i was burying my head in your belly, you were doing your part giggle/part cackle/part shriek and i glanced over your shoulder at the clock. 11:49. but, silas lee, you don't care about such silly things. ever since that moment that you finally entered our lives, you haven't looked back.

every day your papa and i are in amazement over what you can do. it's almost as if you come up with something new every twenty four hours. you scoot, you laugh at our jokes, you clap, you laugh at your own jokes, you come when we call, you climb, and so on.

i think i have called sam every day at work in the past two weeks just to report on you and how amazing you are. yesterday it was high pitched singing yourself to sleep at naptime, today it was making this face every time you threw a ball.

we love hanging out with you. silas lee, you are excellent company. we love taking you places, going for long walks, giving you different foods and watching you react to new situations. now you see small things. it is awesome to point out butterflies and beetles to you and watch you follow them with your sleepy eyes and try and sort it all out. so far, so good.

i guess the best way to explain you at nine months is to tell the story from the nature museum. eliza and i wanted to see a lecture and the organization putting it on offered free child care for the hour of ina may. i hesitated, balked and argued that there really was no good reason to leave you for an hour. eliza dragged us to the room, told me to buck up, planted georgia at your feet and pulled me out. and i sat and listened and enjoyed an hour of paying individual attention to something other than you. but as soon as the lecturer said her thank you's, i shot out the door back to the room to pick you up. and there you were, a whole hour gone by, and i realized how much i had missed you. the woman holding you turned to me and said "who's son is this? is this your baby? because he is just amazing. just the sweetest and loveliest little boy. really." and i was so proud. because i knew she meant it and i knew she was right. i knew that it's okay to leave you in capable hands for awhile because that's the only way that other people are going to get to know you on your terms. and, silas lee, you are so worth getting to know.

to celebrate your day today, we took it easy. we lazed around the house after your morning nap and ate a peach in the living room. we danced to tito puente. we met lisa for lunch. we took the walk home slow and waited for the sprinklers to hit us. we read lots of books instead of taking an afternoon nap. we ate an apple on the couch while watching jeopardy. we went to your new pediatrician and you sat and wailed on sam's lap while they drew blood. we took you home and ate dinner while singing bruce springsteen songs. we gave you a warm bath and put you to bed an hour early.

in a few hours, you'll wake up hungry and sam will sleepily bring you into bed with us. you'll pass out milk drunk with one foot on my belly, a few fingers on sam's chin. in the morning you'll be ready to go, doing that crazy giggle that lets us know that you're really awake, awake not able to be nursed or back rubbed back to sleep. and another day begins.

you, my darling, are our sweet boy. thanks.

baby at the beach!
helping the tiny turtles find their way to the water.

baby at the bean!
pretending to be a tourist with papa.

baby at the pritzker pavillion!
sizing up all those out-of-towners.

baby at papa's office!
having an a/c and ice cream break before we take the train home.

we spent the majority of the weekend here.

our friend emily invited us up to her family's lakehouse in wisconsin. the house has been in her family since the 1940's. it was awesome. sam, silas and i felt honored to take part in the relaxation, hours of floating, neverending supply of beer and smartypants grandma that make up the experience. all that & the baby took part in his first boat ride, a leisurely sunday afternoon pontoon cruise around the lake.

silas and lisa taking a safety break.

silas opts for chewing on his carrot in lieu of a mango gin cocktail.

getting out the last bounces before bedtime.