Silas at 10 1/2 months

Silas, you are turning into a little communicator! It is such a joy to watch your understanding emerge verbally. Just this week, you are perfecting saying "up" and "hi, daddy." You say "hi-key" for "Hi, Katie" and "hi-e-yee" for "Hi, Ellie." We have tried to teach you the baby signs, but you are determined to just try the sounds of the words. "All done" is "ahh duh" and "please" has sometimes been a whispered "puh" sound. You blabber a lot, and love to say "ga-gu" and "ack", but we haven't figured out what those mean.

You are such a cuddly little guy. I love it! You willingly and lovingly drop your head to our shoulders when you are sleepy. Your favorite blanket is a blue and brown fuzzy monkey one, and you contentedly murmur when you have it in your grasp.

You have never really sat on the floor to play. You like to play on your belly, or (your favorite) stand at the coffee table. You are getting very fast at maneuvering around it, and your balance has really improved in recent weeks. But, it'll still be a while before you walk.

You are taking more interest in your board books, especially the ones with pictures of animals. Today, you even pointed to the pictures, like you were asking to know what they were.

You love, love, love to be tickled, and kept in suspense. If we slowly move toward you, hands out, intending to tickle you, you squeal and laugh in the pure anticipation of it all.

You do this whisper-whistle when you are happy or excited, or just enjoying playing. It is so cute!

If I added apple sauce and/or peanut butter to your foods, you would eat just about anything. Those are definitely your favorites. You also like Cheerios, of course (who doesn't?). We let you suck on a piece of pineapple recently, and that was a winner. Your daily menu is usually: grains, scrambled egg yolk, cheese, and avocado for breakfast; beans, grains, and veggies for lunch; and chicken, grains, and veggies for dinner. I always add in the extra fat for you in the form of olive oil, coconut oil, and/or almond butter. You also eat a lot of yogurt and banana. Once those still toothless gums are filled, I think you are really going to be ready to explore more tastes and textures.

At nine months, we thought you might have been nodding your head to the beat of music. Now, we are positive that is what you are doing! You LOVE music. Daddy's guitar, the girls singing, the cd player, pounding out a beat on your tray... it's amazing to watch you stay on beat (and sometimes sing along in your own way) and give your attention to these forms of music! We should get a drum for you for your birthday! Recently, you were upset with having to sit still for a breathing treatment, and I sang, "You Are My Strength When I Am Weak." You settled in and listened to the song, and that specific one has done the trick several other times as well.

We are so glad you are in our family, Si, and we love watching you grow and discover this beautiful world the Lord blessed us with.