11 MONTHS

Silas hit 11 months at the end of February.  He became very interested in the letter board displaying how old he is this month...which made taking a picture very tricky.

His weekly pictures make it look like we also failed to comb his hair all month...crazy hair don't care. But the first picture also shows off his blue blue eyes.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that his eyes will stay blue like Seth's.  Silas' expression in the third picture reminds me so much of Seth when he is in a teasing mood.

Silas mastered pulling himself up this month.  We have a double oven and the bottom oven is at just the right height for him to perform his standing tricks.

Silas also loves to pull himself up in the tub.  He pretty much crawls into the tub anytime he hears the water running.

He is a very happy baby and loves his siblings.  He looks for them from the moment he wakes up.  They can always get him to smile and laugh.

Silas also found the toilet paper roll this month.

He is showing more interest in Phin and Millie's toys.  He loves to taste them...and also destroy anything the kids are building.

One day he managed to pull himself up on my leg while I was working in the kitchen.  He was quite surprised that he ended up there and wanted help to get back down.

He loves the Gerber Lil' Crunchies that almost look like Cheetos.  He hates Gerber puffs.  He is starting to prefer table food over baby food and he prefers savory tastes over sweet tastes.  He is starting to wear size 3 diapers.  We have moved him up to 12 month clothes but they are a little big on him. 

Phin update:  Now that I am a parent I realize just how painful homework time can be.  Phin has made great progress this year but it seemed like all of the homework was about practicing reading skills rather than actually reading.  I heard about BOB books and saw them at Costco, so we bought the Kindergarten set.  We came home and Phin was able to read the first four books.  He was incredibly proud of himself for reading a whole book.  It was a great reminder for me that you can practice the skills over and over...but you also have to perform the skill in the context so that you remember why you are practicing in the first place.

Phin tends to run warm like me.  One morning when I went to wake him up I found that he had pulled down the top on his footie pajamas...he was just too hot.

Millie update:  This little girl loves having her hair done and wearing pretty clothes.  She will often come out to after getting ready and do a twirl for Seth.  She is independent and loyal.  She often refers to Phin as "my Phinner,"  She loves to cuddle.  On especially hard days she will sometimes say "I need a hug from you."   

FEBRUARY

Phin finally got me to make him a Peter Pan shirt.  He was dressed like this for several days straight.  He was quite delighted that we pulled his belt out so that he would have a place to keep his dagger.  My one wish is that this little guy will never grow up.

The first weekend in February we headed up to Cache Valley for our nephew Gavin's baptism.  We spent several hours hanging out at Grandma Jo and Grandad's before the baptism.  Grandma Jo had organized a Valentine's Day craft for the kids.

  

 

Silas loved playing in the family room with Grandma Jo's toys and with his cousins.

We managed to get a picture of the whole family after the baptism.

The cold never bothered me anyway...Phin and Millie didn't mind the cold of February because it meant they could warm up with hot chocolate.

We made a trip to the Children's museum with Amy, Zoey, Connor and Grace.  We got to see some cool experiments with colors.

My birthday weekend started out with a delicious treat from the Principal, Assistant Principal and Secretary at my school.  They let me order a Nielsen's Frozen Custard and then delivered it right to my classroom...yum.  

I celebrated another year of life with a 5K at our local Rec Center.  It felt good to hit the pavement again.  My time was 30:11 which is a 9:44 pace.  I came in 9th for my age group.  Not a bad start to the running season. I felt my age for the next few days and had very sore hips and calves.

 I came home from the race to find flowers, a sugar cookie and my favorite soda. 

Seth and I were able to get away on my birthday for a date.  We had lunch at Moochies...I love their Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches with peppers and mushrooms.  Then we walked through one of the model homes for the company Seth works at.

I even got to try out virtual reality to see what one of their other projects looks like.  Someone asked and yes...the virtual reality did make me dizzy.   We ended our date with a trip to Nordstrom's rack...and I got a cute pair of booties.

We met my parents at Ti Amo Pizzeria for a birthday dinner.  Phin and Millie had made me a necklace and Seth wrapped it for them.

I sure love sharing a birthday with this guy.

I also love sharing a marzipan cake with him every birthday.

 Valentines was the next major event of February.  I did a little heart hair for Millie.

 

Phin was so very excited for the day.  We had made a Lego Ninjago box for him.  He handed out Incredible pencils and starbursts.

He was pretty happy with all of his loot.

Millie came home with quite the haul as well.

All the kids wore red on Valentines Day.   Here Silas is showing off his skills at pulling up on our oven.

I made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate as well.

Silas loves to be right at the same level as the kids.  This particular day they convinced me to let them eat waffles while they watched a show.

February also brought some warmer weather...so we took advantage and went on a walk.

Silas is starting to outgrow his morning nap.  So afternoon naps are our favorite.

Millie loves to have books read to her.

We also managed to make it to a playgroup at the church one afternoon.  The kids loved riding their scooters and playing with friends.

One of my favorite things about February was a quick trip down to Vegas with Sarah.  Joe surprised her with tickets to a Backstreet Boys concert for Christmas.  She was gracious enough to invite me along to use the second ticket. 

We were able to get on the same flight out of Salt Lake.  Southern Utah had a huge snowstorm the day before we left and it was fun to see all of the red bluffs covered with snow.

I lucked out with an exit row...and loved the leg room.

We got some great views of Lake Mead.

 We took a Lyft to The Venetian which was our home for the night.

Before the concert we walked around, ate dinner and did a little shopping.

We had general admission tickets so we arrived early so we could get good spots.  One of the things that I most admire about Sarah is how open and loving she is with people.  I tend to be more reserved and keep to myself, but Sarah has the gift of becoming instant friends with people.  While we were in line she became quick friends with a girl from Germany.  That connection really paid off and that cute girl saved us spots at the very front of the general admission pit.   

This is one of my favorite pictures from the night...this was Sarah's happy place. 

We were transported back to the 90s...and to much younger versions of ourselves.

Back in High School we listened to all the boy bands out there...Backstreet Boys, Nsync, 98 degrees, etc.  We were boy crazy for sure.  Kevin from Backstreet Boys was my personal favorite...Sarah and I even named our '69 VW Beetle Kevin.

I have never been this close in a concert.  It was CRAZY to be just a few feet away.  At one point in the concert Brian gave me knuckles!!!

The music was good at the concert...but the people watching was even better.  These girls in the front row had Hawaiian leis with signs that said "Can I lei a Backstreet Boy?"

Before we knew it the concert had come to an end.

My second favorite picture from the weekend...

After the concert we walked over to watch a show at the Bellagio.

We definitely got our steps in for the day. 

We had grand plans to sleep in...but we are both very used to being woken up by little kiddos and couldn't sleep past 6 AM.  We got up and worked out at the hotel gym, found some breakfast and soon were headed back to our families.  I think we may need to make a Sister's trip an annual event.