9 MONTHS

Silas hit 9 months on Christmas Day.  This little guy is such a happy and easy-going addition to our family.  We love him.

His hair really is starting to come in pretty thick...which makes a mini-Mohawk  possible these days.

He continues to be long and lean...he still fits in 9 and 12 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

One of my favorite things about these weekly pictures is seeing Silas in his Christmas sweaters.

Silas' eyes are staying a beautiful bright blue.

Silas loves tubby time and often gets into the tub with anyone that is taking one at our house.  Here he is showing off his winter boogies in the tub...classic.  

Silas is also starting to get into things.  I also pull out things that will keep him entertained for just one more minute.

He has mastered the bum scoot and is also starting to pull himself up to standing.

 Silas wants to be right in the kitchen with me when I am cooking.

 He is starting to wave hello.

He is down to just a couple of naps a day...a late morning and a late afternoon.  His sleep at night continues to be consistently inconsistent.

Here are a couple of my favorite Christmas shots.

 

We took Silas on his first BIG roadtrip...and he was not such a fan of being stuck in the car.  He loved when we were out of the car.

He loves Millie and Phin and love him...sometimes a little too much.

Millie update:  Millie loves to be a little mom to Silas.  I often open a drawer for Silas to play with and she comes along to close it up because it is "not safe."  She is talking more and more.  She still has quite a bit of the thunderous threes in her...we are counting down until she is four.  We actually refer to her tantrums as her HULK moments...sometimes we just have to let her get really mad before she can calm herself back down.

Phin update:  Phin is loving school.  His reading skills are really starting to take off...but homework is honestly the most painful part of the day.  Phin had a Grinch Day before Christmas and his teacher sent me this picture of him striking a pose.

His class often does yoga on Fridays.  Phin can also be found dropping into push-ups to get his exercises done. 

Phin loves having a little brother and can be quite helpful with Silas.

PAPAGO PARK and ZOO LIGHTS

Saturday, December 29th was our last full day in Phoenix.  We spent lots of time outside playing.

 

Phin also spent quite a bit of time drawing up plans for how Jeff should finish the playhouse...this kept him busy for a long time.  Almost the entire trip he kept asking Jeff when he was going to work on the playhouse...I felt like he was a mini Feller trying to get Jeff to get a job done.

In the afternoon we went to Papago Park which was so crowded...but also so gorgeous.

The kids loved finding little crevasses to climb up into.

Carver and Millie holding hands...they are the cutest cousin buddies.

 

 

I love this shot with Camelback Mountain in the background.

After Papago Park we went back to Jeff's house for some yummy smoked ribs.  Then we went to Zoolights.

The Phoenix zoo is so much bigger than the Hogle Zoo.  We actually didn't see many animals but the light displays were beautiful.
 

In this picture Seth is trying to get the kids to put their hands in the snake's mouth.

A prowling alligator...

A wolf...for our kids with wolf hats.

I loved the lights wrapped around the cactus.

A lion with a little roar.  

Silas taking another little cat nap...

Phin found my favorite flamingos.

Carver and Millie sharing the stroller.

MIllie has been obsessed with Unicorns lately...but was too cold to get out of the stroller for a picture.

We tested the kids hats out for one final picture...

 

The next day we went to church before hitting the road.  We ended up at a Spanish Branch...which Seth loved.  I was able to understand the main idea but not everything.  Silas was getting pretty fussy so I spent quite a bit of time out in the hall and in the Relief Society room which had a little mirrored display case. 

We had originally planned to drive home through Moab and visit Arches National Park...but after checking the forecast we found out that snow was expected on Monday.  We ended up driving through Vegas.  I had never been that way before and loved seeing Lake Mead.  We also loved the chicken at Viva Chicken in St. George.  We made it home late Sunday night and it felt good to be back in our own beds.