silas has accomplished some major feats in the past 2-3 weeks:
crawling
sitting up
pulling himself up to his knees
his first tooth
waving
pointing
it all happened so fast!
where did all the time go? did we think that we'd stay young forever? (name that song)
and he did it all while fighting a nasty cold, which later turned into bronchiolitis. i'm so glad that's over!
i just booked a flight for our little family to san francisco in february. i'm pretty excited - andy and i have never in all the 8 or so years we've been friends/dating/married gone on a vacation-type trip. any suggestions for neat things to do in the san francisco area or within a few hours driving distance??
- Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf - Lombard Street - Big Basin Redwoods State Park - The Santa Cruz Boardwalk - Original Santa Cruz Skate Shop - Capitola - Half Moon Bay
i've always wanted to go to alcatraz- because im weird! that'll be a fun trip for yall. i havent been to SF since the time we flew in there to see holly!
We have been to SF, but don't remember much there, except the effeminate men who walk around holding hands with other effeminate men! Sorry. Know you will have fun, and glad little Silas is progressing as he should. Hope he gets over the nasty cold. Not a good thing. Love you, Grandma
Muir Woods is 20 min north of SF with beautiful huge redwoods. Frank and I have been there many times and could give you lots of suggestions. You don't have to travel hours away to find something to do.
Mendacino is one of my favorite places in California. the John Muir Redwood Forest is real nice too. We had fun with your parents today. We missed all the kids and grands except for my two sons.
Henry Cowell State Park, it's a redwood park, not much walking, Peets coffee, the Santa Cruz boardwalk, anywhere you might stop on highway 101. I have a gallery with pictures from our last California excursion.
With all those accomplishments, Silas will be walking before you know it! San Fransico sounds fun and will be a great first family trip. I've never been, though, so you'll have to share all the great things you did when you get back.
Muir woods is a must (7 mile hike to see Pacific ocean!?)! Yes to Half Moon Bay (horseback?) and then all the rest of those suggestions for sure! ;) Wish you could take me along as your personal babysitter so you and Andy could go do some things alone! ;) Berkley if there is time!! It's just a ways on the fast rail- very cool little town. I guess it depends on how many days you are staying. We will talk more! So many suggestions, never enough time! ;)
I think Half Moon Bay is about as far as you should drive south. Even though Santa Cruz, Carmel, etc are so neat. SF definitely has enough to last for days!
we had a nice thanksgiving in houston this year, even though it was hot and humid, of course. i must admit it was weird having thanksgiving away from my side of the family, but i really did enjoy spending time with andy's family; they're really sweet, and i love them too! it was definitely a lot quieter and more civilized than any of my family's get-togethers - that took some getting used to.
andy's dad gave silas an all-terrain radio flyer wagon; the kind with the wooden slats up the sides...it even has a little umbrella attached, and a texas license plate with his name on it -- it's so cute, and silas loves to ride in it.
andy's dad ALSO picked out an adorable thanksgiving day outfit for silas...which turned out to be a little girl's outfit...he denied it at first, but finally admitted it after silas had been wearing it awhile. it said "everyone is thankful for me!" with i's and exclamation marks dotted with hearts, and a little turkey with pink and red hearts on its feathers, and lace around the collar. it was pretty funny. i let silas wear it anyway, because i figured he was feeling pretty manly after riding in his radio-flyer wagon.
this week silas turned 7 months old, and he has already had a big week! he sat up from a lying down position by himself, he has taken a few crawl "steps," and he has a cold. :-( he's still his happy little self even though he's sick.
hope everyone else stays well during the cold/flu season!
Appreciate his immobility while you still can! Greyson cut my attack and maul time by several months! Will y'all be coming to Houston anytime this month? If so bring him by, I mean you and Andy are welcome too, so that we can see him in action!
maybe you thought i was joking, but i really did go to kentucky last weekend to see her, and to soak in some fall goodness. went to jackson's orchard, got some hot apple cider and a fried apple pie..mmm....went to several junk/thrift/antique stores and found some nice bargains, but had to settle for just a few items (a lampshade $4, two throw pillows $1-2 each, and an armchair $35), as we didn't have room in the car for everything i wanted. silas was such a good road trip companion, but i am thankful my parents came too!
this was also a good experiment to see if silas is allergic to cats, since we stayed with becca, who lives with four of them. i'm happy to say that silas does not appear to be allergic. i guess that means we can go get a few for our house, right?
just kidding - i really don't like cats. i'm more of a dog person, but i don't like dogs a whole lot either. i guess if i had to pick something, i'd say i was a fish person. they don't get all up in your business.
speaking of fish, do you know the song in our hymnals called "can you count the stars?" ?? can you keep a straight face during the lines, "can you count the birds that warble...." and "can you count the little fishes..."? 'cause...i can't.
in the past couple of months three sweet baby girls near and dear to my heart have entered the world -- haylee, zara (andy's cousin's baby), and sylvie (our friends' baby). needless to say, we'll be making several baby visits in the coming weeks!
silas will be 6 months old next week - i can hardly believe it! he's such a good baby; he's very laid back and smiles a lot. i love being with him every day and try to soak in every minute of it. i still think babies are God's greatest earthly blessing.
FOUR cats?? what would checkers 1-5 think of the betrayal of the dog world?? glad you had fun :) i always think of papa don when we sing the count the stars song....
Hi, Heather, Andy and little Silas. It was so neat to have you all here for the past two nights. Missed you last night. Thanks, Andy, for sharing them with me. Love you, and look forward to seeing everybody soon.
still no tooth, but he's still showing all the signs that he's about to get one. poor baby has been miserable long enough! but on a good note - he's five months old today!
i'm so glad it's fall, even though it hasn't exactly arrived in texas yet. i can see and feel traces of it occasionally, and that'll just have to suffice for now. every fall i get "homesick" for kentucky because it's actually a season there. :-) maybe i'll take a road trip soon...
the channel is recording another album, this time in our house, so it gives me a good excuse to get out of the house. i'm sure this album will blow your minds. (i really don't like that expression so of course i had to use it).
time for some oatmeal...mmmmmm!
andy's birthday is october 6 - leave him some birthday wishes!
aw how sweet! i hope he gets that tooth soon! that sounds painful!it still isnt showing that much of fall today. I think it was close to 90 degrees today! I wish it would be fall soon. i personally like that alot better then summer!
I wish fall was actually a real season here! hehe I bet it is beautiful in Kentucky, but the weather has been awesome here lately, so I can't complain!! Happy 5 months to Silas. Poor little baby. I hope those teeth pop out soon so he can stop being miserable. :)
I can't believe I finally got to see Silas and didn't even get to hold him because of my cold! It was a little cruel, but I guess better than nothing!!! Did you see the cute pictures I got of him at the party?
i'm about 99% sure silas is going to get his first tooth any day now. he's had a runny nose, more drool than usual, and bouts of fussiness for the past two days, in addition to his usual chomping on whatever he can get in his mouth. i can see the little crack in his gums where the tooth will emerge - i just hope it happens soon so he doesn't have to be miserable much longer!
in other news, we bought the office season four the day it came out and watched all episodes in one day. i will never do that again - i felt cross-eyed and weird all evening. we don't have tv, so we have to wait each year for the new season to come out on dvd, and i guess we just couldn't wait to see what happened (although thanks to brent for spoiling the last episode for me)! anyway, what a waste of time! i tried to make up for it by doing something active every day afterwards, but i still regret it!
speaking of the above...we rearranged our house quite a bit so that the tv is no longer the focal point. no tv in the living room - here, here!
Oh, teeth can be no fun with little ones! Hope you can get through that with as little pain and fussing as possible. Good thought about the tv. If everyone in our household would agree, I would be up for trying that out, but I live with a sports fanatic! ;)
ashen was just telling me a couple of days ago that he eats those sometimes for breakfast when he "makes his own" -- i wonder if he knows about the chocolate chip variety.
Yeah, that's what I have the pleasure of looking at everytime I open my refrigerator (they're to help train Michael's dog). You'd think it would keep me from eating and help me lose weight!
