"Don't worry, Mom, I'll just help myself to breakfast."

Silas learns stuff

Silas was in a chatty mood the other day so I recorded him demonstrating some of the things he's learned this year:

Christmas

This is how Titus felt about Christmas:

"Huh?"

And this is how Silas felt about Christmas:

"You mean I get to eat this entire tube of M&M's? Yea!!!!"

We started off with Christmas Eve at my parents' house. They refurbished a rocking horse that was originally handmade by Bumpa (Matt's grandpa), and Silas gets a real kick out of sitting on it:

On Christmas morning Silas got to open his present from us, and he was ecstatic to come face to face with Bob the Tomato:


Bob now does everything with him. Silas gives him rides in Titus' baby swing, takes him to bed, brings him on the rocking horse, feeds him Cheerios -- they even watch Bob on TV together!



He also opened his present from Great- Grandma & Grandpa Rausch. He now knows letters A through I, along with M and O.


Here's Silas with his new silverware from Gramaidi (Matt's grandma):


On Christmas afternoon we had both sets of grandparents over. Silas was pretty amazed that there were TWO grandmas in the same place! And I don't think Titus ever touched the floor.


The day after Christmas we celebrated with the Jones family (see train video below) and came home with a giant basket of toys, books, CDs, and clothes from grandparents and aunts and uncles. I think Titus' shirt says it all:

"Who needs Santa, I've got grandparents!"
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Choo Choo!

Here's a video of Silas watching the train at Christmas:

Titus: 3 months

Weight: 15 lb
Length: 26 in
Accomplishments: Smiling, giggling, pooping, and sleeping 9.5 hours straight last night!

Here he is modeling an outfit from Great- Grandma & Grandpa Jones:

SNOW!

We had a rare opportunity this weekend to see snow in the Willamette Valley, so I bundled Silas up and took him out to build a snowman. He just stood there the whole time (he was not used to the boots) but he was very interested. Now he will point outside and say, "snow!"

December 11th

2004:

2005:



2006:



2007:

2008:

December so far...

Wow, I haven't had much time to blog lately. Although, I can't take all the blame, since I haven't been the photographer lately. I need to pester my sister-in-law for pictures of the boys from Thanksgiving and my dad for pictures from our trip to Ohio last weekend. However, here's what I do have:

Decorating the tree:



Angel display:



Titus, 2.5 months:



Working on catching up to big brother:

Titus wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving

Date@Home

We got the chance to enjoy an evening without the kids (thank you Dave and Kaye!) and rather than go out to eat I decided to indulge myself in some quality time with my kitchen and prepare a little Italian feast. It was so much fun I had to document it!



Appetizer: Tomato-Basil Bruchetta



Main Course: Bleu Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breast, Bow-Tie Pasta with Garlic and Clarified Butter Wine Sauce, and Sauteed Veggies with Shallots (the beautiful multi-colored pasta was a gift from my friend Rebekah from her trip to Italy - I've been saving it for a special occasion!).



Dessert: Tiramisu (I actually picked this up at Safeway rather than make an entire dessert just for two people, but I had fun plating it anyway)


I think we're on to something here... this entire meal cost about $6 per person and it was scrumptious. So I'm starting a new trend - date@home!
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Fall Fun

Today was a beautiful fall day so I decided to wear the kids out with a walk around the neighborhood. I was successful, since they are both now sleeping! Silas carried his ball the whole way, only stopping to say "woo woo" when we passed a dog or to point out the airplanes:



In the evenings Matt likes to wear them out by playing tackle:



I always thought it was crazy that some kids had to have the crusts taken off before they would eat sandwiches, and I had planned to never let Silas learn that. Unfortunately, some things don't have to be taught... apparently little boys are born with the instinct to rip the crusts off as they eat:

Two Months

At his two month checkup, Titus was 13 lbs, 14 oz and 24 inches long--about the size of an average four month old.



And here's our best attempt at getting everyone smiling at the same time:

7 Things

I was tagged a while back and instructed to come up with seven interesting things about myself. I haven't had much quiet time so I'm just now getting around to it. Of course, now that I sit down to think, I'm not sure I can come up with that many interesting things. Well, here goes. You can be the judge of whether this is interesting or I just need to get out more.


1. I like to bring home extra mild sauce packets from Taco Bell when I go there so I can use them when I make tacos at home.

2. When I was in junior high, after lamenting the lack of chivalrous gentleman in the world, I declared that I would grow up and have four perfect little boys. I have since amended that to two. And removed the word perfect.

3. I alphabetize everything from my DVDs to my spice rack to my friend list on myspace. There's no such thing as a junk drawer in my house; everything has a place. Now you know where Silas gets his OCD tendencies from.

4. Our family budget spreadsheet for 2009 is 85 rows long and 39 columns wide. It automatically calculates taxes, figures our net worth in any given month, and anticipates just about everything except the possibility of winning the lottery. Hmmm... maybe I should go buy a lotto ticket just to mess Matt up. *cue evil laugh*

5. My favorite part of the entire nine months of pregnancy is actually the labor and delivery. Not just because it's finally over and I get to hold my baby, but it is a great sense of accomplishment to work that hard and get some amazing results.

6. Back in January, before we even knew I was pregnant, Matt and I decided to memorize the book of Titus this year.

7. If I could, I would eat pasta for dinner every day of the week.
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It's about time!

I think I should reward myself with some chocolate because for the first time in two weeks both boys have been asleep for 1.5 hours straight! The most I've had so far this month is like 20 minutes which barely gives me time to eat or get a shower. So what am I doing with my new-found free time? Blogging, of course! Unfortunately, we've been pretty boring lately and I don't have much to blog about. But here's some pictures of Titus' newest accomplishment - smiling!



Soon I'll try to post some video of Silas... he knows four colors, five letters, and about a dozen animal sounds. It's so cute watching him learn new things!
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Like father, like son...

Favorite Activities, Continued

I forgot to mention a few of Silas' other favorite activities:

Vacuuming (When I ask, "Silas, do you want to vacuum?" he squeals and runs for the hall closet.)

Reading (He's constantly asking for "more book.")

Hanging out with Bob the Tomato (I know, I shouldn't let him stand that close to the TV. He gets really excited and runs up to it when the show starts, yelling "Bob! Bob!" Then I usually sit him on the couch for the rest of it.)

Pumpkin Patch

We took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and headed out to the pumpkin patch. Silas enjoyed the mountain of pumpkins on display right next to the parking lot...it was a lot easier than traversing through the field to find one.



I think I'll take this one...



Or maybe this one...Ah ha! Just my size!



Titus was about as thrilled about the pumpkin hat as Silas was last year...but I can't help it - it's too cute!



I think this is the first family picture I've had taken since the hospital - do you think it's even possible to get everyone to smile at the same time?

Favorite Activities

Silas has some new favorite activities. He is becoming quite the gymnast. This morning I went to get him from his crib, but instead found him waiting for me right behind the door. He apparently figured out a way to climb (or fall) out of his crib. Guess it's time for the big boy bed! He also has discovered that he can go to one end of the futon in my office, crawl along the wall behind it and come out the other side. The first time he did it he proceeded to repeat the process at least a dozen times!



Titus' favorite activity is still sleeping, for the most part. Except in the middle of the night, after he eats (usually around 4am). Then, he only wants to go back to sleep if he is laying next to me in bed, on his tummy.

Getting Big...

I thought I would showcase a little of my dad's photography from the day they spent with Silas right before Titus was born: