Silas: Big Man

Silas is officially (over) 1.5 years old! He has advanced so much since I last gave you an update that he sometimes seems like a completely different person, but still as sweet as ever.

GROWTH

Silas is weighing around 25.5-26 pounds according to the scale at the gym and is measuring ~ 31 inches on his giant growth chart ruler. We stopped nursing at 16 months because it just ran out :(, but Silas adjusted quickly. He continues to eat all kinds of food, but prefers more "adult" food (spinach artichoke dip) as opposed to childhood favorites (hot dogs...can't stand them, but licks ketchup and mustard from them). Rosie's, fruit, yogurt, green beans, and sandwiches are some of his favorites right now.

WORDS

Out of nowhere, Silas became an understandable chatterbox last month! He wakes up most mornings talking about "choo choo", "truck", "dow" (window), "dink" (drink). He also says "tar" (car), "yeah", "Mama", "Dada", "dog", "duck",  and so many others I can't think of right now. Silas is also getting some of his animal sounds down even if horse and elephant sound exactly alike :). He also understands more than he can say. He has gotten very good at correctly pointing out animals and a few colors when we are reading books.

PLAY

Wow, where do I even start? Silas is a ball of energy and needs a lot of stimulation! We bought a year membership to the children's museum here in town because it gives you admission to three different museums and that helps to keep all of us interested. EarlyWorks is a favorite of Silas'; he can play giant instruments, play with trains, go fishing, and pretend to explode stuff...a boy's dream!

 Explosions!

 Big ole instruments...

Practicing grocery store duties.

Karoake...

The Huntsville Depot is another favorite. The first day we went, the circus train came into town while we were there; I think Adam and I were perhaps more excited than Silas. We watch the trains from our house multiple times a day, but Silas loves watching them up close and personal.

No fear...

The train depot also has a car museum and Silas really loves sitting in all the cars and pretending to drive. It has also become a favorite way to play at home...

We probably "play" in the car 2-3 times a day. I just roll down the windows and sit beside the car in a chair and enjoy the sunshine or let him "drive" me somewhere. This boy loves all kinds of transportation vehicles!

We still love going to the park...

Pretending to be a fisherman like Grandpa...

And getting really good at T-ball. Seriously, this kid hits the ball very HARD...we may a have a baseball player in our future.

TEMPERAMENT

Silas is still super sweet, but oh boy, we have reached the tantrum age.

                                       

I keep saying this is where parenting gets hard because all of a sudden, it's no longer just about their physical survival, it's about their spiritual survival too. Discipline is a good thing, even though we hate it as kids, because it's an act of love....

                                                       

"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11-12 

There have been many days where I feel like all I do is get onto Silas and it's hard to watch your child struggle with sin, especially sins that are familiar to you. I see myself in Silas when he throws a tantrum. Thankfully, I see the Lord too. I see how much more patient He is with me than I am with Silas, how He understands when something isn't good for me and steers me in a different direction, and how sometimes when I'm running away from Him and straight into danger, He snatches me up and lovingly corrects me. We adore and delight in Silas...I think that is even an understatement, but because of how much we love him, we can't allow him to believe sin is okay.

Silas really responds well to discipline and it doesn't take much to get him back to his sweet, happy, loving temperament.

Our sweet baby is now a full on toddler boy! Time just needs to slow down for a bit....

I hope all that read this tiny, inconsistent, blog are well! Oh and wasn't Easter so good this year? I had looked forward to it since the holidays. Jesus is alive and He is so good!!

 

Love, The Elmores