Special Peeps

You remember our friends Lane and Emily? I've mentioned them a few times here, here, and here. Well, they just got married! I thought I would dedicate a post to them and share some pictures of the lovely festivities :).

At the end of June, a few of us from church threw Emily a very small shower where we spent time praying for her and Lane.

 Emily and Melissa.

The Cash ladies, Jessica and Karla.

The Thursday before the wedding, I gave Emily a lingerie/bachelorette party. We started with some fun shenanigans at her hotel before heading out on the town. It was so much fun...tons of very loud laughter :).

 Every bride-to-be needs a feather boa and sash.

 Jessica, Kayla, Ashley, and I.

 Emily's college roommates Katie, Rachel, and Emily.

 Corrie and Jessica.

We had a "Photo Booth" complete with fun props I picked up from the Dollar Tree and some mustache and lip props that the neighborhood girls helped me make. It was super easy to do; every party should have one!

Those glasses were fantastic!

Like all weddings, some kind of snafu has to happen. First, the zipper on Emily's suitcase broke, trapping some of her fun outfits with it inside, but thankfully we got it loose. Then, not one, but two different things had to be fixed on her dress, but she stayed calm and of course looked beautiful while doing so.

Corrie (wedding expert) and Mandi (sewing expert). I love Mandi's face in this picture :)

"Where's the bustle?!"

Emily and Lane's wedding day was super emotional for Adam and I. We were honored to stand right next to them as best man and matron of honor. It was so special to be able to serve them as they committed their marriage to the Lord. My favorite part was in the processional when we walked out of the sanctuary after Lane and Emily, Adam ran up to them and him and I started dancing around them while this beautiful, haunting rendition of "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" played....it was like a movie or like Chad said as he married them, "A dress rehearsal for the wedding to come."

We also had the privilege to eat with Lane and Emily privately at the reception (smartest idea EVER) and just talked and relaxed before the reception got into full swing.

Love Birds :)

There was a lot of funny talking going on....

He cracks me up!

I love this man!!

Lane and Emily, thank you SO much for letting us be such a big part of your lives! We cherish your friendship and can't wait to watch how the Lord will use your relationship to further His kingdom!

Hitting Double Digits

I feel a little sad about hitting the double digits in months; Silas will never be in the "single" months again. I'm so glad he's growing, but a Momma can get emotional about it, right?

Precious boy!

Silas has made leaps and bounds in development this past month, learning new skills and perfecting some old ones. Silas has gotten pretty good at feeding himself! I just put pieces of chicken, fruit, or vegetables on his tray and he goes to town! Needless to say, mealtimes have become longer and messier, but that's okay :). He also has two bottom teeth and one top tooth poking through!

First taste of Little Rosie's...yum!

Silas has also learned to clap by himself and wave hello and bye-bye...I die from the cuteness!

My family met us at a park in Scottsboro so the boys could go fishing on the boat and the ladies and Silas could relax in the shade.

Family portrait.

 Snuggles with Grandpa!

Doppelgangers

 Silas makes a lot of the same facial expressions as Daddy.

See?

We explored the Everybody Can Play Park one afternoon, hoping for some better fitting swings for Silas. This is the best they had:

Poor guy!

Clearly, he still has some growing to do, but they had lots of other fun activities for us to try.

 Silas practicing the monkey bars...

 Driving a car...

 Exploring a tunnel...

 Taking a short rest break on Daddy...

Swinging with Mommy.

Silas loves the grocery store! He likes to people watch and ride in the buggys like so:

Chillin'

His favorite :)

Silas also experienced his first, of what I fear will be many, ER visits the other day. Adam and I were working out at the Crossfit gym while Silas hung out in his stroller right in front of the big fan to keep cool. We were maybe 10 feet from him and I had given him a few toys to play with, one of which was a foam duck. Our workout lasted maybe 10 minutes and when I walked over to him, I noticed the duck had been maimed. I immediately freak out, just a tiny bit, and start searching the stroller, his mouth, and his diaper to see if I could find any pieces; there were none. So, I call poison control to see what I should do. By the time I had talked to the operator, I wasn't as worried because Silas was breathing fine, acting like his normal self, babbling, and trying to get to the floor to crawl around, but the operator told us we needed to go to the ER to get an X-ray since he ingested more than a nickel sized amount. 

Silas entertained every nurse and doctor there! Everyone kept cracking jokes about how hungry he must have been and that the duck was the real victim. He "paced" while we waited, crawling back and forth on the bed at least 50 times. Luckily, the doctor told us he appeared to be fine and didn't need an X-ray as long as he could nurse normally and it turns out the foam wouldn't show up on film anyway. I found all the pieces of duck the very next morning; I'm very thankful for his good digestive system. So, first ER visit done! Hope we don't have to do that again for a very long time!

"Ducktastrophe 2013"

I am so in love with our crazy, constantly moving, happy, sweet, loving, playful, roughhousing, little boy! Happy Double Digits Silas!

2/3 of One Year

When I last left you, Silas had begun to crawl. Within one week of learning to crawl, he started pulling up on anything and everything and cruising around the room! He is the most ACTIVE little boy I've ever seen :).

 Jamming is better while standing.

Attempting deadlifts.....

Most of this past month we've just played, crawled after, and cleaned the house over and over and over again! Some of our favorite activities have been:

The Playground

Building and Destroying Forts

Making Toys from Household Objects

Yes...we stuffed Silas into an oatmeal canister. He loved it!

Making New Friends

 Brandy and her little ones, Luke and Parker Grace came to see us!

 Despite that face, Silas loved their visit.

 Parallel Play :)

This is Skyla. We met her at the Greene Street Market and it was love at first sight for both of them.

Even though we've had a lot of fun this past month, I've been dealing with a lot of worry/guilt/feelings of inadequacy. Silas has always been little and I was very thankful for that during the birth process, but he's staying little. At his 6 month appointment, he was below the 5th percentile for weight (I think he weighed right around 13lbs). Our doctor said he was fine, but wanted him to move up the charts by his 9 month visit. So, I have continued nursing him (attempting to do it for at least one year) and have fed him lots of homemade baby food. At his 9 month checkup last week, he had moved up to the 5th-6th percentile, weighing in at 16lbs 13oz and measuring 27 1/2 inches long (25th percentile for height). Our doctor was pleased and said he thinks Silas is just going to be a short, skinny kid. 

I've worried myself sick about his stats, comparing him to other babies both the same age and younger, wondering if I'm doing something wrong. If he wakes up at night, I still nurse him back to sleep because I read that night feedings are some of the most nutrient dense feedings of the day. I've been trying to eat more and drink more hoping that will increase and fatten up my supply. What I haven't done is really take into account how incredibly active and strong Silas has become....and I haven't been trusting God to take care of our little boy. When we pray for him at night, my most consistent prayer is that God will make Silas healthy and strong and that he would be used mightily for His kingdom. I believe God is answering that prayer, just not in the way I envisioned. I never thought that Silas' first works in impacting the kingdom might be to humble and sanctify his parents. Just like marriage, parenthood adds a magnifier to that mirror where you can see your sin in ways you never would have imagined. I have seen my selfishness, tendency to worry, tendency to compare and covet, and my self reliance in more clarity since having Silas. The Lord uses Silas to point me back to the Cross daily.....sometimes hourly. I suppose I always envisioned having a big, chunky, baby that would take after his Dad in the looks and size department. Instead, I've been given a mirror in a tiny, bundle of energy....and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Mommy is so thankful for you, my sweet, tiny, boy!