Sweet Vacation

How long do you typically go away for a vacation? In our family, 4 or 5 days is about all we can swing (even our honeymoon was short), but this year we went on vacation for 9 days! It was so much fun, super relaxing, and just what we needed as a family.

*FYI: we took roughly 900 pictures during that time, so I'll do my best to only give the highlights.

We started out in Clarksville, TN to stay Friday night with Adam's brother, Reid, and his family before driving up to St. Louis, MO. Sadly, we didn't take any pictures, but we had fun meeting their chickens, ducks (that have since passed), and playing with all of Benjamin's matchbox cars.

The next day, we drove the rest of the way up to St. Louis and immediately hit their amazing zoo. Seriously, we went 3 separate times and still didn't get to see everything!

 Waving to the animals.

 We saw bears...

 ...rabbits...

 ...jellyfish...

 ...sweet, little meerkats...

...hippos (Silas was fascinated, but a little scared by their size)...

 ...and Silas even brushed a goat.

Silas made this monkey mad..haha!

We bought passes, for Adam and I, so we could do the "paid" things with Silas like the children's zoo where you could slide under the river otters, ride the carousel, and ride the train around the park.

 Oh no! A hippo ate Silas!

 We share a love of slides...

 ...and they share a love of climbing.

Riding the train! Don't let the face fool you!

 He was so excited!

We went downtown one morning to explore City Garden, peek in Busch Stadium, and of course visit the Arch.

 "You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose..."

 Sweet boy needed some snuggles/head butts.

Showing off his awesome dance moves!

So many things are free in St. Louis, including the science and history museums. There was a giant hamster wheel, robotic dinosaurs, and all kinds of blocks to build towers or arches.

 Future architect.

 Digging for bones!

 These dinosaurs were very realistic and Silas was a little scared.

Adam helped a group of people build this arch. It was pretty tricky!

 All wrapped up to get in the history museum.

 If we had lived back in the day.

 Silas loved the kid's area!

 How cool is this?!

 An artist drew, in chalk, the 50 most fascinating places in the 250 years of St. Louis being a city!

I think Silas' favorite thing of all might have been The Magic House. It was amazing! There were two separate wings with 3-4 floors in each wing. We were there for 4 hours and only experienced a few meltdowns from exhaustion.

 Construction site.

This would shoot pom poms across the room. 

 Future President of the United States in practice.

 Taking an important phone call in the Oval Office.

 I'm sure all Presidents get shocking news.

 Or maybe Silas will be a respectable judge...

...and not in the witness stand.

 Bubbles!

They had an area where you could print off birth certificates and go through all the processes of taking care of a newborn including bathing, swaddling, weighing, and feeding baby dolls. It was precious! Silas almost got into a fight with another child over one of the babies. I think he'll make a wonderful big brother :)

 Open up!

 More slides!

 Notice that Adam's hair didn't change much with the static electricity...haha!

After 5 nights in St. Louis, we headed to Murray, Kentucky to spend time with Grandpa George and Grandma Carol. I wonder if this was Silas favorite part because it was a little more relaxing and he was able to play with his sweet cousins, Romie and Knox.

"We're not doing anything."

Silas became really good at kicking and running at the same time watching future, soccer star, Romie.

Chillaxin'

Notice Silas' dance moves to "If you're happy and you know it.."

Lots of snuggle time for Grandma Carol!

Adam became addicted to golf after spending an afternoon playing with Grandpa George, and cousins Robbie and Cameron; he even made 2 birdies...crazy! The ladies, and Silas, went to a jewelry party instead.

Napping on Papaw.

This was such a wonderful trip spent with family and we all came back relaxed and ready to tackle life again. Hoping you and yours can have a similar experience this summer! :)

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

Motivation

It has been really quiet, here, on the blog. After the world's worst New Year, I haven't trusted myself to write or even look through pictures because the strangest things will just make me break down.

It is snowing pretty hard in Huntsville right now and that blanket of white on everything just reminds me of God's promises….though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow…and I think the same would go for creation and pain; He is making everything sad come untrue.

How can I dwell in sadness when I can see God's grace in…

 …tiny footprints in the snow…

 …a healthy…

 …happy…

 …rambunctious…

 …sweet, little, boy…

…who doesn't have time to have a posed picture taken.

 Or to see the many blessings in where He has placed me….

 …in my immediate family…

…and the hilarious bunch I gained through marriage…

 …in the blessing of being Adam's wife…

…and doing life by his side while chasing after Silas.

Nothing in this world can change my heartbreak over Baldy, but I know that the Lord is good..and He loves me…and He sees my pain…and He is in the process of making everything new again. That is where I am looking for my motivation to get back to doing the things I love, one of which is sharing our life on this blog, all the happy and all the sad, because one day I'll be able to share this with Silas and our other children and rejoice in all that the Lord has accomplished for us.

Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. 

Do you not see it? 

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19