the little man turns one

As I go back over some recent happenings, there's going to be lots of girl pictures coming your way, so I'm dedicating this day to Silas.

Silas - that little boy that had me all terrified about how to change a diaper. [Truthfully, I do still dread diaper changes, but not because of *all the stuff*...just because the little man tries to escape so much!]

Silas - that little boy that had me oohing and aahing at the cuteness of boy clothes. I love me some alligators and dump trucks. Remember my strong love for those alligators 12 months ago?

Silas, the boy with three sisters who will spoil him rotten for the rest of his life. It will be interesting to see how this guy turns out. This year has truly flown by, but now it's hard to imagine what our family would be like without our little guy.

Here's his room - thanks to the cute little Team Safari decals I bought in America, there's a fun touch of boyness. And yes, the pack-and-play is still going strong after being the primary bed for six years of little ones!

Silas loves taking baths, especially after new bath toys arrived in the mail from my parents!
His hair is soooo curly!
The dryer is also a major point of interest. I try to keep it closed, but if I accidentally leave it open, chances are he's got his body halfway in and is manually rotatating the thing! [I took this picture out on my patio, so the reflection in the window is the apartment complex across the street from us.]
His favorite word right now is "no". He hears it a lot at our house - even though we try not to say it, there's usually someone who's being corrected for something. We're reeeeally trying to get him to say "yes". Or "mama". Or "bath". Or pretty much anything except "dada" and "no."
He still clings to me loves it when I hold him.
I took him to this play area with his sisters a few weeks ago, and he actually looked like a little kid - not a baby.

Silas has had some new friends move into town recently. In this picture, they're obviously getting down to business! He likes having them around, but he's not so sure about other little people messing with his stuff. I was surprised to see him react this way since there's not really much in the way of personal property at our house anyway.

Speaking of getting down to business, Silas is a super picky eater. If it's bread, he's all in. If it's yogurt or some other fruit sauce thing, he'll go for it. Broccoli, carrots, pumpkin - sure, he'll humor you. Anything else and you're out of luck. Forget trying to feed him People Food. He's determined to hold his title of Family's Pickiest Eater.

Another interesting Silas tidbit - he still has no teeth. Not a single one, and just over 13 months old. Interesting...

About a month ago, our little Silas turned one. It so happened that we were leaving for Hong Kong the next day and I was ill prepared to throw him a birthday celebration of any sort, so we postponed the festivities until we returned. Two weeks later, I tried my best to overcome all my princessified, girly experience and make a birthday memory that a teenage boy wouldn't blush at.

Actually, I thought of the easiest possible cake I could make and still convince his sisters it was a legit party. I made a chocolate cake and stuck a dump truck on top of it. Crushed Rice Krispies up to make it look like a gravel road. Wrote his name and called it a cake.

I think his sisters were more excited than he was for the party.

Maybe they were just excited to have an excuse to eat cake? (I know I was!) Him being new at the birthday thing and all, they decided to help him blow out his candles. He didn't seem to mind:

But maybe he thought all the noise was a bit much?
Aaaah, but cutting the cake proved him to be a mini-eggroll. The boy loved his chocolate cake! [Yesssss!]



We love this little guy.

He toddles and shrieks and babbles and adds to the decibel level of the house.

He's sometimes grabby and often clingy.

But he smiles and laughs and will let almost anyone hold him. He loves it when Emma and Samantha whisk him away to their room to entertain him.

He gives face-plant kisses and still rests his head on my shoulder before bed.

He gulps down milk like it's an ice-cold coke on a bad day.

He waves to strangers and gives high-fives.

He's the best. We love you, Silas. Happy Birthday!