We had a fabulous long Easter weekend. The first 2 days we spent working in the yard. First we had to rake up all the moss that we had removed with a big maching wednesday afternoon….it took FOREVER even with our small lawn and my excellent raking experience. Also we have a little reconstructing and a getting ready for mulch project going on, so it was great to get some things done while Silas was napping.
Otherwise we just had a lot of family time. On Saturday we went down to Esbjerg to visit Inger and Ulla, Peter, Lukas and Nikolaj were there too! We just hung out, ate delicious food, played games and went to a beautiful Easter service. It was really relaxing and great to have some quailty time together. Easter really is a fantastic holiday and this year we were again reminded of the hope and peace that comes from knowing Jesus rose from the dead for us on Easter morning!!
Silas got his first haircut this past weekend. Personally I thought that the curls in the back of his head and around his ears were super cute, however, I do have to admit he was starting to look like an adorable little girl. So I got out my shearers and began cutting my baby's baby hair off :( Yeah I know I don't have to make it a big deal, but it was for me, another way my baby is not such a baby anymore.
I thought it would be a good idea to do it while he was eating his snack so that there would be something to distract him....WRONG...the idea turned bad right away as Silas began eating his own hair which continued to fall into his plate of kiwi. Oops...hadn't thought of that! But I did manage to finish and I was so suprised how different he looked afterwards, older somehow. Well you can judge for yourself.
So much has happened this past month. Silas is on the move. He went from being too lazy to roll over at the beginning of the month, to getting up on his knees, pulling himself forward with his elbows, crawling on all fours, pulling himself up on objects, sitting up from a laying position and just the other day he walked across the room with his walker. It seemed like everyday he learned something new and it has been so exciting! In general Silas seems happier then ever, even though we didn't think that was possible! His crawling has gotten extremely fast and he cruises from one room to the other checking out everything he wants when he wants. Silas also eats most of his meals on his own with his hands and is talking as much as ever. He is such a joy to us and we thank our Lord everyday for the miracle he gave us in Silas.
As for the outline of Silas' day, the only big change is that many days he only takes one nap in the afternoon for about 2 hours. He had been having a harder time falling asleep for his morning and late afternoon naps so we've cut them out many days, and he has been just fine laughing and smiling as always. He is getting to be such a big boy!
Traits at 10 months:
1) Crawl on all fours, cruising around the house!
2) Pull himself up to a standing position using everything from tables, boxes and walls.
3) Walk on his own using his activity walker
4) Tease Mom and Dad by hiding his face and then laughing or reaching out to touch our faces and then laughing. (I think maybe he is trying to tickle us)
5) Have laughing attacks. Usually at the dinner table when we are finished eating. Søren makes the simplest sounds or movements and he will laugh hysterically.
6) Have a favorite book. Since he stopped nursing before bedtime we have begun to read him a book before laying him down. We let him choose a book from his shelf and he picks the same book every night. It is a book with a flap that opens and then there is something you can touch inside. We can tell he recognizes the pages because there is a page with a squeaker inside and he immediately hits that page as soon as we turn to it!
7) Recognize Mommy and Daddy. When we pick him up at daycare he squeals in delight the moment he sees us. It makes our hearts melt!
8) Loves to climb on both Mommy and Daddy. He jumps up onto our stomachs and tries to climb over us, stand up on us and to lift up our shirts to find our belly buttons or belts.
9) Has 6 teeth...three on top, three on the bottom.
10) Started eating the same things that we eat for dinner. Pasta, chicken, rice, veggies, etc.
11)Weighs 10,2 kg and is 75 cm tall.
My own piano bench
I love standing up!
Silas laughing after dinner (9½ months)
Silas walking with his walker for the VERY FIRST time.
Finally I can write this post! 2 weeks ago we went to Ulla and Peter's house to celebrate Peter's birthday. We were as usual greeted by Lukas and Nikolaj and went inside to get settled in. As we went around saying hi I noticed that Søren was giving his sister Ulla a little longer and bigger hug than normal. I didn't really think much of it, but then Søren told me to look at Nikolaj's t-shirt. When I did I burst out in tears..it said "Jeg skal være storebror" (I am going to be a big brother). I was just so filled with happiness I was just standing there balling and hugging Ulla myself. We are so happy for them and will look forward to getting another niece or nephew in September!
Silas enjoying sitting the otherway in his new car seat on the way to the birthday party
Happy to be with Farmor and family
Farfar with all his grandchildren
The rest of the day was just amazing on top of such good news. We had some delicious food and good time with family.
So yes, I had to wait to write this post until Ulla and Peter made the announcement official, but now they have been to the first ultrasound and everything looked perfect so now I can blab about it!!! :-)
Otherwise we are settling back into work after our vacation. We started with a big week last week. We had information night for the new students, found out who our new principal couple is, and Søren had to work all weekend. Silas and I went down to school on Saturday and had so much fun we stayed the whole day. The students were so sweet with Silas. Then on Sunday Silas and I went to Silkeborg to visit some Watermarkers. It was great to see them again and speak English all day. There are now 4 kids in the bunch so we had a lot of fun enjoying the beautiful weather outside and playing at the playground.
Silas has taken huge strides these past three days. On Tuesday while getting Silas weighed by the nurse at our house, Silas rolled over and took his first up on his knees crawling “steps.” Both Søren and I were there and we just looked at each other, while the nurse said “Oh, I see Silas can crawl now.” We just smiled and exclaimed that apparently he could!
Then yesterday he pulled himself from laying down up to a standing position. He had some balance issues at first, but before we knew it he was rocking on one knee and one leg and finally up on both legs leaning against the foot rest. Again both of us were there to see it and had another special moment just looking at each other like proud parents before giving Silas a huge smile and compliment!
Since the firsts he is getting faster and faster, crawling quite quickly from one end of the room to the other and trying to climb up on everything. Out little boy is getting so big! :-)
Family Madsen had a mini vacation in Søndervig these past 3 days. Søren’s Dad and Hanne have an apartment on the west coast in Søndervig that we were able to use for a few days, while our students are skiing in Norway and therefore we have the week off!
Our days were filled with lots of relaxing, walks, playing at the water park and just hanging out at “home” as a family. The weather wasn’t so nice but we made a trip down to the ocean and Silas loved the waves. We also had a nice dinner out and bowled later in the evening.
We had such a lovely time just having so much quality time together and we got to experience Silas crawling and pulling himself up to a standing position for the first time!
We did this 300 piece puzzle in 1 hour and 12 minutes
