Silas' First Bath

Last night we gave Silas his first bath! We weren't exactly sure how Silas would react, but he actually loved it. He didn't cry, whimper, or even make an unpleasant face. It was a very enjoyable experience.

DIY Stamps

Bottle caps + foam stickers = DIY stamps!!! Ever since I saw this idea, I knew we had to start saving all of our bottle caps to make our own stamps. This weekend we gave it a try.

I found some ocean themed foam stickers in my stash of crafty things and some ink pads.

Seth chose which stickers he wanted to turn into stamps.

After our stamps were made, we got to stamping!

DIY stamps are super frugal fun!

Silas' Newborn Photos

We take photos all the time. So it's no surprise that we have taken a lot of photos of Silas. Even though I still have a few more photoshoot ideas floating around in my head, I thought I would go ahead and post a few of my favorites so far.

In these first two photos, our friend Stacy made the adorable hat and booties. Our friend Jackie made the blanket hanging as the backdrop.

Silas is lying on the robot blanket I made for him in this photo.

These two could possibly be my favorite, because Silas just looks so adorable in that mini radio flyer wagon.

You've already seen our fun with balloons.

I snapped this one (also on the blanket made by Jackie) this evening since Silas was awake and we were enjoying some time outside .

We can't wait to try taking more!

Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups

We have been so blessed to have so many people bringing meals over for the last three weeks. Because I haven't had to worry about dinner each day, I have had some time to have some fun in the kitchen. I recently saw in the September issue of Martha Stewart magazine how to make your own fruit roll-ups and although it sounded a bit time consuming, it looked super easy. Yesterday I decided I would try making some.

You need 4 cups of berries.

I used strawberries and a few raspberries that I found in the refrigerator.
You also need 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp. of lemon juice.

Puree all the ingredients and then simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes.

Then spread the mixture onto a Silpat and bake at 170 degrees for almost 3 hours.

Let the roll-ups cool for 10 minutes and
then cut into pieces and either enjoy or store them at room temperature
in a storage container for up to a month .

My fruit roll-ups ended up being a little tougher than I would have liked so if I try it again, I won't dehydrate them as long in the oven. Overall they tasted good, Seth approved, and I felt good about being able to offer a healthier, homemade snack.

Our Family Tree

A few months ago, I saw an embroidered family tree project. I knew after some of my failed attempts to try embroidery that I was not going to be able to make an embroidered family tree for us. But then I noticed there were also screen printed versions that could be custom made by a seller on Etsy. I fell in love with them instantly. I knew it would be a nice addition to our home once Silas made his arrival. After months of thinking about it and anticipating it, I placed my order, and a couple days ago our own custom family tree arrived in the mail. It's a simple twist on the traditional family tree. It has been placed on the wall in our living room and we couldn't be more pleased. We just think it's perfect!

Balloons!!!

Bryan and I have been having lots of fun taking some newborn photos of Silas. There are a few more photos I would like to capture before sharing all of them, but today we had some fun with balloons and I just had to share some of the cuteness.

(Thanks, Leslie for the inspiration!!!)

Big Brother

Before Silas was born, I was a little concerned about how Seth would adjust to being a big brother. I also feared that he was going to somehow miss out on lots of summer fun since I was going to be out of commission for a little while. Well, he is adjusting just fine to being a big brother and he is having the time of his life right now. Since we have had nonstop help from the moment we arrived at the hospital, Seth has been able to do all sorts of fun stuff and he has without any hesitation included Silas in all that he has been doing.

Seth loves to read books right now and reads them all day long.
He even wanted to show Silas his new book as soon as he arrived home from the hospital.

We introduced Seth to "real" playdough and he loves it.

(Previously we have only had edible playdough.)

Seth is always wanting to give Silas kisses and he is always checking to make sure he is alright.

We have enjoyed lots of popsicles, playing outside, and time at the park.

We have had fun making Jello (and eating it, too).

And we have even enjoyed a splash or two.

Handprint and Footprint Art

Do you remember my ambitious plans for these blank canvases? Well, a few days after we arrived home from the hospital we broke out the paint to get a handprint and footprint of Silas.

The footprint was pretty easy. We painted his foot and pressed it up to the canvas.

Managing to get a hand print was a little more difficult, but eventually we got something that resembled a hand.

Although it does remind us of a lot like Wilson the volleyball from the movie Cast Away, we think it just adds some character to our homemade art...

and we have a sweet reminder of how small our baby boy was when he was just a few days old.

Becoming a Family of Four

Today we were supposed to be having a baby. Instead we have been adjusting to life as a family of four. Silas decided he would make his debut into the world five days ago. Last Wednesday, August 3rd, was not the typical day. Bryan had been very sick the night before with a stomach virus so he was home for (I think) his 3rd sick day in six years. Seth and I attended a meeting on WKU's campus during the morning and by the time the meeting was over and we had made it back to the car, I was not feeling well. Thinking I too had caught the stomach virus, I immediately went home to lie down. I was having pain, but it didn't feel like contractions so I wasn't too concerned about being in labor. By 3 p.m. I called the doctor's office to get their opinion about how I was feeling. They wanted me to go to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. Bryan had barely made it out of bed all day, but that got him up and going even though he still felt awful. We frantically made calls to try to locate someone to watch Seth and then right as we were about to head out the door, my water broke. Right there in the dining room! I remember thinking last time how weird having my water broken was and again I was just thankful I wasn't out in public. We hit it into high gear then. We made it to the hospital and as Bryan handed Seth off to our friends Casey and Jo, I headed up to Labor and Delivery. Within a few minutes I was being prepped for surgery and we were about to have a baby. They wheeled me off to the operating room and thankfully let Bryan come since he was wearing a mask and all the protective gear. At 5:35 p.m we heard our baby boy let out his first cry.
Weighing in at a whopping 7.0 lbs and measuring 20.25 inches long, he was beautiful. I could immediately see resemblances to Seth, but Silas actually has a bit of hair and it is darker and he has way darker eyes (almost too dark to tell if they are actually blue or brown).
We were discharged just 48 hours later and have been relaxing here at home for the last few days. We have had help from Nana and Pop since we have been home and we will continue to have help for another entire week before we have to "fend for ourselves" with two kids. So far though, we have all been adjusting pretty well. Life is going to be interesting for a while I am sure, but I think we're going to have a blast being a family of four.