Silas is Official!

On August 8th, we went to court and finalized Silas' adoption.  He's now official!

This past month

I have a ton of pictures from this past month, and they are pretty random.  So I thought I'd just post them all here and explain each one in the captions.  Warning...there are lots of pics, and they are mostly random, so hold on for the ride!

We picked out a yellow fleshed watermelon at the farmer's market.  It was yummy!

I got my new ring.  For those of you who don't know my ring allergy story, I hadn't been able to wear original wedding/engagement ring for several years.  I have a bad nickle allergy, and we had sent my white gold ring off to be rhodium coated, but they nickle coated it instead.  It made my finger blister.  So, I finally got a new one.  Thankfully the jewelry store let me trade my other one in towards the new one. I went in a completely different direction from my previous ring and got a solitaire.  Love it!

Joshua giving rides to his cousin Jeremiah.  All the boy cousins were riding around on each other.

I have been wanting to start a little side business on etsy for a while.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to sell though.  I think I found just the thing.  I was "hired" to make paper flowers for my sister in law's wedding.  I really enjoyed it, and they turned out well.  So I think I may go into business making paper flower wedding bouquets.  There is a demand for them.

At Curtis' sister's wedding.

Bella was so happy to "princess dance" with her daddy.

Silas got passed around.  He loved the attention from everyone!  He cried for a couple of days when we got home because he wasn't happy that I wasn't holding him non stop.

Another ride on a cousin.

Micah asked Meredith to dance.

Let me tell you, Bella was a dancing machine!!

More cousin love!

And even more cousin love!!

Liliana dancing with Curtis' uncle Robert.

Dancing

Remember, I promised a random post! :)  This is my squeaky clean shower door.  I followed a simple recipe for soap scum cleaner that I found on pinterest.  The door is so clean, and I didn't have to scrub at all!  Equal parts hot vinegar and blue original dawn dish soap.  Spray it on.  Leave it for a couple of hours or overnight, and wipe off.  Magic in a bottle.

Happy, smiley baby! (This was before his first tooth started coming through.)

The kids watching the giant hornet that landed on the window.  It was neat to watch it up close without getting hurt.

"Silas, can I read to you?"

Looks like Silas loves books!

The kids decorating pillow cases with fabric markers.  Abe drew everyone in his family, plus a sweet little girl from church. :)

Liliana didn't want me to take a picture of her work. :)

Bella drew Momma and Daddy holding hands on her pillowcase.

Josh's pillow case cracked me up and amazed me at the same time.  He drew Jesus on the cross with a person sticking a spear into his side.  He said it was to remind him that Jesus died for his sins every time he laid down.  I hope that will be a good reminder for him every time he's sitting on his bed when he's in trouble. :)

The first day of the new school year and new grades.  Liliana (4th grade), Micah (3rd), Malachi (2nd), Josh (1st), Bella (Kindergarten) and Abe (pre-K).

Liliana knitting her first lace shawl.

Bubble bath fun!  After they took their bath, I reached in to unplug the drain, and the water was so dirty that I couldn't even see my hand in the bottom of the tub.  Ewwww....

This is the Star Trek TNG tea towel I cross stitched for a wedding present.  Curtis' family is obsessed with appreciates Star Trek, and my appreciation for the show has grown as well.  There.  I said it.  I like Star Trek. I may have to make a few more of these. 

Silas at 7 Months

I think Silas is actually closer to 8 months than to 7 months, but I never got a chance to post anything on July 14th, when he turned 7 months.

A sticky mess!

So, here are some pictures from this past month!  If I can get the video of Silas "talking" to work, then I will put it on here later.

He wasn't too sure what to make of that hat!

First, I have to share my excitement that we are in the final stages of making his adoption final.  I think we will be going to court in the next week or so to finalize it and make him legally a Corcoran.  Yay!!!

This month, Silas has started eating more solids.  He loves all kinds of foods!  I am so happy that he is not a picky eater! He does better eating thick and chunky food because of his swallowing issues.  But he is eating about two packages of baby food in a sitting now, which means I need to start making baby food for him!

He stands up very well on his skinny little legs.

He continues to grow and develop.  He's getting better at sitting--still not an independent sitter, though.  He's getting really good at pushing up on his arms and kicking his legs.  He just needs to pick his belly up off the floor and then he'll be good to go for crawling.  He has gotten very mobile.  He just gets where he wants to go by rolling.  He can roll all the way across the living room.  Everything.must.go.in.his.mouth!  And just today, he started "talking."   I have been working with him a lot to get him to say consonant sounds, and he finally started today.  And now he's doing it non stop.  I'm just glad he's saying "mama." :)

Admiring himself in the mirror at the pediatrician's office.

I took Silas to the eye doctor today to make sure that he doesn't have any congenital eye issues that are so common with Down syndrome.  He is far sighted, like I thought, but not enough to warrant trying to get a baby to wear glasses.  And praise the Lord, no other eye issues! The doctor says he gets an A+ on his eye exam.  I am so happy.  That little guy has had to fight so many battles in his life.  It's nice that his eyes are working well.  Although, given all the ophthalmologists in the family, it would certainly be easier than dealing with his heart and respiratory issues. :)

What?!

Many times, Silas will hold his own bottle.

Solid foods have been giving him some tummy troubles.  What a sad face!

A common comment we get from therapists and doctors is that it is great for Silas' development that he has so many brothers and sisters to stimulate him.  This next set of pictures shows that he gets plenty--if not too much--stimulation from his siblings! :)

At the pediatrician

This is the smiley face that greets me every morning when I go to his room.

This is the face I just sit and stare at sometimes after he has gone to bed.  Such a peaceful face.