MY BROWN EYED BOY

Silas! Where do I start? First of all, I've been wanting to sit down and write about this little boy for longer than I care to admit. So- finally- here goes.

Silas turned two in June, and- how do I put this lightly?- he's a bit of an intrigue. A mix of extremes. Sometimes he is the sweetest, most endearing cuddle bug who wants nothing more than to curl up on our laps and stay there for as long as we'll let him. Other times he's known by a variety of behavior-inspired nicknames including Despot, Megalomaniac, and Silor, hahaha.

Here's a list of some of his most notable traits to date;

SWEET  Oh my goodness. When Silas wants to be sweet, he is the sweetest. He's grown up a little since Finn was born and isn't quite as cuddly as he used to be, but he has the most endearing little puppy-dog face and the softest brown eyes and there are moments when I could just eat him up!

CAUTIOUS  He takes his time when it comes to doing new things. He made sure he was good and ready before he started rolling over and crawling and walking. I always expected him to take cues from his big brother and want to get moving as soon as physically possible, but nope! Just the opposite. And that's not all he took his time warming up to, swimming pools and elevators gave him much reason for concern until just recently when Finn was born and he sort of graduated to the big-boy club with Daddy and Asher.

OBSERVANT  He knows how to do things like find his coat and shoes and sit down to get them all on {and has for a long time} without asking him to. If I start talking about going outside or doing some other task that requires getting ready, he knows exactly what needs to be done! And he loves looking at books and pointing out lots of little detailed things and hearing what they're called. He most definitely wants to keep up with Asher, so he pretty much watches him like a hawk as well.

CRAZY  He doesn't always know what he wants, or how he wants what he wants to be handed to him, or whether being given what he asks for is reason for celebration or exasperated screaming. Meal times with him is like having a front seat row at the theater of the absurd. But he's learning how to talk a little better these days so things are getting better.

TEMPERAMENTAL  Silas does a lot of things that leave me scratching my head. Like calling for me to come get him out of his crib when he wakes up and then refusing to let me pick him up when I get into his room. His whole face lights up when he realizes he's about to get a cheese-stick, but if I don't pull the wrapper down to a specific spot {or if I try to take it off completely} his little world comes crashing down.

QUIRKY  He loves all kinds of little, unexpected things, like wearing hats! He's constantly finding winter hats, toy hats, etc, and putting them on. It's the cutest. He also likes to pinch skin or anything malleable for some unknown reason. He never used a pacifier, but as long as he can pinch something when he starts to get sleepy, he's pretty relaxed. Other times, he gets these little bursts of energy and has to reach out and squeeze something {usually one of us} as hard as he can with both hands, hahaha. Oh Silas.

By the way, his beloved high-tops have just about seen their last days. They've had a good run, though!

Photos taken July 4th, 2015.