5 1/2 Months Old

Silas is 5 1/2 months old now. And always a joy. He is growing so fast, he just started to wear some of his 6-9 month clothes now! It seems like it was just a couple days ago that he was born and now he is starting to look like a little boy and we are starting to see his personality coming out. He loves to talk to us and has a ton to say, we just wish we could understand everything he is telling us! He has another cold right now and is not too happy when we are wiping his nose 50 times a day, poor boy.

Also, Paul is just reminding me of his love for books. Today I was reading him a story and he was actually trying to turn the pages and feel all the sensory things on the pages. His favorite book is a sensory book about trucks (it is red, which explains why he likes it so much). I think I read it to him about 10 times tonight!

Another exciting thing, we can put Silas in his stroller sitting up now! That means we don't have to haul the carseat up and down from the third floor when we go on walks! We went on a really nice walk today. It was about 60+ degrees outside today. The sun was in Silas' eyes when we were walking so he grabbed the brim of his hat and pulled it over his eyes so he could take a nap, it was so cute (we didn't have our camera though).

And now for the pictures:

Silas loves to hold on to your shirt, lean back as far as he can and look around

He is very interested in everything we are doing now, especially eating and drinking. He kept grabbing for my cup so I let him try.

Then we let him try a sippy cup. He enjoyed chewing on it
Silas is really close to rolling over from his back to his tummy (his arm always get in the way!). One day he was looking at the camera so I started moving it around behind him and he kept following it. He was so close and can do it with just a little bit of help, pretty soon!

Silas loves to play with these rings, they are easy to hold and great to chew on. He was shaking them and throwing them around. He was so happy here, notice the triple chin!

And here is a video of him playing with the rings

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26.2 Miles of Pure Joy

For one reason or another, I have decided to run my very first marathon this June 16th in Duluth, MN. Among those reasons is that since Joel and Phil are both running, I couldn't be the only Bratsch brother to not have run a marathon. Another reason is that I am not too bright.

I'm excited about the marathon - I used to be a long distance runner in high school, but it's been a long, long time since I've run consistently. So I'll try to keep the one or two of you that might be interested up to date on my training which officially starts on February 12th.

If anyone would feel so inclined, I would love some comments or emails where you can yell at me like you are my old high school track coach. Comments like "Lift your knees!" or "Get the piano off your back!" would be appreciated. Be creative.

Also, Jess pointed out the other day that I will be high-altitude training for this marathon which may give me that edge that I need to beat at least Phil. Ha.

5 Months Old

Silas recently turned 5 months old! I can't believe how fast it is going. He is starting to look more like a little boy every day. He has started to communicate with us in a new way recently, screaming and shrieking. It is really cute but really really loud! We are having fun with it though. We have also discovered that he has learned his name. He looks whenever Paul says his name, he doesn't do it for me much yet.

Silas' 5 month stats:
25 1/2 inches
14 lbs 8 ounces

So he is starting to fill out.

Here are some pictures of the past week or so:

Here is a night when Silas was being especially sweet

Silas loves to go upside-down, apparently he takes after Paul in this area. He will even push himself backwards if he wants to do it, we are having a lot of fun with it.

He has started sucking his bottom lip again, we are trying to stop it, but it is pretty cute.

Here is Silas right after a bath, Paul gave him a mohawk, pretty cute (Paul says rad)!

He is starting to sit up better

And his new favorite toy... The Bongos! He is actually really good at it

And one last announcement: Paul is training to run a marathon in June... it will be the three Bratsch men, Joel, Paul, and Phil!

Jumpin' Jumpin'

Silas loves to jump! Here is some footage:

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He is always chewing on something

He has started blowing raspberries

Silas has started to be able to sit with some help from his Boppy

Isn't he cute!

Rice Cereal

Here are some cute pictures of one of Silas' first tastes of Rice Cereal:

We gave him his own spoon to hold on to:

Four Months!

Silas is already Four Months Old! He went in for his four month appointment yesterday. His doctor said he is doing really well and is even advanced in his physical development. His prediction is that Silas will be sitting up in less than a month and crawling by the time he is 6 months... we'll have to see if he is right.

The doctor gave us the okay to start rice cereal. Today was our first attempt. Silas wasn't the biggest fan, so we will keep on trying!

We couldn't believe how much Silas has grown since his last (2 month) appointment. He grew 4 inches in 2 months! His doctor was so amazed he wanted to double check the measurements! He has definantly caught up.

Here are his new stats:

Height: 25 1/2 inches (75%)
Weight: 13 lbs 9 oz (30%)
Head: 17 inches (77%)

So he is long and skinny with a big head!

And here are some cute pictures of the kiddo:

Silas' First Christmas

Here are some pictures from our family Christmas celebration. It was a lot of fun to have Silas there, although he won't remember this year.

Daddy and Silas

Silas helping Mommy read the story of Jesus' birth

Silas loves his new jumper from Grandma Sara

And he especially loves the piano and the lights on his LeapFrog table from Uncle John and Aunt Erica

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Vacation

Over Christmas and New Years we were able to come back to the Midwest to visit family and a few friends! We were back for 10 busy days filled with lots of travel and new faces for Silas. Silas did better than we had even expected! Here are some pictures:

Our first stop was at Grandma Sara's house in Minneapolis, where we saw Aunt Erica and Uncle John

Next we went to visit Grandpa and Grandma Bratsch. While we were their we saw Uncle Joel, Uncle Phil, Jenna, and Toby, the biggest dog ever, who liked to play with Silas' toys. While we were there we also went to meet Great Grandma Jenneke and lots of Great Uncles and Aunts and other relatives (we forgot our camera)

Our fourth stop was in Rubicon, WI where we visited Great-Great Grandma Budhan, Great Grandpa and Grandma Siegmann along with many Great Uncles and Aunts and lots of other relatives.

Here is a Five Generation Picture:
Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Siegmann with Silas
All the new Moms and Babies

(Ashley and Suzannah, Jessica and Emily , Me and Silas, and Kelly and Lily)

Our fifth stop was at Grandpa Dan's house, Silas loved all the red balls on the tree!

While we were there Great-Grandma Brady and lots of Great Uncles and Aunts and other relatives came to visit. Here is a four generation picture with Great-Grandma Brady!
Our last leg was in LaCrosse where we had a short visit with a couple friends. Here is a picture of Jed and Silas (they were talking to eachother and being so cute) just after I took this picture Silas started screaming, apparently Jed said something he didn't like.

And that wraps up our tour of the midwest. The visit was fun but it was also too short. Sorry if we missed anyone, we will try to get back sometime again soon. (Also, if you have any pictures from places where we forgot our camera, please e-mail them to us! Thanks!)