Hello everyone, we are back!

It has been way to long. I feel a bit rusty doing this blog stuff. We left MN last Thursday, and I am excited to get back to my blog and catching up reading the blogs that I follow. Minnesota was a social whirlwind of family, friends, and lots of events. I was actually somewhat anxious about blogging because I have so much to write about, so I am just going to start with what ever pops into my head. Sylas has grown so much in many ways since June:

• He is nearly 4 months old!



• He is smiling, occasionally laughs, and is incredibly social.



• In order to be social all of the time, he insists on being held or played with.



• He loves to nurse A LOT, I imagine that he wants to blurt out "hungry, hungry!" which is Sophie's favorite saying.



• He rolls over once in awhile, usually unexpectedly.



• Makes cooing noises. Early one morning, Brett and I both woke up to what sounded like a concise and clear "No!" coming from his crib. I was not sure if I was hearing correctly, and then he said it again!



• His hair, not as spiky as it used to be, is now falling over to the side.

Soon after arriving in Minnesota, Sylas had a bout with pneumonia. He was sick for three weeks, but he recovered with the strength that he has shown from day one.

We decided to bring Sylas and Sophie together to the clinic for their immunizations (2mth and kindergarten). Two kiddos crying, in pain....no fun. Sam "the experienced older brother" was also present, and he offered his wisdom on the situation. Honestly, I think the nurse should have offered us, the parents, a prize from the bucket too.

Sylas was baptized in the lake at the cabin July 18th. It was a chilly day, but all was well when we gathered around the campfire near the lake's edge. Our wonderful pastor created a special ceremony just for Sylas, as this was the first lake baptism she had ever done. No worries, he was not dunked, just a bit of water scooped up onto his head. I will say more later when I post pictures of that memorable day.

Sylas did fantastic on both long plane rides. He slept most of the time during the first flight, however, on the return trip, he was Mr. Social and was ready to chat with whoever was available. As we were boarding the plane, Brett took the older kids to their seats, while I held Sylas and multi-tasked collapsing the stroller. As I struggled, a sweet flight attendant came to my rescue and asked if he could hold Sylas. It took about five minutes to get that !?## (oops, I mean darn) stroller collapsed. After I composed myself, I held out my arms for Sylas and the flight attendant humorously denied me. He finally gave Sylas back after he realized that closing the airplane door while holding an infant would be just as challenging as collapsing a stroller. After Sylas and I were settled, another flight attendant came over and asked to hold Sylas. She then took him to the galley where he made friends with the rest of the attendants. Needless to say, he enjoyed the flight.

Thank you all for reading my blog, you inspire and encourage me.