2018 In Review!

I've been failing at blogging.

I told myself that I'd at least get Silas's monthly photos up with a little blurb about how he's doing and growing.

Yeah, the last one I did was 8 months. So it goes.

So here we are on New Years Eve.

We stayed home, because #parentlife.

Silas is in bed, and we are watching football.

I figured now was as good of a time as any to do 2018 in review!

January:
January involved me being VERY pregnant, and many trips to Labor and Delivery to stop Silas from appearing too early. This resulted in the nurses knowing my name and info the second I walked in. We also celebrated Chad's birthday on the 31st.



February:
...came roaring in starting at about 6:30am on the first when my water broke. Silas was born at 8:19pm that night! We were overjoyed that he was finally here! The rest of the month I was on maternity leave and we were navigating new parent life!

March:
Mid-way through the month I headed back to work with Silas in tow. It was a rough few weeks adjusting to having 4 little ones who needed me all day!

April:
...was the month of SLEEP TRAINING. We were at our wits end with his frequent night wakings and us both holding down full time (plus) jobs! We started Babywise with Silas, and it was a lifesaver! Total game changer! Silas also got the chance to meet my grandparents on the Kregel side! There is something so special about seeing your grandparents hold your baby! We were also able to take Silas to Circus Flora. Even at his young age, he loved it!

May:
We celebrated 6 years of marriage! My nanny kids got out of school, so we adjusted YET AGAIN to life with 4 kids home all day! We also took Silas to his very first Cardinals game. He was a trooper and even fell asleep for a while! We ended the month with hosting our Memorial Day BBQ.

June:
June was our first family vacation with a baby! We headed to the Lake of the Ozarks for Summer Regionals! It was certainly an adjustment bringing a little one! We also went to see Shania Twain for my birthday, which was the 10th.

July:
July took a more serious turn as we said goodbye to my beautiful grandma, my dad's mama. It was a wonderful week overall spending time in Texas with our extended family and celebrating the life she helped build for our family. Silas also took his first boat ride on the Lake! We also celebrated his dedication at church.

August:
August was back to school for the big kids, so we had yet another adjustment! Chad got the opportunity to go to the PGA Championship. We also crossed a concert off of my Concert Bucket List...LUKE BRYAN!!

September:
This month's excitement was split between taking Silas to his very first Mizzou Football game; a family tradition we hold near and dear! He also began swimming lessons, and he LOVED them!

October:
In October, we went to the Lake for Chad's 10 year class reunion and Silas got to see Daddy ride in the parade! We also went to our first Chiefs game. Silas loved it and didn't want to miss a second! He stayed awake for the ENTIRE game!

November:
FAMILY CRUISE!! Hello, road trip with an increasingly active little guy! We had so much fun and Silas did great! Chad also hit another milestone in his career, reaching Level 3! Silas and I are so proud of how hard he works to provide for our family!

December:
This past month was filled with Christmas preparations and family time! We hosted one side of Chad's family, as well as got together with the other side. We also had all 3 Dunham boys over for the evening to play! It was quite a house-full but so fun. Silas LOVED Christmas! I don't think he entirely knew what was going on, But he knew it was WAY exciting and didn't want to nap at all!

Wow. What a year!

Intermixed with all of these big moments were countless "smaller" but equally as beautiful moments:
(multiple foster dogs, spending time with our church, friends joining the parent club, etc). and the most lovely group of moments of all, seeing our sweet boy grow and learn!

People are exactly right when they say to "enjoy it, because it goes fast!"

We're already starting to prepare for Silas's first birthday!

2019 is gearing up to be a big year and we can't wait to see what it brings!

Our 7 Month Old!

Slow down, baby boy!

Silas is 7 months old!!

He still only has 2 teeth.

He (mostly) sleeps through the night.

He LOVES to eat.

He is a champ when it comes to putting up with the nanny kiddos!

...especially when he's sitting up, playing, minding his own business, and Littlest Miss comes up, shoves him over, and looks to me and says, "He fall down."

He's a tough kiddo for sure!

He has finally mastered sitting up and playing with toys.

This month, he went on his first train ride at the zoo and he loved it!

He is also now giving kisses.

Its very slobbery, but still the best!

Football season started on his 7 month birthday, and he loves watching!

Especially in the last month, Silas and "his puppy" Loki have become very interested in each other!

Loki is very patient with him and loves to give him SO MANY kisses.

Next month we have a lot to look forward to with our boy!

We are hoping some more teeth pop through.

He starts "swim lessons". I use quotes because he won't learning to swim so much as to be safe around water and float!

Next week is his first Mizzou game outside the belly! I was 16 weeks when he went to his very first game!

We are enjoying every day with our sweet little guy!

Watching him grow and learn and change is one of the best gifts God has given us!

We've Been Quiet...

We've been a little quiet on the blog front lately.

Mostly because once we found out about the baby, that's all I wanted to talk about, but we had decided to wait to share our happy news!

If you haven't seen the announcement yet, here it is

We've been tracking the belly with a weekly photo as well...

4 weeks! We had just found out!

5 Weeks, celebrating Chad's birthday!

Telling Chad's Parents! 

6 weeks

7 weeks & our first doctor's appointment!

8 Weeks! (And that's not a baby bump, just bloat! :) )

Just being silly! We really are SO excited!

Aaaand We're Back!

Yep! We're back!

It's been a year, since we last updated the blog.

The following was my first post for 2017:

"2016 was a year of some very high highs and very low lows.

While I can't control that, I know that I can control my attitude and response towards the highs and lows that 2017 brings.

I'm (attempting) choosing to be joyful and prayerful in all circumstances. Join me?"

And its true. However that means the bulk of good, the bad, and the not so pretty will likely be shared here. (Read: You have been warned!)

As I was putting together the photo album for 2016 (On time for once! Yay for a week off!) I realized it was hard for me to keep all of the things of the past year in order with details and make sure I didn't forget anything!

So we're back! 

It may be my random ramblings, it may be thoughts on somethings, but it will mostly be written by me, not Chad.

So here we go: 2017, let's see what you have in store!

*To get our posts sent to your email so that you don't have to check back (I know you all are dying to read what I have to say!), hit the follow button and enter your email address! No spam, I promise!*

Senior Night

MY BROTHER IS A SENIOR. IN HIGH SCHOOL.

Holy cow.

I can't believe it!

I started to get a little emotional at senior night.

After all, our whole family has been looking forward to this moment ever since we heard, "It's a boy!"

We are so proud of him for being the "Mr. Golden Hands" of his team, thanks to his long snapper skills!

This little guy...

..is now this big, bad senior!

 

Way to go, Mom and Dad!

Senior night is a celebration of you!