Home again

He's home! We are so thankful to be a complete family unit again. Welcome home, Dan.

"That's How He ..."

Vincent and Aubrey were discussing Silas's toy use yesterday. Aubrey asked why Silas was chewing on it, and Vince was trying to explain it to her, but it went something like this: "He just likes to chew on some things, Aubrey. Because that's just how he..." He seemed to be at a loss for the right explanation, so I interjected, "Vince, I think the term you're looking for is 'rolls. That's just how he rolls.'"

Injuries, illness, and general mischief

Anthony and Silas had Pink Eye in May. Very sad. Silas just had a very mild case, but Anthony's was pretty pitiful looking. I had to cancel a much anticipated winery tour to stay home with him. They only get sick/needy when I have big plans; they are usually such low maintenance kids!

For some reason Silas's crib became the hottest hiding spot in the house.

They love all shoes...even Nora and Anna's.

At first it just looks like a messy room, but Anthony has begun to throw out all of his goodies from his crib at night...including his pants and diaper, which he is looking at in this photo. I have since reduced the number of stuffed animals and switched him to "Little Keeper Sleepers": PJs that zip up the back and have a non-stretchable neckline.

First scrape of the summer, presented by Vincent

Anthony felt the dry erase board was not enough surface to color on, so he started with his body. Notice the mural in the background from another day...all my walls are colored.

This one is a little embarrassing, because it seems like this would have taken a long time to build up, but I SWEAR I just looked behind the couch a week before this pic was taken. My kids eat A LOT of generic NutraGrain bars, so it didn't take very long for this massive pile of wrappers to accrue.

Silas meets the Hartmans

Silas finally got to meet the boys' Godparents at the beginning of May.

Jacob and Vincent

Me and Val

Dan and Lacy with our precious Godchildren

Sam & Val with their crazy Godchildren!

Cousins! All present and accounted for...even if they are all over the place.

Big developments

Silas is growing so fast. I'm so glad I get to be home to see each new development as it comes. At his 6 month check-up the doctor was pleased with his progress and growth. Here are some milestone photos of my littlest man.

This is right after he rolled over for the first time, 5 days before he turned 3 months old.

Silas was my #2 date to Matt & Holly Danler's wedding.

Eating cereal for the first time at a little over 4 months old.

I have a very similar photo of Anthony as a baby, except Anthony fell asleep with a toy in his mouth. This was during Silas's short-lived thumb-sucking stage.

Chillin in the exersaucer, watching his brothers play. This exersaucer has served all three boys and is still in great shape. A wonderful gift from my former MID-CO coworkers!

Sitting up for the first time the day he turned 5 months old



"This little piggy went to market..." Silas grabbed Cori's foot and I could have sworn he was going to put it in his mouth! I love how she's just sitting back, relaxing, like "That's right. Entertain me, dude." They are great buddies!

Singing to mommy

Screeching to mommy :)

The Ripley Boys Visit The Farm

We visited "The Farm" last month. This was the boys' first trip to see the Lutton family in Ellsinore, MO. My Grandparents lived at "The Farm" as long as I could remember, and now Uncle Mike and Aunt Judie live there. Uncle Wes and Aunt Suzette live "next door" (for you city folk, that's actually about a quarter to a half mile away). The boys had an absolute blast, and they have been going on and on about it ever since. Judie is such fun and the boys loved chasing bubbles in the kitchen. I have such fond memories of playing under my grandma's feet in this kitchen as a little girl, so it was all I could do not to melt down watching them have such fun in the same kitchen, around that same table.





We went over to Wes's house and checked out his animals. There were sheep, goats, cows, chickens, bunnies...the boys were overwhelmed with all the fun! Vince tried on some farmin boots, and Aunt Suzette even had some of her boys' toys around for V & AJ to play with!






You'll see that Uncle Wes is holding a chicken here. He let the kids pet it, but somehow I didn't get a pic of it.




Needless to say, they are chomping at the bit to get back down there!