No Time

Hi All-

I am just so busy with Sylas K and work and life that I don't have time to keep up two blogs. So I'm not going to post on this blog anymore. I will continue to post regularly on my other blog Picture of my World. So please come visit us at that blog!

Thanks!
Jessie

Teething

Well Mr. Sylas is cutting his first tooth. I think that it must be the biggest tooth known to man due to all the chewing, drooling, and fussing going on. Actually he hasn't been too fussy but you can tell he is pretty uncomfortable. The only thing that really seems to help is giving him frozen fruit cubes in the baby feeder. That thing saves the day. If you don't have one you must run to the nearest store and get one. It looks like a big pacifier with a net on the end. You put the frozen fruit, or ice, or whatever in it and they chew the heck out of it without choking on anything. He loves it! I would recommend striping the kid naked and laying them on a tarp prior to giving them the teether. And a bath afterwards is also helpful. But it's so worth it!

I'm hoping this dang tooth with pop through soon. Every day I think that it might come through and then nothing. Go figure! I'm sure Miss Liz at daycare hopes it would come through too. All three kids are getting teeth this week and I'm sure she is working in baby hell right now. Not fun for her....

Here are some pics of Sylas K.

4 Months

Sylas K is a whole 4 months old now! He is actually 4 months and 2 weeks but I'm a bit behind with his 4 month post. Shocking I know. It's amazing how little time I have for blogging now. Sometimes days go by and I don't even check my email. I used to check it several times a day. I guess my priorities have changed.

So this month Sylas grew like a wild thing! He now weighs 20 pounds and is 24 inches long. He is in the 99th percentile for weight and 98 for height. I have one big boy!

Sylas is an eating fool. Which is probably why he weighs so much. He eats all kinds of wonderful food. I am now making the majority of his baby food which has been an adventure but has worked out very well.

Sylas loves avocados, bananas, plums, prunes, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, applesauce, kale, nectarines, squash, pumpkin, pears, and oatmeal. He really doesn't like peaches but that is about the only thing he dislikes. He has been known to eat an entire avocado or banana himself! Crazy!

Sylas can roll both ways now. He isn't so good at the back to tummy rolling yet but he is making progress.

Sylas laughs and smiles a lot now. He really laughs when you bounce him or read to him in funny voices.

Sylas loves routine! In fact if you get off schedule much he lets you know that he doesn't like that. He really needs to be in bed by 7 to sleep well. But if I put him down by 7 he sleeps all night. If I put him down after 7 he gets up at least once. So 7 it is!

Sylas likes to chew on everything! And I do mean everything! He is a drooling, chewing monster.

We weren't able to see Katie in person this month but we did send lots of pictures and talked to her a lot. She is in the process of moving into her own apartment and starting a new job so she is pretty busy. She is also auditioning for American Idol next week! So good things are happening for her which makes Sylas and I very happy.

Sylas went on a road trip to Norton with me to see my birth family. We had a wonderful time! He did great in the car even though it's a 5 1/2 hour long drive.

So here are some news pics of my little man. Hope you all are doing well too!



Sylas has tons of toys but he loves this measuring spoon. He will chew on it all day if I let him!



He has baby boy boobs!



Baby laughs a lot!

Books I Love

I've always been a big reader but now that I have Sylas I'm always reading some new parenting book. I've read quite a few now and I've narrowed down some of the ones that I think are really great. So to save you all some time reading I'll just share some of my favorites and why...

Super Baby Food! This is a wonderful book. I make the majority of Sylas' baby food and this is the book that guides me! My cousin's lovely wife shared this book with me and it has saved me many a time! The book really shows you how easy and cost effective it is to make your own baby food. I've learned so much about nutrition from this book. It also contains a lot of great money saving and mind saving parenting tips throughout it.





Black Baby White Hands- A View From The Crib! This is a great book about trans racial adoption. The book is written by Jaiya John who was the first black child in the state of Arizona to be adopted by a white family. His perspective and insight is amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone involved with adoption but especially for parents that have adopted transracially.






Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child! I have been very fortunate in that Sylas is really a great sleeper all on his own. I stick to a sleep schedule and try to assist with consistency but he is really just a good sleeping kid. But we all know that isn't true for every kid. This book is really a huge asset for any parent. But if you are tired and worn out and sleeping isn't happening at your house this is a must have! It's written in a really easy to read way and totally makes sense to me. So get to reading and get to sleeping.





Baby Laughs- Naked Truth about Mommyhood! This book has saved me on more than one occasion. Whenever I need a good laugh and need to chill out about mommyhood this is the book that saves me! I have laughed more reading this book than any other. She just cracks me up!






It's A Boy! I really love this book. I so love being a mom to a boy. Boys rock. I'm sure mom's of little girls feel the same way about their little girls but I just love my baby boy. This book is a collection various writers and their feelings and stories about raising boys. There is some laughing, some crying, and a whole lot of insight. Love it!

So those are my must have parenting books. I have enjoyed them all and learned a little bit from each of them. Do you have any books that you love? I'm always up for a new read. Let me know what books you couldn't live without.

Smiling Sylas

I have one happy little boy at my house. Sylas is really turning into a fun little man. He has a great disposition. I joke that as long as he is fed and watered all is well. He really only cries when he is hungry or tired. Such a joy! I really lucked out in the easy baby department. He may be going easy on me now so I can be rested before toddler hood comes... I have a feeling once he is moving he may be trouble. He is already so busy I can't imagine what crawling and walking will bring.

So since I love his smiles so much I just have to share a few with you. He really loves to eat carrots and in a couple of the pics you can see the remains of his carrot dinner. Gotta love a baby food grin!

3 Months

Wow Sylas K is three months old. It's funny when I was waiting for Sylas three months seemed like an eternity. Now it just flies by. So the highlights of month three would be....

Sylas really started smiling and laughing this month. I love the sound of his laugh and his smile melts my heart. I still have a hard time trying to get a picture of his smile but I have a couple blurry ones that I'll post today. One day I'm gonna get a great smile shot!

Sylas sleeps through the night the majority of the time. We usually have one night a week that he wakes up but other than that he does great.

Sylas now eats food! We were able to start cereal with the doctor's approval. He didn't like that much but when I added in carrots that baby went crazy. I've never seen a kid so excited over carrots before.

Sylas started daycare with Ms Liz. He is doing great there. He is always happy when I pick him up and he gives her and the other kids lots of smiles. I hate leaving him but I love that he has a good place to go.

Sylas and I visited Katie once this month. We also talk on the phone frequently and I am always sending lots of pictures.

The adoption was finalized this month!

So that is month three. Here are some fun pics of my baby boy!

Let's Talk About Race

I have a confession to make, it's time to get honest. The truth is I'm a pretty average, middle class, white girl. I like to think I'm liberal and forward thinking. I strive to advocate for others in my personal and professional life. I'm constantly trying to learn more about myself and others and how we all play a part in this world. And my greatest hope is that one day my little Sylas will live in a world that is safe and kind and generous. I hope that he lives on a healthy planet and is judged by his beliefs, actions, good deeds, generous spirit, and the talents God will bestow on him. While those things are the truth it's also very true that I'm overwhelmed by the race issue. I don't think that I'm a racist person but I honestly have thought very little about my own race and now I don't know how to think about Sylas'.

I have been very fortunate since bringing Sylas home that we have recieved no negative comments about race. We have had some awkward comments. Someone asked me "how much of a negro is he?" That was really awkward and required some educating on my part about how that wasn't an appropriate way to ask about his racial background. So while we have had odd statements to contend with no negative outright racist comments. For that I'm grateful. But it's coming. I know it's coming.

So in the last 13 weeks I have spent more time thinking about race and talking about race then I have my entire 27 years prior. When you are white you don't think about your color and how it affects you. You don't wonder what people think of you, if someone will make a comment. You just live as a white person and that's just that. But there is a lot more to it now.

My first real dilema was filling out the paperwork at the doctor's office for the first time. It asks for race. You have some choices, white, black, asian, pacific islander, and other. Hmmmmmm what do I check. I don't like the idea of checking other. Sylas isn't an other. He is Sylas. And I don't like checking black. Sylas isn't only black. To just check black disregards a large portion of his birth family not to mention me. And I can't check white... he is not just white either. So what to do... I finally just checked white and black. I refuse to check other. That is ridiculous. My child will never be classified as an other! No one should be. We aren't others.

This is just the beginning. I know we have a long road ahead of us. I have a lot to learn and I have a lot to teach Sylas K. I may not know the answers but I'm going to do my best to find them. Most of all I want to teach him to be proud of his heritage and proud of that beautiful skin and the beautiful boy he is. We are going to find our way through this and until then I'm going to ask questions and read books and discuss. I've already found some great blogs that I think are helpful. My Sky- Multiracial Family Life is very good. And I also really love Anti-Racist Parent. Both have provided some good insight and direction.

So what race issues are you dealing with? What resources have you utilized??? What box do you check???