Happy 1st Birthday Silers

Ok, so I know it's February 28th, but come on people, there is no 29th this year. So Silas isn't quite one yet, in the next few hours or so. But my sweet baby is one. I can't believe it. Last year was so surreal in that it happened on Leap Year, my mom's birthday, nearly 3 weeks early. He was actually supposed to be a St. Patrick's Day baby, but made his entrance early. The night before I was having contractions and decided to stay up and walk the basement. I called in contemplating making a trip to the hospital and being sent home. Oh the dread. The doctor said I should check it out and when we got there at 1:00 in the a.m. on Feb 29th they decided to keep me. I walked the halls, rested some, spent the night laboring and Silas Fred Steffen was born around 8 a.m. that morning. My dad has given us the statistics on having 2 Leap Year birthdays in the family, my mom and my cousin, but now another. Crazy thing. Love to you Silas. Happy First Birthday. Pictures to come.

Florida Pictures

we had a great time in Siesta Key. We left Silas at home and missed him terribly. It was nice to be able to give the rest of the kids special time.

Florida

ok so it's almost been a month. But honestly I feel like I have been running ragged since the moment we stepped off the plane to a van with a dead battery and two flat tires. Welcome home to the bitter cold and no way to get anywhere. Thankfully we met a nice man in security at the airport who set us up with long charger cords and an air pump. So I spent the next few days trying to get the tires fixed and well now we are back in business. It easy to take a working car for granted until you don't have one. I also had a visit to my high risk specialist the day I got back, since I have battled preterm labor in the past and have grave's disease(thryoid issues) Everything is looking great, baby is doing well and I finally now can say I am starting to pop.

Florida was really great. We had a cold start to the trip. THe first 2-3 days were ask warm there(50 degrees) as it was in in Illinois. We did our best and went to a small zoo and aquarium in the a.m. and by after lunch were swimming in the heated pool and catching some rays. Yes laying in out 50 degree weather is really quite nice when the sun is out and the building you are staying in blocks the wind. After that it warmed up each day and by the end of our stay we were enjoying 70-80 degrees on the beach. The kids had a blast swimming, catching lizards, visitting a place called the point of rocks. It is an area close by that is really rocky and has tons of shells and such to find. One day the boys found a starfish the size of a frisbee. The place we stayed at had kayaks, a sailboat and bikes to ride on the beach so we used all of these many times. Much to my dismay, me and one of my boys ended up in the ocean(burr very cold) as our kayak flipped and submerged us. All this to say, we had some great family time together and Tom and I even enjoyed a few nights out at the beginning because my sister stayed over from her stay and babysat for us. All in all a great trip. I must admit it has made me a bit impatient for spring to arrive here.

So a year ago tomorrow I went into labor with Silas and he was born on leap year 2008, so he will not have an official birth day this year. Tom and I have different opinions on when we should celebrate it. I think the last day of Feb. since he was born in this month, he thinks March 1st since this is the day Feb. 29 would be on. This year we are celebrating his birthday on Feb. 28th with my family and the next week with his as his sister is coming in for a visit. So he gets the best of both worlds, 2 parties, 2 cakes. I will post pictures of the fun times to come.

Sweetness

So here is the sweetest little chat with our new nephew Misikir. He is really starting to mimic English and just has the cutest little voice. We are having a lot of fun getting to know him. HE loves "makenas", cars and you will notice one pic is of Naomi pushing him after the batteries ran out.