Puzzle Fun

 We love doing puzzles.  We found this really old puzzle at a garage sale for a quarter.  We figured there would be a piece or two missing but had to finish it to find out.  

 Mark's the main one who has the patiences to stick it out and do the puzzles.  But we all join in and try to piece it together.  We can get a bit goofy sometimes too.  For me I can only stare so long at the small pieces before I get a little looney.  My strategy is to find the most colorful fun section and do that part and leave the harder parts for Mark since he loves the challenge.   

 Starting to look like a picture.  

 Even Silas got to join in on the fun.  

 Lulu's really good at puzzles and is a lot like Mark and has patience to work through the hard parts.  Also she can walk by and see where a piece goes.  I'm not as good. 

 Almost done!!!

 Only 3 missing pieces and they are all from the edge.

Starting our next one!  

This puzzle we know has all of the pieces because we got it unopened from a thrift store.

Bath Time

 This is how we give Silas a bath. With all my babies I have given them baths in the sink when they are newborns.  But my midwife gave me this bath bucket and we have been using it.  Silas loves it and it's super easy to use.  

 By the way Lulu had fun taking all these pictures.  

Father's Day 2013

 Mark enjoyed a fun, relaxing Father's Day.  Lulu made sure he didn't lift a finger.  She poured his coffee and opened up doors for him.  It was sweet to see how she wanted to serve her daddy.  We celebrated in the morning before church.  The kids got him some books and a Davy Crockett movie that Mark loved when he was little.  That evening we all watched the movie together.  

Grandparents

This past week my parents came for a visit.  This was my dads first time meeting Silas in person.  I was so excited for my dad to hold Silas.  So was my dad.  We all love when my parents visit.  We all cry when they have to head home.  

Here is my dad sitting in the back seat between the kids.  They wanted him right there.  It was just my dad, Lulu, Levi and I who went out for an evening trip to Walmart. One of my dads favorite things to do while in Boise is to go to Walmart.  This is because they don't have Walmart in Redmond, WA or anywhere close.  So Walmart is truly an experience for him.  Walmart was a new thing for Mark and I too and now it's our everyday grocery store. 

While at Walmart my dad spoiled the kids, candy, toys, and fake flowers.    

 The next day we all headed out to the zoo.  We all had such a fun time.  My parents loved it so much they bought an annual pass so they can go again anytime they visit.

Mark took the day off and this was his first visit to the zoo too.  

 My dad was fascinated with the Komodo dragon.  This is one of my favorite animals to see.

Heading home from the zoo......we were all tired, some more then others. 

 On Saturday we had a very busy, fun filled day.  We started the day going to the Eagle Saturday market.  I didn't get pictures there.  My dad bought my mom, Lulu and I new sandals at the market.  Then we headed to Hidden Springs about 10 min away and had lunch at the general store.

 Silas is such a good baby.   He enjoyed all the outings and sleeping in my moms arms.

 Then we came home for naps for the little ones and a tea party for the older ones.

 Saturday evening we headed into down town Boise to Hyde Park.  It's a darling historic neighborhood in Boise.  We found a restaurant with walls that opened up to the street.  We all felt like we were on vacation.

 A few doors down from the restaurant was a ice cream shop.

 As we were heading back to the van we stopped and enjoyed the band that was playing on the sidewalk.  They played all throughout our dinner too.  They were good!

 Here are the girls dancing to the music.

 The guys joined them......Mark was holding Silas.

 Then my parents joined in the fun.

Silas loved the music too!

Jaundice

 Silas was pretty jaundice and we were working hard to help his body get rid of it.  It just wasn't getting better so our doctor had us do a blood draw to see where his numbers were.  Our doctor wanted to see him ideally around a 5-6 but guessed he was 8-10.  Anything above 10 would be a concern for his age. Well his number was 11.1.....too high for our comfort and our doctors comfort.  So they recommended 12oz of formula and a billy blanket (a fiberoptic blanket).  We didn't do the formula but we did do the blanket.  I made sure I nursed almost hourly or more instead of formula.   

Here Silas and I are waiting for his blood draw and he had a warming boot. 

 You can see here he is glowing.  The billy blanket goes under his clothes and he is plugged in, so where he was so was the equipment for the blanket.  It was a bit bulky and stiff but really not too bad.

 Our little glow worm!

 Silas wore the blanket for 36 hours non stop.  We took it off to change diapers, that was it. We had 36 hours to bring his numbers down before the next blood draw.  

 My parents came to visit and arrived during the light treatment.  My dad got meet Silas for the first time and snuggle him.

 Then the next morning (36 hrs. later) my dad drove Silas and I to the hospital to get his final blood draw.  

Praise the Lord his number came down to a 9 and is still coming down on its own now.