Keeping an Eye on Our Little Guy

Silas. Sometimes I wonder if I've had any child so wild and active at your age. (Then I remember the dynamic duo of Ian and Alec and realize it just feels so much more overwhelming because I am eight years older than I was back then!) 

Yesterday we had Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop over for dinner and a movie. Turmoil ensued towards the end of dinner when you departed your booster seat for the living room and attempted to wield Pop-Pop's cane like a lightsaber. When your sister wisely removed it from your eager hands, there was wailing and weeping and gnashing of teeth. Only the arrival of dessert (a giant whoopie pie from the visit you and Mom-Mom and I made to the Green Dragon Farmer's Market earlier that morning) changed your disposition for the better. But then you frightened your brother into fearing for your well-being with the massive spoonfuls of white cream you shoveled into your little mouth with astonishing speed and zeal!

Throughout the entire movie, you alternately climbed and perched and leaped from the back of the couch. You pulled a picture off the wall, then yanked out the screw that held it in place. You flicked the lights. Off and on, off and on. Occasionally the movie would catch your attention and you would linger for a sweet space of quiet where we could actually hear the dialogue! (Ironically the movie was Mom's Night Out so all of your antics were truly timely.) When it was over and the credits and silly scenes were playing on the screen, you danced around the living room and did somersaults and rollovers around the carpet in glee.

Literally the only time you sit still is for episodes of Shaun the Sheep, which you request multiple times daily. I don't know what it is about the claymation creation that captures your imagination so fully, but it seems to wield the same magic on your brothers and Daddy when they are around! So we gratefully accept the moments of peace when they come.

You astonish us with how in tune you are with life around you. Recently you started "praying" at mealtimes. "Father, Jesus.... hmmm, hmmm ... family, food ... Amen!" is your standard repetition. Your favorite songs are still "Deep and Wide" and "God Made Me." You love "church." In fact, Daddy has been gone for days (to Chile for meetings) and when we asked you where he was, you cheerfully replied: "Daddy bye-bye. Daddy church!"

A story that will go down in family lore was your recent song making on the drive home from school. I had gotten a call that Ian was sick and needed to be picked up with Alec, rather than walking home as they usually do. Daddy was already on his way home with the older kids and when he stopped to load the boys in the van, you began chanting a little ditty. "Acca (Alec) didn't wa-alk! Ian didn't wa-alk!" was your impromptu refrain which surprised and made everyone laugh so much.

You are also a little parrot. Often it is words, but sometimes it is sounds that you hear your siblings making on a regular basis. For instance, yesterday morning we passed an Amish buggy on the road. The high-pitched, drawn out "Ahhhhhhhh!" you exclaimed was a perfect rendition of big sister Eva's excitement every time she sees one on the road. Again you brought a moment of laughter to our morning commute!

It is a full time job keeping an eye on our little guy. You make our days crazy but you also make them so cute and so fun. 

We love you, Silas Eben Garcia!