You may have heard about a little storm that hit DC recently...the blizzard of 2016, locally dubbed "Snowzilla." We got over 2 feet in about 36 hours, complete with whiteout conditions. We were cozy warm and ate well as the snow came down, then went exploring when the sun came out on Sunday. The best innovation was definitely Jim's snow slide from the front porch down the steps! Sylvan was mostly just curious about the snow and intrigued with the strange appearance of everything outside, not super keen on the cold. Cabin fever definitely set in so we don't need to do it again very soon, but it was pretty magical while it lasted.

Happy New Year everyone! 2016 is off to a good start for us, after a fun and festive holiday season. We were in Charlotte with Jim's family for Thanksgiving (where Sylvan got his first long-distance train ride - so much better than driving!), and Texas with Courtney's family for Christmas. Sylvan had a blast with all of his cousins - loves being around the big kids (and other littles, too). Sylvan is SO BUSY these days - walking, babbling, and very into organizing and sorting things. Thankfully we've moved beyond putting everything in the mouth, but now everything goes into a container - or out of one - or into one - or out of one... you get the picture. He just turned 15 months, so we are excited to see what his current weight and height are later this week. He is a very solid kid with a cute little belly, so we expect that he's heavier and likely taller than last time, too.

It's been a lovely, slow fall in DC this year, so we've enjoyed getting out and about without too much bundling up yet. We continue to bike to and from Sylvan's nanny share and work (hoping to continue through the winter if we can take it), and have had some fun outings beyond the city. Sylvan has been to his first pumpkin patch (with about a million other DC kids and families), and seen his first skyscrapers in Chicago. He was impressed. 🙂 We are looking forward to taking the train to Charlotte for Thanksgiving (another first for Sylvan), where we hope to replace a miserable car-seat bound drive with a much more fun and comfortable journey for us all. Happy Thanksgiving!

It's hard to believe that Sylvan will be a year old next week. A few days ago we were reflecting on how much our lives have changed since his arrival - in many ways unrecognizable from where we were before he was born. He has become the center of our universe, with many of the stereotypes that entails (but we hope not the bad ones!...) He has both joined our world and transformed it, and we are so grateful to have him in our lives. We are also so grateful for the love, support, advice and wisdom from family and friends - thank you all. We are having a lot of fun!

Fast changes in the past 6 weeks! Sylvan is not only crawling everywhere but working on standing up and "cruising" (the technical term for walking along the edge of the furniture). We've rapidly figured out the weak spots in our childproofing, particularly where it relates to cat food and heavy books... It's been a great summer, so much fun discovering new things with him. He's had many first experiences - the lake (though not in the water yet), the ball pit (NOT his favorite experience), public fountains and water in general, hiking, trampolines (safely in dad's arms), and gardening with mom in the rain. He is a big boy - at 10 months over 20 pounds and almost 30 inches long/tall. He's becoming a good eater and certainly has an appetite, though is still challenged with the pincher grasp and actually ingesting solid food. All in good time!

Happy summer! We are having a great time so far. Sylvan has begun to explore the water, in the back yard baby pool and the "big pool" with mom and dad. Courtney has high hopes for making him into a little swimmer. He's also just on the cusp of crawling, definitely moving from place to place but not in anything like an efficient manner. He still loves the swings at the park, and is still a complicated eater - these days he wants to do it himself or not at all, which is challenging because he can't really coordinate getting food to his mouth yet! All in good time... We had our first weekend away as a family, spending a few days in the mountains and woods of western Virginia. Beautiful landscape and so many different sounds for him to hear. It was lovely!

We had a very special Memorial Day weekend, as Sylvan was baptized on May 24th at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, where we are members. In Presbyterian theology, infant baptism symbolizes the love by which God reaches out to us, even when we are young. That day was also Pentecost Sunday, a day of celebrating the Holy Spirit and historically a day for baptisms. The Spirit was certainly present with us on this special day, surrounded by family and friends who love our son! His Godparents are really the whole congregation, people who have made some of the most important promises they will ever make: to support Sylvan as he grows and matures. We are grateful for them!

We can't believe how time passes - Sylvan is now seven months old! He continues to teach us so much, and entertain us even more. His favorite things are: - open mouthed attacks to your cheek, Sylvan's first attempts at kisses - holding his bottle, with occasional help from mom or dad - sitting up, rolling, and thinking about scooting - bath time - yogurt - we are still exploring the idea of "solid" food - his feet, particularly when barefoot - the swings! This kid LOVES to swing at the park We are excited to see what's next!

We had a wonderful first Easter with Sylvan, with three of our favorite traditions. Church on Sunday morning, lunch with good friends at our house, and a trip to Dumbarton Oaks to see the gardens. The fun thing about lunch and Dumbarton Oaks is that both activities are a little different each year. Certainly the menu changes, but we've also evolved over time from a somewhat boozy, relaxing meal on nice china to a rather more chaotic and festive event with 4 small children and melamine plates! And Dumbarton is always beautiful in springtime, and always at a slightly different point in the flowering cycles and temperature each Easter. This year the forsythia and plum walk were almost peak and the carpet of blue flowers (I've since learned called Siberia squill) were just beautiful. It was a perfect spring day!

Big steps in the Spearman household - Sylvan has begun to eat solid food! Suffice it to say he's not a foodie just yet. We've tried baby oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and bananas so far, and nothing seems quite to Sylvan's taste. We know in no time he will be craving all the yummy, flavorful things we like to eat, but until then we will keep trying the basics. We must say, he's so cute, even when he doesn't like something! We are also grateful for the continuing flow of visitors to DC to see us and meet Sylvan. We recently had an almost complete Cook family reunion, with 2 of Courtney's 3 siblings and their families, plus mom, here in DC to hang out. It was a fun, chaotic time and Sylvan had a great time with his older cousins Will, Ben, and Elliot. He also slept more soundly than we've ever seen after everyone left. That visit was followed by friend Brenna from Denver, then Jim's parents up from Charlotte. And we are looking forward to another round of introductions in a few weeks when Jim's sister's family arrives for a visit.