Blessing Day

More big changes for our little family: Chet has been selected to go to Ranger school for the army. He leaves this weekend for Fort Benning, while Silas and I will stay at Fort Leonard Wood for the next three months. This means the 22nd was our best chance to give Silas his baby blessing. He looked so cute in the vest and bow tie made by great aunt Mandy. He was a perfect little angel all during the blessing and sacrament meeting. 

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

The Garner Family

Welcome to the World, Little Silas!

He Came! Silas Talbert Garner was born July 11, 2012 at 7:55pm. He weighed 9 pounds even, and measured 21 1/4 inches long. He is the sweetest little baby, we think we want to keep him!

Very early in the morning of the 11th, my water broke at home so we knew it was game time. Chet was already on post for the day, so I drove myself to the hospital and called him to meet me there. Labor progressed easily and naturally without intervention, and after 12 hours I started pushing. Things really slowed down then. We pushed for three hours without any more progression, and were advised that a cesarian delivery would be safer than trying to push any longer. So, C-section is how Silas came. He is a perfectly healthy and beautiful baby boy, and I'm recovering very well.

Me when things were good

 Getting ready for surgery

Chet cutting the umbilical chord 

Silas: cleaned and measured

loves to be swaddled 

Grandma Glo loves Baby Silas

Worn out and we haven't even gotten home yet

Grandma Marty and Papa Mike

Diaper changes...

Silas and I just had our 2 week checkups yesterday and the docs say that we're both doing great. His umbilical stump finally fell off and my scar is healing nicely. Silas is past his birth weight now and I weigh less than Chet again! 

Camping Again!

Just shy of the 3 year mark from our last post, which documents our camping adventure in the Adirondacks, it seems fitting that my renewed attention to this much neglegted blog be about another camping trip. Chet and I are now living in central Missouri and had to explore our new backyard: the Ozarks. With some of the largest springs in the country found here in Missouri, we had to check them out. 

This is a bunk buddy we discovered when we were breaking camp. I think this is what you get when you mix a tarantula and a wolf spider...yikes!

 On the trail to Greer Spring

 This is the first outlet of Greer Spring. It flows out from this cave- cool!

Chet had to snorkel to see what was in it.

Down the trail a bit is another boil to the spring. This was huge! (of course Chet wasted no time in exploring this one too)

This is the river at Greer Spring

Our next stop was Big Spring. (No swimming or wading allowed in this one. Bummer) 

We agreed that it looks like a pirate cove, only with colder water. 

We saw this cool guy on the trail. 

This is at Big Spring before it meets the Current River. 

It was a really fun and gorgeous camping trip! All this adventuring made baby want to make an early debut, so now I have Dr's orders to stay off my feet for the next few weeks. I guess that means I'll be blogging more regularly!