Like Father Like Son?

Bringing home a new baby has been the true test to Silas's general disposition and demeanor. At first he was completely oblivious (typical guy) and now, although he doesn't want much to do with her, he does notice her once in a while and on those rare occasions he has been very sweet to her.  Only one time did he get upset and that is when I set her down on one of his special blankies. My oops!  

Our current routine is that Joe comes home from work around 4:15pm to pick up Silas and take him to the gym with him. Silas loves to go to the gym to see his 'mends' (aka friends).  The other day the boys walked in the door and Silas was wining for 'miwk, miwk, miwk' (aka milk).  I set down the baby in her swing and put the bottle that she was working on right next to her as I went to get Silas a cup of milk.  Joe and I look over and there is Silas standing in front of the swing trying to feed Veda her bottle. We both turned into a puddle of obnoxious parents and praised the heck out of him because he was "so nice to his baby sister." And to think he was the one that was wanting milk so bad....

There have been a few of those surprising episodes where just when we think Silas will never acknowledge his sister he will go and bring her toys or a blanket or rock her in her carseat if she's crying. It slays me every time.

And I think I have Joe to thank for the sweetness in Silas.  Joe's mom (and anyone we run into that knew Joe as a kid) always tells me what a sweet little boy he was.  And now as an adult he still has that sweet innocence and trust-worthiness about him.  Strangers are always asking him for directions or for help of any sort.

He recently told me that between the ages of 17-21 he would get angry when people would ask him for directions or approach him for help because he wanted to look mean, bad and maybe even a little bit scary. I about fell off the bed when he told me this! And to think, I met him one short year after he decided that looking approachable is a good thing. 

 

Progression:

                                                Sweet Joe smiling for his kindergarten photo

                                                     Bad boy Joe being rough and tough

                                                         

                                                      Too cool to smile for his license photo.

                                                                 Look who found Jesus!! :)

HA! I hope Silas takes after his dad but decides to skip all the middle years...

PS While rummaging through Joe's old pictures I came across whole rolls (WHOLE ROLLS--plural!) of pictures that he took of Thunder (his cat.) Which is proof that even in his middle years, deep down he was always a gentle soul :)