i did it, i let JT go to his Mammy and Pap’s for the weekend. We were all supposed to go to a family get together, but with Barry’s new job - he had to work some this weekend - so it was going to be a no-go for all of us, but i knew they were looking forward to seeing JT, the last he was there was at 4wks old. So i offered to meet up and let them take JT for the weekend.

It was not easy at all - packing his stuff that day - every terrible “what-if” scenario went through my head, but i kept packing. (although i have also instituted a new 72 hr rule… decisions on travel, etc must be in stone 72hr before hand - because it is a lot of work getting everything together and cleaned and packed… not to mention handling work emails and conference calls - luckily it was a work-remote day for me - but 24hrs is not enough time). I knew it would be a good thing for all of us - his Grandparents would enjoy showing him off, Barry and I would get to sleep in and maybe go to the movies or something… i knew this deep down - but i also could not stop thinking about what could happen. I cried quitely to myself as i packed his things… Barry was working, but as soon as he got home we were to leave and head up to meet Pap and move JT and his belongings into another vehicle and say goodbye. Barry was running late so i met him closer to the highway and we headed up… i was not the best of company on the ride up - to the point of almost getting into an all out road war with a lady in a mustang that gave me a dirty look for going 75 in the fast lane, JT was a little crabby and not wanting to be in the car at all - which made it even harder.

We met up with Pap, JT got to ride in the big rig from the gas station back into the truck yard… we moved all his stuff over, giving instructions on the stroller, the bottle nipples, the car seat, when to use his cd’s, how to operate the camera, when and how to give teething tablets, how to get him from car to bed that evening, handed over a few pages of additional instructions and also a signed medical release form - just in case (when your whole family is in medical field - this is always top of mind)… JT all along looking intently at everything, taking in the new environment, the train going by, the trucks rolling by, we said our goodbyes, eyes watering.

We asked Pap if he had everything HE needed… cigars? soda? Let us follow you to the gas station again so you can get what you need, remember, there’s no just running in/out of somewhere and leaving JT in car… we jumped out and said goodbyes again, tears rolling down my face, but still remaining somewhat composed (at least i thought i was)… Pap came and jumped in truck and rolled off… i got in passenger side and could not stop the tears from rolling - barry reached over and hugged me - i began bawling as he held me - i did not say another word until about an hour later when we stopped to have a bite for dinner. Meanwhile, Pap eased my mind a bit, he called to tell me not to worry, that he’d be out of phone range for a bit, but he’ll call once back in and he did just that - said JT was staring at him, i know he was studying him - sizing him up. Said he got a bit crabby so he pulled off and got him a bottle and he was quickly fast asleep…  i could still smell him on my shirt.

All weekend long we  thought we’d be able to relax and have “child-free” fun… alas, he’s been in practically every conversation and every thought. We can sleep in if we want, alas, i was awake at 7am both mornings, but laid in bed staring at the baby-monitor imagining him waking up and cooing and singing himself awake. The weekend consisted of a lot of - what do you want to do? I dont know, what do you want to do? Conversations almost always steered to JT, mocking characters on sesame street… “mr noodle, what do you want to do today?” We’ve called and talked to him at least 8x’s each day between the two of us - feeling good when we knew he recognized our voices on the telephone.

It’s not been an easy weekend, but it has made me realize a few things - we have an unbelievably good baby… we could hear him laughing in the background - every call we got was about how good he is and easy he is. It also made me feel good that Barry’s mom acknowledge it’s a lot of work - and that she’s not sure she could keep up if he weren’t such an “easy” baby… that made me feel good - not because i dont think or didn’t think she could do it - but now when we say, we’re just not up to packing him up… they’ll understand what all that entails. It also made me feel good that they were very understanding and respectful with regards to my feelings/wishes and understanding that i was nervous; and followed all instructions/advice and called to keep me posted on how he was doing - almost as often as we called them.

I’m sure after a few more visits my nervousness will not be so bad… but i dont think it will ever go away. We called first thing this morning - we want to get him back by 5 today - we miss him too much, we want to spend time with him - we need him - we’re not sure what we’d do without him…

JT is a reincarnation of Hoodini!!  He can undo knots and we have yet been unable to figure out how.

Our dog Lic, had a toy with a rubber hose going around the edges of it.  Well, the toy has long been destroyed but we still have the rubber hose.  JT loves this hose.  He can play with it for hours.  Actually, toy purchases will not be needed seeing that he enjoys the hose, empty boxes and dead bugs he find in the floor.:)  Back on the subject, we tie the hose in a complicated knot onto a basket.  Somehow he can undo the knot and get the hose off.  He can go anywhere he decides too.  His army crawl is his primary mode of transportation but he is getting more adventerous in his walker.  God help Lic when he learns to walk cause he terrorize her now with his army crawl.  Nothing is safe from his grasp.  If he can get his hands on it, his hands are like a vise.  Once you free the item from his hands, then, the Siler/Newman temper flares.  Lord help him, he got that temper from both sides.  He gets mad about everything.  If we don’t allow or he can’t do something, he throws a fit.  Right now, he is in his walker stalking anything and everything.  Seriously!  I think his walker has stealth capabilities.  One minute he is in the living room, turn your back, he is gone.  No sound, no nothing.  It scares me to think of when he figures out how to get outside.

I have started my new job and it is awesome.  I love it.  I finished working Friday night and Saturday but I look forward to getting up and heading to work.  Plus, I am still doing my work on the side for Hiscall.  Which they have been tasking me to work more and more and it is a task to juggle them, my new job and my family.  I know my family comes first and that I enjoy the time I spend with them the most.

Things are looking up for our little family.  Just remember when we come to visit y’all that don’t be suprised if a little bald headed midget disappears to somewhere in your home.  Lock up your valuables.

We Tivo Sesame Street… there’s no turning back now.

I have been MIA for a week or more but now I am back to spread the good word about JT

Alot has been going on around our house in the past couple of weeks. We have been working around our house stripping and resealing our deck. I have quit my job at Rollins to start a new job with autotrader.com. Let me tell ya, I feel so much better after leaving Rollins. I was doing a job I knew nothing about and I feel lucky that I have made it as long as I did without getting canned. Now, I will be back doing what I love, Telephone Switches.

Enough about me, everybody wants to hear about JT from my perspective. That little man is into everything. Literally, he has no boundaries. He gets into about everything he can at his eye level. He is curious about everything and wants to do whatever you are doing. We have added a swing in our living room now. I put some brackets on one of the beams in the living room and hung a swing we bought from craigslist.com on it. www.craigslist.com is a site where you can buy other peoples junk. Sort of like an online yard sale. We have bought swings, desks and bench on there. Word to the wise, invest in baby gate stock for we will be having to buy a bunch of them to keep our rug rat out of some spaces. We also have a new IKEA in Atlanta with all kinds of cool stuff for our house. We bought some olympic rings for JT to hang on to. We also hang them from the same brackets that we have the swing on. We got a rope ladder there so when JT gets bigger he will be able to use it to get down from the second floor to flog onto the couch. Figure that will bring some excitement and sense of adventure to him, seeing that will be “his” way of getting downstairs. Kim and I have a lot that we want to do to our house. As I said before, we just finished up our porch and now we are going to take on our closests.

JT is in his swing right now just jabbering and singing as he watches us go to and fro. Sometimes I wonder if he even likes me or not. I also wonder if I am damaging him or not. Am I being loving enough so that he feels safe and secure like I did whenever I was in my own parent’s arms. I hope so but some of the reactions I get don’t seem that way. He is a mama’s boy. He prefers his mama to me but he wants to join me whenever I am working at something. He likes to work on stuff. He likes to see cause and effect in things. Like the wheels on his wagon or dropping something to the floor. He seems to sit back and study things. It is weird but he likes to watch us eat and he enjoys watching me and his mama wrestling. Maybe we are the weird ones and he is trying to figure us out. Dunno. I am going to sign off now but I will be keeping reagular updates now that I am free!!!!

JT woke this morning looking really rough - like he spent the night chasing bad guys through slobber pits and snot canals. He’s got bags under his eyes and his eyes just look really sad and sick. He doesn’t have fever, but can tell he’s not feeling well, cuz he just wants to lay around and be comfortable - he’s eating still, that’s a good sign… guess he’s just got a bit of a cold.

Barry’s excited deep down, but on the outside, you’d think he was going through torture - it’s his last day at his current job - he starts his new job on monday (he’ll be working for http://www.autotrader.com). I guess these last days have been rough - it’s hard to turn in a notice and not be excited about new opportunities - but when those around you are definitely not excited for you - i guess it can be a little wearing. I’m sure he’ll be glad when this day is over. Then he’s got 3 days off to spend working around the house and doing some maintenace on the cars - he may even take some time to go fishing with Marc.

I think the few days will do him good - hopefully he doesn’t just sleep them away or play video games and watch tv all day… cuz it’s perfect opportunity to get some things done. Our current project is the master closet - we’ve gotten one side cleared out - now all the holes need to be patched and mudded and then paint… it’s a big closet, so we’re considering doing some IKEA wardrobe system, which when we resell, will be good - cuz new home-owners will be able to customize to their own liking easily… OR we may build from scratch - which we’re worried, cuz not sure the walls are strong enough to hold it all and not sure it’’s really the best route considering time & money… it would be nice to have it all ready to start, either way, by end of this weekend…. we’ll see.

Though the live website hasn’t changed much - i have been working on things - i’ve moved our blog into a new application called WordPress - this allows us to update the site much easier and to make changes across all pages at one time - MUCH EASIER - i’ve been out of the loop for so long as far as web design goes - i’ve been doing things very old-school… time to catch up and get back on the wagon. Soo - let us know what you think about the site - also notice the new features we’ve added - now everytime you reload our website - you’ll get a different header image - all photos of those Silly Silers!!

Other than working on the web site - things have been very busy - JT still has only two teeth - but as of Thursday, July 7 - he now can pull himself up to standing all by himself (at the age of 6mo 1wk and 1day!!!). His caregivers at school, Diane and Dee-Dee, say he now likes to hide from them - he’s all over the place with his army crawl and as of Thursday - they turned around to find him STANDING at the teacher’s stool!!! He’s also now been to the bowling alley - we took Marc for pizza and then bowling Friday night and he was sleeping through it all - and on the last game he decided to wake up - which was funny - because a few minutes later they turn out the lights and turn on black lights for the rock-a-bowl times, so we got a few pics of him in black lights and dancing on the tables at the bowling alley. He still loves baths and water - he showed Gramma PatPat his swimming skills too - even though he was a bit crabby all day from immunization shots and teething (which lasted about 2days) - as soon as we got to the pool he was all smiles!!! He never got to see fireworks on his First 4th of July though - PatPat and Marc took him to downtown Canton to see the display, but then it was rained out - he’ll enjoy them more next year though - i’m sure of it!!

JT is tons of fun, he also has a new favorite thing, his RADIO FLYER RED WAGON - Gramma PatPat got him before heading back to Florida this last visit. It’s a really nice one too - it’s the ATW (All Terrain Wagon) - with big wheels and wooden guards. HE LOVES IT!!! Going up and down the driveway at anytime of day and he’s up for it!!! Then this weekend his Pap had him all over the yard and in the trees inspecting the flowers and branches. Mammy, Daddy and I went to Ikea and left JT with Pap and Marc… we returned 3.5hrs later to JT in the swing on the porch with Pap pushing him - and then we see the 4wheeler out and guess what’s attached to the back??? Yep, you guessed it, the wagon!!!!  Pap put him in it and then went up and down driveway driving the 4wheeler with the wagon behind it… let’s just say, i was a little more than nervous - luckily Barry noticed this and followed behind them - good thing too - cuz then Pap decided to take JT through the trees too - actually JT does great in the wagon and stays sitting and holds on tight (had to get him off after a while so he could let the circulation back into his hands)… but i was very nervous with him going up and grade or over anything for fear JT would bounce out of the back…

Other than all of that - we’ve been busy with projects around the house - Barry, Marc and I pressure-washed the deck and then put sealant on last weekend - the next project is the master closet where the shelving collapsed - we want to do it right, so we’re doing it step by step, we’re considering putting in an Ikea wardrobe system or building from scratch - we have a few concerns on both ends - but we’ll figure it out soon i’m sure.

Barry only has two days left at Rollins/Orkin - he starts his new job on Monday - July 18th - he’s so excited - he can barely contain it - he’ll be getting back into what he really enjoys doing, and that actually working on the phone switches themselves - vs managing others and depending on others to do it. I’m excited for him - cuz he’ll be going to http://www.autotrader.com, which is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises - and a tad different environment overall - I think it’s one that will be very good for him. He’ll also now be right around the corner from Cingular HQ - which is where I work - so makes carpooling much easier - though we both are about to take on new adventures at work - so we are concerned about having to work late and how to get JT from daycare before 6:30p and all the while factoring in Atlanta traffic (now rated 2nd worse in the nation -  Los Angeles is FIRST!!).

As always - lots going on - we’re enjoying our home and visitors and getting in the swing of balancing work and play - working hard and playing harder!!

Man, I got the life!! I have a beautiful wife, a beautiful son and a beautiful home, who could ask for anything more!! I am still not satisfied though. I want to be able to provide for my family and yet still be able to go do what I want.
I figure you all reading this know me already and know where I come from so I don’t have to any back story. I exsist in two different worlds. I work in a technology based world where being on the cutting edge is important and keeping up with future trends is a must. On the other hand, I am still the same boy that grew up in the country. Four-wheelers, fishing, being in the woods is an itch that has to be itched. So duality is very important. Now to my point! How do I pass this on to my son or do I pass this on to my son? The thing is, I am never completely comfortable in either. Stick me in the middle of NYC and I miss my mountain home. Stick me in deep in the woods and I miss an indoor restroom. Dry leaves are not good to wipe your tail with, trust me. So what to do? I guess I could show JT the best of both worlds and then let him decide. Shoot, who could pass up gravy and biscuits with gourmet jelly? We will just have to let him decide which fits his world!!