Days with Auntie Sam and Auntie Allie

On Tuesday, Spencer and I roadtripped to Minnesota, to visit his Grandma Anita, Uncles Dustin and Bryan, and Grandpa Richard (haha, that sounds funny)... er... Papa Web, and also to bring his Aunts, Samantha and Allison, back to Sioux Falls.

He did very well in the suburban, sleeping the whole way there and the whole way back.

He got some Christmas presents from the family as well, shoes, onesies, a sleep sack, and Papa Web gave him a Bumbo chair! Although, the Bumbo was purple, so Jake exchanged it for a blue one. It was a mistake on Papa Web's part. He thought the chair was green! Spencer does great in his Bumbo already. He can hold his head up pretty well for up to five minutes before his neck starts getting tired (though it's usually not that long at all). (In this photo, I was sitting in the chair, so he was looking up at me, whoops.)

On Tuesday night when we got home, the aunts gave Spencer a bath. Of course, he loved it. He loves his bathtub. He has a cold though, so he used the Vapor Bath, which really did calm him down, too!

Wednesday, Jake's best friend, Brian, came to spend the night. Spencer stayed awake with a couple very tiny naps, from 6pm until 1:30am. He drank 1.5 ounces at 1:00, and then he slept until 5:55am when he woke starving! I was very surprised. He seemed to have a good time with the pizza and cards party we had, smiling and playing in his bumbo chair, bouncy chair, and swing.

Thursday, Spencer, Sam, Allie, and I went to "the Land of Books and Coffee." (That's Barnes and Noble.) He slept basically the entire time there, too. He had kind of an off day on Thursday, a little fussier than usual. He got another bath, and then, go figure, as soon as his dad came home, he had a massive poop, and so daddy took him to the shower.

It was pretty funny. Spencer started out screaming and crying in the shower, but before long, was silent, and all you could hear were Jake's constant giggles. Apparently, Spencer likes to shower!

Samantha and Allison will be here until Sunday (unless the weather or MN roads are still horrible), so we still have two days and a few hours to spend together. Since it's snowing and icy, we'll most likely stick around the house today, maybe have a New Year's Eve pajama party. I can't believe it's almost 2011, and Spencer will have lived in two years! That's amazing!

Oh, but some Spencer related developmental joy: talking and laughing! He's making a lot of talking noises lately, random utterances we love hearing, (especially instead of his cough), and he is also laughing! Not very often, and it's very short lived when he does, but he has laughed at least twice a day now, all week! We're just not sure how to get him to do it consistently, so we're hoping he does, soon. He loves when you stick your tongue out at him, or make buzzing noises with your lips.

Anyway, off to play!

Spencer's first Christmas.

It's an amazing joy to have been able to celebrate Christmas with Spencer in our lives this year!

A few weeks ago, while shopping with Jillian, I found these cute pajamas for Spencer to wear on his first Christmas.

Christmas Eve, Jake and I went to church, while Spencer slept in the church nursery. Afterward, SJ's uncle Jesse (Jake's twin) picked us all up (including Wendell) and we headed to their mom's house, Spencer's Grandma Mindy's. As soon as we got there, I changed his diaper and put on these pajamas. The consensus was that he looked like a candy cane, which gave Grandma's dog, Jeb, a good excuse for all the licking Spencer he likes to do.

Christmas morning, Spencer was awake bright and early, and the entire family commenced a gift opening ceremony. Spencer was given many items, including a cute pair of shoes and clothes. We can't wait for him to be able to wear all the items!

We spent the entire day at Grandma Mindy's house, though daddy's friend "Uncle" Brian visited, and mommy's friend, Lesley, who teaches English and drama in Mexico came too! Yay!

Sunday morning, bright and early, we drove to Orange City, Iowa, for Christmas with Grandpa Lee and Grandma Angela. Spencer was fortunate to get to meet Aunt Shari, Uncle Tom, Cousin Alyssa, Uncle Cody, and soon-to-be Aunt Emily! We had a great time with family there, too. Many photos were taken of Spencer, but in the majority of them, he looked mad. I thought that was funny, as he did spend most of the day happy and smiling! Oh well. Grandma Angela took a photo of us on our first Christmas as a family of 3, and we can't wait to see it! From Grandma & Grandpa Worthley, Spencer received more clothes, a few toys, a touch & feel book, and a bumper for his crib!

We're back home now, and spending the day just the two of us, getting back into the groove of being at home. It's a little difficult though, because Spencer has his first cold! He sounds so funny when he talks and cries.

Oh yeah, he's "talking" now! Started doing that a lot this weekend!

I can't believe Spencer is almost two months old (he is 8 weeks old today)! I can hardly believe he just celebrated his first Christmas, and that it is almost his first New Year's! Time flies, it's true!

Sick.

Spencer is sick for the first time, today!

He slept quite a bit this morning, from 7 until nearly 11, before getting up and wanting to eat. When he did, he didn't eat much, and then... forcefully brought it all back up. It was a scary, scary mess as it kept spewing from his mouth and nose! After I got him calmed down (because it scared both of us), I gave him a little more, and rocked him until he slept. Then he slept another three hours before waking and wanting to eat just a little more. He hasn't had a messy diaper (just wet) since sometime yesterday.

I feel bad for the little guy. I've been periodically taking his temperature and that is staying normal with only decimals of variation, so that's assuring, but he's so sleepy and extra cuddly, and not eating nearly what he usually does. Makes his momma a little nervous!

On a happier note, he DID laugh at me again today when I was changing his diaper. I don't know what I said, but he had a cute little laugh for maybe a second, followed by super sleepy smiles.

Let's keep our fingers crossed (and pray if you do pray) that he doesn't get any sicker, and perks up by tomorrow!

Flesners and Fenders.

Yesterday, Jake, Spencer, and I traveled to rural southwest Minnesota for my mother's family's Christmas gathering. We were joined by my cousin's twins, who were quite a delight to chauffeur. They sat in back on either side of Spencer, playing peek-a-boo with him... as he slept. They didn't care. They had a grand ol' time! They decorated his car seat with the bright orange Schwan's stickers. I wanted to take a picture, but by the time we arrived at our destination, they had been transfered from the car seat to the suburban windows, and then to their faces, hands, and arms. Ah, well.

The gathering was a great time. My mom, Spencer's Grandma Anita, was there when we arrived, so she took him immediately, and he was full of smiles for her! I was very happy. I had been telling her for weeks now that he is super smiley, and she would ask for pictures, but every time I would get my phone out, he'd get all serious on me. Go figure.

As usual, he was passed around from Great-Aunt to Great-Aunt, mostly with the help of his Auntie Allie (who is 11). She's a hoot. She even changes diapers, happily at that.

Everyone got to see his super cute diapers, including his new Charlie Banana style, "Under Construction."

Papa Web (my dad) showed up a little later than we expected, but Spencer was able to spend quality time on the couch with him as he snuggled up and slept against his chest, and then had a bottle. Everyone commented on how much he's grown, and how beautiful his blue eyes are, and how cute he is. I love hearing it. I wasn't sure I'd ever hear them talking about my baby, after all!

Too bad, I'm a slacker mommy and didn't take ANY pictures of him.

Anyway. When we go to church on Sundays, he goes to the nursery, and for the first time, he was awake in the nursery! The lady who was volunteering (who is pretty regular) was telling us how she was so excited to see him awake and be able to play with him. Though, he was sleeping by the time we picked him up.

And in other news, for the second time in his short life, Spencer was involved in a fender-bender (we should probably stop letting him drive, eh?) this afternoon. Some schmuck was not paying attention as he was going around a curve in a residential area and smushed his puny car into our beefy ol' suburban. Got a few scratches and bent parts on the monster of a truck, but we're all well. Barely woke Spencer up, actually, he just grunted and cried a little, then went back to sleep. The first time he was in one was a few weeks ago (he didn't have a blog then), and he and I were leaving Starbucks and someone in a dark car wasn't paying attention at a stop light and decided he/she should go forward while everyone else was noticing that the light was red. Barely affected the car but made a nice noise as it pushed us forward, and the driver sped off into the darkness. Ergh. I was so mad.

That's all for now.

Acid in the tummy, smile on the face.

SJ in his swing, 5 weeks old.

Over the past few weeks, we have had the unfortunate experience of being covered in frequent baby spit up. The indicents have been increasing, and Spencer has been having some fussy times after eating. Following a discussion with another friend whose son has acid reflux, I decided it was in Spencer's best interest to place a call to the doctor.

So, for about a week now, SJ has been on Zantac (or a generic version, anyway), as the doctor did think he probably is suffering from acid reflux. For infants, it's called GERD, but it's basically too much acid in the stomach, causing upset, and occasional heartburn like symptoms in babies.

Poor little guy. Makes sense though, seeing as how the increase was happening, and he's had more hiccups, and gas, and fussy times after eating. We were told to try the medication for a while and if it doesn't work then we will take him in to see what they'll try next, I guess. So far, its' a toss up. Sometimes I think it's working, and then other times, I find my back covered in messiness.

That's not stopping Spencer from being a happy little guy most of the time, though. His smiles are becoming more frequent and consistent. He smiles at me many, many times a day, often after I make silly noises, or just talk to him after he's sleeping. He also smiles at his toys, and at his swing.

He loves his swing. So much, that the he's used it to the point of battery exhaustion. His daddy is a hero though, and brought home new batteries this morning. He's finally taken interest in the mobile, and likes it even more when the music is playing.

On his daddy's birthday (12/8) we set up the Christmas tree, and he loves playing under his toy gym, under the tree, looking at the pretty lights. He even loves when I sing Christmas music, especially my favorite, "What Child is This?" Though, that one comforts him to the point of nearly falling asleep every time I sing it!

Anyway, wanted to post a quick update, and also say our computer is temporarily working again!

Happy Growing Boy

Tonight is bittersweet. Spencer is wearing newborn pajamas for the last time. He is actually wearing the pjs he wore his first night home- pajamas that his daddy wore as a newborn. I think I might have to hang them on the wall. He has been on the brink of being too tall for the newborns for a few days now. The reason tonight marks the last night is because we are down to the last few newborn disposable diapers, and his adorable Fuzzi Bunz give his tushy a little poofiness so the pjs won't snap completely closed. We are very excited to start with the cloth though! I am sure I will take photos of his cute cloth covered bottom! Today, I am almost certain Spencer laughed in his sleep! It was adorable. I can't wait for it to be a regular event. He had a very happy day today. He smiled very often and was super playful, with me and with his toys. He played under his toy gym happily for 20 minutes! That is the longest so far!

sidenote

The previous post (as well as this one) was written and published on my phone. Our computer has gone to heck and we are therefore without until further notice. Eventually, I hope to share photos and such, but need a computer for that. I also apoplogize for any wonky typos I may have not noticed, as well as any formatting annoyances that I am unable to change- such as breaks for new paragraphs. ~Nik

One-Twelfth

Today, our little Spencer is one month old. It seems crazy to think that it has been that long since I gave birth to him. Over the course of the last month, he has gained over a pound, nearly outgrown all of his newborn clothes, gone from 4 feedings a night to 3 or sometimes 2, visited Iowa and Minnesota, celebrated 3 Thanksgivings, and met over 43 of his mom's family and friends. There was one week where he got to see each of his grandparents for various reasons, which was really wonderful. He has even been to church twice! Developmentally, he seems right on track. He already is tracking faces and objects, and really enjoys a few of his toys, like his little radio that plays classical tunes and flashes pretty lights. He also really likes his swing and watching the mobile on it. This morning we noticed he was watching his dad's eyebrows moving up and down. He is quite the cuddle-bug which makes being stuck inside due to frigid cold a nice and cozy experience.