Snow time is Great time!

Well well well. Mother nature has decided to shower us with some permanent white stuff, and boy have I (Jake, aka "dada") been waiting to get Spencer out it it! We got a little blue sled from Angela and Lee as a gift for Spencer this Christmas. It sports a nice little seat and a long enough draw cord that I can pull him all over the place! Spencer had been enjoying our little adventures in the snow around the yard, but only because there wasn't substantial amounts of moisture to accumulate on the hills of our nearby park, Spellerberg. Not anymore! I planned an outing today with Spencer and I to enjoy some downhill time like I had when I was a tiny yonker. Nothing better than some chilly air running in your face at high speeds! Ok, we didn't go that fast, but it did seem to be a nice enough acceleration to give him a thrill. I strapped him in with video camera in my hand and we began our downhill experience!

Well...... It really didn't go that bad! I almost made him wipe out be trying to guide this speeding sled from the side with his rope, causing him to somewhat go sideways. But we made it to the bottom in one piece and that was a success! I don't truly know if he enjoyed it, but the subsequent trips down he seemed to smile more, but never a sound! Just kind of catching his breath each time we started sliding down. Let me be clear: I wasn't on the sled with him, just running along side the sled with him, with camera in hand trying to get this on video. The first capture was the best, and I will be posting that as well on his youtube channel. I tried to get some middle school kids to get us on video, but they were inept. None of the videos they capture could keep up with us going down the hill. Oh well. Perhaps our next time will include Nicole who is infinitely better at catching these great moments.

Overall, he lost his one boot twice, and his hat six times in the eleven trips up and down. I got a workout, and I hope Spencer had some fun, though truly he enjoyed the ride home best because I ran him along the ice covered sidewalks. Think the smoothness of that ride is what he was laughing and giggling about the most.

Fourteen Months!

Today, New Year's Day, our darling young lad turns 14 months old! That seems so crazy to me.

He is quite the little monkey climber now, as well as a chatterbox. He learned to get up and down on the couch, and can get down from our bed all by himself, too.

He learned to climb out of his high chair if he's not strapped in. I learned this one evening, while he was eating and my back was turned doing dishes. I turned around to check on him and see if he wanted more to eat, and he was on top of the kitchen table!

He can say quite a few words now. Most of them seem to be dog commands, like "go away," "sit down," "no," and "out." He also says "no way!" That sounds pretty funny coming out of his mouth. He is perfecting "Wendell" more every day, too. He can also say "baby," "bath," "girl," "duck," "dog," "hi," "mama," and "dada." There are other noises we catch from time to time, though we're not sure if he is saying actual words.

Lately, his favorite activities seem to be playing with his toy snare drum, carrying around his giant puppy dog that he got from his aunt, uncle, and cousin for Christmas, watching Elmo or Praise Baby DVDs while mom is trying to get housework done, playing balls, and his shape sorter.

He also LOVES playing with glow sticks, especially in the bath tub.

Spencer had a good Christmas. We stayed home because I have been tormented by sciatica, but, fortunately for him, his aunts Samantha and Allison were here for an entire week! He had a ton of fun with them. I'm pretty certain this next week he will be crabby and depressed with them gone! We opened gifts on Christmas morning (he wore his new holiday elephants Mud Butt Diaper (see picture) for the occasion), and spent the day just spending time together. The following day, his Grandpa Lee and Grandma Angela came to visit. Today, he and daddy took his aunts home, and visited Grandma Anita and Papa Web, and then went to Grandma Mindy's house for supper (while I stayed home). So, despite my limitation on travel, Spencer still got to see all of his grandparents for the holidays. :)

I can't wait to see what this year brings for our little boy!