The Big.... 2.

On Thursday, my darling, first-born baby boy turned two.

I know it's been quite a long time since I have updated Spencer's blog.   If you are my Facebook friend, you more than likely are bombarded with all sorts of Spencer (and Collin, his new little brother, born September 1) statuses and stories, so while I feel a little bad about neglecting his blog, I take solace in that fact.  It's been a hectic few months, introducing the new baby into our family, moving, and all sorts of other things.

Spencer is now 36 inches tall and 30-ish pounds.   He can count to ten, and partially to twenty, all by himself.  He can recite the entire alphabet by himself.  He can point out and name both numbers and letters when he sees them.  He knows red, orange, yellow, chartreuse, green, aqua, blue, purple, pink, black, gray, white and brown.   He knows circle, flower, star, heart, square, triangle, rectangle, moon, and oval.   He knows a ton of animals and their sounds.  He is learning words like crazy.   He's full of hugs and kisses, climbing and exploring, and of course, mischief.  He's an amazing boy that I am grateful for, every single day.   Yes, sometimes, I will admit, he drives me a little batty, but you'll have that.  


With that brief update, I will leave you with a few videos, taken on his birthday.

He's already 19 (months old)!

Today, Spencer turns 19 months-old.  My slacking blogging skills mean that it's been a month since I last wrote about our little guy!  Yikes!

We've been keeping busy.  Spencer is on the go pretty much the entire time he is awake nowadays.  He's been doing "cute" toddler things, like lying on his tummy to play cars, and saying 'vroom vroom' as he drives them across the floor.

He's also been doing not-so-cute toddler things, like throwing a fit if he doesn't want to do something, like come in the house after he's been re-routed from entering the street four times in a row.

He's been doing funny and mischievous toddler things, too, of course.  Recently, he discovered he could re-position the rolling computer chair and climb in it so he can reach things off the table.  He also discovered he can take the computer keyboard off the desk and type.  He's been found using Google as well as trying to print things from my email.  Good thing we don't have a printer, I guess.

Overall, though, it's been a good month.

Jake started his new job, and Spencer and I went through a period of sleep-training where I would let him cry-it-out in his crib until he finally went to bed on his own.  The past two nights in a row, he cried a little on the way to his crib, where he went willingly, because I won't give him his milk in a cup until he gets there.  And as soon as I laid him down and gave him his cup, there wasn't another sound.  He just drank his cup, plopped it out on the floor, and went easily to sleep.  I was so proud.

He has been learning more animal sounds, too.  He has a See-and-Say that he got from Nana Mindy and Travis for Christmas that's been aiding in that, though he sometimes seems a little freaked out by it.  He also has been practicing them with a few books that have animal pictures.  It's been interesting, because even animals that don't really have distinct noises have to have some sort of noise or he won't turn the page.  So, we make them up from time to time.  So far, he's knowing goat, owl, horse, cow, duck, dog, cat, bee, bear, lion, snake, and a couple more that I can't remember.... monkey... and something else.

One of his new favorite past-times, I think, is watching Hot Air Balloons launch.  His uncle Jesse and honorary aunt Samantha help crew hot air balloons for her family that owns them, and invited us to watch two weekends in a row.  The first time we were pretty close to the action, but when the fire started, he got scared.  The second time we were about 100 yards away or so (I'm bad with distance, so just guessing) and he stood, silently, happily, and mesmerized for about 15 minutes while the balloons were inflated and took off.  It wasn't until he couldn't see them in the skyline anymore that he first moved.  It was SO cute.

Last weekend, he got his hair cut for the fifth time.  This time, my aunt opted to try the clippers.  He did NOT like them at all.  So, she switched to the scissors for the main part and then trimmed up again with clippers, and then the scissors once more.  He looks like he's three now, I think!  But goodness, he's handsome!


Next week, he and I are going to stay at my mom's house and visit my mom, dad, and siblings for four days while Jake works his new job in my hometown area.  I'm really excited.  I hope he does fairly well sleeping, I am a little nervous since it'll be not at home, but I think it'll be okay.  And then, in two weeks, my sisters are both coming to stay.  Yay!

The pools opened in town now, too, so I bet we're going to start swimming quite a bit, as soon as it gets hot again.  It's been pretty chilly this week.

Mister Mischief.

Spencer is definitely entering toddler-hood. Not that we didn't know that already, but lately, it's seeming more and more evident that he's not so much a baby.

I say this because, lately, he's been getting into a lot more mischief.

No, I wouldn't say he's a naughty boy. He's curious. He's inquisitive. He's exploring. And he's learning boundaries. It's pretty normal for a child his age.

Here are some examples of his current mischievous acts:

• On Saturday of this last weekend, Spencer was sitting in his high chair, finishing up his lunch, while I was standing in front of him, starting to work on our lunch dishes. I had my back to him. I periodically was checking on him to see if he was finished, and sometime in between the check-ins, he did finish, and decide that it was time to get out of his high chair. The picture to the left is how I found him. Scared the heck out of me!
• Also on Saturday, he was flushing the toilet, just for fun, while the naughty dog had stuck his head under the toilet seat (ugh) and was trying to drink from it.
• On Monday (yesterday), while I was going to the bathroom, he went into his bedroom and pulled the strand of Christmas lights we use for nightlights off the window (they had been falling down... or he had been pulling them down, not sure) and into the hallway. He then pushed the bathroom door open to show me.
• On Monday, a little bit later, I was in the bathroom again, and I came to the kitchen to find that he had emptied 3 desk drawers onto the kitchen floor. There were file folders, pens, envelopes, and highlighters all over. He did not want me to clean it up.
• And, this morning, I am not sure what I was doing, but I came into the kitchen to get us both some juice, and I found that he had used a blue crayon and gave the fridge door a little makeover.

And yet... I just love him to bits. That's a good thing, right?

On a side note: He learned to say "There you go!" which sounds more like "Tay-go," and he spent much of yesterday handing me... anything he could find, and saying that to me. It's his new favorite game, it seems.

15 Months!

Spencer is already 10 days past 15 months old! Wow!

He had his well-baby check this past Wednesday. His daddy took him, because I had to work.

He weighs 24.8 pounds, and is 32.25 inches tall! He's definitely getting taller, but also slimming down some. Most likely due to all the running and dancing he does lately!

Unfortunately, while they were there, it was discovered he has RSV. He seems to be doing okay with it, though it's been kind of a rocky week. I think, well, judging by today anyway, it is finally maybe starting to go away. We can hope!

Starting yesterday evening, Spencer and I are now staying home together, full-time, until it is no longer possible for us to do so. I am very excited! I'm looking forward to being able to focus more intently on his needs and his learning. Some things I hope will become more noticeable is his ability, attention, and desire to help clean up toys, to say please, and you're welcome. I would like him to work on using his eating utensils, and hard-topped sippy cups.

As a treat for him on this new journey, I purchased a car ramp and a few matchbox cars for him yesterday. He loves them, and has been playing with them for the better part of the day today!

Let's see.. what else. Spencer has molars! Three of them are in the process of breaking through. I can see them, but they're not all the way in yet. Not sure where the fourth one is hiding (well, I know, but it's not making it's way quite yet). We've been fortunate that the molars haven't affected his mood too much.

He can say "Happy Birthday!" Too. We taught him that on January 23, for his auntie Sam's birthday.

He says "What's that?" probably 100 times a day now, and I've been working hard to clearly identify what he's pointing at and give it a proper label. He seems to really like lights and windows. He also likes to say "no way," and what sounds to be "uh-oh-dear."

And, lastly, he LOVES walking around outside. I don't think I could get him to happily stay in a stroller anymore. We go on walks around the block, with Wendell, when it's nice enough out. He walks the entire way. Sometimes we'll walk for an hour. He had been trying to use driveways and corners as an access point to the street, but after many times turning him a different direction, and saying "turn around," he's pretty much got it figured out, I think.

That's all for now. Time to read a book it seems!

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!

I see the moon, and the moon sees me.

Tonight, Spencer discovered the moon.

(This is the moon that he saw tonight, however, the photo was taken about 2.5 hours after he found it, while he was sleeping in bed.) ---->

I know, it's a simple thing, but for some reason, it feels like a big deal to me. Maybe because I've always thought as the heavens as somewhat magical. Or mystical. They're intriguing. They're PHENOMENAL really.

Here's the story of Spencer's discovery.

We were just leaving work/daycare/Robert & Jillian's house (because it's all the same) around 5:30pm this evening, same as usual. He looked across the street at their neighbors' Christmas lights, lit up on their house, and said, "ohhhh" like he does for most Christmas-related decorations. I replied, "they're beautiful," as I usually do.

We walked across the driveway to the car, and he was looking around checking out the scenery, as he usually does, and then I see him stop and point up at the sky. In a whisper-type voice, he declared, "WOW," in pure, simple, amazement.

He was looking at the moon! He had never really noticed it before that I have experienced (and since I'm with him 99.9989% of the time in the evenings, I feel like I would know), so the fact that he sighted it and was amazed by the piercingly bright crescent in the sky filled me with giddy joy.

"That's the MOON," I explained. "Moon."

He didn't say it.

He just kept speaking the simple, "Wow."

I had been trying to get him to say "wow" for at least 5 days, and he had not once said it for me to hear.

I guess he just had to find the perfect thing to be awestruck by.

And the moon was it.

He repeated, "wow" a few times in the car, and when we got out of the car again, he looked up and searched the sky, and found it again.

He laughed to himself.

It was priceless.

I think we'll be making a habit of finding the moon on clear-sky nights now.

1 on 11/1/11 - He's golden!

At 7:34pm this evening, Spencer "officially" turned one year old.

Shortly after he was born, I realized how neat his first birthday would be. He would turn 1 on 11/1/11. His first birthday would also be his golden birthday. Pretty cool, I think.

Jake and I woke him this morning, and sang "Happy Birthday" to him, right away. i think we might make that into a birthday tradition. It was a fun way to start our day! SJ spent the majority of his day at daycare, but that is okay, since that means he was with me all day. That also meant he got to spend much of the day with Jillian and Grayson, as well as Robert, who all came to meet him when he was just minutes old!

At daycare, he got a birthday muffin with a candle, and ice cream. He "opened" one gift, which really meant it was basically opened for him, because he had absolutely no interest in participating. Haha. He was too excited about walking, nearly running, around the basement, holding onto a sock.

After daycare, we met up with uncle Jesse (who was also there to meet Spencer when he was minutes old), Samantha, and auntie Tarah (my cousin) at the mall. He got to play in the children's play area, before supper. After supper, he actively opened a present! Woohoo!

Then, Tarah joined us at Barnes and Noble, where SJ got to wander around the children's section at his leisure. So cute. Since I have a membership and he is in the kids club, he got a free giant cookie. He ate some, and we brought the rest home.

When we got home, he had his b-a-t-h, and then we read six books together before he went to sleep.

Tomorrow, since Jake and I both have the day off, we are having a family birthday celebration,.with gifts and rice crispy treats, and most likely lots of reminiscing.

I took many pictures, which I hope to be able to share soon, hoping our computer is fixable!

If you would like to read Spencer's birth story, click on the "mommy" link to the right and follow the link in my entry from this evening.

Funny little toothy boy.

Spencer has been a hoot lately! He's really quirky, so he makes me laugh a lot. Okay, maybe it's just me, but I think he's really funny. You should check out some of the videos on his youtube channel. I'll provide you links below:

First Popsicle

Silly Daddy & Spencer (good for a laugh!)

Hiccups

Coffee Table Drummers (co-starring his best friend, Grayson)

Arguing (another laughable one)
And... I found his tooth!

Yesterday, Spencer's first tooth broke through! Yeah! It is the lower left front tooth. Then, this morning, after his nap, I noticed his SECOND tooth had broken through! That was the top right front tooth. Ah!

He has been moving a lot lately, which is crazy! He doesn't crawl yet, but he, as he has for quite some time, bounces on his bottom all over, and now he also scoots on his tummy backward. He inchworms too, which is super fun to watch. And then, he scoots on his butt, too. Sometimes, I think he might not crawl until after he walks.. just like I did!

He also eats mostly "table food" now, and has been for a while. He loves eating what we're eating (if he can), including things like chicken noodle soup, or grilled cheese, cereal, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and yogurt! I think yogurt is his favorite, but he also loves to feed himself peas. It's really cute. I can't believe how crazy fast he is growing!

In fact, he will be 9 months old on Monday. HOLY MOLY. That just seems... absolutely incredible. He'll be 3/4! And with that in mind, we're already working on planning his first birthday party. It will most likely be family and a few friends (which he does have, thanks to daycare and church!), and possibly be a pool party. I guess it just depends on the cost associated with a bunch of kids swimming. Our place is not big enough to have a party here, so I've been looking into other options. I know it seems far away, but most of his family live far away, so it only makes sense to plan ahead and get it on the calendar! I'm thinking the party will be Saturday, November 5.

He's been sleeping through the night (almost every night) for like a month now, too? I think? And loves pulling to stand, especially in the bath tub (UGH, but when he does, I take him out and tell him bath is done). He also loves walking alongside the couch. And shaking his head no.

Tonight, he waved many times in a row at me and Uncle Jesse! Yay!

Seeing horses and deploying family photos, a birthday party, and a football game.

Spencer had a busy weekend.

I seriously thought about leaving the blog at that. Haha. But, I won't.

Starting on Thursday evening, Spencer had a busy four or five days. That evening, he and I met up with our new friend Samantha, and went for a beautiful walk at a local camp. We saw horses! Though, Spencer, truthfully, was more interested in her watch, until one horse whinnied, and then it was back to her watch.

While we were there, she took a few photos of us together, and of Spencer playing with long grass. The one to the left is one of my favorites from the evening!

Following photos, we sat on some swings and talked a while. By the time we got home, Spencer was so tired he went to bed in his clothes, with one shoe on, one shoe off. It was pretty adorable, if you ask me.

On Friday, the three of us traveled back to my hometown area, to attend my younger brother's deployment ceremony.

He is currently in Wisconsin for training, and at the end of July or beginning of August, or something, he'll be headed to Kuwait for a month, and then to Iraq for 11 months, I believe.

Spencer seemed to enjoy the actual ceremony somewhat. He not only was intrigued by the activity, but he made friends with a baby girl sitting behind him.

Post-ceremony, we all traveled back to my dad's and spent some time together as a family. Spencer and my dad's dog, Adelynn, deepened their friendship. In fact, she tried to take a nap on him at one point.

It's crazy to think that Spencer will be walking and talking (hopefully) by the time his uncle Bryan returns from deployment.

On Saturday morning, we had the second half of our family photo session with Something Clicked Photography. We had the first half a few weeks back, but the wind was crazy (up to 40 mph gusts) so most of the photos had crazy hair and a freaked out look on Spencer's face.

LUCKILY, the weather this time turned out much better. Though, it was quite a feat to get Spencer to smile for photos. He was distracted by EVERYTHING and sat there with a gaping mouth and distant stare most of the time. Between the baby ducks, the grass, the trees, and the sound of a waterfall, he was just not an easy baby to get smiling... unless... Jake was hoisting him up above us both or jumping off in front of us, in which case Spencer would smile and laugh incessantly. We decided that next time, maybe we'll have his uncle Jesse (Jake's twin) come along and either stand in for Jake in the photos (haha) or be the side-show that gets the smiles.

The photo shown here is one of the previews the photographer put online, and I think it's super cute!

That afternoon, we went to Spencer's best friend Grayson's first birthday party! It was a lot of fun! Spencer got to eat a little bit of cake even. He LOVED watching Grayson's balloons.

On Wednesday prior, Spencer made Grayson a birthday card, using green cardstock and washable markers!

He was quite the little artist.

Also on Saturday, we went to a Sioux Falls Storm game! That's the local arena football team. They might be semi-pro or something, I don't really know. It was Spencer's first football game, which was kind of exciting! Jake won two tickets that morning, which is really why we went.

We were a little nervous that Spencer wouldn't like the crazy loud crowd and be cranky, but he really wasn't at all. In fact, he really enjoyed being there! I think he was fascinated with all the activity going on around him. He only cried a few times, mostly when he was hungry or dropped his toy. And, he was so lucky, because his daddy caught one of the miniature footballs that are tossed into the stands as prizes and gave it to him as a souvenir!

The elderly man behind us made a point to tell me once, Jake once, and both of us together one time, that we have such a great little boy, super well-behaved, and adorable. I won't lie, I like hearing those random compliments. Makes me feel like we're doing an okay job parenting, at least!

On Sunday, my college roommate came down for the day and went to church with us. She hadn't seen Spencer since he was only a few weeks old! He didn't care that so much time had passed as he was all smiles when he saw her right away! She really did spend almost the entire day with us!

And then on Monday, he had a calmer day at home, while Jake and I cleaned, and then his uncle Jesse and our friend Sam came over for supper and played games. He very much adores both of them!

In other news, he's getting really good at his pincer grasp and has little to no problems eating his puff food things (little rice puffs) by himself, AND, he's really doing well with his sippy cup!

Tomorrow, he will be SEVEN MONTHS OLD. Holy cow.

6 Months!

Spencer had his six-month well-baby doctor's visit today!

He weighs 19.1 pounds.

He is nearly 28 inches long!

He is in the 75th percentile for height and weight, and head is around the 50th percentile, I think.

He had a blast playing with the paper on the exam table, and attempted to rip the stethoscope right out of his doctor's ears. Haha.

He did all sorts of talking and laughing and squealing... until his shots. Hated those, of course. But, he's still in a relatively good mood!

He got a ball at the grocery store tonight, and I had him laughing so hard he drew a small crowd. I was bonking it on his forehead saying, "bounce! bounce!" He was SO cute.

He got to eat a chunk of watermelon after supper tonight! He loved it. I did not take photos. I will next time.

He also got to spend time with Grandpa Lee today, shopping, and then with Grandpa and Uncle Jesse for supper.

Lately, he's been playing outside a LOT. He LOVES being outside under normal circumstances (unless he's really cranky or tired). He is also experimenting with different "hard" foods, like crackers (which he's had many times before) or toast (which he had for the first time on Friday).

Here's a quick video from tonight, where Grandpa made him giggle:

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Yesterday, Jake and I took Spencer swimming for the very first time! We're getting a family membership at a local wellness center, which means that not only can we work out, but we can take Spencer to an indoor pool!

After touring the center on Saturday, we were very excited and could hardly wait until open swim time on Sunday. Spencer's aunt Shari and his cousin Alyssa joined us as we went to the pool!

He seemed to enjoy it right away, maybe a little unsure at first, because it was pretty loud in there. The "therapy pool" was open for family swim, and it's about the temperature of a bathtub as opposed to a typical swimming pool, so there was no shock there. Almost immediately, he stuck his butt up and began floating by himself... well, with the help of me holding up his chest/head. He would do the same when you tipped him over to his back. He'd pop his belly up to the surface! Seems we have a natural swimmer on our hands!

The first time or two that we dunked him under, he wasn't a big fan, needless to say, but he didn't really cry or anything. He made a couple wimper/cough noises, and pouted a bit, but the sadness was short lived. I think that shocked him more than anything, as well. As we continued swimming, we would occasionally dunk him under. By the end of our hour swimming, he wasn't too phased by it at all.

Jake took him "wake-boarding" on a floating raft, and he loved it. He would smile and squeal and kick his feet in delight! We really do think he'll be a great swimmer!

He also thought it pretty funny when I would hold him up in the air, and then go under the water myself and blow bubbles. Jake said he'd squeal with delight then, too!

I won't lie, we each accidentally dunked him under the water from some sort of floating device. I know the time I did, he tried to roll off the raft thing (successfully, obviously) and rolled right into the pool. My instincts grabbed him in record time, I feel, and after, I had the residual panic thinking "what if he drown!?" I wasn't prepared for that feeling, but I didn't really dwell on it for more than a few seconds.

Shari was awesome and took a few videos for us. Well, Jake took the first one, and she took them after. I'll share two- the one Jake took where he first entered the pool, and one Shari took of him "wake-boarding." Enjoy!

Bathtime Fun and Voice Exploration

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but because of continual flooding in the kitchen due to Spencer's desire to splash like crazy, he moved from his infant tub in the kitchen sink into the big bathtub in the bathroom a few weeks ago... or so.

Anyway, he LOVES it. Not only does he get to float (which he attempts occasionally... and I find impressive) if he chooses, he can play with more toys, and splash much, much more. I think that he also enjoys the change in sound while he's talking and what not created by the bath tub itself.

You can see some of his fun bath time videos on his youtube channel.

He's been a bit.. louder lately, too. I think he's realized more of what his voice can do, and is having a blast experimenting with it. His pitch fluctuates more and more, as well as the decibel at which he uses it. He has different squawks and squeaks as well. He's hit that "pterodactyl" phase. (For the record, I love how not only many people describe baby noises as "pterodactyl" type noises... but the fact that we all seem to know what that means, despite no one actually knowing what a pterodactyl sounds like.) So, it's fun (and sometimes kind of a pain, say, if you're at daycare and trying to let other kids sleep).

He's also eating more lately.. which is crazy to me. It's almost like he's currently a bottomless pit! I can't quite guess how many ounces to put in his bottle at any given time, and it's really thrown me for a loop.

Today, he sat for 31 seconds, unassisted. I know it doesn't sound like much, but when you're right there waiting to catch him if he starts to topple, it seems like quite a long time!

And he LOVES to stand. Assisted, of course.

So... that's all. Just wanted to throw in a quick update.

Ear Infected Carrots.

As you may have heard, last Sunday (Superbowl Sunday), Mister SJ was diagnosed with his very first ear infection! Idealistically (yet, unrealistically), I would hope it to be his last.

He's had a rough week. He'll be his happy, joyous, exuberant and laughing self one-minute, and then the next shrieking like someone was trying to break his bones (not that I really know what that sounds like). It's been hard on me too, and Jake, I'm sure. He was given amoxicillin, which has made him poop quite a bit, but I'm not certain it's helping with the ear, seeing as how it's almost a week later and he is acting about the same. Next Wednesday will tell, I guess.

Jake saw him roll over on Saturday or Sunday, I think. I added him as an author to this blog, so he might tell you about it.

One thing that's changed is that last weekend and early this week, SJ was not really into eating/drinking much. Today, he took Jillian, Brieanne (her sister), and I totally by surprise when it seemed he was having a bottle or nursing every hour. And then Jillian suggested we try a vegetable, and he devoured carrots. He'd get SO mad when I'd take the spoon away for too long because he wanted MORE, NOW! Wow. Talk about a boy growing up super fast.

Anyway, he's awake again, so I better go.

A few weeks worth.

As you may know, on January 20-23rd, Jake and I were in Coronado, California, and Spencer was home in Sioux Falls. My mom and sisters came to spend the four days with SJ and Wendell, which was very wonderful of them.

It was very hard to leave Spencer, but we all did pretty good, I think, for the four days of separation. Grandma and Aunties said he was a little fussy, which was to be expected, but generally, a pretty good little guy, as usual.

The week following our return, Spencer and I spent a lot of quality time together. Over the course of just a few days, he was paying attention to his hands, sucking on them, playing with them, grabbing his own fingers... and then he was holding onto toys... then bringing them to his mouth. He was babbling and talking tons, and laughing like crazy! It's like overnight, he became extra jolly and playful!

On Saturday of last week, we tried cereal for the first time, and he did REALLY well. He barely had problems swallowing it and keeping it in his mouth (for a 13 week old, especially)! He loved it, smiled, talked, and laughed through it all. He's been having it every night ever since,

followed by a bath and bedtime.

That's been helping him sleep longer at night, I think. Three times since then, he's slept from 11pm or so until 4-5am or so! Wow!

On Sunday, January 30, SJ and his best friend, Grayson, were dedicated to the Lord at our church. It was wonderful! I had goosebumps during the whole part of the ceremony. Afterward, we all gathered at

Grayson's mom and dad's house for a luncheon. We dressed our boys to match, and they were SO stinking adorable! I could have just hugged and kissed them to bits!

On Tuesday of this week, we got a video camera! Jake gets points for his sales at work, and he used some of them to get the camera for our family! We've been having fun with it. Spencer is "warming up" to it too, you could say.

You can see his videos on youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/ninjasj

My mom and her boyfriend spent four days with us this week too, while she looked for a new vehicle (hers was totaled by some punk kid driving over 75mph in our 30mph residential zone the night before we left for California), so SJ got to spend more quality time with her this week, which was pretty wonderful for all, I think. She couldn't believe how much he's changed in the last week!

He also wore shoes today, for the first time, just for fun, since he's liking to stand more and more.

Well Baby - 2 Month

SJ had his 2 month Well Baby doctor's visit this morning.

He is a fraction over 24 inches tall. Two feet tall sounds so short, and 24 inches somehow sounds tall. Go figure. That puts him in the 75th percentile for his age. I was a little surprised because he seems so tall to me. Not complaining, of course!

He is 13 pounds exactly. Though, of course, that changes with ever feeding and digestion, seeing as how babies are so small that 4 ounces of fluid fluctuates their actual weight. But anyway, he is in the 75th percentile for that, too! Yay! I was afraid he would be considered "big" for his age, because he seems to be getting so big so fast!

His head is 16 inches circumference. It's in the 50th percentile. The doctor laughed when I told him he had a small head.

Developmentally, she said he's right on track. She was very delighted with the amount of movement he was exhibiting, all of his talking noises, his smiles at her, and his few laughs! He was a jolly good sport, I tell you.

She even said she LOVED his diaper. Hadn't seen a cloth diaper before, and said it was the coolest diaper she has ever seen. That made me smile. She asked how it works and everything, so I gave her a mini lecture. Thought that was fun! He was wearing his kelly green with lime green snaps Mud Butt diaper that he got in the mail on Monday!

He had three shots this morning, and an oral vaccination. He did very well and guzzled the oral one right down. I had to sit down and not watch when they gave him the three in his thighs though, so Jake held his hand. Poor baby! I didn't like that. I didn't cry, I was strong, but he wailed and of course turned bright red. It took a few minutes to calm him down, but now he's sleeping soundly. He was a good boy. :)

Interesting fact for those out there who will deal with infant vaccinations: our doctor informed us that studies are being performed that are pointing to the fact that giving an infant Tylenol before they get their shots may in fact hamper the effectiveness of the vaccination. They recommend only giving Tylenol if a fever occurs after the injections, and you should let it get to 101 degrees before you administer the Tylenol anyway.

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!