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.
Sioux Falls has a pretty... decent zoo, for the most part. They're undergoing renovations again this year which will make it a little more awesome, I think. Spencer has been there at least three times... possibly five or six. I cannot remember exactly. He enjoyed it when we went, for the most part, but he was a bit younger then and didn't really understand animals or have that much interest in them at the time. Also, sometimes the animals in the zoo in Sioux Falls seem hard to see. That's my opinion, anyway. They have a pretty good variety, but it's not nearly as awesome a zoo as the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE.
Ever since Spencer started showing interest in fish (which he calls "wish!" very excitedly), I have had it in my heart and mind to take him to the zoo in Omaha, because they have a wonderful aquarium with an underwater tunnel. I just always thought he would love it.
Spencer's fantastic daddy made it possible for the three of us to take a day trip to Omaha this past Sunday to visit the zoo. While the temperatures climbed to over 100° that day, we left early enough to be able to spend a good five or more hours wandering the zoo. We, by no means, saw it all, but it was our plan to attempt to see all of the animals out of one of Spencer's favorite books, "Where's Spot?" as well as the aquarium.
We accomplished that much, plus a few animals he hadn't heard of yet and a few others he had from different books he has. He is 20.5 months old now and he knows quite a few animal names and noises, which made the adventure even more exciting, I think. We definitely got to put his knowledge to the test! He did so well! And was so excited!
We first visited the desert dome. We decided to start there while the temperature outside was only in the 80s and so it wasn't going to bake us. Spencer really liked the foxes, the jack rabbits, porcupines, and a few other animals that I can't remember. He got really excited with the rabbits, and an elderly lady next to us just loved watching him squeak at them. After, we went to the... night.... area... where the animals that love the dark are. Spencer honestly loved watching the bats in the bat cave flying around overhead. He would say "flap flap" as they flew. He also got very excited about the snakes and frogs and made their noises for quite some time. Then, we visited the swamp lands, and he got to see turtles and alligators, both in his book.
Then, I think, we went and saw the gorillas and monkeys. Spencer was enjoying the monkeys from inside the pavilion area, where we were about three stories above ground, until we pointed out a monkey on the ground for him to look at, and we think he was afraid he was going to fall down there (because the glass was clear), and he started to get a little freaked out. He enjoyed it again when we were on the main level with various other primates and the big gorillas. I got to stare a gorilla in the face with only glass between us. It was pretty intense. He made a lot of monkey noises the entire time.
I think we then went through the aviary, but there weren't many birds hanging out. We saw a few and a deer of some sort.
We stopped for a rest and snack, where there were little wild birds waiting for Spencer to drop his goldfish crackers. He liked them. Haha. Then we saw the bears! He really enjoyed watching the polar bear swim from atop daddy's shoulders. He enjoyed the grizzly and sunbear, too, but I think the polar seemed to be his favorite. He growled for the bears.
Then we went to the cat pavilion area. Spencer watched the big tiger pace for a while, and roared. He saw a few lions, panthers, jaguars, and a leopard, too.
The last stop (I think) that we made was the aquarium, because it was getting to be to the point where Spencer was getting potentially whiny and needing to sleep (we woke him at 6 and he only slept 20 minutes out of the entire 3 hour drive to the zoo). It was the part, as I said, I was most anticipating for him. When we walked inside, I got the video camera out, and Jake put him down to run free. He ran excitedly toward the first tank inside which had a bunch of fish (I don't remember what they were), yelling "wish! wish! wish!" the entire time. He kept pointing and squeaking and running and LOVED it. Here's the video:
We took him to penguin area next. He watched from right up against the glass for a bit, with daddy, until a penguin zipped by him in the water and made him jump. I didn't get to see it, but Jake and various other spectators did, and commented on it quite a bit. He warmed up to watching them shortly after, and was mesmerized by their swimming.
Then, we took him to the underwater tunnel. He sat atop daddy's shoulders again, fascinated with fish swimming overhead. After a bit, we set him down right at the glass, and he watched more "wish" swimming, until a sting ray swam by his face and made him cry. Then he wanted to be held, so I held him, and we watched sharks and others swim by us. It was wonderful!
The final thing that we took time to see (other than a few other types of ocean fish) were the jellyfish. Spencer was mesmerized by these as well. The orange ones (again, I forget what they're called) were his favorite. We stood right up against the glass and watched them swim in front of us. He kept reaching out to the glass to "touch" them and saying "wow!"
By the time we got out of the aquarium, he was basically asleep. :)
Because we didn't see it all (we missed out on many safari animals (like elephants, zebra, giraffe, rhinoceros) and rain forest type animals (macaws and such)), we decided that sometime, probably next spring when Spencer's brother or sister is a little older, we would go back and see more.
It was definitely worth the trip, I think. We didn't have our camera with, but had our video camera, cell phones, and my sisters point and shoot, so we did get a few photos and videos to share with Spencer when he's older.
Last week, on Monday, Jake (aka Daddy) took Spencer and I (Nicole, aka Mommy) back to my hometown, where we planned to stay the week.
Jake has a new job (if you don't know about it, feel free to read up on the change in my own blog), and is gone four days/three nights a week. He's been working in my hometown area for a few weeks, so I thought maybe it would be an easy enough thing for him to just drop us off there while he was working, so we could have a change of scenery for a while.
I was a little nervous about Spencer adjusting to being there, sleeping at my mom's and not his room for four nights (we stayed until mid-day Friday), but overall, it was a wonderful trip.
Monday: On Monday, we arrived around noon. We were dropped off at Papa Web's house, where we waited for Auntie Sam to wake up from her nap and join us. Uncle Bryan came also that evening, and brought bubbles! Yay! After they were done with work, Uncle Dustin/Groovy and Grandma Anita came by. Eventually, Auntie Allie came for a while, too. We had a good afternoon/evening mostly playing with balls in the yard, as well as bubbles. Wendell spent the night (and the rest of them) with Papa.
Tuesday: On Tuesday, Sam and I went to the high school and visited Frau (my former teacher and now friend) and talked about the school yearbook. Papa took Spencer to play at the park, and to see some of Papa's friends.
Wednesday: Wednesday was a fun day, in which Papa took Auntie Sam, Spencer, and I to Sanborn (SJ fell asleep on the way), and we visited my grandparents' grave. Afterward, Papa decided we should road trip to the nearest Wal-Mart (about half an hour from where we were) and get Spencer a pool! So, we did. Papa bought him a pool and a squishy ball, and I got him a big blue ball to play with, too. And some PediaSure since he was against eating while we were on vacation. After, we went to Dairy Queen, and then the local park where they have some animals at the "zoo." Spencer LOVED the ducks. He would run up to them super excited like and yell "QUACK QUACK!" before running away, and back again, and away again, and back again... When we got back to Papa's house, he blew up the pool and "filled" with with a few inches of water. Spencer got right in and played for quite a long time. He didn't want to leave that night, but rather just keep swimming.
Thursday: Early Thursday morning, Grandma and Auntie Allie took Spencer to the strawberry farm (about forty minutes or so away) to pick berries while I got to catch up on some sleep (because Spencer was staying up late and getting up very early on vacation). He didn't so much help pick berries, I hear, but had a good time anyway. After he got bored, Allie took him to pretend to drive Grandma's truck. They came back mid-morning with a bunch of berries. I tried to get Spencer to taste one... and he really didn't want to, but he liked to touch and look at them! Then, Grandma and Allie went to Grandma's job so she could show him off and meet her co-workers. He had a great time, I was told, splashing in puddles, running through rows of flowers (she works at a nursery), and climbing on rocks. When they got back, it was nap time, and then back to Papa's for more swimming! Spencer had a BLAST swimming on Thursday, especially since he discovered he could splash people by throwing balls into the water. His favorite was to splash Grandma. I have a cute video to share!
Friday: Daddy came to Grandma's on Thursday night, so when Spencer woke up Friday morning, he was very excited to see him. Grandma was at work, so after lounging around and relaxing a few hours, we headed back over to Papa's house to play in the pool one more time before driving home, and also to get Wendell. By the time we left town, Spencer was super exhausted, and had fallen asleep on my lap in a matter of seconds after sitting down on it. He didn't even wake up when Daddy put him in the van!
It was a great trip. To be honest, I'm kind of sad we're back at home! Spencer had a great time, as did I. I hope we can do it again sometime!
In other news, his fourth bottom tooth is FINALLY coming in, many months after the other three. I was beginning to wonder if it would at all!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
(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.
Wendell keeping "his" baby boy warm on the couch tonight. Spencer loved it so much and was so comforted by it, he let me leave the room more than once without crying hysterically.
Yesterday, Spencer woke up feeling warm, so I thought. I didn't think much of it, since he had a tooth pop through the night before. But, as the day went on, and he was tired and cranky, I was a little more concerned.
He went to spend a few hours with Tarah so I could have a break to get things done around the house easily, and have a little time for myself. He slept basically the entire time he was with her. When she brought him home, he was suddenly pretty cranky... and hot. I took his clothes off to give him a bath, but feeling how hot he was, I took his temp. It was 103.5. I decided immediately I would take him to acute care, since it was only 7:50 or so, and I knew if I didn't, I probably wouldn't sleep last night due to worry.
Ugh. Acute care. I generally have fairly good experiences there, but last night, I was a little more distraught.
The doctor there took his temp, which was quite high, and then scheduled him for lab work after checking his ears, throat, lungs, and pulse. The lab work went pretty smoothly, actually. Spencer whimpered a bit but didn't really cry.
As it would go, I got a text message saying I had an email from Sanford, and the lab results were available for me to read online 15 minutes before the doctor came in and told me that they were "normal" though on the higher end, and according to the blood smear, or whatever it was, they couldn't tell if it was viral or bacterial, so to alternate Tylenol and Motrin and bring him back in the morning.
Ugh. So I did. And of course, I slept like crud with worry.
I took him in this morning, and his fever was down quite a bit at the time due to some ibuprofen, but he was still warm. After talking with the doctor(s), they decided to test his blood and urine, and run a strep and RSV test.
Well, he SCREAMED when they took his blood today. Poor little guy. And then the urine... yeah, he didn't like that at all either, and wailed and screamed. Broke my heart.
And when it was all said and done, they decided he had "something viral, probably a stomach bug" that should pass in 5-7 days. They told me I should probably keep him home the rest of the day so as to not infect others since his fevers were still so high, and alternate the aforementioned medications, and bring him in or to the ER if it were to get worse instead of better.
*sigh*
So, I brought him home. He has been super cranky, and sleepy, of course. Much of the afternoon, it seemed like his fever was going down, but then tonight, two hours after giving him medication, it was back up over 100. And just an hour ago I took it and it was over 102 again. So, I gave him a cooler than normal bath, more Tylenol and put him to bed.
I feel so bad. I wish I could just make him feel better. He is so unhappy most of the time that he doesn't want to do anything but cling to me. He whimpers in his sleep. His cheeks are so super rosy. And his fever just doesn't seem to go away.
Though, I will admit, I feel almost most "motherly" when he's sick and needs me so much.
Here's a collection of photographs displaying events of the past few weeks, such as Halloween and Spencer's first birthday party!
If you are my Facebook friend, you've probably already been able to view them, and this post may seem redundant.
And, just a forewarning, these are in opposite chronological order, because I'm too lazy to fix them. Whoops.
One of Spencer's birthday gifts was a tricycle. Yesterday, daddy helped him to ride it for the first time.
Since it was nice out yesterday afternoon, he also took some of his new cars out to play. These were another birthday gift.
Spencer is obsessed with plastic bottles. He digs in the recycling bin all the time to get them out. He especially loved this almost empty one that I hadn't gotten around to putting into the bin, yet. He carried it around for the better part of a day.
At his birthday party, he ate a lovely frosted cupcake. He actually had two, his and Grayson's.
Because SJ is super fab, he got to celebrate his birthday on three different days. On Wednesday, the day after his birthday, he had a birthday-cake flavored rice crispy bar when he celebrated with mommy, daddy, uncle Jesse, and BFF Samantha.
On Tuesday, his birthday, he went to Barnes and Noble with mommy and "Auntie" Tarah, and he got a giant cookie for free, because he's a member of the Kids Club.
He also got to wander around the store and practice his walking skills.
The evening of his birthday, we went to the mall to play in the play area and have supper at Burger King (he LOVES chicken fingers), and open a gift with Uncle Jesse, BFF Samantha, and "Auntie" Tarah.
At daycare, on his birthday, he had a celebratory blueberry muffin. He didn't really eat it.
For Halloween, he was an elephant, and his best buddy, Grayson, was a Rhino.
He was so darn cute in his Halloween costume!
Now, he's getting his fourth upper tooth in, hopefully it will break through in the next few days, because especially at night, he's been pretty restless and fussy. He is also trying to say a few more words, like "Wendell" which sounds like 'nu nud' (but he only says it for Wendell, so I'm pretty sure that's what he's trying to say), "All Done," and "Okay." Haha.
And he's walking EVERYWHERE, and getting pretty fast. He loves to wander the mall. That seems to be his new choice activity.
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.
Today was Spencer's first Halloween! He was all dressed up as an adorable baby elephant.
For the beginning of festivities, he went with the rest of his daycare friends trick-or-treating at a few of the businesses in Harrisburg. After daycare, his friends Grayson, Izzy, Judah, Jeremiah, Judah, and Krystian all went around the neighborhood together, dressed as various zoo animals. Of course, parents went with.
One of the highlights of the night, though, was that uncle Jesse and BFF Samantha came with! They are "home" from Alaska for a few days, so they can celebrate Spencer's first birthday (tomorrow)! Uncle Jesse did most of the trick-or-treating with Spencer.
I hope to have pictures to share in the next fewdays, but our computer is currently broken, so I am writing this on my phone. However, if you visit http://www.YouTube.com/ninjasj there are a few videos of Spencer in his costume from the photo shoot we did on Saturday!
This morning, Spencer had his One-year photographs taken, with Staci of Something Clicked Photography. She did our family photos this summer, as well as Spencer's 4th of July Patriotic session. I love her work, so naturally, when it came time to schedule photos for his birthday, she was my first choice photographer.
The photo session was at 10:30. Spencer woke around 9am, and had breakfast, then played until we got ready to go. I figured he wasn't super tired since he slept in, but he started to get groggy and doze off in the backseat on the way to the session. I drove slow, thinking maybe he'd take a quick power nap then, before we got there, and be happy and refreshed.
I was wrong. He didn't sleep, and when we got there, he was in a "questionable" mood. He wanted to hang on me, which isn't totally abnormal since he's going through that "I need my mommy" phase. But, he wasn't very smiley, that's for sure. More often than not, he gave us both serious and silly expressions, as opposed to smiles.
It didn't help either that he's started taking steps (he took his first steps on Thursday! And now he keeps trying it over and over. You can watch a video by clicking here.), and crawling, and doesn't stay still for anything. And then, he kept tipping over chairs, crates, and such, that were used as props, and banging his head and face on the floor and the wall. He's hit that super clumsy stage, it seems, as well. He also kept pushing the crate, chairs, and bucket across the floor and room, right off the photo set. It was sure a busy hour!
I don't think you'd be able to tell his not-so-smiley-clumsy-cranky mood was going on by the shots she's shared already. Now that's a great photographer, right?
He did enjoy parts of the session, though, don't get me wrong. He LOVED the balloons. He kept crawling around holding onto them, and bringing them all over the room. And he loved banging on the metal pail. And, of course, he had a good time with the CAKE SMASH! Yeah! He was actually pretty focused and a little serious about it, but it was fun to watch! He got frosting EVERYWHERE. All over himself, all over the floor, all over me... all over... well, pretty much anything within reach.
For the first time today, Spencer (and his daddy, actually, also!) experienced "pumpkin guts" for the first time. For me, carving, de-gutting, and harvesting seeds from a pumpkin has been a long-time "love affair" stemming from my childhood. Jake... not so much. I guess they didn't have those traditions in their family?
And of course, it's Spencer's first fall, so he hadn't experienced this all before.
Needless to say, I took it upon myself to make this a family affair.
Spencer didn't have much of an "outward" reaction to the slimy, gooey, seedy insides of our pumpkins, at least vocally, I guess. But, he did make quite a few funny faces for the camera. We took video, but who knows if/when we will get it actually put online.
I can't actually gauge if Spencer liked or disliked the experience, to be quite honest. He wasn't too fond of the idea of sticking his arm into the middle of the pumpkin, but he didn't seem to mind the stuff hanging from the "lid."
He was a big fan of the seeds. Really. He discovered them almost right away and was having a hard time picking them up and holding onto them, because they're slick little buggers. When I was de-gutting my pumpkin, he was glad to be of assistance, though, and was all up in my way and stealing seeds from my bowl.
Love that kid.
And, Jake had fun too! He laughed his way through feeling the pumpkin's guts and proceeded to de-gut and seed his entire pumpkin all by himself. I was so proud!
I carved mine already, but haven't taken pictures because I don't have a candle. Jake hasn't carved his. Spencer has yet to paint his miniature one. Oh! And I made a second pumpkin of mine into a chalkboard pumpkin.
I just feel like I should write a short update about Spencer's life and activities lately, although, I guess, there aren't any "developments" or anything of that nature to report.
Let's see.
Last weekend, Jake, Spencer, Wendell, and I packed up our things and headed to Jake's mom's house, or as Spencer will refer to it, Nana Mindy's. He had a good time, as far as we can tell! He enjoyed playing with Wendell and Jeb, getting kisses, and trying to pull to standing using them. He had supper, breakfast, and lunch with everyone, and did a really good job eating what we did! Mostly, anyway. We discovered he likes grapes and bacon!
He witnessed his first bonfire there as well, and was very entranced by it.
He also met a new friend, Morgan, daughter of my life-long friend, Miranda, and her husband, Brandon.
The other night in the bathtub, he was squatting in the water, and proceeded to stand all by himself in the middle of the tub, without using any assistance.
It freaked me out! It has only happened the one time, though.
He has also taken his bath-time splashing to a new level, as seen here.
He loves this video, by the way.
Today, he went to a funeral with me, and didn't even yell "uh-oh Nicole!" during the mass, like I was terrified he would.
Unfortunately, though, he's been a little bit crabby and restless lately. I am pretty sure he is getting a few more teeth.
Wow. I can't believe it has been nearly a month since we last updated Spencer's blog! My apologies.
It has been kind of stressful around here.
Spencer is now almost eleven months old! It seems insane to think it has been nearly a year since he was born. We are in progress planning his birthday celebration.
On the 1st of September he officially started crawling, and since then, he has been into all sorts of "mischief." He got a container of salt out of a box I had forgotten was stashed under the table and dumped it on the floor and then later got into the dog food bowl and threw that all over the kitchen. That was all the first few hours of his crawling beginning!
He has also been found throwing things in the garbage and bath tub, playing with the dig kennel, unplugging cords (yikes!), and tormenting the dog.
Lately, he has developed an interesting palate for non-food items as well. His favorite things to stick in his mouth seem to be dog food and rocks, though I have also found him attempting to eat (or eating) such peculiar items as chapstick, paper, shoe laces, socks, keys, coasters, and my personal "favorite," his dad's wedding ring (which he then lost...).
He loves pulling up to anything and everything he can reach, especially his excersaucer as it is eight next to the keyboard. Today, he let go of the fire pit in Jillian and Robert's backyard tonight, twice, and stood, all by himself in the middle of the patio, for over 20 seconds each time before sitting slowly down! He also let go of the side of the bath tub tonight and just stood in the middle of the tub. He seems too little in my mind to be doing that, but I am clearly mistaken.
He also learned to crawl up the stairs all by himself, on his first try!
He has started "talking" a bit, too. He says "dad/dadda," "go," "uh-oh," "cracker" and "Nicole," though the last two aren't quite as clear. He doesn't usually call me "mom/mama" but occasionally I hear it, mostly if he's stuck in his crib and wants out. Haha. I think he started saying "Nicole" because we have been asking Grayson to say it at daycare, and the other kids, and Jillian, call me Nicole, so that's what he hears me referred to most often. Hopefully, he will call me "mom/mama/mommy" consistently, eventually, but for now, it's kind of funny to hear him call me by first name. It sounds more like "Kih-cole" but we're pretty certain he's saying my first name.
We went to the apple orchard with Jake's brother, Josh, and his girlfriend, Jessica, a few weekends ago. It was cold and windy, but Spencer loved seeing the animals in the petting zoo. That's about all we did before we were too cold to continue. This past weekend, we went to my high school friend Jason's wedding reception, and Spencer had fun "chasing" another friends' three daughters. It was cute! He also met some of my friends from high school for the first time. That same day, we visited Grandma Mindy's house for a little while, and he got all kinds of kisses from her big fuzzy dog, Jeb. We're going back there this weekend, possibly to spend the night, so I'm sure he'll get a ton more. Yesterday, my dad and sisters came to town, and we went out for lunch, then to Falls Park for a few hours, and then out for frozen yogurt. Spencer had a great time and was pretty smiley most of the day!
He also had his first "sleepover" at a couple of his/our friends' house a week and a half ago, without his parents or any family. He did a pretty good job, from what I hear, and came back saying "uh oh" more clearly, and seemingly on a broken-record fashion of repeat. His baby brother or sister was born into Heaven (as a miscarriage) that week, and I was unable to care for him, so he got a little vacation from home to play with Judah and Izzy.
I have uploaded quite a few videos onto his youtube channel over the last month, mostly poor-quality cell-phone videos because he and his dad forgot our video camera in Iowa, but you can check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/ninjasj
Spencer is getting so close to crawling... but lately, it seems he wants to avoid being on his knees as much as possible. He seems to like to crawl on his shin and his foot, which is pretty normal so far as I have ever witnessed. Though, he also likes to stretch his legs straight out and try to "crawl" flat footed. He's not so great at it, and falls on his face a lot!
He loves to walk along furniture. He loves to push toys across the floor, walking. At daycare, there's a walking/push toy in the basement, and the other day, he walked the entire length of the basement and back at least 10 times! What a goofball. He LOVES it though. He also likes to push dad's milk crates around the living room.
I really need to get planning his first birthday party, scheduled for November 5. I can hardly believe he's going to be 1 so soon!
Spencer is going to be a big brother!
It sounds so crazy to think of our baby, who turns 10 months tomorrow, as being the older sibling already, but really, that's what we wanted!
This morning, he got to see Sprout via ultrasound, with mommy and daddy, of course! Baby is scheduled to arrive around April 18, 2011.
On Wednesday this week, Spencer, Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Jesse, and "Auntie" (Best Friend) Sam went to the Turner County Fair!
It was a lot of fun!
The week before, he went to the Sioux Empire Fair with Daddy, Auntie Sam, Auntie Allie, Mommy, and some of mommy's friends. In Sioux Falls, we watched a band, walked around and looked at animals, pet a miniature horse, napped, and enjoyed watching carnival rides.
This week, Spencer participated in a few more activities. He got to see more animals, and try to pet them (including pastel chickens (he didn't try to pet those) and a camel).
Daddy and Uncle Jesse played a fast-pitch game, and won SJ and Sam matching twin elephants! Yay!
Spencer also played the duck game and won himself a toy monkey!
He enjoyed some homemade ice cream, "played" Bingo, watched the rides, and laughed a bunch at daddy and Uncle Jesse.
Sam took a bunch of pictures! Here's a few to share!
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:
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!
This morning, Spencer had his One-year photographs taken, with Staci of 
He was a big fan of the seeds. Really. He discovered them almost right away and was having a hard time picking them up and holding onto them, because they're slick little buggers. When I was de-gutting my pumpkin, he was glad to be of assistance, though, and was all up in my way and stealing seeds from my bowl.
