Halloween Already?

It's hard to believe we haven't made a post since Spencer's birthday. We have had quite the busy summer. You can see some of what we have been up from the photos just uploaded to our photo album.

One of our recent adventures was just this past Friday when we went to visit the local pumpkin patch. The prior Friday had been sunny and 70 degrees. This should have been our first clue that the school field trip to the pumpkin patch was going to be an adventure. The day started out around 50 degrees with drizzle and light rain. We did manage to have some fun going through the corn maze, playing on the "tractor", and looking at the animals. But by 10:40 the rain had picked up, the kids were soaked and a bit crabby (not to mention the parents) and we headed back to the school. All-in-all it was a good time, but believe me, if the weather is the same next year we are stayin' home :)

Happy birthday, big boy

It's about 9:45pm, July 30 -- Two years ago, give or take a couple of minutes, my sweet little boy was born. It wasn't long ago and I can remember it all, but what I wouldn't give to experience it all over again.

The time has gone by so quickly and Spencer has grown up so fast. What a sweet and fun little boy we have.

So today was Spencer's birthday, of course! Cake, presents, and a few hours climbing around some of the biggest steam locomotives ever built -- could a two year old really need anything more? We took Spencer to the Transportation Museum and did he have a blast. After the initial excitement and "chooo choooo's" settled down, Spencer was truely awed by the size of the trains -- He must have looked up at a train and thrown his arms up in the air with a giant "WHOAAAA!" a hundred times.

The trains were truely amazing. Many of them had 24 wheels (that's just the locomotive, not the tender), some of which were as tall as Ginger. Several of the giants had their engineer cabins (or whatever you call them) open, which meant Spencer got to sit in the driver's seat and try out all the knobs, valves, and other controls.

Finally, we finished off the day with presents and cake. Spencer blew out his own candle on his third try, which was neat, considering he only recently figured out how to blow a good puff of air. He had a "Cars" themed cake which he really got a kick out of. Spencer's "happy birthday" is great -- it sounds something like "deedee-da-day" :D

Overall it was a great day and a lot of fun. I look forward to many more.

Happy birthday, Spencer.

More photos

I've installed Picasa on our computer and created a Picasa Web Album, which makes it incredibly easy to share photos. Just take a photo, plug the camera in, find a couple photos you like, click publish to web album and bam, there they are on Picasa.com, ready to view, print, order, etc. This should mean more photos for all..!

The direct link to the Picasa album is http://picasaweb.google.com/roark1138

Today was Mother's Day as well as Spencer's first trip to the zoo -- and, wow, was it a blast..! Usually Spencer is the one wearing Mommy and Daddy out, but we got some pay back today. He got to check out some chimpanzees, an orangutan, hippo, elephant, lots of fish, and lots of penguins -- which earned good giggles as they jumped in and out of the water. Many of the penguins were larger than Spencer and close enough to touch. Then, of course, the petting zoo where he got to pet and brush some baby billygoats. Too cute!



We had barely run through a fourth of the zoo when we noticed that Spencer was waving (and saying) "bye bye" to all the animals. *hint hint* We got outta dodge and drove home, giving Spencer just enough time for a 20 minute power nap -- yes, his only nap of the day. Spencer later became pretty fussy until finally crashing on Mommy's lap at 8mm (an hour early -- a rare occurrence these days).

At the zoo gift shop Spencer picked out a little hairy orangutan to take home as a momento and it's already fetched some good giggles at home.

For Mother's Day, BTW, Spencer got his Mom some flowers, a balloon (or "loon"), and a handmade card with glued on flowers, hearts, and Spencer-artwork. What a kid!



It's been amazing to see Spencer develop his communication skills over the last couple of months. It's often still hard to pick up exactly what he's saying, but the newly added context is helping alot -- and creating some fun moments. A couple of days ago he was dragging a blanket around when I accidentally (no really) stepped on the tail. Spencer stopped, looked and me, and calmly said, "Nono Dadda -- my keykey" (that means blanket, BTW). Right now he also enjoys roaming around the house saying "[MommaDaddasomething else] where aaare you?"

My other favorite things that he says right now are "wabble" (waffle), "melmo" (Elmo), "bee-jeh" (big jet), "cool" (school), and of course "la-you" (love you). There are also cute Spencer-versions of many Thomas the Train characters.

BTW, I'm going to work on a much more convenient method of getting numerous photos in a web gallery, so hopefully there will be many more to view in the future. That's all for now.

Busy Time

April is a very busy time for us with Opening Day, family visiting, etc. But Mommy took a little time to take some pictures at school the day we had our "practice" Easter egg hunt. If you want to see these pictures and more, just go to my Walgreens group page.

Clowning Around

It's been a long time since I have posted, but that's because we've been crazy busy, not because Spencer hasn't done anything special. As you can see from the photos, Spencer still loves clowning around and playing peek-a-boo.

In the first photo, he has decided to put a lamp shade on his foot. He is saying "baa" like a lamb and holding his absolutely favorite train, Thomas! He is slightly obsessed with Thomas and blue is definitely his favorite color.

In the second photo, we are playing "Where's Spencer?" which is one of his favorite games. He, of course, doesn't yet understand that just because he can't see you doesn't mean that you can't see him :)

He seems to be literally learning more and more each day. He also un-learns things occasionally. His school taught him that a cow actually says "Moo," not "mmmmmmmmm" like his mommy and daddy taught him. He is very good at identifyng red and blue and usually gets green right. He can name and make sounds for a number of animals including dogs, ducks, cats, turtles, etc.

And now a message from Spencer:

ghbnm

Stats

Spencer had his 18-month check up on the 30th:

Height: 33.25 in (78%)
Weight: 25lbs 15 oz (52%)

He only has one more shot (at his 2 year check up) and then he'll be done with those for a few years. He did a pretty good job this time especially considering he had a cold and can get a bit 'sensitive' when he's not feeling well.

One of the games that Spencer enjoys playing right now is getting in the cabinet, saying "bye, bye" then shutting the door. Then he opens the door and says "Boo." He plays it over and over and over! He also loves doing puzzles, reading books and dancing to his favorite CD.

It is amazing how much he has changed and grown in just the past 6 months, let alone the past year!

A Message From Spencer

Spencer loves to play on the computer, so I thought I would let him type a message to you . .

.hHf/.zsSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs
eW///^666^^T^^ v q4f.l,s,;Z/eQGTTEA bb