Saturday, December 10, 2011

Fall Fun

Spencer's all about helping... he's a little copycat lately

Lighting ceremony at the Gateway

What's more fun than raking leaves?  Throwing them in the air...


He can "dance" -- it's moments like this when being a parent is the best thing in the world!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Tell Me How... To Buy a Car Seat

These "tell me how posts" haven't been quite as frequent as I originally intended... but I could really use some opinions on this one.  I know how to buy a car seat... but advice on which one to buy would be appreciated.

Spencer's current car seat is rated to 35 lbs. and 35 inches.  Given that, and the most current recommendation that babies should stay rear-facing 'til they're 2... and he's still in a rear-facing car seat (and no, it's not a convertible car seat- strictly rear-facing).  He's nowhere near 35 lbs (haha, thank you 5th weight percentile) but he's about 34 inches tall... meaning we need a new car seat.  Soooo... what to buy?

When we got Spencer's, we just got a rear-facing one, figuring that by the time he out-grew it, it would be used for the next kid (and yeah, baby #2 will make his appearance in less than 4 months).  But now I'm not sure what to get for Spencer.  We don't technically need a convertible one... so it seems to me that it would be best to just get a booster seat.  It's just that some of the booster seats seem so big (most are rated 30-100 lbs) and Spencer's not quite there yet.  So do we get a convertible seat?  All he needs is 5 more lbs and he'll be big enough for a booster seat.  I dunno.  So many choices...

So tell me... what have you done for your kids?  Any recommendations?  Ones you've bought that you loved?  Hated?  I'm all ears :)

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Halloween

Halloween was really fun this year.  Spencer got the hang of trick-or-treating really quick -- he'd knock on the door and hold up his pumpkin.  He loved it.  We dressed him up as a little Jedi and of course, we think he was totally adorable.


Wearing the Halloween shirt he picked out.

He loved carving pumpkins.  Or rather, he loved cleaning out the guts.

 The finished products.

We took advantage of the really nice weather in October and took Spencer to Tracy Aviary.  He loved walking around, seeing the birds and chasing the peacocks.  His favorite part was feeding the ducks.

Monday, October 17, 2011

18 Months!

Spencer is 18 months!  Wow.  I know every mom feels like this... it's just going by so fast (and yet, some days are soooo long... go figure).  I'm trying to savor this time, since 18 months is such a fun age!  The "terrible two's" are just starting to rear their ugly head, but for the most part, Spencer is good-natured and loads of fun.

He's very adventurous and loves to be outside (cries every time I bring him in).  If he could spend all day digging in the dirt/rocks, I think he'd be really happy.  He also likes to 'color', although he's obviously not very good at it.  He spends more time putting the crayons in the box, dumping them out, and repeating the process.  He's also enjoying playing with play-doh.  He likes trucks, cement mixers, balls and being chased around the house.  He's very much a boy.

Here's some recent pictures.  Despite my lack of blogging, we have managed to do some fun things this summer.  Some days all we do is stay home, while I sit in the bathroom, waiting for the inevitable throwing up (and some nights are the same)... but some days we've been able to get out.  My mom has been invaluable, coming over most mornings and taking Spencer outside for his walk around the block, or for some fun in the sandbox.  Cory bathes him and gets him to bed most nights.  Thank heavens for an awesome mom and husband!

My hips have been killing me lately, so Cory works on me at home, on his table.  Of course, then Spencer thinks he needs a turn, too.  It's adorable.

Freezing corn.  The ice was Spencer's favorite part.

After his bath - love the farmer tan!

We built him a small sandbox and he loves it.  LOVES it.

He's a really good eater (most of the time) and he'll eat anything if he can dip it.  Fry sauce and ranch are his favorites.

My brother Joel is in the marching band at the U.  They do a sort of pep rally at The Gateway on Friday nights, before home games on Saturday.  We went one night and of course, Spencer enjoyed himself.  There was water fountains, music for dancing and balloons.

He loves balloons.

He's my little helper.  Wants to do everything I'm doing.  He helps load the dishwasher, puts the soap in the dispenser, puts the wet clothes in the dryer, helps with vacuuming, and wants to be right there when any food is being made.  This is him making pancakes.

And him helping make dinner.  This is the face he makes when I tell him to 'smile'.

I know this looks like a Christmas picture, but it's actually taken at Gardner Village.  He loves looking at Christmas lights... I'm really excited for December.

Spencer and his cousin Bailey at Gardner Village.

Feeding the ducks at Gardner Village.

We went to Pack Farms to pick out some pumpkins.  Spencer's favorite part was riding in the cart. 




And a celebration for Cory's birthday.  He turned 27 (again).  Happy birthday honey!

It may be time for another haircut... I just love his curls though.


  

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Catching Up

Alright, I know I'm quite behind.  I've got a really good reason that will be another post.  For now, a few pictures of what we've been up to.

Rocking Grandma's shades 

Doing "snaps" on the 4th of July

Enjoying Mom's chocolate chip cookies 

Loving the Centerville Parade 

Centerville Parade 

 We went to Red Butte Gardens to see the roses.  They were gorgeous.  And all Spencer wanted to do was play in the dirt.

Red Butte

Red Butte 

Trying on Dad's tie 

Enjoying his "pool" in our backyard 


Tickles from Dad

We did a weekend to Colorado, where Cory's sister lives.  Spencer had a blast with his cousins.

At the farm


Making Grandpa proud by driving the tractor 

He loves swings 

Swimming in the pool (another thing he loves)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Tell Me How ... To Transition to One Nap

I'm long overdue for another "tell me how" post. This time, I need you to tell me how to transition Spencer from two daily naps to one. He's such a good napper... well, was a good napper. He'd go down at 10, sleep for 1.5 hours, wake up so happy and pleasant. Then he'd go down around 2, sleep for another 1.5 hours, and wake up happy and pleasant. I loved the pattern of our days. This past week has been a whole 'nother story. He's driving me crazy.

I got sick and then he got sick, too, so in fairness, the week was crappy to begin with. When he gets sick, he doesn't sleep. Won't nap, and wakes up frequently at night. So it was a long week. He seems to be getting over his cold, but he still won't nap. He won't go down for a morning nap, but by 12 or so, he's super tired and ornery (and so am I!) I put him down and he sleeps for 1.5 hours but wakes up still tired and ornery. He's used to getting 3 hours of sleep during the day, and now will only sleep 1.5. By 5 in the afternoon, I'm frustrated and ready to sell him, cause he's tired and cranky and clingy and all other fun things. I'm sure this rhetoric sounds familiar to many of you...

So... what do I do? All the stupid "help" books say when you make the switch to one nap, they'll sleep longer to make up for only taking one, instead of two. HA! I'd love him to continue to take 2 naps, since we had such a nice pattern to our days. Now it's chaos. Maybe he'll go back to taking 2 when he's feeling all the way better, but probably not. He's 14 months, so close to the average that kids transition to one nap (it's 15 months, according to some sleep expert dude).

What time(s) do your kids nap? One or two? How long do they sleep? How did you know it was time to make the switch to just one nap? I realize that all kids are different... blah, blah, blah... but please help anyway. Your own personal experiences are welcome. Or if you don't have advice, feel free to bid. Like I said, he's driving me crazy... :) Good thing he's so adorable and I love him like mad... otherwise I really might sell him.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Easter, Gardens and Other Stuff

Well, no shocker -- I'm behind again. Instead of doing a few posts to catch up, this will be a long one. Kudos if you make it to the end :)

Mom, Spencer and I visited Red Butte Gardens in mid-April to see the thousands of dandelions. It was very pretty. And nice to get that first 'taste' for spring.

Red Butte Gardens

Red Butte Gardens

Red Butte Gardens

Red Butte Gardens - Spencer's favorite part was the river. Of course.

Dying Easter eggs

Licking the (chocolate frosting) beaters

Hunting eggs

Easter Sunday - thanks to my dad for taking such great photos

Easter Sunday

Cory & his mini-me

Easter Sunday

So handsome

Hunting eggs

Hunting eggs


We put him to work after Easter dinner, cleaning up (haha :)


Thanksgiving Point, Tulip Festival - gorgeous weather and gorgeous flowers














YEA for spring!