Whats New?

Spencer started his morning by browsing the latest trade magazine. Even though he leaves the majority of the construction work to his brother and Daddy, he does still like to keep on top of whats new in the business.

Yummmmmmmmy!

Now that Spencer has the all clear to eat basically anything, he wanted his first taste of table food to be a memorable one. Tonight Spencer tasted something that might be so memorable that it will be hard to top! He tasted........ice cream! From his reaction to it, it will not be the last ice cream he will have!

Spencer's Well Being Appt!

Spencer had his 9 month well being check up with the doctor today. After the doctor gave him the once over, we are pleased to relay that he confirmed that Spencer is progressing at a great rate and is the picture of good health! He had his big toe pricked for a hemoglobin blood test and 2 additional shots. After letting the doctor know that he didn't much care for the 2 shots, he calmed right down and followed up by inhaling the bottle Mommy had brought along for a post-shot reward. As for the statistics of the visit, Spencer's head circumference is 47 (up from 44 3/4 at his 6 month appt). His cousin Krista said that he has a very big head which means he's going to be very smart because he has a big brain. She is probably right because he definitely has a big melon - big enough to put him into the 90th percentile for head size! He is 29 1/4 inch's tall (2 inch's taller than at his 6 month appt). This puts him in the 75th percentile for height. He weighs 23.8 pounds (up 2.6 pounds from his 6 month appt) and is in the 90th percentile for weight. The American Pediatrics Association has made some changes to when they approve certain foods being introduced to kids. It used to be that they wanted the child to be 12 months old before going to table food but that has changed and they feel 9 months is now appropriate. So, with a few exceptions (honey, peanuts, peanut butter and whole milk) Spencer has the okay to try just about anything! He is in for some exciting 'non-puree' taste delights!

Send out the Scouts!

Spencer's Grandpa has already mapped out his big brothers career path (he is to be a left handed relief pitcher for the Chicago White Sox). Spencer's build could point him towards a sporting career other than baseball though. This kid is solid through and through and man-o-man does he have a grip! Today he went into the toy bag and came out with a one handed hold on the football. Maybe we just got a glimpse into his future!

Uhh-Ohh!

Spencer and his brother were having an enjoyable afternoon playing with their Elmo car. Aside from a small hair pulling incident, everything was going very well.

Shortly after Brian moved onto a different toy.......it happened. Spencer was involved in an Elmo car accident! After some minor body work, the seat was reattached to the car and Spencer continued to play as if nothing had happened. Please note that no little boys were injured in this car accident.

Also, Spencer would like to wish our very good friend Diane a happy birthday today! He also pointed out that it's been far too long since he has gotten together for a play date with her and wants to remedy that very soon!

Double Holiday!

Not only is today special because it's Memorial Day, it's extra special because it's also my Aunt June's birthday! Happy happy birthday Aunt June and I hope you had a great day!!!!!

Milestone Reached!

Spencer was over at Grandma and Grandpa's house today. While everyone was outside, he and Mommy went into the house for a little while. After Spencer was finished with his milk snack he got down onto the floor for some playtime. Suddenly he noticed a toy across the room that looked like something he might enjoy playing with. Spencer's here and the toys there......whats a boy to do?????

How about just crawling over to the toy you ask? Well, that's exactly what he did - for the first time EVER, Spencer crawled today!

Saturday In The Park With Spencer

The other weekend, Brian and Daddy went to the park. Today, Spencer and Mommy joined them for a return visit. As you can see by the big smile, Spencer enjoyed his first swing ride very much! Granted, Mommy didn't push him too high, but he showed no signs of fear as he giggled and smiled for the whole ride.

After his ride, Mommy and Spencer went to watch Daddy and big brother Brian torpedo down the slides! Spencer clapped each time he came off the end of the slide, clearly impressed with what he was seeing. Also, have you noticed that Spencer is wearing big boy shoes? He has on his "hard shoes" for the first time today. He seemed slightly annoyed by them at first, tugging at them no doubt trying to get them off. Within a few minutes though, he had forgotten they were even there and he wore them the rest of the day.

Kitchen Stadium

We mentioned before that Spencer hasn't shown much interest in learning how to crawl. As soon as he gets into crawling position, he flops down and just rolls to the closest toy or piece of furniture which he then uses to pull himself up. As you can see, his balance has improved greatly while he is standing up!

Spencer shares his brothers enthusiasm for playing with the kitchen. Together they have teamed up to play Iron Chef!

Another First!

In honor of Spencer's turning 9 months old yesterday, he did something very special.....he got his first tooth! We are pleased to announce that one of Spencer's bottom front teeth poked all the way through yesterday. He has had several white spots on his gums for awhile now so we have all been eagerly anticipating the arrival of some teeth. Tough guy Spencer hasn't given any of the normal signs that his new tooth is bothering him though. He isn't chewing on anything any more than normal and he isn't drooling any more than normal. Best of all, he is still his happy little self, apparently not bothered at all by the appearance of something new in his mouth! Hopefully he will feel the same as the rest of them start coming in!

I'm 9 Months Old!

Spencer is busy browsing the classified ads because Daddy told him that anyone who's 9 months old is old enough to get a job! Although this is true, Spencer is looking at Mommy's hometown newspaper - the Britton Journal (which is in South Dakota.) Spencer is going to have to locate at REALLY good job to be able to afford the gas to commute back and forth to SD! Maybe a local paper route would be a better first job option.

Spencer has his 9 month well being checkup next Thursday so we will have an update on his height and weight and overall health at that time.

Bring On The Cake!

Since Spencer wasn't around last May 20th he hasn't had the opportunity to say this yet. He is looking forward to saying it for many many many more years to come though. Happy Birthday Great Grandma Dorothy!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think this is the only picture we had taken when Spencer turned 6 months old that hasn't been posted on his blog yet.

Do You Have A Goal?

We are wondering if Spencer will be one of those kids who decides to skip the crawling stage altogether and just go straight to walking. He doesn't have any interest in crawling. When he gets into position to do it, he just rolls over until he gets to something he can pull himself up onto. The whole process tends to be very frustrating to him which is evident by his cries and screams when he gets stuck.













When he sees something that he wants though, look out because he won't stop until he figures out a way to get to it!


















His brother's sippy cup is of particular interest to him. He doesn't want to drink out of it, for some reason he just enjoys holding onto it! Spencer would also like to send out happy birthday well wishes to his Aunt Karyn! We hope this terrific lady had a terrific day!

A Block Party - Spencer Style!

Spencer has very good finger dexterity and he's able to pick up more and more things with great ease. Picking things up is almost as much fun as.....dumping them out! This basket with the blocks in it is a good example of something he would find great enjoyment in seeing dump out all over the floor!

Table for Two!

Brian used to play with this toy quite a bit. However, when he started spending more time climbing ON it instead of playing with it - it disappeared. Now that Spencer has an interest it in though, it has recently resurfaced!

Spencer is working on using furniture to pull himself up with so this toy is good practice for that too!

Investment Baby

After breakfast, Spencer took some time to browse the variable annuity prospectus he just received. A little later, he will sit down with Mommy and Daddy to go over it with them and answer any questions they may have.

King Tut?

Is that an Egyptian royal.......or perhaps a Sheik? Nope, it's Spencer Paul playing a little game of peek-a-boo with his bib!

Breakfast Book Club

After Spencer finished his breakfast this morning, he did some light reading. This particular book was so engrossing that he never even made it past the cover. Apparently Spencer feels that you really CAN judge a book by it's cover!

What's On My Feet???

Spencer tried on a pair of shoes today - well, actually they were sandals but you get the point. Although they fit him fine, he found it much more fun to pull on the Velcro straps so that he could take them off! After putting them back on a couple times, Mommy decided to leave it alone and let him just stick to wearing his socks for the time being.....at least until he starts walking anyway.

May I Have This Dance?

Since Spencer's exersaucer was parked a little too close to the living room curtains, he was able to perform his interpretation of the "Dance of the Seven Veils" this afternoon. It was a very impressive performance!

Happy Mothers Day!

Spencer took part in his very first Mothers Day event with his Mommy today. To help make her day even more special, he insisted on being on his best behavior all day long. Granted, he is generally always on his best behavior but today in particular, it didn't go unnoticed! Mommy never forgets how fortunate she is to have not one but TWO wonderful little boys that fill her life with so much joy and love!

Guess Who!

Can you spot the little boy in this picture who is up past his bedtime? We will give you a hint - he's the one who is having all kinds of fun spilling blocks all over the floor!

What an Angel!

Who needs snow when you have a pile of blocks to lay in so you can make "block angels"!

Can We Fix It?????

.....Yes We Can!!! If you know who Builder Bob is, then you recognize those words! Spencer has decided (at least for the moment) to leave the tools to his brother and Daddy. That doesn't mean that he doesn't enjoy playing with tool related toys though. Lately, Spencer has been getting a particular kick out of this one. When you push the little button on top of his jackhammer, it vibrates while he says one of a few Builder Bob catch phrases - very cute!

Share and Share Alike!

Since Spencer is getting so good at rolling and stretching to get to where he wants to go (ie: where ever his brother happens to be playing) he is always a man on a mission! They both hear the phrases "can you give that to your brother?" or "play nice!" or "please don't hit your brother over the head with that." quite often. For the most part though, they play together very nicely. Sharing is still a word they don't understand all the time, but they are off to a very good start!

Morning Entertainment!

Once the boys are loaded into their high chairs for breakfast, Daddy has a little thing he does to keep their attention while breakfast is being made. As you can see.......it is very enjoyable to watch! What is it you ask?

It's a little something we call "morning entertainment". Daddy performs one of his many amazing dances - sometimes alone and sometimes - with a partner! Either way, the kitchen crowd goes wild when they see it! This entertainment is so popular that is can happen before lunch and sometimes even before dinner! (But only when Daddy is in the privacy of his own kitchen!)

Almost There!

Here is a pose we see Spencer get into more and more often. Moments after this picture was taken, he flipped back over onto his back......but he's getting there!

ANOTHER Hat???

While Brian (and Daddy) napped this morning, Spencer and Mommy took a quick trip to Target. Even though Spencer's hair is growing in very thick and luxurious, we still need to take some precautions since we are spending more time outside in the nicer weather. We don't want his cute little melon getting a sunburn so he is going to have to keep something on it! While we were at the store, he tried on a baseball cap and surprisingly,he left it on for almost the entire time we where there! As you can see, a trip to Target can really wear a guy out so Spencer took a little power nap on the ride home.

When he woke up he enjoyed playing with the other purchase we made today.......a new ball! He was so distracted playing with it that he didn't even notice that he was wearing his new hat again! We can't say that he has started to LIKE wearing hats, but he seems slightly more cooperative about this one (for the moment anyway!)

Happy Birthday Erika!

Spencer found out that his cousin Erika is 72 months old today (to an 8 month old, everyone's age is counted in terms of how many "months" they are.) Happy Birthday Erika.......we all hope you had a terrific time celebrating your day!

All By Myself!

Spencer has a good grip (which you already know if you have ever experience him latching onto your glasses or your hair.) He is now experimenting with holding his own bottle. He doesn't want to do it all the time but when he does, he does a great job!

Of course, Spencer never passes up the chance of having his big brother feed him!

May Day!!!

How do you celebrate May Day? Spencer opted for his first laundry basket ride through the house!!! Given his reaction to the ride, it looks like this will be the first of MANY basket rides for this little boy!