Happy Birthday!

Happy 92nd Birthday Great Grandma Irene!!!!!!! Keep an eye on your mailbox because something will be coming your way (as soon as we can pick it up later this week).





Spencer is growing up so fast! His first word was the same as Brian's - "bye". He vocabulary has expanded to also include: hi, wow, oh-ohh, yeah, and no. There is one other thing that he says but you probably won't believe us when we tell you. At first we thought it was just a one time fluke but he says it all the time but only in the correct context. It comes out as "an-oo" but we are convinced that he is saying thank you!

Hollow Leg!

This isn't meant to give Gerber a plug but they make some meals for toddlers that are called Gerber Graduates. We used these quite a bit when Brian was learning how to feed himself and it's Spencer's turn now. The other night Spencer tried some "pasta pickups" but he was only slightly interested in them. For his dinner tonight we tried it again and this time he devoured all of it as well as half a banana! Later in the evening Brian was snacking on some goldfish crackers. Spencer got right in line to make sure he got some as well. When Brian moved on to having a few raisins, Spencer wanted to (and did) try them as well. We are starting to think that Spencer has a hollow leg!

Two More!!!

Spencer is truly an amazing little boy. I know all parent's say things like that, so allow us to explain why we are making this statement. Teething. A word that can strike fear in the hears of even the strongest of parent's. Spencer has just had two more teeth come through. One to the left of his top two front teeth and one to the right of his bottom two front teeth. While these teeth were coming in, there has been no excessive drooling. There has also been no excessive chewing and/or gnawing. Most noticeably though is the fact that there has been no change in his temperament. He's just as happy and smiley as he always is. Maybe this kid just has a very high tolerance for pain. It would make sense given the number of times that he bangs his head into things. We don't know where some of his bruises come from since he doesn't cry when most of them happen. At this rate maybe we should just sew a big Super Spencer "S" onto the chest of his shirts since that's what he appears to be!

Play Date!

While Mommy and Daddy attended Sgt Josh Harris's funeral today, Spencer and his big brother were in for a special treat! Our great friends Uncle Ralph and Aunt Karen along with their daughter Jamie came over to play (aka: babysit). Shortly after they arrived, so did cousins Krista and Erika! They got to stay and play while their Mommy and Daddy also went to the funeral. As soon as the parents were all out of the house - the good times began! Since it was such a beautiful day, some serious play time was spent in the back yard. Krista helped push Spencer on the swing.......

.....and Spencer was very happy to have Jamie close by when he went down the slide!

In our opinion, Aunt Karen is a professional when it comes to kids. Even though her "baby girls" now fall into the category of lovely young ladies, she sure hasn't lost her knack of knowing her way around "babies"! As you can see, the boys had a ball and are already asking when they can play with all of you again!

Thank you all so much for giving up so much of your day today to come hang out with the boys and their cousins, we appreciate it more than we can say!

The Cost of Freedom

On September 17, 2008 a friend of our family, SGT Joshua Harris gave his life in Afghanistan protecting our freedom.

How do we thank someone for such a sacrifice?

I don't know that we can except to live life to the fullest and to never forget.

Our sons Brian and Spencer have the privilege to grow up and live in America in freedom and safety because of brave soldiers like Joshua.

God Bless Joshua Harris, a true American Hero.

Shawn and Heidi

Mine-Mine-Mine!

Spencer LOVES the big bird bed! His latest thing is to pull it from the sofa position out into the bed position and then throw himself on it. It's normally keep in the living room which gives the boys their own piece of furniture that they can sit/lay on, but......

...when Brian goes into his room for his afternoon nap, the big bird bed goes with him. It somehow helps with the whole napping process. Spencer is fine with that because when Brian is taking his nap, Spencer is in his own bed taking an afternoon nap of his own! This picture was taken in Brian's room after they had each finished their naps yesterday.

This Is Yummy!

Today we continue on with the subject of yesterday's blog post, that being Spencer's independence at mealtime. Brian had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight and when Spencer had finished his jar of food it was time for him (and his spoon) to do some more experimenting. He has tried both the spaghetti and lasagna varieties of baby food - neither of which he cared for. He has also tried macaroni noodles but he didn't have much interest in that either. Tonight, with his "magic spoon" in hand, he devoured the spaghetti! First he tried eating it with his spoon (actually tonight he was using a spork) but after a few tries of not being able to get the noodles to stay on it he had a change of mind and just dug in with his hands so that he could get the job done!

FINALLY, a Spoon of My Own!

Since Spencer is such a big boy, people are surprised to hear that for the past few weeks we have had some trouble getting him to eat much. Spencer's list of his approved finger foods is kind of limited so the majority of his meals still come from baby food. The other day, Mommy and Daddy stumbled onto the idea that maybe the reason behind Spencer's stubborn streak at mealtime is that he just wants to be a little more in control. So, now when he gets into his high chair, he is given his own spoon and things have really turned around! He never lets go of his spoon, dips it into the bowl or jar of whatever he is being served, puts his spoon into his mouth and in general, is just eating like a champ again! In addition, it seems that the spoon has empowered him to want to sample a few new finger foods too, like the rice that he had last night!

Please Leave a Message!

They say children imitate what they see and I never thought that we spent that much time talking on the phone but apparently we do! Both of our boys have (and still do) made just about anything they play with into a telephone at one time or another! It happened so often in fact that they have several phones in their toy box. They can pick out a play phone from the real thing though and they quickly lost interest in any silly "toy" phone so we had to get creative. They are now in possession of a couple old non-working cell phones as well as this handset from an of old fax machine. A common scenario at this house is for Mommy or Daddy to pick up the phone and start a conversation before telling Boy 1 or Boy 2 that the call is for them. When they pick up the phone they start their own conversations which is very funny to watch and listen to!

You Are Here!

This afternoon Spencer and family made a trip to the Brookfield Zoo and as always, we had a great time! Shortly after we arrived, Mommy realized she left something in the car so while she ran back to get it, Spencer reviewed the map to see what we should do first. When Mommy returned, Spencer suggested that we all go on the Motor Safari Ride which goes through the entire zoo. We all thought it was a great idea and although we had to wait in line a little longer than we would have liked, the ride was terrific and it made for a very pleasant day at the zoo!

Ready For a Story?

While Daddy was installing a new lock on Brian's closet doors this evening, the whole family gathered in the room. Brian assisted Daddy and Spencer crawled into his brothers big boy bed to do some reading. If you have not had the opportunity to read "What's Wrong Little Pookie" by Sandra Boynton, you are missing out on an excellent read and Spencer (as well as Brian) highly recommend it!

Look.....Up in the Sky!

........is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Junior Upside Down Boy! From a distance, he may look a great deal like Upside Down Boy (who happens to bare a striking resemblance to Spencer's big brother Brian) but don't be confused, this is a brand new super hero!

Hi Uncle Seth!

Spencer and his brother had a big surprise last night. After dinner, they were watching an episode of Lawrence Welk (we have a few episodes taped for when the need arises). As EVERYONE knows, Lawrence Welk can really get your toe to tappin' and sometimes, you just have to dance!

Shortly after that picture was taken, there was a knock on the door and it was Uncle Seth! He came into town for a meeting tomorrow and was able to swing by for a visit! It's always great seeing him and we hope he can come back soon - maybe even with the rest of his family!

Goober

We have mentioned before that Spencer doesn't suck his thumb or use a pacifier. He does have one item that serves as the source of his comfort......a small bear blanket that has been named Goober. Goober is generally only used when he is in his crib or on extended car trips but he has a satin trim around the edges and frankly, that's where the comfort is found. He grabs a soft corner of the blanket and shoves it into his mouth. To the untrained eye, he looks like he has just been gagged but when you get close, you can hear him just sucking away on the material.

As he took his nap today I took the above picture. As soon as I took it he rolled over onto his side. Asleep and with his eyes closed, he felt around for Goober, found him and located the corner so that he could put it back into his mouth. It's pretty entertaining to watch him do all of this while being sound asleep!

Have Your Read This One???

If you have already read Brian's blog then you know why the Big Bird bed is currently in his bedroom. Spencer didn't really care why it was there, he was just happy to see that it was next to the book shelf! He plopped right down, reached over, and grabbed a few books. After a few minutes, Brian came over and joined him for some brother bonding - as well as a very cute picture!

Fold Your Hands!

Spencer is encouraged to fold his hands with us while we say the table prayer before meals. Both boys give us their applause of approval when the prayer is completed properly but Spencer hasn't participated much beyond his clapping. Since coming home from vacation though, we are noticing that he is folding his hands when he's asked to on a pretty consistent basis - which we are very happy to see!

Mmmmmm......Puffs!

Another day and another shiny new black and blue mark on Spencer's head so, I guess the official 1 year old pictures will be on hold for another few days! Spencer is capable of eating solid "people" foods, so its now more of a matter of what he is willing to experiment with. It's funny, he will put leaves, sticks, rocks, paper or any thing he finds on the floor into his mouth, but a piece of macaroni.........that is questionable! He is a big fan of Gerber's Puffs and enjoys all of the various flavors they come in. He is having some peach flavored ones in this picture.

Who Dressed Me????

Yesterday when Spencer was having a diaper change, the diaper changer (we won't name names, suffice it to say that it was one of his parents) forgot that he was wearing a onesie and put his pants back on before snapping up the onesie! Since Spencer is going through a stage where he isn't a big fan of having his clothes changed, we decided to just let it go since this look was just easier.

While Ike is rearing his ugly side down in Texas, his cousin "Ick" is in Chicago and paying us a little visit. Ick didn't bring hurricane winds with him, just lots and lots and lots and lots of rain! We got some water in our basement this morning but Daddy was able to get it under control relatively quickly. While Mommy and Daddy keep an eye on the basement, Spencer and his brother were more than happy to go spend the rest of the day (as well as having a sleep over) with Grandma and Grandpa! If it keeps raining for the rest of the weekend like it is expected, Mommy and Daddy intend on stocking our back yard pond with some fish!

PlayLand!

One of the stops we made on our trip home earlier this week was to a McDonald's. We don't rate McDonald's restaurants by the service, cleanliness or quality of the food. We rate McDonald's by if they have a PlayLand and if so, how good it is! As for the PlayLand in Freeport Illinois - Spencer gave it a two thumbs up! He wanted so much to be able to climb into the tube like his big brother was doing but he wasn't quite big enough.

He squealed, giggled and clapped each time that Brian came flying down the slide. Don't worry Spencer, you will be all over the PlayLand slides before you know it!

The Three B's

The three B's would be: Baby Boy, Belly Shirts and Boots! While we were in the Black Hills, Daddy picked up a new pair of cowboy boots which Spencer needed to try on! Who says you can't wear shorts and boots and still look cute doing it!?!?

On a separate note, as it is September 11th, our hearts go out to the individuals and families who were affected by the events that happened on this date seven years ago. May we never forget.

Random Cute Picture!

Even though Spencer can't vote for his Grandpa, he can still support him by wearing his elephant jammies with great pride!

Mommy couldn't decide which of these pictures she liked more so......she decided to just post them both!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Home!

We probably say this at the end of each long car trip that we take but these two little boys sure are great little travelers! It helps to break up a long trip into two days. It's also not uncommon that 5 hours into a 6 hour drive we need to pull into a park to let the boys run off some steam, but, they are still excellent in the car! Sitting with a seat belt on is one thing, but I can't imagine what it must be like to be strapped into a car seat for that long but he manages to keep a smile on his face!

We mentioned Spencer's new teeth - here's a little better look at those new choppers! We got home about 7:30ish this evening and even though we unpacked in the rain, we are ALL looking forward to sleeping in our own beds tonight!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Just when you thought you couldn't eat another bite of birthday cake........you find out that you really can! Today is Daddy's birthday! Since we are on the final leg of our drive back to Illinois, we had to celebrate it while in transit. When we left Grandma and Grandpa's house yesterday, we drove as far as Sioux Falls SD to pay a visit to our good friends Jannelle and Brett who have just moved back from Arizona! From there we hoped to make it all the way to Great Grandma's house in Iowa but we came up a little short.

So, this morning, after we had all had breakfast and Daddy had opened up his birthday gifts, we headed off for Great Grandma Dorothy and Great Aunt Judith's house! We had the unexpected treat of getting to visit with Great Uncle Dave and Great Aunt Karri while we were there which was fabulous! Happy Birthday to the best Daddy in the world - we love you very much!

Cool Truck Grandpa!

Grandpa just had some advertising put on his pickup and it was done in time for us to see it before we had to leave for home! Have you heard who is running for re-election in South Dakota? That's right - our Grandpa! If you live in his district, remember to vote for him! Even though we were having all kinds of fun, it was time for us to pack up and start out trip back to Illinois. We want to thank Grandma and Grandpa again for not only letting Mommy and Daddy stay here but for all the fun Spencer and Brian had with them when they got to have their grandparents all to themselves! Thanks again and we can't wait to do it again!

Welcome Home!

Yesterday when Mommy and Daddy got home and laid eyes on Spencer for the first time in a few days he greeted us with a big smile. As soon as they saw that smile they noticed one thing.........new teeth! When we left he had one tooth on the bottom, a white spot on the bottom and two white spot's on the top where 3 new teeth were waiting to come through. All three teeth came in and all of the sudden, baby Spencer looks like a big boy! After giving Mommy and Daddy a bunch of hugs and kisses, the boys had to show them all of the toys that they had been playing with. The balloons from last weekends birthday party where still amazingly holding their own - even though they have been played with hard for several days!

Parent Free - Day 5!

"Have you ever seen anything like this before???? It's a toy that has this shiny pole thing that you pull up from the top and then when you push it back down the whole thing spins around and around! I think it's called a Top or something like that but that doesn't matter, I just wanted to tell you that it's really cool! Do it again Grandpa!!!"

Mommy and Daddy's Black Hills Vacation Blog: We are wrapping up our Black Hills vacation today but we did make a couple more stops on our way home. We stopped at Wall Drug (another place where Mommy worked for one of her summers while in college.) After we had finished taking some silly pictures (ie: Daddy riding the jackalope, Mommy hugging a buffalo....) it was time to wet our whistle with some free ice water and hit the road!

Parent Free - Day 4!

The sun was shining and the back yard was beckoning so it was the perfect time for a couple little boys to break out the bubble makers!

Mommy and Daddy's Black Hills Vacation Blog: We didn't go in, but we did stop along the side of the road to see how the Crazy Horse Monument is coming along. They are working away but there is still quite a bit left to be done. From there we headed into the southern black hills area. Wind Cave National Park was our first stop and it was everything we had hoped and more! It's too bad the picture doesn't to it any justice.

Parent Free - Day 3!

Grandma and Grandpa have a little boy sized rocking chair in their living room. Spencer watched his big brother use it and decided that he would fit into it quite nicely too. He took baby steps while he got comfortable with the whole idea. First came kneeling on it.......

....then standing on it.........

.....and finally, the sit. The look of accomplishment on his face would have made you think he has been rocking in chairs like this for-EVER!

Mommy and Daddy's Black Hills Vacation Blog: Our agenda for today included a daytime visit to Mt Rushmore, a stop in Keystone and visits with Mommy's cousins who live in the area. This was Daddy's 3rd visit to the monument but his first since some new additions (such as a hiking path closer to the faces where this picture was taken) have been in place. Mommy spent one of her college summers working here but again, many of the new features were not here a hundred years ago when she was a summer employee. If you have never seen Mt Rushmore in person or if it's been a while since you have been there, do yourself a favor and go. You won't be disappointed!

Parent Free - Day 2!

We have said it before and we will say it again........Grandparents always have the best toys! For some reason, Mommy and Daddy don't have alot of musical instrament toys around their house but Grandma and Grandpa sure do! I guess these are the kinds of toys that are fun to watch your kids play with - but that most parents would prefer not to listen to them ALL the time - go figure!?!? As for playing the triangle, some people may prefer to hold the triangle and gently tap it with the metal rod but Spencer is his own man. As far as Spencer is concerned, music is meant to be taken in....digested....consumed if you will!

Mommy and Daddy's Black Hills Vacation Blog: This is a picture at Roughlock Falls which was just down the road from the hotel we stayed at last night. The hotel was highly recommended by Shawn's brother Colin and his wife Karyn and boy were they right! After spending the the night before walking around and exploring Deadwood our hotel in Spearfish Canyon was a quiet peaceful oasis!

Parent Free - Day 1!

With all of the activities going on at the big birthday blowout yesterday, we forgot to light the musical birthday candle! Since Uncle Seth and Nolan spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house with all of us last night we decided to try out the candle over breakfast. Five of the eight people at the table had just celebrated a birthday so........we lit the candle and sang along with it, well, five times! After breakfast Mommy and Daddy turned over all childcare responsibilities to Grandma and Grandpa and started off on their own mini vacation! Don't worry though, Grandma and Grandpa will be taking lots of pictures and Mommy will get the blogs back up to date as soon as possible!






Mommy and Daddy's Black Hills Vacation Blog: The Black Hills are absolutely beautiful and with all the rain they have had recently, in our opinion, they were extra beautiful! After looking around Mommy's old stompin' grounds at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, we headed into Spearfish Canyon. If you have never taken this drive through the hills, you don't know what you are missing! This picture is of Bridal Veil Falls which you can view from the road.