Trick or Treat!

Like most 14 month olds, Spencer had limited interest in Halloween this year. Fortunately, "Robin - The Boy Wonder" was the one who went trick or treating with us! Even though he was more than willing to walk, Daddy carried him so that we didn't slow down Batman - who was pretty much running from house to house! When we came home to have dinner, Robin wanted to take a spin on the Batmobile.






Apparently you can't drive that without a license though so he had to settle for the Elmo car.

Mister Manners

Spencer and his brother are nothing if not polite! As we have mentioned before, one of Spencer's favorite phrases is "tank you" (which is actually sounding more and more like thank you). For the last couple days Brian and Spencer have been playing very nicely together with their toy farm. With a brother on one side of it and a other brother on the other side of it, they hand animals back and forth to each other. Each time an animals is passed through the barn door - gratitude is shown. Mommy and Daddy were watching all of this and hearing nothing but......"thank you".........."tank you"........"thank you"........"tank you"........."thank you".........."tank you".

It was hysterical!

After School Play Date!

The boys got a special treat today when their cousins Krista and Erika came over to play after school! Krista had some homework that she needed to finish first but Erika came ready to play and Spencer wasted no time getting the toys out! The boys normally look forward to seeing Uncle Kevin but when he got here tonight it meant that it was time for the girls to go home. Maybe they can stay longer next time!

On Sale!

After finishing off a big bowl of oatmeal this morning, Spencer browsed the sales flyer from today's newspaper. After all, Spencer is always looking for a good deal!

What's For Dinner?

Spencer has been all over the map when it comes to his meals. He was eating primarily all baby food but then he went on strike - refusing to eat it. Thinking he wanted more independence at mealtime, we started giving him meals consisting mainly of "real food" that had been cut up into little bites so that he could feed himself. That worked great for a couple weeks but then he started refusing it too. So, we went back to some baby food for a few days. As you can see by this picture, he's back on "real food" again. He devoured a plate of spaghetti and meatballs tonight!

Carve Em' Up!

Ever since Spencer selected his pumpkin out at the patch a few weeks ago, he has been looking forward to today! We headed out to Daddy's shop where the "carving table" was set up. As everyone took a spot and got to work, Spencer wasted no time getting in on the action. He grabbed a handful of pumpkin guts and was intrigued by that feeling. He opted to let Mommy and Daddy carve his pumpkin for him this year and instead......he decided to just taste a little of it. From his facial expression, we are guessing he won't be requesting it for dessert any time soon - at least not if it's served raw!

By the time everyone had finished their carvings, it was dark and every one's artwork looked great all lit up on the front porch!

Swept Away!

Spencer and his family are hosting our annual "Family Pumpkin Carving" party tomorrow so we needed to do a little tidying up around the house today. Being the team player that he is, Spencer jumped right in and got to work cleaning the floors!

Now THAT'S a Fire!

Every year around this time, the town where we live hosts a big bon fire not too far from our house. It was a cool rainy night and since Brian is coming down with a cold he and Mommy stayed home but Spencer and Daddy went. When they got to the park, they met up with Spencer's cousins Erika and Krista and even though they all got rained on a little bit.....

they were able to stay nice and toasty warm thanks to the HUGE fire!

Up Up And Away!

Spencer, Brian and Mommy went over to a job site where Daddy was working today. Not only did we get to meet the nice man who owns this house, Spencer also got to take a ride on the Scissor Lift that Daddy was using. Since all three of the boys got a real kick out of this, apparently Mommy is the only one in the family who is not a big fan of heights.

Chocolate!

Pudding was today's afternoon snack of the day. We haven't tried this before so Mommy wasn't sure which flavor would go over better - chocolate or vanilla. Brian started with the chocolate and ate about half of it before he handed it over to "Mr I'll try just about anything once". By the time he put his spoon down - the chocolate pudding cup was empty! He would have tried the vanilla but when Brian was about half way into it.......it kind of fell off the high chair and onto the floor. He will try it next time though!

I'm Happy and I Know It!

When Spencer woke up from his afternoon nap today he and Mommy decided to watch some nursery rhymes on tv. He was watching a video that he has seen once or twice, but not recently. When the song "If your happy and you know it" came on Mommy had stepped out into the kitchen. As she listened from the other room she could hear him clapping. Mommy stuck her head around the corner so that she could watch him and sure enough, Spencer was following the instructions of the song......."if your happy and you know it......clap your hands!" It was adorable to watch!

Mail Call!

A few days ago, the boys got a package in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa. The big box peaked their interest and curiosity while they waited for Mommy to get the box opened. What did we find when we got into the box????

Two decorated Halloween pumpkins! Spencer was very excited to get his hands on them and especially liked running his fingers through the fringe at the top! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa.......wish you could be here to carve pumpkins and go Trick or Treating with us. We will be sure to send you some pictures so you feel like you were here!

Free Gym Membership!

When Spencer finished his bath last night, he was thrilled to come out into the living room and see a new sofa/bed! In addition to our Big Bird bed, we now have a Thomas the Train bed and Spencer couldn't be happier! If you have read Brian's post for today, you know why he likes having these beds but Spencer likes them for an entirely different reason.

In addition to the fact that they make excellent lounge chairs, Spencer also likes to use them as gym equipment. He stands behind one and does a kind of somersault over it or off the side of it.....whichever way he happens to roll!

That's My Brother!

Spencer and his big brother may still have a few things to learn about how to share, or how not to push, bite or pull each others hair. But, when they are just enjoying being brothers - they sure are cute!

Slumber Party!

We had an exciting night tonight because we had an overnight guest! The boy's cousin Krista came over this evening and they had a ball playing with her! Spencer was amazed watching how high she could stack the blocks!

Lookin' For Trouble!

Never being one to be out done by his big brother, Spencer has decided it's time to try and scale the bookcase!

We are expecting a new bruise any minute now.

Do You Want Fries With That?

When Aunt June loaned us their play kitchen, she told me that her girls frequently used it like a "drive thru". One child would stand in front of it and one behind it and then they would hand things back and forth to each other through the center slot. Lately as Brian and Spencer have been playing with the kitchen - with no prompting from anyone - they have started doing the same thing! I really lucked out when I snapped this picture. Spencer had just walked out from behind the kitchen and Brian had just turned around so you can see both of their smiling faces!

Always Be Polite!

Spencer turns heads on a daily basis and for a variety of reasons! Granted, (and I don't think I'm being too biased in saying this), he's adorable. True, he is a huge flirt who always has a big smile for the ladies. But what he gets the most surprising looks for are his manners! Everything that you hand him.....be it a toy or his sippy cup or a shoe, he give you a very clear "tank you". It used to be "an you" but it has developed even more over the past couple weeks. He will even say it upon command now. For example, today we were at the grocery store. The woman who was waiting on us in the deli department asked if Brian and Spencer would like a slice of cheese. They both did and when she handed us the cheese, I asked them to say thank you. Brian is going through a little shy stage around people he doesn't know so he bowed his head and got quiet. Spencer looked her straight in the eye and said in his soft little voice "tank you". I thought the woman was going to ooze down the counter and onto the floor with how amazed she was with his manners! He may not want to refer to his parents as Mommy and Daddy yet, but he sure is polite!

A few weeks after we returned from our South Dakota vacation we had Spencer's official "one year old" pictures taken. Here's an example of our O-N-E year old boy photo's!

I Can Fly!

There was still time left over after bath time tonight for some more playtime. When Spencer saw Brian get a flying lesson from Daddy - he immediately wanted to do it too! What is it they say......"monkey see monkey do"???

The Great Pumpkin!

Every year since Spencer was born (which makes this year #2), he goes out to a pumpkin patch each October and personally picks out the pumpkin he will carve for Halloween. He looked for quite a while before he made this years selection - after all, you can't just pick ANY pumpkin in the field!

Eventually he spotted the perfect pumpkin. While we all waited for the hay wagon to return to pick us all up, Spencer and his prized acquisition found a nice spot to take a little rest.

As is the tradition each year, as soon as Spencer, Brian and their cousins Krista, Erika and Haley had finished picking their pumpkins, they all gathered together for a group picture! (sorry about the shadows from the various photographers)

With all the pumpkins packed up, we all headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. Spencer made it almost all the way home before he finally ran out of gas, but he sure did have a fun day!

A Bicycle Built For Two!

According to Spencer's brother (who wanted to ride this bike while Spencer was already on it), this bike is completely capable of holding two riders! It may be capable of holding two riders, but not comfortably so Spencer soon got off the bike and moved onto a different toy. Mommy and Daddy hope that when Spencer gets to the "I want everything my brother is playing with" stage, his brother Brian will be OUT of that stage!

Dancin' Feet!

Spencer loves to dance. As soon as he hears some music, he can't help himself - he just has to get his groove on! We probably should explain that to Spencer, dancing basically means just turning in circles around and around and around until.......

.....he gets dizzy and falls down!

Mmmmmm.....Pancake!

Spencer is quite insistent on having a piece of silverware in his hand when he is eating. He doesn't always use it, but he still likes to hold onto it. This morning, Mommy was sticking little pieces of pancake onto his fork - which he then ate off of his fork. When Brian was done with his breakfast, he wanted to help. When he has the opportunity to feed himself, Spencer doesn't always like to give up that independence and let someone else feed him but for his big brother - he made an exception!

E - I - E - I - O!

It used to be pretty challenging to read to Spencer. He was too busy trying to pull the book out of your hands or pushing the pages away to get much out of the story. We are very happy to report that Spencer is really getting with the reading program now - which is a welcomed relief to us all! Daddy is especially happy that young Spencer will now patiently sit through not one but repeated readings of Old McDonald Had A Farm! (At least that was tonight's reading selection.)

BUBBLES!!!!!

With big brother Brian at the controls of the bubble making toy, Spencer just stood back - giggled his happy little laugh and pretended that he really WAS on the Lawrence Welk Show!

The Cousin Snuggle

Spencer's cousins Krista and Erika came over this afternoon and boy did we have fun with them! Daddy had to go to a meeting right after dinner so the girls were a huge help to Mommy with bath time. With two clean little boys in their jammies, Spencer was ready to have some down time snuggling with Krista.

We always love spending time with these little ladies and as Mommy types this blog post, Spencer is sleeping like a log after all the play time he got in with them!

Another Fan!

As many of you know from reading Brian's blog, Lawrence Welk plays a prominent part of the weekend entertainment at our house. You will find us tuned into Indiana Public TV on Saturday and Sunday evenings from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (or until bedtime). Like his brother, Spencer also shares a love for the musical entertainment of Larwence, Myron, Bobby, Cissy and the rest of the Welk gang. He jumped right up and started dancing along with tonight's show.....clapping after each song! Mommy and Daddy aren't sure if they should be amused - or kind of freaked out!

Are You Registered?

Spencer wants to remind everyone that one month from today is election day. Even though he has to wait a few more years to be old enough to cast his own vote - he still wants to make sure that all of you who CAN vote are registered to be ABLE to vote! (Spencer is very civic minded after all.)

Grandma and Grandpa were out of town on vacation last week and they just got home last night. Spencer and his brother went over to welcome them home and while they were there, he helped Grandma put her campaign yard sign up. I wonder who they are planning to vote for!?!?

Let Me At It!

Spencer has been watching his big brother play the pillow flop game for quite awhile now. He decided that he's been watching it long enough so tonight he gave it a go himself! After getting some coaching from his brother, he headed into the kitchen where the starting blocks are located. He made the sprint from the kitchen to the pile of pillows in the living room........

.....and made a successful landing!

After getting a few more tips from Brian, Spencer was ready to make the pillow run on his own. Did he have fun? Well, this smile pretty much says it all!

The Professor

"The square root of an isosceles triangle is equal to the sum of the three sides." Some of you may not know this but Spencer is quite brilliant. It's really obvious when he is wearing Daddy's glasses.

Mr. Bubble!

Bath time at our house is a HUGE event! As soon as the topic is mentioned, both boys can't wait to get undressed, grab their toys and head for the tub. When Spencer was upgraded from taking kitchen sink bath's to soaking in the bathtub like a big boy, initially he was hesitant. But, after one or two times, he started enjoying himself and now he hates having to get out of the water too!