Letters!

Spencer loves singing the alphabet song. He is getting so familiar with them that he can identify almost all of them now in any random order!

Park It Here!

Today's park outing has been postponed on account of a doctor's appointment. Spencer has had a rash on his chest, back and groin for a few days now. It hasn't been bothering him. He isn't itchy, running a fever or having any change of appetite. Since the rash just doesn't seem to be going away though, we paid a visit to our pediatrician today. She confirmed that it just appears to be prickly heat. Spencer has always been a hot blooded little boy. He can be in a deep sleep but if Mommy or Daddy put his blanket over him at night, more than likely he will push it off himself without even rolling over. The doctor suggested using a antibacterial soap for his baths but otherwise to just dress him cool and do nothing different than what we are doing.

As soon as we finished at the doctors office we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Before the boys took their naps and Mommy went across the street to do more painting, we watched the show that was going on. There is an American Elm tree on the corner of the lot of our new house. Apparently it went to Europe on vacation because it is suffering from Dutch Elm disease. Since the tree is located in a spot where it is the Village's responsibility, they decided to cut it down and today was the day! We sat on the stoop in front of Grandma and Grandpa's house and had front row seats for the process!

Nap

The boys spent a good park of today at Grandma and Grandpa's house again today. Daddy was installing new windows and Mommy was doing more painting. Spencer was barely able to keep his eyes open while he finished his lunch but he did manage to play a little longer before taking a nice long afternoon nap. This is the face of the little boy who enjoyed a relaxing snooze and woke up refreshed and ready to take on the rest of his day.

Do You Offer Valet Parking?

Mommy and the boys made a trip to the grocery store today and much to her surprise - both boys wanted to drive the race car shopping cart. Mommy really enjoys the shopping outings where they BOTH want to ride in the cart because when they are confined, we are able to complete our shopping list in record time!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Even though we celebrated it yesterday, today is Grandma's actual birthday. Yesterday, in addition to going out to lunch and then having some fun in the pool, we also had cake.

Spencer has been around long enough to know that it's not a birthday party if you don't have cake! Happy Birthday Grandma - we love you!

Dinner With The Gang

After church today, Spencer went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to take a nap so that he would be well rested when we went out to lunch to celebrate Grandma's birthday. Uncle Corey wasn't able to make it but the rest of the immediate family were all present and accounted for. After lunch, Haley and the boys (as well as their parents) came back to Grandma and Grandpa's house to take advantage of the fact that we were finally having some nice swimming weather! Spencer made his first ever dive into the pool today! He was standing by the edge of the pool - a little close - reach down to get something and SPLASH.......he went in headfirst! Daddy and Grandma were already in the pool and saw what was about to happen so he was barely in the water before he was "rescued". Something like this might have scared some kids but not Spencer! He started the afternoon wearing swim muscles and a swim ring.

Before today's swimming session was over - he was only wearing his muscles and he was doing a great job!

Toot Toot!

Both of the boys have a "road map rug" in their bedroom. Today we pulled both rugs out into the living room, got a bunch of trucks, bulldozers and cars out and had some serious driving fun! Spencer is the kind of little boy who is just seems to be drawn to toy trucks. If there are several toys to pick from, he will generally grab a truck and then get down onto the floor to drive it around while saying "toot toot!"

Hoopster

When Spencer found the Nerf basketball at Grandma and Grandpa's house, he wanted nothing more than to shoot a basket. If only he were about 4 1/2 feet taller he could have done it on his own. Until then, he needs a bit of a boost!

Park It Here!

Today we went to a park that we see all the time but never at a time when it is convenient to stop at it. Today's part is the "Tot Lot" at the corner of Randolph and Circle Ave in Forest Park.

Mommy loved the fact that this park is completely fenced in except for the entrance. The boys enjoyed that they were the only ones here when we arrived - so they had the run of the place! This park gets a high 3 3/4 rating from Spencer. It was toddler friendly but still offered several climbing spots that were more challenging. We will be back to this park!

Random Cute Picture!

Spencer is an international man of mystery. One moment he is laughing and smiling and the next he is all business and Mr. Serious. (At this moment, he was being Mr. Serious.)

Say Cheese!!!!

Do you think Spencer is used to having a camera shoved in his face on a regular basis?

When Mommy pointed the camera in his direction today he just stood still, looked directly at the camera and said "Cheese!"

A-B-C-D....

Spencer is making wonderful progress on his alphabet. He sings the ABC song nearly letter perfect and is getting very good at identifying letters that we show him in any random order. Clearly - he's a genius! Or shall we say, his parents enjoy telling themselves that he is.)

Peel Me A Grape!

The boys each have one of these comfy little sofa's but currently, they are sharing this one. The boys are spending several afternoons a week at Grandma and Grandpa's house while Mommy paints at the new house. We time these visits so that we get to their house shortly before nap time. We have left one sofa there since that's where Brian takes his nap. Spencer however, is still perfectly content to sleep in the pack and play. Spencer always has been and continues to be - an amazing sleeper. When we put him into his crib at night, he knows what he is there to do and gets right down to the business of counting sheep. Unlike his brother, he has no interest in trying to climb out of it.

Adventure Day!

Spencer and his brother woke up to Mommy and Daddy this morning - which was about the only thing "normal" about today! Right after breakfast, Daddy headed over to our new house to start painting with our good friend Uncle Ralph. A little later Mommy and the boys met up with Grandma and Grandpa. Mommy said goodbye and joined the painting crew. Spencer, Brian, Grandma and Grandpa headed to the Villa Park swimming pool to help cheer on their cousin Krista who was swimming in a meet there today. After enjoying some poolside pizza with Goober, the boys came home to take some well deserved naps.

When they woke up, they didn't see Mommy, or Daddy, or Grandma or Grandpa......instead they were greeted by the smiling face of our good friend Aunt Diane! When it comes to reading kids, Diane is a pro. Knowing that they might be a little thrown by the change in babysitters, as soon as they woke up she suggested that they go do something she knew they both loved doing........go to the park! After getting some good play time in at the park, dinner at McDonald's, AND getting to come back home and play in the back yard, they could have cared less if Mommy and Daddy EVER came home! Thanks again Grandma, Grandpa and Diane - thanks to your helping out with the boys today, we were able to get a lot of painting done!

Saw This One Coming!

I'm sure that will come as no surprise to any of you that since Brian has shown some (limited) interest in using the big boy toilet..........Spencer wants to do it too! He goes right into the bathroom, puts the "big boy seat" on the toilet and crawls up. We haven't tried to explain the concept of not wearing a diaper - or clothes for that matter - yet. If he just wants to get used to the idea of sitting like a big boy, we are all in favor of that! Once he has taken a seat, he requests "Book!"

Park It Here!

This weeks park of choice is Madison Meadows located in the Lombard Park District. It's a nice park with lots of toddler appropriate playground equipment but Spencer is only giving this park a rating of 2. This particular park is laid out over a lot of space which made it nice to run around in but there was no fencing. Since the boys don't like to always play in the same area at the same time,

and since this park is located close to two streets, the lack of any type of fencing probably means this isn't a park that we will go back to unless we have an additional grown up with us.

What choo talkin' about Willis?

Today is the final day that Chicago will be home to the Sears Tower downtown. Tomorrow it's name will officially change to the Willis Tower. Go figure huh?




At breakfast this morning Spencer took a moment to model some of his newer bumps and bruises. He is the polar opposite from his brother when it comes to boo-boos. Brian insists on having a band aid. Spencer could care less, which is a good thing because with the number of whacks this kids takes to his head, arms and legs, he would be COVERED with band aids!

Peek!

Just like she did for Brian, when Spencer was born, Grandma came from South Dakota for a visit. And just like she did for Brian, she brought Spencer a beautiful soft fluffy baby blanket. Brian still won't go to sleep without his blue blanket and as for Spencer, its a toss up as to which he likes more - Goober or his brown blanket!

His blanket also works well when he does magic tricks and when playing a fun filled game of peek a boo!

Chicago 2016

Chicago is one of the locations being considered for the 2016 Summer Olympic games. As a 9 year old, Spencer will still be a little young to compete but that isn't going to stop him from doing some training. He wants so desperately to do a somersault! He gets into position, pushes off, and rolls over to the side. Give him a few more years though and he will be on that Olympic men's gymnastics team for sure!

Kids Say The Darndest Things!

When we got to church this morning the boys had a very pleasant surprise. Haley had a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa last night so she was at church this morning too! Since Daddy and Grandpa both had responsibilities at church this morning, when it was time to receive communion Brian and Haley walked up with Grandma and Mommy carried Spencer. When Mommy held out her hand for Pastor to hand her a wafer Spencer promptly held his hand out too and in a very loud voice announced "I try!" This got chuckles from everyone within ear shot - including the Pastor !

Just Married!

Last Wednesday Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding - our good friend Chris married her sweetheart Bill. Since the wedding was a little too close to bedtime for the boys to go, we promised them that they could come with us when we went to the reception/backyard pool party/BBQ that Chris and Bill were having this afternoon. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time chatting with friends. The boys had no trouble finding fun things to play with either but Brian does want to say once more to Chris that he is sorry that he threw several small rocks into her pool.

Forwards or Backwards

Last summer we had a terrible time trying to keep a hat on these boys during those sunny summer days. I don't know what changed to make them decide that it's okay to wear them now - but Spencer seems to actually enjoy wearing one. Forward.........

........or backwards!

Park It Here!

Today Spencer's park outing takes us to the village of Westmont. We went to Ty Warner Park (yes, this park is named for the Ty beany baby guy). The park was made of of a few parts. There was a fabulous splash pad (this park does charge an admission for this part) but since we didn't come prepared to get wet, we went straight to the playground. There was a playground for older kids but we headed straight to the toddler playground. In addition to the playground, there was also a big sandbox area and a toy train the kids can play in and around.

All in all, this park was a lot of fun and Spencer gave it a high score of 4 - we will be back!

Do Not Disturb

Mommy and Brian were busy playing today when it suddenly became very clear that Spencer was being a little too quiet. Upon further investigation Mommy found him in Brian's room. He had picked out a book and crawled up into the chair to read it.......perfectly content!

Pals!

Are these a couple of adorable little book ends or what?!?!?!?!

Look Mom.....No Hands!!!

Spencer is such a busy little boy! He likes to read books. He likes to sing songs. He likes to count. He likes to say his ABC's. Oh......and he likes to play with toys too!

Clean Up!

With our house on the market, we can get a call that a realtor wants to show the house at any time. We try to keep the house as neat and tidy as we can - and fortunately for us, the boys want to pitch in and help too!

Happy Birthday America!

Grandma and Grandpa have an amazing 4th of July back yard party each year and this year was no exception. Granted the weather wasn't the best as it rained off and on most of the afternoon. However, with the big tent in place everyone was very comfortable and enjoyed the food, conversation and very moderate temperatures. As for the pool - a little drizzle was going to keep Spencer out and thanks friends and party guests Elizabeth and Erika, the boys got to go swimming!

Even though it was well past his normal bedtime and he was exhausted, Spencer got his second wind and managed to stay awake for the entire fireworks display. The loud noise didn't bother him at all and he kept announcing "pretty" after the big one's went off.

Uncle Kevin!

We really do have wonderful family and friends because today it was Uncle Kevin to the rescue. he came over to hang out with the boys while Mommy, Aunt Karyn and our fabulous friend Uncle Ralph were at the new house doing more painting. The boys could really care less why it's happening, they are just thrilled that it is!

Park It Here!

Because we closed on our new house a few days ago, Thursday was a little different this week. Different GOOD though! Mommy went to the new house to get started doing some painting and the boys got to stay at the house and play with our wonderful friends Aunt Karen and her daughter Jamie! So, the park Spencer is reviewing this week is one that he frequents quite often.......the one in his own back yard!

It's a good thing the boys have so much fun at this park because when our move actually takes place - our park will be coming with us!

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful!

Spencer can get the most adorable looks and expressions on his face. This example came as we were getting ready to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house.

As you can see from this picture, we are going through a problem right now of the boys not wanting to keep their arms in their car seat straps. Brian came up with the idea first and of course - as soon as Spencer saw him wiggle out of his straps, he HAD to do it too! Mommy and Daddy are forced to listen to some screaming after we force them back into the straps and tighten them to the point where they can't escape, but it's worth it. They don't think so at the moment but then again, they don't get a vote when it comes to their safety.