Just Feel Like Blogging- My Nearly Three Month Hiatus

Hi Everyone! I am back from my almost three month long hiatus and could not be more happy to start blogging again. There are many reasons I stopped blogging but with that said, I am so happy to be back :-) Hope your ready to follow us again.

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Spencer

"Covered in cake and icing, Your smile stretched ear to ear. A single candle celebrates, The joy of your first year.

We sing Happy Birthday, You play midst wrap and bows. We marvel at how you touched our lives, Just one year ago.

I remember the first time I held you, Kissed your head, whispered your name. You've changed our lives forever, Our hearts will never be the same.

As a child you'll love this day, For all the sweets and presents too. As parents we'll love your day, For the gift we got was you.

Each year we'll add another candle, So proud to see you grow. But always with the memory, Of your first day long ago."

-Terry Harrison

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There is something really surreal about writing this post. Let's be honest, it's not like I did not know this day was coming. And, if you are here reading you have probably read every other "monthly" post update on Spencer. His growths stats, his new tricks, his favorite toys or songs. But today is different and I almost don't have the words to express how I am feeling (which is rare if you know me). It hit me the other night as I was preparing for Spencer's 1st birthday party and the thought has clouded my head since. It has really been a year! No denying it now! This is no ordinary party/day. My baby boy is 1 year old today!

Dear Spencer,

For the 9 long months that I carried you I would wonder what you were going to look like. What color eyes or hair you might have? I wondered how I would feel when I finally got to meet you. Would I be a good mother? Would I know just what to do? Then, 1 year ago today my life changed forever. Every answer I ever wanted was here in you. The minute I saw you Spencer there were no more questions, no more doubts, just pure love and joy. That love has guided me through this past year and every milestone that you have reached.

At 1 year you are full of life and thriving. You have a amazing personality that is shining through and are "all boy". You are crawling and cruising at lightning speed and at times it makes it hard to keep up with you. You love to climb, making stairs and park playgrounds your favorite places to hang out. You have transitioned to whole milk and sippy cups and now only have 3 sippy cups of milk a day. You are a super good eater and have 3 solid meals a day and snacks in between and I don't think you have met a food you don't like :-) Your sounds and noise "vocabulary" is growing each day and I can't wait to make sense of those great stories you tell us in your "words". You love music and even in the worst of tantrums it can bring a smile to your face. The past month has brought many changes and it is amazing how I see you "growing" each day.

Happy 1st Birthday Spencer Joshua you have blessed my world from the minute I knew we had created you. You are my sunshine that brings me joy each day. You mean the world to me and my heart grows bigger every day you are in our lives. This past year has undoubtedly been the most exciting and rewarding of my life and I have you to thank for it. May your every wish come true this year and all the years to come.

Love, Mommy

What an amazing year it has been filled with a new adventure everyday. I never thought I would be as emotional as I am right now as I think back on all the wonderful moments we had with our little man in just one year. Imagine how I will feel when he turns 10?!?!

We celebrated Spencer's Birthday with family and friends last Saturday and had a "whale of a time!" Stayed tuned for party pics :-)

Happy Valentine's Day

What a perfect day!

This year we decided to have a very low key Valentine's Day and to be honest, I could not have asked for a better day.

I was up bright and early this morning for PT for my back but quickly came home so I could spend a few minutes with Bill before he had to leave for work. Then, I got to enjoy my Littlest Valentine on his very first Valentine's Day!

It was a beautiful day here so I knew I wanted to be outside as much as possible but first, most importantly, we had to go card shopping for Daddy ;-) Then, we met up with our friends Kelly and Carter for lunch and a playdate a Webb Bridge Park. The boys enjoyed crawling around in the grass and dirt and Kelly and I realized that we need to get in shape fast to keep up with these fast movers! They are quick and dirt; well we better just get use to it because they had sand, bark, and dirt all over them! OH BOYS!

After the boys were all tuckered out Kelly and I took a walk around the park while the boys napped in their strollers.

Spencie and I headed home after our walk and while he finished his nap, I made one of my favorite recipes from one of my favorite cookbooks-Hungry Girl. Taco Turkey Meatloaf! It's so yummy and very good for you too! In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I shaped the loaf into a heart ( Thanks Kelly!)

Bill got home from work right as dinner was ready and greeted me with beautiful roses and calla lilies. Spencer got up from his nap and we were all able to enjoy dinner together. We ended the night playing with our favorite little Valentine!

It was a perfect day!

11 Months Already!

Oh My Goodness! My baby turned 11 months old last week! Is that really possible? I cannot believe it. Last year this time I will nesting like crazy, on modified best rest and home from work and getting bigger by the minute. This year, I am living my dream of staying home and taking care of my precious baby boy.

This month has been my favorite so far but I must say I am starting to get a bit sad that my baby boy is almost 1 year old! I have very mixed emotions about the next few weeks. On one hand, I am so excited to watch Spencer grow into "toddlerhood" but part of me wants to keep him my baby forever.




It's been such a busy month filled with exciting changes.



Whats Spencer doing this month?



Crawling forward at lighting speed



Pulling up on anything and everything-my new nickname is jungle-gym mommy



Walks while holding our hands or pushing his dino-walker



Self feeding (with his hands of course) for every meal



Loves his sippy cup with water...we are still working on milk



Eating almost everything in site-I am waiting for the picky eating stage to begin



Crib has been moved to the lowest level and rail guards have put on because we have evidence of teeth marks on the crib!



As his personality is growing we are learning Spencer is very shy in public but a show off at home


Loves to point, especially at things high such as balloons



Sometimes we get a wave HI or BYE but we are still perfecting this trick



Starting to climb stairs (we got up 2 the other day)



Bottles 4 times a day with formula only



Meals 3 times a day



Size 4 diapers


Approximately 21-22 lbs



12-18 month clothes



So the countdown begins......a few more weeks and we will celebrate Spencie's first birthday! I have always been told that it just keeps getting better and so far, I can definitely agree. What a ride!

Tunnels of Fun

We recently bought Spencer a collapsible tunnel to play with and crawl through but he did not take so well to it at first. We thought that with his new found love of crawling, it would be a hit but we were wrong and decided to put it away for awhile. Last night however, we pulled it out and would'nt ya know it, he loved it!

S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E 70's Style

Oh what a night! After months of planning and sneaking around I was able to pull off a 70's themed Surprise 40th birthday for Bill. Thanks to help from friends and family it went off without a hitch! And now, I need a vacation ;-) Or, maybe just a spa day!

The plan for the night was for Bill and I to go out to a birthday dinner with dear friends Katy and Trey. We even had our friend and babysitter come over to watch Spencer to make Bill think it was like any other evening.

I was for sure Bill was on to me as for the week leading up to our dinner plans he kept asking me about his "party". "Where's the party?" "Who's coming to the party?" "What time is the party?" each time he would ask me, I would cringe inside and simply answer with a straight face, "there is no party!" These little comments went on even up to the point we left the house to go to dinner so needless to say my nerves were shot even before we got to dinner.

While we were at dinner LB and Danny and Dad and Cheryl transformed our home into a 70's disco with the decorations I had been stockpiling and hiding for weeks. Before long, our guests started to arrive dressed in their 70's attire and boy did they all look amazing! Seymour the blackjack dealer also started to provide what turned into hours of entertainment. He was a hit!

We enjoyed a great dinner and stalled with an extra round of drinks which ended up making us 45 minutes late! Woops ;-) But as you can see by the pictures below, those 45 minutes made no difference and Bill was so surprised and the party was a blast! Thanks to all our friends who came out to celebrate with us! What a awesome night.

Happy 4oth Bill! I love you and hope you had as much fun that night as I had planning the party for you.

I cannot take credit for these collages. Thanks Kelly for these great pictures. Check FB for more great pics of the evening.

Videos: Way Past Due

Mom, these are for you! I have promised my mom for weeks now that I would post videos of Spencer learning to crawl and his bath time fun. These are a few weeks old and Spencer is crawling everywhere now and pulling up on anything in site so more videos to come :-) Sorry they are so late! Enjoy!

Please excuse the quality they were taken with my cell phone :-)