Spencer is now one year! For me the anticipation of him turning one was much more intense than the actual event. When I thought about him turning one it made me sad that he was growing up so fast, but when he actually turned one I was not at all sad but just really happy and loved getting to celebrate our little boy :)
There's a lot of pictures from this month (big surprise right? haha) and I just kept them chronological.
We were able to see the Hoyts twice; they came to spokane at the beginning of the month and we went to see them at the end. It's so nice to have family visit you in your own territory, I still haven't nailed down exactly why, but it just makes us always feel so special and loved. We hiked Tubbs (a little peninsula into Lake Coeur d'Alene, almost ate at Brian's hospital Deaconess (the pickings were slim so we went out for chowder instead), and had some nice hang out time and watched a movie.
Spencer is into soft things. He loves blankets and either puts them in his mouth if they are his swadley kind or lays his head down on them if they are thicker. Most times if I hear him giggling in the other room I go in to find him with his head on a blanket.
Both Brian and I have been exercising at home this month, and Spencer always wants to be in on the action. It's cute and really keeps us on our toes. Once he even started flapping his arms while we were doing jumping jacks. Here he is helping dad with push-ups.
We have been doing a group kid swap since January and are really liking it! There are 4 couples and we switch off watching everyone's kids Friday nights. It has been so nice to have dates built in to our schedule. Here you can see Spencer going for the baby. He loves people... but especially babies... and especially their eyes.
Spencer has been all sorts of independent this month... he gets his own toilet paper, snacks, and does his own dishes ;)
Here's a video of Spencer's first dancing :) He is already quite a bit more groovy than his predecessors.
We had a party for Spencer and his friends a couple days before his actual birthday. We played around, took a nice group photo, and ate the ham sandwiches I ate before I left for the hospital to have Spencer. Spencer loved his brownies, and after everyone left just talked and talked. I think he liked having so many friends over at once.
And here is our trip to Tree Farm. We went out to Point White Horn (as usual; its my favorite ocean spot by the Hoyt's home), made an amazing polka dot cake, and watched Spencer go up all the stairs he could find.
And we got some nice pictures for Spencer's birthday! I was so proud of us! It is such a grown-up thing and we did it and it wasn't that bad.
I love this last one :)
Brian was working nights this month which allowed for him to be home and awake during the afternoons. It was so fun to get to be all together as a family during a time of day that is more relaxed. When Brian gets home at 6pm we usually have to finish making dinner and eat quickly, then give spencer his bath and get him all ready for bed, then put him down before 7pm. It feels a little rushed; but with Brian hanging out with us from 2-5pm we get to go on family walks, play on the floor with Spencer, and really just spend time together.
A few Spencer highlights:
- He just learned how to sign "more". It's pretty exciting as we have been signing to him since he was 6 months old.
- He loved new foods. Anything new he will eat, then he gets bored and wants new food for the next few days. This month he went through phases of loving blueberries, yogurt melts, strawberries, hash browns, corn chowder and puffs.
-He is getting more adventurous and will crawl out the back slider if I give him the opportunity.
- He makes this crazy face when we take his picture sometimes. The one where he opens his mouth and curls his lip to give a full view of his teeth.
- He is not close to walking but likes climbing onto the stroller, boxes, stairs... etc.
-He only nurses in the morning and night. He doesn't like whole milk yet, but eats very well.
-He has single handedly made the last year of our lives the most trying physically (here I am referring to the lack of sleeping hours), but the most rewarding emotionally. He brought a sweetness to our family that we felt before he was even born.
-He has single handedly made the last year of our lives the most trying physically (here I am referring to the lack of sleeping hours), but the most rewarding emotionally. He brought a sweetness to our family that we felt before he was even born.
