Lilypie 4th Birthday Ticker

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

A few follow ups -

Check out how this auction ended up! Over six MILLION people have viewed it to date, and the winning bid was three times the original price!

Stacie has shared her photos from Tracy's visit this past weekend. We still need Tracy to share hers, which include a great one of her holding both babies. And still can't wait to see the one from last year with Stacie & I both pregnant, hugging each other. Tracy did bring a hilarious book for us "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Parenting" which I highly recommend as it provided tons of laughs. We also enjoyed reading aloud from 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, trying to see how many of the US locations we have been to, or at least heard of!

Today we learned that the eight week old girl who was supposed to start in Spencer's class on Monday won't be coming after all. Turns out her mom changed her mind and will be staying home. Totally understandable, but hey - better ratio for Spencer and the others until that spot is filled!

Spencer has two new tricks up his sleeve these days. His favorite activity is to be pulled up to a seated position from lying down. He grabs onto your fingers and uses his muscles to hold his head up as you raise his torso. Once he's upright, though, he's not quite sure what to do. His other favorite activity is reach and grabbing. You no longer have to put a toy in his hand; when something comes into his field of vision (dangled above his head, or placed on his chest) he moves boths hands in and grabs on. Pretty neat, eh? Still hasn't rolled over (dislikes extended tummy time, so there aren't a ton of opportunities) and isn't interested in eating cereal. We keep trying every few days. He just holds it there on his tongue for a few seconds, then pushes it out.

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Thanks Ronda for the laughs from this ebay auction.
We had a fabulous visit with Tracy over the weekend. And our Saturday visit with Stacie, Katie and Jen was just wonderful as well. There are some new pictures added to the April album which include some photos from the past week or so. There are also a couple from last night's bath where Spencer is checking out the rubber duckie on his chest which are just too cute!

It was also great to say hi to Audra this weekend & we are looking forward to visiting with her in May when she stops through Houston.

I think I accidentally upset a friend and now I feel crummy.

Friday, April 23, 2004

This morning I learned that as of May 1, Spencer will no longer be the littlest dude in his class at school. A new girl will be starting, and she'll be eight weeks old! Arman is graduating up to the toddler class, as he has already started splitting his time to ease the transition. Here is a picture of all his little buds, so now there are faces with the names.



Tracy is coming back for a visit this weekend! We somehow forgot to take pictures the first time she came to visit when Spencer was only four weeks old. We'll make sure to take plenty on this trip. Stacie & little Katie will be coming by on Saturday too.

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

We're back! We returned last night from a fabulous trip to NY with young Spencer to introduce him to (among others) his Great Grandma Evelyn. From LaGuardia, we went directly to her place so she could finally hold her great grandson in her arms. The timing of our visit that day could not have been more perfect: a "happy hour" at her independent living facility was just breaking up, and everyone had to file by us in the main lobby as they made their way to dinner. Everyone flocked around to see the baby, and grandma was just as proud as could be! After eating dinner there with her (in order to allow her to show off the baby to as many folks as possible) we walked up to our guest suite so that grandma could enjoy watching Spencer get his evening bath. But the emotional excitement of the day caught up with her, and she headed off to bed. Friday morning we woke up and walked down to her place for breakfast - she was still on cloud nine to be able to spend so much time with Spencer. My aunt (grandma's other daughter) drove down from Vermont with my uncle for a visit. A four hour drive each way just to spend two hours visiting with the baby! On Saturday some of my cousins from Philadelphia drove up for a day trip - nearly a three hour car trip each way for them, with two-year old Ellie! By this point, we were staying at mom's house, and getting ready for Spencer's big party on Sunday. What an event! In honor of our little Texan making the journey, everything was decorated with a cowboy theme and we served Tex-Mex. About 25 people stopped by, and we could not have asked for better weather - it was a spectacular spring day in New York. On Monday we caught up with pop for dinner, and I don't think he stopped smiling the entire time we were with him. Then suddenly it was Tuesday and time to fly home. Here are the pictures from our trip to NY. We had so much to cram in during this visit that Jim and I had to split up for a day and a half in order to accomplish everything. He and Karl flew Karl's plane to Pittsburgh to visit his grandpa and take him up for a spin.

I don't know if they read the blog or not, but I have to say a super special THANK YOU to mom's friend Harriet and her daughter Penny for loaning so much of the baby gear that was required to make the trip possible. Without use of their infant car seat, swing, bouncy seats, exersaucer, pack 'n play, boppy, bath cushion, sheets, towels, etc., I don't know how we would have managed without their help. Penny's son Jake turned one the day Spencer was born, so we were fortunate to have so many toys available. Plus, a huge thanks to mom for making multiple trips to pick up all of their stuff, plus ensuring we had plenty of diapers, wipes, batteries, hand sanitizer, laundry soap, etc., and making an early morning trip to the police station to have the car seat properly installed.

Spencer was an excellent traveller on the ride up, and good on the ride back. Part of that was our fault for leaving too late in the day yesterday. We kept his schedule intact while in NY (adjusting one hour so that he was still operating on Central time) and so far seems to be doing well back at home. When picking him up from school, Ms. Karen did confirm that they can tell when babies have just come back from vacation. After spending six days with his mommy & daddy, not to mention grandparents and other relatives and friends that wanted to hold him all the time, Spencer didn't want to be put down much today! This morning, little Alane was just too excited that Spencer had returned, and she knocked down big ol' Alessandria to get to see him!

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Today is Jim's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!!!

When I brought Spencer to school this morning, Alexa came running over pointing and shouting "Spen-sah!"

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

We started Spencer on cereal last night! (Pics in the April album) and we took some video too!

14-month old Alex in Spencer's class at school is such a talker! Yesterday when I came to pick him up she immediately screamed "HI! when I entered the room. And then as we were leaving she yelled "BYE" to me, then turned to yell as special "BYE" just to Spencer. Today, not only did she give the same greeting & farewell, but I was floored to hear her call Spencer by name too!

Monday, April 12, 2004

Ah, it would be nice to go back to March when Spencer only pooped every three or four days. Now he's back on track with at least one a day, including a new trend of first thing in the morning after waking up. He's all smiles and giggles when we go in to visit him in the crib, then squishes up his face and you know he's working on a project in the diaper. And whoever said that baby poop doesn't smell bad until they stop eating breast milk and move on to solid foods must have been trying to sell something. Spencer's diet has been unchanged but these diapers stink to high heaven. A sign that the good bacteria in his guts has developed and matured and that his body is preparing for solid foods. Good thing too, because we think he's in another growth spurt. His appetite has been insatiable lately. We've watched the baggies of milk stock-piled in the freezer dwindle down to nearly half of the supply that was built up about a month ago. At Spencer's 4-month visit last Monday we were given thumbs up by his pediatrician to start him on cereal so we need to get moving on that! We'll be sure to have the cameras ready for the big event of his first meal!

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Our seder last night was fabulous. Al's parents are awesome. Together with Al's mom, Carol prepared a delicious meal and everyone had a great time. Spencer took a nap after Al's dad fed him a bottle, and then joined our seder (taking turns on mine & Jim's lap) when he woke up. It is so nice to be able to spend holidays together with friends and family. Here are a couple of pics from the evening at the end of the April album.

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

The numbers are in. Yesterday was Spencer's 4 month well-baby visit and we learned that he now weighs 16 1/2 pounds, and measures 25 3/4 inches in length. Both statistics put him in the 75th percentile. It's nice to have such a big, healthy baby. And it's a cool feeling to know that he got that way solely on the nutrition he derives from me. We got the green light to get started feeding him cereal, so that should be lots of fun!

Passover started last night. This evening we are invited to join Alan & Carol for a seder at their house while Alan's parents are in town for the holiday. Should be a great time, and hopefully young Spencer will cooperate!

Sunday, April 04, 2004

Another nice day to round out the weekend. Spencer & I joined Katie, Chris & others for a potluck picnic down in Hermann park this afternoon. The weather was spectacular, and again Spencer was quite well-behaved. (Spitting up all over himself and Kevin wasn't the smoothest, but it wasn't a disaster.) Spencer really seemed to enjoy being outside: listening to the birds, starting at trees and people, and feeling the nice breeze blow across his body. He did NOT like the ultra-loud whistle on the train that runs around the park/zoo complex. The first time he heard it he was completely startled and instantly started to wail. Poor baby. During subsequent passes, we held him close and covered his ears, and he fared much better. Some pictures from this afternoon have been added to the April photo album. And you can see Spencer displaying his newest hobby - starting at his left hand.

Today Spencer is four months old! And tomorrow we go to his doctor to get the next round of vaccinations. As well as get him weighed and measured to find out just how big our little man actually is!

And - forgot to mention that young Spencer made the newsletter at school AGAIN! (Kind of incredible to be listed two times in a month when there are over 60 children!) He was the only member of the infant room who was 'dressed up' silly for April Fool's Day.
Saturday was such a fabulous day in the life of Spencer! I can't really recall him being fussy at all during the day and it was incredibly pleasant. After Spencer had gotten up from a nice long morning nap, Stacie called to say hi and catch up, and was able to interrupt her errands to come by with 9 week-old Katie for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The two babies sure seemed to enjoy checking each other out, and I couldn't believe how much she had grown since our last visit 5 weeks ago! Spencer was in rare form as he almost seemed to entertain himself, putting on a great show of giggles and talking to show off his big boy skills. We'll be sure to see each other again in three more weeks when Tracy is in town to visit.

In the evening we ate out at Cafe Red Onion with Lori & Jack, and Spencer was very well behaved there as well. The place was hopping, and the baby enjoyed staring around at everyone. We made it home in time for bath, and then off to bed. Overall - a great day!

Friday, April 02, 2004

Not that there was much doubt, but there was no denying how much I have turned into a mom this morning, as I found myself singing along to the "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" on the nursery rhymes CD in our SUV on the way to drop Spencer at school. A few new pictures are have been added to the end of the March album, and we have a started a new one for April.

Thursday, April 01, 2004

For April Fool's Day today we sent Spencer to school with his clothes all mis-matched & inside out. None of the other babies were dressed silly, but the teachers there in the morning definitely appreciated his effort! (The teachers in the afternoon didn't quite get it, and turned his clothes rightside out!)

Yesterday Carol & Brian came over for dinner and we spent the last part of the afternoon beforehand enjoying the glorious weather with our little boys on a blanket on the front lawn. Our neighbor came by to say hi, and said that she and her husband had just had the 'baby talk' the night before. She updated us that they were taking the day off from work today to bring their dog to a behavioral specialist to work on his incessant barking. I was glad to know there were aware how disruptive it has become, but saddened to find out that one of our other neighbors was particularly rude to them about it. Dinner last night were new chicken and potato recipes from oprah.com which mom had forwarded.