15 minutes of fame

Well, this might be as close to internet fame as I'll ever get. My favorite baby blog did a feature post on *me* - how cool!

Where are the Steelers going?

Ask Spencer this question and he will repond with certainty, "to the Super Bowl! They are playing in the Super Bowl!" At a boy!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Over the weekend Spencer and I checked out the construction site outside of Houston. It took just under an hour from our house and was an easy ride. The weather was gorgeous - tons of sun, bright blue skies, and crisp temps in the 50's. AND we were rewarded in seeing several members of the design team! Although Spencer's highlight may have been riding the school bus between the parking area and the construction site. Here are some pictures from the visit.

actually

This is Spencer's new favorite word. His sentences are hilarious as often he tags the word on at the end of a sentence. "That's a pinky finger... no, it's an index finger, actually!" While playing with a soccer ball last night he suddenly announced "those are pentagons!" and then looked closer and decided "those are hexagons, actually!" Daddy joined in the fun, "actually, Spencer, they are pentagons AND hexagons!"

...ten, eleven, twelve...

Last night Spencer and I spent the evening together and he was quite a pill. He alternated between happy and frustrated all evening. Saying 'no' and then 'yes' and then 'no' again. When changing him into PJ's, I decided to check him temperature to make sure nothing else was wrong. After initial giggles sticking a thermometer in his tush, I told him to count to ten while we waited for the beep. He reached ten, still no beep, and to my complete disbelief - so he kept on counting! "Eleven, twelve, thirteen, nineteen!" I had no idea he knew what came next! He was so proud, and I was so proud too!

It made me think back to a counting post that made me laugh out loud from one of my favorite bloggers.

Happy Birthday, Dr. King

At school Spencer has been learning about Dr. King and they even sang happy birthday to him. Spencer also told me that "Dr. Martin Luther King" once said "I have a dream." I hope that as he grows up and learns more about him that the very concept of racial inequality will seem completely ridiculous.

Yesterday Spencer and I headed out early to watch the Houston Marathon and cheer on our friends Michelle and Andy who were running. With a course map and live updates from the web (from Jim,) we zig-zagged around the city and were able to show our support waving and cheering every couple of miles during the second half of the course. It was exciting to be part of such a big event. Spencer was great at practicing his cheering "Go Andy! Go Michelle! You can do it!" After they ran by Spencer would ask "wanna see them again?" So we'd get back in the car and drive to a new intercept location. When we saw them afterwards wearing their medals and FINISHER jerseys, he gave Michelle a big hug and said "You did it!!"

Planet lesson from Spencer on Friday: "We live in the Milky Way."

nap mats

I've been feeling like an awful mom ever since I found out last week that many of his classmates at school have big quilted blankets and pillow rolls. They are called all-in-one nap mats. Or something like that. And I never knew they existed. After a numbing hour surfing the net, I was frustrated, and in sticker-shock! Plenty of stay-at-home moms selling them online, and a few online retailers, but practially no stores carried them. After losing one ebay auction, I bit the bullet and went to a hoity-toity baby gift shop in Champions at lunchtime to fork over nearly $50. But now Spencer is the proud owner of a fabulous grey quilted mat roll with colorful power tools printed all over, and a charcoal fleece blanket attached along one edge. When he got home this evening he was so excited to lay on it and put his head on the pillow and have Jim cover him with the cozy blanker. I know I certainly could have made him one from scratch, but I just couldn't bear for him to go without one for another day.

Today's planet lesson from Spencer: "Mecury is a planet too. We live on Earth."

sharp-dressed men

This morning I after I helped get Spencer dressed in a blue and white striped collared shirt with khakis, he annouced, "I look so handsome!" I couldn't help but laugh and smile and agree. Just then Jim emerged from the bedroom wearing a blue and white striped collared shirt with khakis!

Today's planet lesson: Jupiter. Spencer told me "it's a big one and has a red dot."

planets

Yesterday when I picked up Spencer at school he informed me, "Earth and Venus are planets." Then he pointed at the wall behind me at the pictures of the solar system. And suddenly, a light went off in my head. When we went to the train show downtown on Sunday he pointed at the Toyota Center and said something that sounded like "that's a planet" but I didn't know he knew that word. And now that I think about it, the Toyota logo sure does look like Saturn! It always amazes us to see how their little brains try to make sense of the world around them.

snow & trains

This weekend Spencer saw snow for the second time ever and had lots of fun, despite needing to take some breaks to have his hands warmed! We also checked out a hobby train show which was a bit hit for Spencer too. The attendance at the show could be split into two very distinct groups - moms & dads my age with little kids who were there to see Thomas the Train and all of his friends, and middle-aged men who were serious train hobbyist and paid close attention to the demos how to get their scenery to look as realistic as possible. Here are some pics from the weekend.

I knew that our trip to Atlanta ws Spencer's last free plane trip as a lap child, but I was still hit with sticker shock last night when I saw what it will cost next time we get on a plane.

"Guess what?"

On our way to play in a man-made patch of snow today, Spencer repeatedly piped up from the back seat "guess what?" Of course we asked him "what?" But he had nothing to share, and simply repeated "guess what?" This was amusing for about 30 seconds before it was painfully obvious we needed to teach him a little more about conversation.

What is indeed amusing is how Spencer has now mastered singing a few songs on his own, from start to finish, more or less correctly. Today there were lots of spontaneous "Twinkle, twinkles" and "ABC's." I swear there are few things cuter than listening to kids signing.

Happy New Year

Second and third celebrity sighting in Vegas: Paris Hilton. We (Jim) practically bumped shoulders with her Friday afternoon while shopping in Caesar's Palace. I completely missed the fact that we had walked right by her, but as Jim explained, "don't look for celebrities because they blend in, but the bodyguards stand out!" A few hours later that evening, I nearly collided with her inside the casino at the Venetian. Seeing the same famous person up close (very close) two times in one day was unexpected. Maybe we need a bodyguard to keep her from following us around! ;)

We came up with a short list of what we believe Spencer's favorite things to do and see in Vegas would include:

- The fountains at Bellagio. Heck, Even I had a blast watching five shows.
- The many escalators inside the casinos and outside on the strip. We think he'd have an absolute blast endlessly doing two-footed jumps down as they moved up.
- The extensive amount of construction equipment always present, working on the next new hotel.
- The tigers at the Mirage and the sharks at Mandalay Bay, can't go wrong with animals.
- The casinos themselves would provide and endless source of stimulation from lights and sounds. But I think it will be quite a while before he sees those!
- Buffets!

We made it back to Houston in time to have dinner with Spencer, and ring in the new year playing Mah Jong with mom and Ellen. We took a break at midnight to see the spectacle in and around our neighborhood. It's been a great start to what we hope will be a great 2006!

blogging from vegas

We're here in sin city, without Spencer! But we can't stop talking about how much he might enjoy the sights of the city and what he might say upon seeing them, "that's a blue fountain!" "that's a giant excavator!" "that's a big lady, be careful!" And unlike me, Spencer is someone who could certainly eat his money's worth at these buffets! We are a bit surprised by the number of folks who did take their little (little!) ones are pushing strollers up and down the strip and inside the casinos. While the break from Spencer and absence of a schedule is nice, it definitely feels weird. Especially for someone like me who is used to living by the clock and managing schedules at work and at home.

One celebrity sighting so far: the Rev. Al Sharpton inside Dior at Wynn.

Spencer has definitely gotten into the swing of things at home with Hanukkah underway. He has been staring at a pile of presents, assuming all of them were for him, since the beginning of the month. He's a pro at ripping paper now too! He loves trying to spin the dreidels, and spotting all of the menorahs around the house. We look forward to rejoining him toward the end of the holiday to finish it up together!

'PENCER!!!

Although we are pleased that Spencer no longer calls himself "Bobbin," the pronunciation still sounds more like "'encer." His young friends Landon and Brian are able to say "Spencer" quite well, and so can other classmates at school. Today when I picked him up, they were all playing outside. When I stepped through the door, I saw Spencer playing on the far side of the playground, but the little girl right nearby looked at me and hollered down to him "PENCER!!"

'tis the season...

...for packages! I'm working at home today, and our doorbell has rung three times in the last hour. First Fedex, then UPS, and just now USPS came to drop off packages. Thanks in advance to all of the kind folks who sent gifts our way! Although most are addressed to Spencer, there is at least one box here which says "Leach Family!"

I have a little dreidel

Last year, Ellen gave Spencer a plush stuffed dreidel and within the last couple of months, he has learned the four letters on it. He even can identify those four letters when he sees them in other places too. He has played with it throughout the year, but this week we have started to get ready for Hanukkah, and dreidels are now everywhere! We have been singing the dreidel song, and Spencer knows it too! It is so darn cute to listen to him sing!

smoking at school?

Yesterday I was completely grossed out and annoyed when I picked up Spencer from school. The parking lot has incredibly tight spaces, and, when possible, I try to make sure I'm parked next to an empty one on the passenger side to make it easier to get him in and out of the car. I was lucky enough to find such a parking spot, but when I returned outside after picking him up, I was a bit bummed to see a big SUV had filled that space. As I got closer, I realized that the adjacent SUV was actually full of adults, and both the driver and the backseat passenger had their windows down and cigarettes hanging out - less than a foot from our car! I paused, and sized up the situation realizing that even if I made a fuss about moving their cigarettes so we wouldn't get burned, it would still be quite unpleasant as it takes careful maneuvering to get Spencer into his car seat when the door can not be fully opened. So, I was left with the option of crawling through the back seat from the driver's side with Spencer. It was well worth the minor inconvenience to avoid that toxic nastiness. As we drove away, I couldn't help but think about the poor kid(s) who would have to ride home in that vehicle.

nap time

It's nap time on Saturday, and right now Spencer seems to be doing everything but napping. I can hear him in his bedroom occassionally jumping in his crib, or singing happy birthday, or asking his stuffed animals questions. I have even heard him announce, "it's nap time, time to sleep." But so far, it is not quiet yet.

gyro night?

In a million years I never would have thought it possible to make gyros at home. And as much as we enjoy them, we just don't get down to Niko Niko's that often these days. (Maybe more so during the winter when we start returning to the Children's Museum on a regular basis.) But I am a devout fan of Alton Brown's show Good Eats on Food Network. And when browsing around the archive of his shows and recipes, I stumbled across his recipe for gyros, that can be made in the oven, along with home made tzatziki sauce. I just had to try this out; if it was at all possible to have them at home I needed to know! The verdict? They were very good! Even Spencer gave them big thumbs up, although he did initially think we were eating tacos. This dinner is not quite as quick to throw together as taco night, but I know that we'll be having gyro night again soon!

home sweet home

I like our house. Sometimes I wander around thinking it is too small, but at the end of the day, it really works well for everything we need. Last night the layout was ideal to enjoy social time with friends and collectively wrap dozens and dozens of holiday gifts. Spencer's eyes grew wide this morning when he saw them piled high and said, "presents!"

Speaking of houses, now is the time for making gingerbread ones. I've watched the ultra-impressive competitions featured on Food Network, but I was equally floored when I saw the houses that Bari created with her friends and family! I'm anxious to get her gingerbread recipe so we can make some here too! They are so inspiring! Not sure Spencer will really get the idea this year, but I'm sure it will be fun!