Easter

We had a wonderful Easter this past week-end. We enjoyed listening to General Conference, spending time together as family, and celebrating the resurrection of our Savior. We also enjoyed lots of food and candy...possibly too much. I admit I was pretty excited to do some easter egg hunts with Spencer this year. He just wasn't very into it last year, but I figured he'd get a real kick out of finding candy filled easter eggs this year. So our first easter egg hunt was on Saturday between sessions of conference. A friend in our ward had some families over and had a big easter egg hunt in their back yard.

On our way to find some candy!

Spencer got a sucker before the search for eggs even began. And it was really all he was interested in. He would pick up eggs and put them in other kids baskets. He's a very generous baby.

I also couldn't help but do an easter egg hunt for Spencer on Sunday morning. I got way too many eggs and candy for just him. Mostly just to make sure there was some left over for me to steal. :) But before our easter egg hunt we gave him his easter present. I would've done a basket and everything but I figured this is probably our last year before he knows any better, so really it didn't matter that much. And he doesn't even know who the easter bunny is...so he can't believe in him yet.



Toy Story 1 and 2. I got these for an amazing deal..$6.99 each for a DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack. They are regularly priced somewhere around $24 so I'd say that's quite a steal. :) And even though he had already started watching them before Easter he was still pretty excited to get them.




The easter egg hunt begins! There were way too many eggs for one baby. It took forever to take him around to all of the eggs and he really just wanted to pick one up, open it, and eat what was inside. So we had to take them away once he found them so that he would find another. But I think he still enjoyed it.






Enjoying his candy. I really try to get him to eat only one piece of candy (or any other kind of food for that matter) but he doesn't buy it. He thinks it is best to stuff as much in your mouth as you can. So we're still working on it.



Playing the piano with daddy.

Clifford the Big Red Dog

This morning Spencer, my mom, and I went to my cousin Jack's school. My aunt is doing the book fair at his school this week and so Jack was dressed up as Clifford the Big Red Dog to help promote the book fair. We figured Spencer would get a kick out of Clifford because he really likes dogs. It's the only animal noise he will make and he loves my aunts dog Rocky. I heard that my uncle will give Spencer a piece of bologna and Spence will hold it and Rocky will put his mouth over Spencer's whole hand! And Spencer thinks its just hilarious and asks for more. I haven't ever seen this, it's just the reports I've gotten. :) Anyway, we went to see Clifford and Spencer wasn't as excited as I thought. I guess I should've known from his Santa experiences this past Christmas.


This was basically as close as he would get.

He was fine as long as he could see Jack's face, but once Jack put the head down he was out of there!




In other news, mission take binky away hasn't been going as well as I thought it would. I just figured we'd take it away and he'd be fine after a few days and be sleeping really well like he had been. And it hasn't been horrible or anything, but he usually always cries when I put him down for a nap. And he wakes up earlier (which is bad news for me!), and sometimes he wakes up during the night.

I can understand it's perhaps a little traumatic for him. He's had a binky from day one, like a lot of babies I am sure. Thinking back though I remember the first night we were in the hospital with him he was pretty fussy. The only thing we could do to calm him down was to let him suck on our finger. I didn't even think of bringing a binky to the hospital. While he was in the room with us we just let him suck on our finger...which is kinda gross but we made sure they were clean. But after awhile we decided to let him go to the nursery so I could get some sleep. Does that make me a horrible mother? I don't think so. Sleep is obviously way too important to me. :) Anyway, I guess he was fussy enough that after a little while a nurse came in and asked us if we wanted him to have a binky. To which we said of course! Why didn't you tell us earlier there were binkies in this place!? So he loves his binky. I mean he has slept with it every night for his entire life! And I can understand his unhappiness with the whole situation. I'm sure he will get used to it and start sleeping better after a while. It will just take a little longer than I had anticipated.

One thing that we have noticed since taking the binky away is that it just seems like he doesn't sleep as well when he is asleep. Which makes for a little grumpier Spencer when he is awake! And this is the real problem. We have seen a whole new level of tantrum throwing from this little guy. Maybe it's just the age...because as my weekly BabyCenter emails tell me it is very common to start seeing tantrums at this age. And he of course was throwing tantrums before we took the binky away. But like I said, it's a whole new level. He screams so loud and will drop to the ground and bang his head on the floor and then start rolling around. It's actually pretty ridiculous. And most times I can't help but laugh a little. Because he is still so cute, even when he is throwing a ridiculous tantrum. :)


Feeding himself some yogurt. Spencer has also been really into doing things himself lately...so maybe it is just the age. But I was trying to feed him some yogurt for a snack today and he was not happy about it. I know he loves yogurt so I knew that wasn't the problem. And it was pretty obvious he wanted to hold the yogurt and spoon, but I didn't really want to clean up a huge mess. So we discussed it very calmly for a little while and decided that Spencer could hold the spoon if mommy could hold the yogurt and help him scoop little bites. So we were both happy.



Trying on Grandma Stacey's reading glasses and stealing some of her lemonade. Although this post might make it seem like Spencer only throws big tantrums and doesn't sleep very well, that really isn't all he does. He is a very sweet baby and is usually very happy. He does all kinds of funny things these days and we just love him to pieces.

Climbing in the box from diapers.com. I know you may be able to get a better deal on diapers and wipes from a drugstore with coupons, but I just love having a nice supply waiting in the closet for me. So I usually get the big boxes from diapers.com. And it is delivered the next day! So I really love it. And Spencer's bum does too. :)

There are no real updates on Bryce and I. Just working, taking care of Spencer, watching the news, reading books, and trying to get back into running since the weather has been so beautiful. Bryce does occasionally throw ridiculous tantrums too, but I figured that wasn't really appropriate to blog about. ;)

Crazy Spring Weather

Spring always brings with it some crazy weather here in Oklahoma...and probably most everywhere. One day last week Spencer and I were playing outside almost all day. It was soooo nice! It was in the 70's!! I was hoping that by being outside all day I would get a little tan...which didn't work. But it was amazing. The next day...seriously the NEXT day we woke up to this-

SNOW! I could hardly believe it. They kept saying it was going to snow but I thought they were lying. Maybe trying to play a joke on everyone because it was the first day of spring!? But they were right...

Two days later the snow all melted. There was a little left in the morning that Spencer enjoyed stepping in, but later that afternoon it was all gone.

And it left behind some nice puddles to splash in. And even sit down in.

We are just glad the snow only lasted a few days and it seems to be warming back up...for now. One thing I do love about spring in Oklahoma is the thunderstorms. Not tornados...just thunderstorms. I don't know why but I just love them. My little sisters and I used to pretend to be storm chasers when we were younger. Weird, right? When we saw a dark cloud in the sky we would hop in the car and chase after it with the video camera. And yes I was old enough to drive...my childhood dreams lasted a little too long I think. Thankfully we never chased after any real storms (ie tornados).

Anyway, we are definitely ready for the warmer weather and more outside playtime. Here are just some random pictures of Spencer we've taken recently.

Eating breakfast. Spencer is the slowest eater ever! He seriously takes forever to eat breakfast. Today, for example, while Spencer ate I swept the floor, vaccumed in the living room, wiped off all the counters, started some laundry, ate my own breakfast, and still sat there for 10 minutes while he finished. I really can't complain because I can get a lot done. By the way, he is eating pancakes with syrup. I usually make mini pancakes and just give him a pile of syrup to dip it in. He likes it best that way. And even though he does just dip his finger in the syrup a lot he still eats all of his pancake eventually. I don't do that everyday of course. A lot of days it's just cereal or toast.


We have church on Sundays at 11:00am and so we usually try to put Spencer down for a nap around 10 so he can make it through church...otherwise the last hour isn't very pleasant. We always have to wake him up to get him ready and still be on time. Bryce went in to wake him up this past Sunday and this is how Spence was sleeping. And I know his sheets and bumper don't match...Spencer doesn't seem to mind and so neither do I.

Can you believe he still has his binky? I know he's getting too old for it. But he sleeps so well! I'm afraid to take it away. But it is time I think. We put him to bed without it last night. He cried for about 20 minutes before he finally fell asleep. And he woke up twice during the night. I think...I never go get him at night anymore. That is Bryce's job now. I did my time. :) Actually, it's really because Spencer goes to sleep much better if Bryce goes in and gets him. If I go in there and put him down he is more likely to scream and cry. That's what I tell Bryce anyway.


Spencer loves wearing glasses/sunglasses! I think he feels really cool when he does. Can't you just tell from his face that he thinks he's awesome? :)

Helping mommy make some cookies. Spencer really likes to help me cook things. He likes pouring ingredients into the bowl even though he misses the bowl most of the time. I think he really likes it because he can sneak some cookie dough while I'm not looking. But I only let him "sneak" a few bites before he has to get off the counter and wait for a cooked cookie.

And this was just a funny video. Do I sound creepy or what? We like to chase Spencer around a lot. And he usually likes it too.

Look-a-like

I was looking through some old pictures of my family the other day and found a few of myself that reminded me of Spencer. Sometimes I really think he looks like me and other times I think he looks a lot like Bryce. He's just a good mix of the two of us I guess.

What do you think? Does Spencer look more like Bryce or Kathleen? Or perhaps neither?? :)

Bryce (20 months, I think), Spencer (11 months), Kathleen (12 months)

Update on Spencer

I thought it was about time for an update on Spencer. He will be 18 months in a few weeks! Can you believe it? That means nursery! Which we are really looking forward to. So instead of roaming the hallways he will get to play with toys and eat snacks. I can hardly believe he is getting so big.


Spencer loves bath time. And he has started drinking the bath water! He thinks it's so hilarious, especially when I try to get him to stop. He also loves to throw things. Which can get pretty messy at dinner. His favorite word is ball and loves to go outside and play with the soccer ball, football, baseball, basketball, and tennis ball. He has quite the arm and is also pretty good at kicking. He also likes drawing on the driveway with chalk. Really he just likes doing anything outside. He is such a great helper too. He loves to clean up and will usually put something away when I tell him to. My parents got Olivia and Aislee (Spencer's cousins) a little toy vacuum for Christmas that they forgot to take home..and Spencer loves it! He has always liked vacuums though. Even when he first started crawling I would have to put him in his crib because he would follow me around and usually get in the way while I tried to vacuum. And now he has his own. He must get his vacuum obsession from his grandma. :)


Spence is also learning a few new words. He "talks" quite a bit and can really only say a few words. But he has started copying a lot and will sometimes try to copy what I say. I took him into the bathroom to get a tissue (because he has a major runny nose) and decided to introduce him to what a toilet is. He of course is familiar with them, but just thinks it's a big sink with water already in it to play with. But when I said toilet he started trying to say it. It probably sounds nothing like it to anyone else, but I could tell he was trying to say it. So since he was so interested, I showed him how to sit on the toilet and how to flush it. He seemed really into it so he'll probably be ready to start potty training soon. :) ha, just joking. I'm sure we have quite a while for that. But at least he knows what a toilet is now so hopefully he won't ever play in the water whenever he sneaks his way into a bathroom.


Now onto some new pics of our cute little baby.

Spencer enjoys turning the TV off. Especially when daddy is trying to watch ESPN or something. Sometimes we can stop him by trying to block it...but he usually can find a way past it.

Knocking down daddy's tower.


He found an old bottle we had and so I decided to fill it with some water and let him drink from it. Let's just say it's probably good we went straight to a sippy cup.

Look at those eyelashes!

Such a cute baby.

Happy Birthday Bryce!

Friday was Bryce's birthday. It was a pretty good day. I got up early, at like 6am, to make him breakfast. And believe me, that is early for me. I like my sleep. :) And Spencer usually sleeps until 8 most mornings...so that's when I wake up too. I know, I'm spoiled. He's a great baby. Aaanyway, I tried a recipe from My Kitchen Cafe for holiday morning buns. Bryce enjoyed them, so it was worth it. We went out to lunch with my family which was nice. I unfortunately had to work that night, so Bryce and Spencer got to hang out at home by themselves.

But on Saturday night we got to go out on a date in celebration of the big day. Bryce got to "choose" the restaraunt. There isn't a lot of selection here though. And we went to like 4 different places before we found one that we figured was worth the money and the wait. And it was pretty good. Then we got ice cream from Braums and watched "Get Smart". We have watched it before, but it's been a while so we decided to watch it again (since we couldn't get Amelia from any of the redboxes in town). It is a good one. Bryce was quoting it for like an hour after we watched it. It's right up his alley. What would we even do without Bryce in our lives?! Laugh a lot less...that's for sure. :) So it was a great week-end and we are definitely glad Bryce was born 27 years ago.

I didn't take any pictures of anything...but don't worry. I will be adding a few random pictures and maybe even a video of Spencer later.

Valentines!

A little update on the status of our lives. Bryce heard back from all of the PA schools he applied to. He didn't get into two of them and is on the alternate list for one. It may be June before we hear back for sure (hopefully it would be sooner than that!) but we are back to trying to decide what to do and not really having a definite plan. Which I hate...but I'll get over it. And we will eventually figure it out.

So other than getting our final letter from PA schools, this week has been a great week for us as far as mail goes. Spencer got two packages this week! And it was so exciting. The first was from Grandma Barbara (Bryce's mom)! She sent us a card and some candy...which obviously Spencer absolutely loved!


Spencer enjoying the candy from Grandma Barbara. I had to limit him to eating only one piece a day. Otherwise he would've eaten it all in one sitting. He must get that from his mom...

And then today he got another package from his cousins Ben, Grace, Breeny, and Jillian!


Opening his package from the Richards.


He loved the whistle! It was such a cute idea and Spencer really loved it. Thanks Aunt Jessica! (and Ben, Grace, Breeny, and Jilly!)

We also made some Valentines Day sugar cookies this week. I made a cookie for Bryce and Spencer with their names on it. Spencer has been loving all the sugar he's been getting!


He mostly enjoyed the frosting. When that was all gone, he just smashed the cookie and threw it on the floor.

And Bryce obviously thought it was a little weird I put his name on a cookie...but secretly he really loved it.

I have a ton of cute videos that I could upload here, but I'm limiting it to only two. I have a lot more videos of Spencer than I have pictures. It's just easier to video him than chase him around trying to take a good picture...and taking like 50 bad ones and getting only 1 good one!

Enjoying his whistle from his cousins:

Giving kisses to the camera: (you'll probably want to skip the first few seconds, he was a little fussy and no one wants to hear that!)

(the video isn't working...will upload later)

Spencer is such a sweet baby! And I can't believe it but I don't really think I can call him a baby anymore. He is getting so big so fast! One thing that he has been doing lately is that he says "yeah" to everything...even if you ask him if he smells like poop or if he wants a spanking. He still says "yeah!"