18 months old

On Monday Spencer hit his 18 month milestone.  Can it be possible that he is already that big?

Looks like he's having car trouble.

I took him to the doctor on Monday for his checkup.  He is 35 inches long (98th percentile) and 26 pounds (54th percentile).  I couldn't find Alexia's stats to compare, but Parker hit 26 pounds at 14 months, Elijah at 2 years.  

He has two blankies that he loves.  They are both two that I had made for Parker when he was born, so they are pretty worn out.  He's gotten pretty possessive of his pacifier lately.  He likes to be in bed by 7pm and wakes up at 6:30 in the morning.  He's down to one long nap in the afternoon.  Every morning when he crawls up on our bed he wants to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, Popcorn Popping, and Two Little Blackbirds.  He likes his toddler music class that he does with me.  He climbs on EVERYTHING!!  His hair is forever too long.  It grows so fast!  He needs a haircut (see second picture above) but I'm out of suckers.  He makes killer sound effects for motorcycles and cars.  He loves to bark back at the neighborhood dogs. He wants to be outside with the big kids.  He goes up and down ladders like a pro.  I don't have to go into Parker's room and get him off the top bunk anymore.  He can just get himself down.  He's got 12 teeth and eats like a champ...two packages of oatmeal every morning after his bottle.  I set out a little apple for Elijah a few days ago.  Spencer saw it, claimed it, and ate the whole thing himself.  I'm kinda wondering what happened to the stem.

We taught him "more" and "drink" in sign language and he says a few words/phrases.  

ah dun (all done)

uh oh

uh nahno (a no no)

wuzat (what's that)

ago (let's go)

momma

dada

whoa

karka (Parker)

yiyuh (Lijah)

wheredago (where did it go) 

This one is my favorite.  He's been saying it for a long time now.  He'd just walk around the house saying it.  I finally got it on camera.

Weekend in the Snow

For February's long weekend our family was invited to a cabin by some friends.  We knew it was going to snow while we were there and the kids and I were totally looking forward to it.  We borrowed snow gear and dug out the snow tube I had bought in Utah five years ago.  Darren took off work so that he could be gone the entire weekend.  Only one problem, Parker came home from school the day before we were supposed to leave with a fever.  I told my friend and she said there was no way we could cancel so off we went.  We kept him on Tylenol the entire time and we all made it through without getting sick until the next week.  Then both families came down with it big time. 

Elijah and his buddy Zach with their snowman in the background.

The backyard at the cabin was amazing!  Look at this tree house.  It has a zipline attached to it that the kids loved playing on.

And here's Spencer getting cozy with one of the bajillion teddy bears at the cabin.  He stayed inside where it was warm and dry the entire time.  

 

 

 

We did get out and took the kids sledding just as the big storm hit.  We found a nice hill where the trees kept most of the wind and snow away and spent about an hour out tubing.  Parker and Zach bonked heads pretty good on their second trip down the mountain resulting in a bloody nose for Parker.  He took himself to the sidelines for the rest of the time.  I could tell he didn't feel well again at that point.  My friend Chris kept the three littles in her car while we were on the mountain so Darren and I even got to take a few runs down the hill.  We ate good food, got to sneak out for dinner and a movie, played games and talked with friends all night.  The snow was awesome!  It was so great that we got to go!

Neighborhood Flag Football

Saturday marked the end of flag football for Parker.  This was his first time playing football and when I told him he was going to get to do it, he was so excited.  He came home from school that day and told me that he had checked out a book from the library on football so that he would know more about the rules and positions.  It was a fun season and very laid back.  It was just a neighborhood thing with some dad's volunteering to coach and they did a great job. (ps. I hate "participation" trophies.)

My boy takes his sports very seriously.  It's game on for him all the time.  Very much like his daddy that way.  He's also a little mouthy during the games.   A bit like his momma that way. 

 

This little guy liked playing football too.  What?  Did you think I could just not post that picture up there?  I mean, he's just so stinking cute...he must be shared!

He and Daddy are pretty good buds.  If Dad is around, I'm chopped liver.  That's okay.  I don't mind.

This girl

When/how did she get so big?  This girl is the love of my life.  She is who made me "momma."  She is the best thing that ever happened to me.  If you could look into my day and see how much she does to help me, you would know why I never want her to grow up.  Everyone needs an Alexia.  I'm so glad I got mine.  I never want her to leave me.  I know someday she's gonna do it, but could the days please slow down?  Look at her, wasn't it just a few months ago that she looked like this? I snapped this picture of her last night as she chatted with her Aunt Becca who lives in Mexico.  She's so grown up.  She turns 10 next month, but she has an old soul. We measured her the other day.  She's 5'1" and a little self conscious about it.  She grew 10 inches in the last two years.  I wish some of her friends would grow...soon.  She's worried that she will be taller than me.  She's worried about finding a husband who will be taller than her.  Such big worries for a little girl.