In memory of Buck

For the second time I find myself using Spencer's blog for something not entirely Spencer. But, this is Spencer related as it relates to our family. And unlike the other not-entirely Spencer blog, this post makes me very sad.

On Saturday, December 8th we said goodbye to Buck, our 4-year old Rottweiler. Buck (AKA Bucket and Buckaboo) was diagnosed with kidney disease when he was around 9 months old. We were devastated by the diagnosis but vowed to give him the best life possible in the time we had. We immediately started him on a special diet, and followed our veterinarian's instructions every step of the way...because of his medical problems we often referred to him as the 'most expensive pound puppy ever'. The vets gave him a 3-4 year lifespan, but I thought for sure OUR dog would be the one to defy veterinary science and live 10 years with kidney disease. But that did not happen. As predicted, his kidneys failed on him after about 4 years. Within about 2 weeks time Buck stopped eating, and in his last couple of days he could barely get up to go outside. We had already lost the Buck that we knew and loved. Unfortunately that did not make it any easier.Buck was a fun-loving, goofy dog. Most everyone who came into contact with him loved him. Buck had many favorite activities, including swimming at the lake at Stone Mountain, chasing balls in the backyard, and taking family walks around the neighborhood. Fred said that he thought the lake would get Buck before his kidneys did. Buck would swim out after a stick and sometimes he would miss it, swimming farther and farther out in search of the stick. We would tell each other that whichever of us had thrown the stick would have to go in after him. Usually we just got his attention and thew another stick that he could grab and swim back with. He would then stand in the water whining until we threw his stick again.




Buck also loved playing in the backyard. The game was Buck chasing a ball, and Oso chasing Buck (oddly enough our lab mix has never had interest in balls or water). They would also chase each other around the yard. Often they were so rambunctious in the house that we would have to kick them outside. I know Oso feels this loss as well.

No matter how big Buck got, he always thought he was a lap dog. He would try to get as close to us as possible, and would try to crawl into our laps any chance he got. Even when he got to be 95 lbs (which is small for an adult male Rottweiler, probably due in part to his special diet) he thought he was a lap puppy. One of his favorite spots to lay was under the coffee table. It was pretty funny to watch him crawl under the coffee table, but much less funny when something excited him and he jumped up, taking the coffee table and all of our drinks with him.

Buck was very smart, if a little crazy (he loved catching bubbles and chasing after light reflections). He got straight A's in his dog classes, and his teachers all loved him.

Buck was great with Spencer. We knew that Buck was not good with kids, and were very worried when we found out we would be having a baby. But we didn't have to worry, as Buck and Oso both quickly learned Spencer's rank in the house...above theirs! Buck tolerated Spencer well, and when he didn't want deal with him he just got up and walked away. There was never a problem though of course we were always vigilant.
Buck was just a crazy, beautiful, loving, friendly, goofy dog. He is incredibly missed by all of us. In 4 short years he managed to integrate himself into our lives and our hearts. There will never be another Buck.

Halloween

Fred wanted Spencer to be a Jawa for Halloween this year. So, I said I would try to make a Jawa costume. A Jawa is a Star Wars character...that's about all I know about it. Actually, I do know that they wear long, hooded robes, have dark faces (you never really see their faces) and lit up eyes (see image below). We knew we couldn't do lighted eyes, and probably couldn't black out Spencer's face. But I thought I could make a Jawa robe and Fred could put together the other parts of the costume.Well, I have not touched my sewing machine in 2 years, and I have never made a robe with a hood. Oh, and I didn't have a pattern. My first attempt failed miserably...I had the wrong type of fabric and tried to take shortcuts in my sewing. I had to start over.

I guess my second attempt was successful in a way. As soon as we put the finished robe on Spencer we realized it looked like a Jedi robe much more than a Jawa robe. So, as parents learn to do, we adapted quickly to the situation and Fred ran out and bought Spencer a light saber to go with his Jedi robe. We went to the zoo Saturday evening, and on Sunday went to a Halloween party at a neighbors house. We didn't try trick-or-treating this year, maybe next year.

Ok, enough story, here are some pictures of our little Jedi.

Kitchen Renovation

Ok, so we know this is Spencer's blog. But since we don't have a separate kitchen blog, we decided to post a few pictures of our kitchen renovation. And Spencer really enjoys the new kitchen, so it's ok if we post kitchen pictures on his blog.

A few before and after pictures. We can't believe we lived with that awful kitchen for 4 years. It's amazing what a difference the new kitchen makes. Unfortunately, it makes the rest of the house look like crap.

BEFORE

AFTER

Reading with daddy

The picture is dark, but you can hear Spencer helping daddy read the Cat in the Hat.

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas...

and watermelon...and peanut butter and jelly...and well, maybe not eating but rather making 'play-doh' out of oatmeal!

Mealtime is often the same as playtime. For dinner tonight we had rotini pasta with marinara sauce and peas. The pasta went completely untouched, but the peas were a lot of fun. They were dropped, thrown, mashed, and rolled around all over the table. I think I saw one or two actually make it into his mouth. Sometimes it is frustrating because we try to make good, wholesome, well-rounded meals that get rejected half the time. The the other half of the time he eats really well. I guess he's just keeping us on our toes. I've learned to offer good food and if he's hungry he will eat it. If not, well, then he'll eat an extra large bowl of Cheerios ('cheey-ohs') in the morning. And he LOVES his 'cheey-ohs'! I guess as long as we try to instill good eating habits, and he's healthy, happy and growing normally we'll just take mealtimes as they come.

Antics
Many, all the time. His new nickname is 'goofy' or 'goofball'. He's a really funny kid. He has started a part-time (2 morning a week) preschool program, and he's having so much fun. The teachers and administrators actually asked me if he was always that happy. Apparently he just laughed and played the entire time his first few days. Then the honeymoon phase ended and he realized it was a regular thing. So he's cried a bit the last few times he was dropped off, but I'm sure he'll adjust.




With his many stuffed animals. Most of them are 'teddy' but he does know turtle, Elmo and Ice Bat (far right) by name.

Giddyup!

This is something new he's been doing lately. He'll stay upside down like this for a minute or two.

New words
He has been counting to 10 for a while, but lately he's been missing 4 and 5. He is trying to sing the alphabet. He loves music, and has started asking for 'mooseek'. He sings 'no more monkeys' when we're singing no more monkeys jumping on the bed (it's always been one of his favorites). And on and on. He's repeating us all the time now. Time for mommy and daddy to really clean up the language!

The other night he was enamored with W. He even slept with his foam W from his alphabet play mat.

Hotlanta

It has been hot in Atlanta the past couple of weeks. Last week on the hottest day it reached 103 degrees. When you add 100% humidity to that, it is just oppressive. I felt like I was drinking the air. Luckily in the beginning of the summer we had decided to invest in an above ground pool system. Spencer loves it, and it's a great way for him to stay cool on the hot summer afternoons.

New words: Too many to count! It seems like everyday there is a new word now. And he's not only imitating, but also really learning words. One day a few weeks ago he learned the word 'stuck'. A short time later there was some water on the kitchen floor which made it slippery. He walked over the water, slipped a little so didn't want to continue. He looked at me and said 'stuck'. Yesterday he informed his Nana, completely unprompted, that he was 'stinky'. It's the first time any of us had heard him use the word, and he used it completely unprompted. Pretty amazing to see his brain at work.

Antics: About a week ago he stuck a black bean up his nose. It was way up there, too. Fred dislodged it VERY CAREFULLY with a toothpick. Needless to say we watched him closely for the rest of our black bean burrito dinner. A couple of days ago he was coughing a little after taking a large drink of water. We knew he was fine so we didn't react too agressively. And apparently we didn't react strongly enough for him, because after a few coughs he tried to pat himself on the back. Of course, he can't reach his back, but got the top of his shoulder. Obviously he was waiting for us to pat his back like we often do when he coughs or chokes, and got impatient waiting so took matters into his own hands. It was very amusing.

Growth: We took Spencer in for his 18-month check up in early August. All is well! He weighed in at 26 lbs, which put him at about 50th percentile for weight. He was off the charts for height at nearly 3 feet tall already. He has more hair now, with cute little curls in the back. It's still bleach blonde. He has 12 teeth (4 in front top and bottom, 2 molars top and bottom) and he's about to get another.

He's at such a fun age, and we're enjoying him immensely!

Is there a Dr. Seuss in the house?

Spencer is obsessed with Dr. Seuss. For the past several days the only books he will let us read are 'The Cat in the Hat' and 'Green Eggs and Ham'. He follows us around with the book, screaming until we sit and read it with him. Yesterday, after we had read 'Green Eggs and Ham' 3 times, I tried to convince him to read a different book. He has many books, and he was fond of most of them until the past week or so when Dr. Seuss caught his attention. Anyway, he grabbed 'Green Eggs and Ham' and hit me with it, just started beating me with the book (those hardcover books have sharp corners). I tried to hide it and he screamed like a banshee; an ear-splitting scream that makes the dogs howl. On one hand, I'm very happy that he's so into his books and that he loves to sit and be read to. I feel like we need to nurture and encourage that. On the other hand, we don't want to give in to his demands and teach him that screaming until the dog howls is an appropriate way to ask for things...though it does seem to be effective. And don't get me wrong, I love Dr. Seuss and it's been fun revisiting these books with him...but I've been dreaming in Dr. Seuss and that's getting old. I considered taking at least one of the books to Nana's house, but I decided that would be inhumane (and we already did that with another book we didn't like). Fred tried to hide the book and Spencer took the couch apart looking for it.

Here are a few excerpts from Spencer's favorite books. Maybe they will get stuck in your head too...misery loves company!

"I know it is wet

and the sun is not sunny.

But we can have

lots of good fun that is funny!"

"Have no fear little fish"

said the Cat in the Hat.

"These Things are good Things"

and he gave them a pat.

That Sam-I-am. That Sam-I-am. I do not like that Sam-I-am.

Do you like green eggs and ham?

I do not like them, Sam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and ham.

Would you like them here or there?

I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am!

New house!

Small and cozy!

He likes to get inside and open and close the door and window using the little finger holes I made (he figured that out right away). He often takes food and toys in there with him.

All the toys he has, and of course he prefers an oversized box.

Success!

We had a pediatrician's visit for a weight check last Friday, and Spencer gained 4 lbs in a month! We went from 21 lbs to 25 lbs, so Spencer is no longer on his full-fat diet.

He has also learned to sit in his little booster chair; we put it on the floor next to his toys. It is so cute to watch him walk up to it, turn around, and slowly inch backwards until he can feel the chair on the back of his calves. Then he slowly sits in his chair, sometimes ending up too much on one side, but he manages. And then, of course, he gives himself a round of applause.

2 months worth of development and fun!

So, as predicted I started out strong with Spencer's blog and after a few months sort of pushed it aside and got busy with other things.

The past 2 months have been very eventful. Spencer got his first bumps (yes, plural) on the head. The first one was due to a huge nasty fall in the bathtub. I know, bad mom letting baby stand in the tub. All you who don't have kids and are citicizing, you just wait...when you can't quite figure out how to get to baby's butt for a good washing, you'll also invite a few harmless seconds of supervised tub standing on the non-slip mat. Anyway, it was a huge, black goose-egged bruise right in the middle of his forehead, between his eyes. It took several weeks to start healing to the point where he didn't have a huge black mark. Right as it was looking better, he fell onto a deck when he tried to lean with both hands, facing forward, on the patio door that was open...oops. No door to lean on and he fell right on the same spot in the middle of his forehead. Well, maybe that spot will begin to calcify and be immune to bruising from now on. That fall wasn't as bad, but still took a couple of weeks to heal, at which time the dog knocked him off the patio step and he got a surface scratch on his head. That tiny little scratch managed to bleed all over him, me, the floor, all of our clothes, his mattress...it was a mess.

Spencer also had his first bout of stomach virus a couple of weeks ago. That was pretty awful. He was quite listless and had a fever, and didn't eat for about 3 days (we made sure he had plenty of pediatric electrolyte liquids). It broke my heart to see him like that. Not even crying, just looking so sad and listless. But we made it through that.

Right after stomach virus we had his 15-month check up. This check-up earned him a new nickname...Skinny! He lost an entire pound between his 12 and 15 month check-ups. The pediatrician was not so happy about that, and gave us strict orders to fatten him up. So, no more juice, only whole milk and a little water. Butter on everything. Peanut butter. Full-fat cottage cheese and cream cheese. The tough part for me is to prepare Spencer's food without eating it myself! My plate is full of boring, bland, plain vegetables and Spencer's is full of buttery, yummy, buttery vegetables. I had gotten so used to eating the low fat stuff that I had forgotten how good all that full fat stuff is! But I think the plan is working because he's definitely adding a little definition to my biceps these days.

Somewhere in all this he has been cutting molars. Three have come in so far, and a fourth just broke through the gums yesterday. So Spencer now has 12 teeth. Sometimes I feel like he's always teething, then I realize he's gotten 12 teeth in 16 months and he actually is always teething.

We don't have any 'Mama' or 'Dada' yet, but lots of baby talk. And he waves hello, goodbye, and he LOVES to clap! The following video is him clapping together 2 puzzle pieces...and you can see nasty bruise #1. If he accomplishes something, like stacking 2 blocks, he basically gives himself a round of applause.



He still loves his books, and we still love that he loves his books. It's amazing how much comprehension he has now. Oh, and he is no longer using bottles at all, just sippy cups.

Ok, that's enough boring stuff. Enjoy the pictures below.





Spencer and Auntie Jaz on Dancer. (Fred touched up this picture to remove the bruise.)










Spencer and Mama going for a walk in Russell, PA (we went there Mother's Day weekend for my Grandmother's 80th birthday party). If you click on these pictures and enlarge them you can see the little scratch on the left side of his head.










Helping Grandpa put together a portable crib.








Riding in a wagon with his second cousin and Great Grandma's dog in Russell, PA.

Spencer is walking!

Spencer started walking on Monday (March 5th). Fred got home Monday night and said 'he's going to walk tonight'. My response was 'well he only has 2 hours before bedtime so he better hurry up'. I laughed it off, but 20 minutes later Fred was playing with Spencer while I cooked dinner and I heard 'you better come look, quick!'. I peeked around the corner just in time to see Spencer take his first few steps on his own! We were very excited, and thought that was it for the evening. BUT...45 minutes later we had him walking half the length of our hallway, back and forth from one of us to the other. We were all very excited!

Anyway, here's a little video clip of Spencer walking. He looks a bit like Frankenstein. But we love it!

Look ma, no hands!

Spencer has been standing really well for the past couple of weeks. One day I looked over, and all of a sudden he was standing at his toy box playing with a toy with BOTH hands, unlike his usual grab a toy with one hand and hold on with the other. It was almost like he forgot he was supposed to be holding on. He does this frequently now. Learning balance and gaining some muscle strength in his legs. No steps yet, but he can stand for long periods of time when he wants to. I guess maybe it doesn't sound like a very big deal, but it completely amazed us! Every time he stands we scream at each other 'Look! Look! He's doing it again!'. He just gives us a blank look like we're complete idiots. It's lots of fun.

It's difficult to tell with these pictures, but he was standing up to play with his wombat puppet.









































This pictures doesn't have anything to do with Spencer being able to stand, but what is cuter than Spencer in a box?
He's also talking really well, in full sentences. Fred can interpret much better than I can. For example, 'Opel-o-do' means 'open the door (so I can go outside and play)'. 'Dlobo-splthag-okodo?' = 'Can I have spaghetti for dinner?'. Sometimes however even Fred is stumped and says it sounds like Spencer is speaking Chinese. That makes me wonder if Chinese parents think their infants sound like they are speaking American English.

Really the only other recent development is that he hates getting his diaper changed. He screams and squirms, it's really awful. We have about 2 years of diaper changing left, so that should be a lot of fun. Yikes.

Spencer's first birthday cake

Just a few pics of Spencer with his first birthday (cup)cake. I'm too tired to write much, and am not feeling very inspired right now so the pictures will have to speak for themselves.



Spencer and cousin Anders (my cousin, so his first cousin once removed? Something like that) playing with some new toys.

Spencer on YouTube!

So I just discovered YouTube! I mean, I knew it existed and had seen some YouTube videos, but I just discovered how easy and FREE it is to use. I also recently realized that our digital camera takes cute little video clips that I can easily upload to YouTube. As a result, YouTube is about to be inundated with cute little video clips of Spencer.

Here are 2 videos we uploaded to YouTube. The first one is Spencer having fun with his walking toy, and the second is a video of Spencer eating his first birthday cake (well, it was a cupcake, but same idea). Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nmu9FgkuxE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEuIDzL5a8w

P.S. More birthday narrative and photos to come.

One year old today!

Today is Spencer's first birthday. He was born at 8:03 AM. We can hardly believe it's been a year. And we're very happy that so far he seems healthy and happy. We take him in for his one-year check up tomorrow, so we'll find out his growth statistics then.

He really is an easy-going little guy. Just getting to the point where he's doing a lot more exploring and becoming more independent. Not walking yet but I don't think it will be long now.

We are having a very low-key, informal birthday celebration on Saturday afternoon. Just close family and a little bit of cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Holiday Review

We had a great first holiday season as a family. Spencer was very fortunate to have had all of his grandparents at our house for Thanskgiving. Grandpa and Grandma W were here visiting from AZ. 'Gamma' and aunties Jessica and Jasmin and Uncle-to-be Anthony came from Social Circle. 'Nana' and 'PopPop' of course just live down the road, so they came as well.

Cuddling with Grandpa after Thanksgiving dinner.

Christmas was also nice, and more relaxing than Thanksgiving. Spencer stayed in his pajamas all day! Fred and I HAD to get dressed to to go Nana and PopPop's house for Christmas dinner, so we live vicariously through Spencer. Spencer didn't really understand the concept of opening presents, but he still enjoyed it and really loved his new things. Luckily, there was not so much stuff that it was overwhelming.





Christmas morning.











Spencer got a very cute wombat story that Godmother Katie sent from Australia.







Thanks so much to everyone for the wonderful gifts! And for not going overboard with wonderful gifts :)

For New Years we rejoined the annual tradition (this was the 7th year) of renting a large house with approximately 18 friends. Every year the group alternates between the beach and the mountains, and this was a beach year. We rented a large (4 story with an elevator!) house on Topsail Island, NC. Spencer was the only child there, which made for an interesting trip. He was very overwhelmed by all of the people there and by being in such a new and different environment. Nighttime and naptime were tough most days (he was waking at night and resisting naps). But overall, we had a great time. The beach, the house, and the company was great. And he did well on the 8-hour drive there and back. Fred and Spencer on the boardwalk to the beach with the house in the background.

Spencer and Rachel on the boardwalk from the house to the beach.

Taking a walk on the beach (we took many walks on the beach).

Hanging out with 'Aunt' Joddie at New Years.

We had a great holiday season, and we hope you all did as well! Here's to health and happiness in 2007.

Love,

Rachel, Fred and Spencer