Thanksgiving and a visit with Santa

We hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. For Thanksgiving we spent a few days visiting family in northern VA. Spencer did great in transit (he loves buses, trains, planes, shuttles) but doesn't sleep too well in a new environment. So, we had cranky, obstinate Spencer for much of the time we were there. At least he got to spend some time with great grandma, and got to help great aunt J in her pottery studio.




















I'm glad we are not traveling for Christmas or New Years this year. We have some family coming to visit, but it will be much more pleasant to have Spencer in his natural environment. Spencer is getting the Christmas spirit, though I don't think he completely understands it all yet. He has been asking for snow, but he decided that 'the trees are too tall and the wind blew all the snow away'. That's apparently why we don't see snow in GA. Last week he actually asked to go see Santa! I was amazed, considering last year he was terrified of the jolly old man and I had to be in the picture with him. So we took him for pictures with Santa, and though he was a little shy at first he was mostly all smiles. He asked Santa for Play-Doh for Christmas...so Fred and I will have an easy time playing Santa this year! He also wants to make cookies for Santa, and feed Santa's reindeer (one of his friends in preschool gave him some 'reindeer food' - oatmeal - to spread on the ground for the reindeer). There are no presents under the tree yet, but I'm sure he'll quickly learn the concept of opening gifts.


The joy of holidays with a little one!

Halloween III...

...the return of Spencer! It's hard to believe that this was Spencer's 3rd Halloween. The past 2 Halloweens were fun. The first one we spent doing Boo at the Zoo with some friends (Spencer was a pumpkin), the second Halloween was spent at Boo at the Zoo and a friend's Halloween party (Spencer was a jedi).

This year we went to our friend's second annual Halloween party, then went trick-or-treating with our neighbors and some friends. It didn't take Spencer long to learn that if he went to a house and held out his bag with the other kids, he would get candy. Mostly though, he had fun running down the road like a little mad man yelling 'Roar!' in his lion costume. By the way, it took a week to get him to even try on the costume, and what finally worked was telling him we were going to a Halloween party so he needed to wear it. He associates the word 'party' with cake, so that totally did the trick. Then of course he didn't want to take the costume off. Spencer was born with an unusually large head, so the hood part of the costume didn't fit him. Oh well, it was still cute.

Lion Spencer getting candy at the Halloween party.

Trick or treating (trying to get the lion
ears and mane to stay on)

This was also Spencer's first experience carving pumpkins, though he did already know what it was all about (he instructed us to cut triangles in the pumpkin for eyes and nose).

Helping Daddy clean out a pumpkin.

No knives for Spencer's pumpkin...I probably
shouldn't have given him a Sharpie, either.

Is it just me, or does Spencer actually
look like our jack-o-lanterns?In all, it was a really fun Halloween, and Fred and I...I mean Spencer, got a lot of good candy. We also got more trick or treaters than previous years, and almost ran out of candy. We had to start giving out Spencer's candy, but that was probably for the best. It's fun this year being able to really share our holiday traditions with Spencer...I'm looking forward to more!

Pumpkin patch!

This morning we took a trip to a place called Washington Farms in Watkinsville, GA (about an hour from us) www.washingtonfarms.net It's a great place with all kinds of fun things for kids to do.

They had a little maze made from bales of straw.

They also had this cute little 'cow train'. They made these little cow cars out of plastic barrels. There are probably 20 of these little cows hooked together and pulled by a small tractor. They do a loop around the farm area...Spencer was on his own with his cow (we didn't ride with him) and he had a lot of fun.


Next we did the hay ride. It was actually a 'straw' ride, but I guess that doesn't matter much. It was slow going, but Spencer enjoyed it. We sat in the front so Spencer could watch the tractor. The hay ride took us toward the back of the farm where the corn maze was located.

The corn maze was on about 8 acres and was really fun (as long as you weren't traumatized by 'Children of the Corn' when you were a kid). The corn maze was actually much more involved than we thought it would be, but thanks to Fred's D&D skills we made it out of the corn maze. Spencer enjoyed shouting 'Left! Right!' and looking for ears of corn. After we went through the corn maze we walked back to the pumpkin patch.

On the way to a prime pumpkin-picking spot.

Daddy's pumpkin's stem was too big. Mommy's pumpkin was too round. But Spencer's pumpkin was just right!

On the way home Spencer said he was going to put triangles on his pumpkin then cut it out with a knife. I have no idea how he knows these things, as we've never carved pumpkins with him.

It was a fun morning, and I highly recommend Washington Farms to any family in the Atlanta area.

Fall days and bargaining power

The recent fall weather has been beautiful. We spent a lovely morning at the playground about a week ago. And last night we went to a picnic at Spencer's preschool where he ran around after the other kids like a little mad man! It was fun.
Spencer can almost tell us about his day now, which is so cool. He will tell us about activities and people, sometimes quite clearly. Bedtime has improved tremendously (though now that I said that it will all change again tomorrow) and he's just a happy little kid.

He has decided recently that he can make his own rules. For example, one night we bribed him with television to get him to eat dinner ("if you eat your dinner you can watch some Bob the Builder"...I know, I know, not the best parenting move). Well, the next night he bargained right back ("ok, I'm going to eat my broccoli then I get to watch Bob the Builder!"). We tried to explain to him that as the parents we get to make the rules, not him. But I'm not sure he believed us. He gets quite insistent that as long as he follows his rule, he gets a reward.

Hhhmmm...now that I think about it, I think he gets that from me!

Myrtle Beach

We spent last week in Myrtle Beach, SC with Fred's parents and my dad and stepmom. We had a great time. It was Spencer's second trip to the beach...he was 6 months old the first time we went so didn't do much except eat sand. This time of course was totally different. The first day he ran right into the water, until he got splashed in the face by a wave. Then he wouldn't go near it, and we had to drag him in kicking and screaming. Once we got him in, he loved it again, until he got splashed in the face by a wave, then he hated it...again. This went on for the first few days, but by the last day of our trip he was laying on his belly at the end of the surf, facing up the beach, waiting for a good wave to body surf him the rest of the way up the beach. I'm sorry...who are you and what did you do with my child?And of course he loved the seashells, and loved playing in the sand. He didn't eat much sand this trip, but still managed to get it all over himself (inside and out).















One of the highlights of this trip was getting to spend lots of time with Grandpa and Grandma from Tucson, AZ. Hopefully he's old enough now that he will remember them. And actually, he had 4 of his 5 grandparents there...what a lucky kid!

We really lucked out with the weather. We arrived on the tail end of Tropical Storm Hanna, and the other hurricanes headed to the gulf. Not that we were completely unaffected...we had a difficult time fueling our 15-passenger rental van for the ride home. But at least we had great weather.

There was also a pool at the condo complex where we stayed, and Spencer really enjoyed that as well. Fred practiced dunking him under the water...a new experience for Spencer.
I'm already looking forward to our next vacation.

Free Range Spencer

I have been reading this Free Range Kids blog lately http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/ I really want Spencer to be a 'free range kid'. I don't think it will always be easy to balance safety (whether real or perceived) with freedom, but I really believe in the free range kids philosophy.



The author/creator of this blog is Lenore Skenazy, the woman who let her 9-year old son ride the NY subway home from Macy's by himself. She received much attention, mostly negative it seems.



I hope we can give Spencer the opportunity to be 'free range'.

What was that I said?

Did I really say in my last blog post something about Spencer being in the 'terrible twos' but mostly being a 'lot of fun'? Those words were MEANT to be eaten. What was I thinking by writing that? We have certainly seen some terrible two's surfacing during the past few months. The worst of it so far was basically a week long temper trantrum...seriously. Everything was a battle. We are fortunate that Spencer talks fairly well and can tell us what he wants. We are unfortunate that he is the most contrary person in existence. 'I want pancakes!' 'Ok, we'll have pancakes.' 'No, I don't WANT pancakes!' 'Ok then, no pancakes.' 'I WANT PANCAKES!' Eventually either Fred or I have to just make a decision (pancakes or not? Little Engine that Could or Winnie the Pooh? Bob the Builder or Curious George?), and no matter what it is the wrong decision and ends with Spencer in freak out mode.

Once the week long tantrum was over things were ok again. When he's cute we can hardly stand it...when he's throwing a tantrum we can hardly stand it. Seems there is no in between with a toddler.


















Sleep has been another issue. At bedtime we used to read a few stories, sing a song, then put him in bed. 'Goodnight Spencer, I love you', 'Goodnight mommy'. Now, it's read a few stories, then 'one more! One last time! I want trains!!! LAST STORY!!!' 'Songs!' 'No, no songs!' 'SONGS!' He also decided to stop napping about a week ago. I think he still needs to nap, but since he's apparently learned to keep himself awake there is no more napping to be had. We at least make sure he gets some rest time in his crib (more for caregiver rest than Spencer rest). We have learned that you can lead a toddler to crib, but you can't make him nap! And yes, he still is in his crib. I don't plan on putting him in a 'big boy' bed anytime soon if I can help it. We did wean him from the pacifier about 6 weeks ago, which may be attributing to the change in nap and bedtime pattern.

He has started calling daddy 'Fred'...which was really funny at first (at least to me) but isn't funny to Fred. He's been calling me 'mom' at times, rather than mommy. He's a little parrot, and uses his learned words and phrases appropriately. Several mornings ago I asked him to stay still so I could change his diaper. His response was 'You can't always get what you want, Mommy'.






We've had a good summer. Nothing too exciting. We went to an airplane show at the local municipal airport, and they had some fire trucks there. Spencer got to 'drive' a fire truck.









For Father's Day we went to the aquarium. We took MARTA (public train) to get there, which Spencer loved. He loved MARTA so much, that it was all he could talk about at the aquarium. 'Spencer look at that Whale Shark!' 'Uh-huh...can we go ride MARTA?' Oh well.




And another day at the train museum, this time for the trains, trucks and tractors exhibit. Spencer loves that museum.









This is one of Spencer and Fred's favorite games. Fred loves it because it takes minimal effort on his part.


Having fun during story time.

Trains

We recently discovered the Southeast Railway Museum www.srmduluth.org It is only about 20 minutes away from us. Spencer loves trains so we took him there last Saturday. He was absolutely thrilled. He had a blast seeing all those train cars up close and personal. He's been talking about it for days...he even told the pediatrician about the train museum. We had to tell him it was closed (indefinitely) so that he would stop asking to go there. They have a 'trains, trucks and tractors' exhibit in July, so we'll have to go back for that. Those are definitely 3 of his favorite things.

And this weekend we're going to the local county airport for an open house and airshow. Spencer is going to love that!

I had heard so much about the terrible twos...and yes, Spencer can be awful at times...but he has mostly been a lot of fun. It's so fun to see so much genuine excitement.

Riding in the caboose with daddy.

Checking out the locomotive before the train ride.

A really big train and a really small boy.

Typical boy

So I really tried not to gender-type Spencer. By the time he was a year old he had a plastic doll house, an old Barbie style horse (no Barbie), and a doll that was designed to practice buttoning, zipping, tying, etc. Well, he never cared much for any of these items. As soon as Fred bought him a plastic CASTLE for his 2nd birthday, with a dragon, they instantly became his favorite toys. That castle is not so different from the doll house...but it's a castle. He loves it. He also loves tractors, excavators, bulldozers, loaders, cranes, trains, airplanes...all the stereotypical boy stuff. Oh well. I did recently read about a new study that shows the same phenomenon in baby and toddler monkeys. The female monkeys would play with masculine or feminine toys, but the male monkeys were much more drawn to the masculine toys. So, while I'm sure there is some nurture involved, a lot of it does seem to be nature related. According to the results of this study boys will be boys.

Spencer has recently discovered garbage trucks. They have become his new favorite thing. We went on a rare shopping trip for some new toys and we were of course in the truck/tractor toy section, and Spencer said he wanted a garbage truck. Fred and I looked at each other and shrugged, both thinking there was no such toy in existence. I even told Spencer we couldn't get a garbage truck. Well, Fred moved a toy aside and lo and behold, in the very back of the toy shelf there was a single big, plastic garbage truck! Actually, it's a recycling truck, which to me is even better. It was fate. Spencer was so excited. He loves his new toy garbage truck. It even has a little dumpster that attaches to the front. Very fun.

His vocabulary keeps growing, and he almost exclusively talks in full sentences (if I point at an 'A' and ask him what letter it is, he says 'That's an A' never just 'A'). He picks up words and phrases everywhere, and repeats them correctly later (yep, we really have to watch what we say these days even when we don't think he's paying attention). He still loves his books, but enjoys a little bit of education television especially if it's related to garbage trucks, fire trucks, trains or airplanes. He can almost recite numbers up to 20 (1-15 is good, gets a bit shaky after that), is quickly learning basic colors, and knows all the upper and lower case letters. I hope he doesn't get too bored in pre-K. Oh, and most importantly he's learning the concept of 'time out'. Very important.

But he's still our little baby in some ways...we still have diapers, pacifiers, and crib. But the time will come when I'll really have to stop referring to his as 'baby boy'. Sigh.

Helping feed the cat...and quickly becoming her new BFF!

Horseback riding with Grandma.
Hanging out in the backyard. (We need to mow.)

First haircut!

Spencer got his first haircut yesterday. Yep, he's over 2 and just now got his first haircut. I was very reluctant...my baby is growing up so fast!

We went to a place called Salon Red Kids. The chairs are little 1950's cars, and they have tv screens to show movies. Spencer got to watch 'Finding Nemo' (though he was busy crying, he did manage to watch a few seconds of the movie here and there). We decided to go with the experienced stylist since it was his first haircut and we didn't know how he was going to react. We found out that experienced stylist means she can cut hair at the speed of light through all toddler screaming and protestation. I guess Spencer didn't scream and protest as much as some kids do, but he was certainly not happy even in his old fashioned 'fire chief' truck and kept crying and saying 'I want to get out!' But in the end it was a very fast, positive experience and he still has some of his curls!
Before: long and wispy. He didn't so much need a haircut necessarily, but Fred kept calling it a mullet. Oh, and a few weeks ago someone asked me how old 'she' was.










During: not happy! After: so cute!

Time for some updates

Since my last Spencer post we went through an entire Holiday season and Spencer's 2nd birthday. We spent Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Woodruff in Tucson, and Spencer got to meet some of his cousins and uncles whom he had never met before. He had fun, but as always traveling with a toddler has it's challenges. That was the biggest time change he had ever experienced as well (2 hours difference). Aside from hanging out with family, one of the highlights was the Air and Space museum. Apparently Spencer has some high aspirations. That's right, he wants to be a cartoonish looking astronaut when he grows up.

We had a nice, relaxing Christmas at home.

In January Spencer saw his first snow! It actually snowed enough in Atlanta to make a snowman...sort of. Ok, not my best snowman ever.

Spencer's 2nd birthday was also very low-key. We invited our friends who have kids Spencer's age and had a big play group in our house. Fred made pancakes and 'dip' (AKA syrup) as that is Spencer's favorite food these days. I made cupcakes. We (parents) had beer. It was good fun. Unfortunately Spencer no longer gets to fly for free. So now we have to pay full price so he can sit in our laps, because I guarantee he is not going to want to sit in his own seat no matter what the FAA says.