Bookworm

I'm so grateful we have a good library close by because Spencer's latest favorite pastime is reading books and it helps to get a fresh supply every few weeks. He often places a book on the couch and stands facing it, turning each page and repeating the words he remembers or recognizes from the pictures. He can go through a whole pile and then go search for more books, tuning us out sometimes and other times telling us what he's reading. He doesn't usually sit down unless we read to him, but he found a new spot to try out tonight. (And you can hear that he actually recognized that I wanted him to smile since I had the camera out and was trying to take a picture, but he hasn't quite responded to smiling on command yet ... we'll see if he ever does.)

A bit late, but I just discovered we had it on video

Beginning with Spencer's birthday this year and then going to other birthday parties since then, he's caught on to the concept of wishing someone a happy birthday and it's my favorite thing to hear him say. The quality of this video is pretty crummy, but it's the audio that I like anyway.

Journal Entry

Here's an excerpt from my journal entry today that I thought I'd share with all my faithful blog readers:

"When it was time for dinner, we got the leftovers out of the fridge, but I was having trouble finding the chicken enchiladas. We had them Friday night with Kristy and I hadn't planned on making anything today, especially since it was fast Sunday, knowing we had yummy food ready to go. After searching the whole fridge and not finding anything, I felt a little pang of panic. What could have happened to them? I couldn't remember putting them away but I assumed Daniel must have. I checked the freezer and then asked him and he couldn't remember either. I checked the cupboard and didn't even see the casserole dish we had baked it in. It was not looking good. As Daniel tried looking in the fridge one more time, I remembered. I had put the dish back in the oven to keep the enchiladas warm during dinner and we both had completely forgotten about it. I told Daniel and we opened the oven to discover the leftover enchiladas still in the casserole dish where we left it two days ago. I had to start laughing so I wouldn't cry because I had been so set on that for dinner. Fortunately we had just enough other leftovers to keep from going hungry, and I got to the point where I would just start laughing as I thought about what had happened. That's a mistake we'll remember for a long time and one we hopefully won't ever repeat."

Thanksgiving

We joined up with my brothers and sisters who live here in Orem for a good-old-fashioned Thanksgiving meal and were all surprised at how well it turned out, considering we were all making dishes for the first time. With Daniel's suggestions, and motivation from Kristy's blog with the great pictures, we attempted to make "Grandma Rolls" that Daniel's grandma would always make at holidays. Much to his pleasure, they turned out great! The baked ones didn't look quite as pretty as the dough after I shaped them, but maybe next year they'll look a bit better. Daniel was very happy to have lots left over, but discovered that there was no point freezing them because they are going fast.

Neil cooked the turkey and it was DELICIOUS!!

I heard a radio DJ complain how the focus on Thanksgiving is gluttony when we should be remembering the things we're thankful for. I'd have to say I disagree, because really, one very large, very yummy meal eaten with family and friends all around is hardly a bad thing. And that's the place to say what you're thankful for anyway, if you choose that tradition. What I would complain about is the extreme focus on shopping, with all the "Black Friday" and other Thanksgiving sales that pop up at this holiday. Having said that, here's a photo Daniel got of Spencer and me looking at the ads we received for all those smashing deals. So, in spite of my complaints, Daniel and I stayed up late Wednesday night shopping online (Daniel's preferred method) and I ventured out on Friday to do a bit more shopping.

But I am thankful for a great many things: the fun time I had with Daniel and Spencer this vacation, wonderful parents and in-laws who have set great examples for me, my Savior Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life He brings us, good books to read, yummy food, to name a few, and that I'm down to just two months before "baby sister" comes!

Hooray for Birthdays!

Thank you everyone for making my birthday so good this year! It doesn't hurt as much to get a year older when it gives me an excuse to have some fun. The best part was getting some time alone with Daniel because of nice babysitters (thank you Emily and Stacie!) and the next best part was hearing Spencer say "Happy Birthday Mommy."

One of these things is not like the other...

Most of my family considers me to be a nerd so I thought I would post some proof that the trait is being passed on to Spencer quite early. Note, however, that it is Becky's calculator and not mine :)
-Daniel

Halloween Fun

My mom found a pattern for a gingerbread boy and thought it would be fun for Spencer to be one for Halloween this year. It turned out great--he looked so cute! I only managed to get him to wear his hood once for a picture, and even the suit took some bribing to get on each time he wore it. We went to a party with our ward on Monday, a party on campus for children on Thursday, and though we hadn't planned on it, we went out for some trick-or-treating Saturday night. I decided last minute that it sounded fun, even though Spencer won't be eating the candy, and it turned out that he loved it. He tried to walk inside the first house we went to (since that's what you normally do when you go knock on someone's door) but then he got the hang of it and kept saying "more homes" after leaving a house. He had no fear knocking on the doors, talking with perfect strangers and taking the candy they offered him. I kept smiling and laughing as I watched him at each door--it was just so funny to see him walk up resolutely and knock with full expectation of being greeted by someone who was happy to see him. This may be a good sign that he'll do just fine tracting when he's a missionary some day.

(His mouth looks funny because he's eating candy, it was the only way I could get him to wear his costume.)

He had so much fun with his friends at the ward party, as well as the balloons, and even got to try eating a donut without using his hands.

It was impossible to catch a clear picture of him on this slide at the campus party so I took a video that shows how much he likes it. As soon as he got down he would run back over to climb up and do it again. He is certainly an energetic little boy and it's fun for us to watch him discover new things he can do. I have a feeling he's going to be excited for Halloween next year, we'll just see what he thinks about wearing a costume.