What a difference a year makes!

This was me last Christmas. I knew I was going to have a baby boy. I knew his name was Spencer Tyler. I knew I loved him more than my own life.

But there is no way I could have possibly known just how much joy this sweet little nugget would bring. Not just to our lives but to the entire world.

Halfway Thru December

I don't really have any photo's to show for the last weekened, but it was a fun one! Saturday was a big birthday party today. Miss Addyson turned two, so Spencer got to go to his first (non-family) birthday party. He had so much fun he slept through all the gift opening. Later that night was Grampa Scott's birthday and boy was he excited to see him, as he's been in Las Vegas for the last two weeks. Spencer really seems to change overnight, as all the parents out there can atest to I am sure, so it really makes an impact when he leaves for a couple weeks.

Sunday marked the first time Spencer & Rocco were playing with each other. We have this horribly annoying toy that shoots ball in the air that has absolutely terrified him up until recently. Now its the greatest thing he's ever seen. Anyway, Rocco would press down on the lever to get the ball rolling and Spencer would laugh and squeal and as soon as it was over, Rocco would start the whole thing over again. Even after Rocco (quickly) got tired of it, he'd still leave his toy to start it over for Spencer again. It was pretty cute. A picture would have been great but I've got nothing.

We're Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

Last year was kind of a bust for us, festive-wise. We were moving into our new home and transitioning between the house we were renting and the house we bought at my sister's house, so when we finally moved into our house (almost a year to the day, actually), the last thing my pregnant ass wanted to do was put up a Christmas tree. Or lights. I barely managed the stockings. So this year, I am going to make up for it...it's Spencer's first Christmas, afterall! Sunday we went and picked out a tree and I can honestly say its the biggest tree I've ever brought home. I just realized I haven't actually taken a picture of the tree in all it's glory, so you'll just have to be patient for that at a later date, but here we are picking it out.

Tonight I took Spencer to see Santa at the mall. I had heard horror stories of the long lines on the weekends, so I figured dinner time on a Monday would work out great...and it did. No tears for this kid...he got a real kick out of Santa. I think the feeling was mutual.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chris & I had the (not so) brilliant idea that it would just be easier to have Thanksgiving at our house rather than load up the babies, all the toys and gears, etc. I suppose this is still true on paper, but it made life a little stressful for mommy. So I reached in and pulled parts out of the turkey...I pulled apart his skin and stuffed it with bacon...I rubbed it down with oil and spices. I gagged the whole time doing this because I absolutely HATE to touch raw meat, but it paid off and we had an amazing meal! It may not be Martha Stewart's table, but I was proud of it!

Gone Baptisin'

On November 6, we had Spencer baptized at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church...the same church where my mom was baptized, my parents were married, I was confirmed, etc, etc. If you'd asked me before I got pregnant, or even while I was pregnant if it was important to have the baby baptized I probably would have shrugged it off. I mean, I really don't believe in a God that would punish unbaptized babies for eternity. But when Spencer finally got here, I thought about it. A LOT. Better safe than sorry, right? I was so happy to have my sister and cousins up there with us as Spencer's godparents. I couldn't be more lucky to have all these people willing to look after and care for my little nugget.
Note Spencer's poor highwater pants. I swear they fit perfectly two weeks prior when I bought them...he's growing so freaking fast!

Food time!

Our first attempt at rice cereal was not much of a success. I think this was mostly due to me making it too thick for him. The look on his face is priceless...it's like he is thinking: I thought you loved me!
We did much better a few days later with sweet potatoes. In fact, he couldn't get enough of them. Going so far as to grab my hand, like: don't you DARE take these away from me!

Happy Halloween!

We started our Halloween weekend with a "trick or treat parade" into Hyde Park with Spencer's daycare. This is something we did for five years when Zane was there, so it was fun to continue the tradition with Spencer. Here he is with his friend Alex before the outing.
I think I like Trick-or-Treating!
All worn out!

On Halloween night we resisted the temptation to take our babies trick-or-treating and just stuck close to home. On one hand I can't wait for these kids to get old enough to go out, but on the other, I want them to stay little forever. It's already going by so fast.

Road trip!

We finally decided to brave a road trip with Spencer and head to Utah for an extended weekend. One thing we learned is that our instincts were probably right and he might still be a little young for a road trip, but all things considered, he did great (oh, except for the 90 minutes of screaming on the way down there). We were very excited to meet new baby Claire and have Spencer meet his Uncle Adam & Aunt Jodi. In fact, ALL of the Stonehocker kids were there so it was like a nice little family reunion! Here is our niece Claire Lynn Christensen...7 weeks old already!
Spencer LOVED spending time with his uncles. This is probably my favorite picture of the weekend, Uncle Tyler with his "little Tyty" as he calls him. We named Spencer Tyler after him.
College football with Uncle Adam
We had a more successful drive back...sleeping until Mountain Home! And then the tears began. I'm thinking next time we fly!

Happy Birthday, Rocco

I seriously can't believe that our little Rocco is one. He is the happiest, most mischevious little boy I have ever met and I love him to pieces. We all do!

Aunt Nana probably shouldn't have made him try and share his new birthday chair right off the bat, but as always, he is a pretty good sport when it comes to Spencer.

Our first trip to the zoo

Last Wednesday was Rocco's first birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with a trip to the zoo. It was especially exciting for me since it would mark Spencer's first trip there. Of course, he really could have cared less, but everyone else had a good time! He did seem to show some interest in the monkeys and the cerval (is that how you spell it? a big cat) but that was about it.
While we were there, there was a group of three mom's with their boys who were about the same distance in age from Gage, Rocco, and Spencer. I couldn't help but smile as I knew that is what we are in for in about five years...and I can't wait. Here are our little guys now.

Our First Pumpkin Patch

So I have to say, Chris initially gave me a lot of crap about taking a 5 1/2 month baby to the pumpkin patch, as he will have no recollection of the events. However, once we got there, he was right there with me, posing the baby with pumpkins and everything. You have to sort through a lot of crappy, rotten pumpkins to find a good one, but we found a perfect one that was just Spencer's size.
Here is the happy family on the ride pack to the farm
I'd say it was a success, Spencer is quite pleased with his little pumpkin!

See Spot Walk

If it's the first Saturday in October in Boise, then we are at See Spot Walk to benefit The Idaho Humane Society. We started doing this event three years ago when Fergie Ferg was just a pup and this was our first year doing it as a family (Spencer was just a pinto bean in my tummy last year). It's always fun to see the Etnyre and Hoffman families (because we really just don't see them enough) and walk our doggies on the mile walk downtown. There are litterally hundreds of dogs that participate and I am always amazed that no blood is drawn, but everyone always has a good time.

Football!

I love football season. I didn't always care, but now I do. I love that Boise State is getting national attention, and I love that Green Bay has won more games than the Vikings so far this year. Let's hope everyone keeps up on the good rolls! Tailgating is a big part of football in this town, so we took Spencer with us to his first tailgate that Qwest was sponsoring. All his BSU gear is cold weather (who knew it would still be in the 90s) so we made due with the only blue and orange things he had.

And then Monday was the Pack vs. the Bears and the boys were ready! Too bad they Packers threw the game away but the night was redeemed since Rocco took his first steps and Spencer not only rolled from his back to his tummy, but to his back again.

Best friends?

Maybe not yet, but Spencer and Fergie are definitely warming up to each other! I must say that Fergie has been a trooper from the start. She was very cautious around Spencer and protective from the day we brought him home. But I didn't really think she LIKED him. Well now that Spencer is starting to notice and interact with her, she's now his biggest fan. I should have known our little drama queen just needed the attention. Here she is standing guard over her little buddy: Another thing that has helped is that I have eased up on the no licking rule and licking is now allowed in moderate doses. It is the only way doggies show they care, after all!

Sick puppy!

Those of you who are facebook friends may recall my post a couple weekkends ago about my dog apparently eating her weight in corn cob and husks...and then throwing it up the entire next day. Gross. But I felt really bad for her...it's like when your baby is sick...how do you explain to them what is going on and that they will feel better soon? Okay, I admit its not quite like when your baby is sick, but same principle. Here the little overeater is trying to get some rest. She swaddled herself up in the blanket like that.

Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic

We had a very fun Labor Day weekend here in Boise as my family produced the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic once again. What started out as part of the River Festival, continued as a balloon only event for several years after the River Fest folded. Then, with my dad's increasing schedule he just didn't have the time to secure sponsors, so we kinda just quit doing it. Until now! This year also marks the 100th Anniversary of Aviation in Idaho, so we had a lot of support from the state, city and FAA. Hilariously, I didn't take any pictures of balloons the entire weekend. I've been taking pics of balloons for two decades and they all start to look the same, so I just don't do it anymore. Of course I took lots of pics of my two favorite boys. It was really fun to show off Spencer and Rocco to our ballooning family...many of them have known my sister and I since we were their age!

Touching the balloon

Shauna, Spencer, Melissa, Addyson, Lesley & Rocco. We used to be the party girls at these events...now the thought of taking care of these rugrats with a hangover is very unappealing.

Taking turns at the burner

Seriously...60 years?!

As mentioned in a previous post, my grandparents have been married for 60 years and that is nothing short of amazing to me. I don't think I'll live long enough to be married 60 years! Their anniversary party had more people attending than my wedding I think! It was a lot of fun and lots of people got to meet Spencer - and I always love showing him off. So does my grampa, who is just in heaven holding Spencer. And the fact that his name is Spencer just puts him over the moon!

Stonehocker Visit

A couple weeks ago Chris's parents, sister and brother in law came to visit. And I somehow spaced blogging about it! Anyway, it was great to see everyone. We hit the Saturday market (and as a side note, when did it get SO BIG? It was like walking around a theme park down there) and ate out a ton, which is always fun...especially for this new family that doesn't venture out of the house as much as we used to!

Spencer being adored by everyone in the room...just the way he likes it!

Getting ready to roundhouse kick someone if we don't get home to bed soon!

Last minute loves from nana before they hit the road. We'll miss you!

Hats!

I was just going through our pictures and I realized that I am apparently obsessed with putting Spencer in hats. Or bandanas. Anything on his head, really. And I don't know why this is. Maybe because its the only "accessory" out there for a baby boy? I fear it's just a taste of the embarassment he will think I bring to him on a daily basis once he is a teenager. I can't even say I'll try to be better because sometimes I just look at him and think...HE NEEDS A HAT! So without further ado, here are some of my favorite "head gear" pics in his short four month life!