The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It certainly is the most wonderful time of the year! We love the change of the seasons and the holidays we get to spend with family and friends. For Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, we drove to Pennsylvania and ate a delicious meal with Uncle Charles and Aunt Marie and a few of their friends. Spencer truly enjoyed being the center of attention. I don't know where the time has flown, but Spencer is already six months old and so anxious to be mobile. He finds it very hard to sit still. A co-worker of mine was kind enough to find an "Exersaucer" for Spencer to enjoy. He loves it for all the activity, and I love it because it gives my arms a break and I can get some household things done! :)

I had to add this picture, because Spencer's smiles (even half a smile) are so elusive. When he sees the lights of the camera, he gets the "deer in the headlights" look.

Spencer loves it when Scott Jr. and Gabriella are here on the weekend. I think it's safe to say he will be following his older siblings' every move!

Spencer still enjoys eating anything and everything that is put in front of him. To date he has had all kinds of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and meat. This is a little video clip of him eating green beans for the first time.

Lions, Tigers...and Gorillas??? Oh my!!

It's hard to believe another Halloween has come and gone, but we lived it up to the fullest! Thankfully the weather was mild enough to take Spencer for his first night of trick-or-treating with Scott Jr. and Gabriella in Pennsylvania. Scott Jr. was a 1920s Gangster and Gabriella was a Candy Corn Witch. Scott Sr., of course, was a Gorilla, so it was only natural that Spencer be a banana. I stayed up until 2am the week before Halloween to make Spencer's costume...I'm just glad it didn't fall apart on him. :) The night after Halloween, Scott and I were invited to one of my co-workers homes for a party. I dressed as a pirate and let's just say Scott got a lot of use out of his costume this year!

As of Saturday, Spencer is officially 5 months old. Wow! He is getting bigger (or longer...there still isn't much baby fat) and stronger by the day. We introduced Spencer to his first fruit (applesauce) this past week and he LOVES it mixed with his cereal.

Scott introduced Spencer to the remote control recently and he was fascinated....what a man!

I'm a Big Boy Now!

Fall has barely begun, but the weather sure indicates that winter is on the way! I have been back to work now for several weeks, Scott continues to work hard, and Spencer seems to be taking the change of schedule in stride. It was difficult to leave him with babysitters the first week, but the transition was made easier by the fact that I spoke about him and showed co-workers his pictures all day long. We can't believe how big Spencer is getting...he looks more and more like a little boy each day.

Today Spencer had his 4 month checkup and his second round of immunizations. He was unusually fussy at the doctors, but the appointment did interrupt his normal afternoon eating/napping time. Today he weighed in at 12 pounds, 15 ounces and 23 3/4 inches - a gain of 2.5 pounds and 2 inches. (My arms can definitely feel the weight gain!)

In other big news, Spencer tried his first bites (or sips) of cereal. I hope you have as much fun watching the clip of him eating as much as we did feeding him. I can't wait 'till he gets the hang of the spoon...we hope that the cereal will fill his belly before bedtime and allow him to sleep through the night without waking up.

Is it just me? Or does Spencer just get cuter and cuter! I know I'm biased, but I also know I'm right on this one. :)

Utah Visit

We recently returned from a trip to visit my family in Utah and introduce them to Spencer. Our flight was delayed several hours out of Newark, but thankfully Spencer slept the entire flight (yippee!) and we arrived safe and sound. This trip was full of "firsts" for Spencer: first flight and first hike. The pictures below show our hike to Stewart Falls in Provo Canyon...what a beautiful day to be hiking!


Spencer also finally met his Grandpa Whitaker, Aunts Catherine, Diana, and Julie and Uncle Will. Will and Julie were also celebrating the recent birth of an adorable baby girl, Nicole, so it was exciting to get all of the cousins together. Alyssa loved to give the babies their binkies. Spencer wielded many smiles at all of them, so we know he already loves his family as much as we do!

L-R: Nicole (born July 28), Spencer (born June 1), and Alyssa (2 yrs.)

After visiting with family up north, we traveled to Manti, UT for a visit with my Mom. Spencer was so happy to see his Grandma again! Here is a picture of Mom with her sister Patti. While in Manti, we also had an opportunity to attend the temple with my Mom and sister Catherine who had just received her endowments about two weeks prior to our visit.

After our temple session, we visited with my cousin Spencer, his wife Stephenie, and their two cute children Damian and Seattle. Not only were they kind enough to babysit baby Spencer while we attended the temple, they prepared dinner for us upon our return.

Here are some new pictures of the many faces of Spencer. His expressions are so fun, we could easily watch him all day and never tire of his adorable face. Besides his cute faces, Spencer has stared to roll from his belly to his back on a more regular basis. He first rolled at 6 weeks old when my Scott, Mom, Scott Jr., and Gabriella were all in the room...I missed it. And just this past Friday he was on his belly in the middle of the floor and looked as if he might roll again, so I left to get the camera. When I came back to the living room, he had already rolled...I missed it again! I flipped him back onto his belly and took a brief video clip of him rolling for the rest of you to see (the film clip is a little dark, but hopefully you can see it)!

Balloon Festival

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Balloon Festival near Bridgewater, NJ with John and Kathy. We woke the kids up at the crack of dawn to drive to the small airport to watch the balloons being inflated and then take off. What a sight!

The "Darth Vader" balloon came all the way from Belgium with her crew. This was their maiden voyage in the United States. Press play to hear the fun send off this unique balloon received!

Spencer is smiling more and more each day. We can't wait for those first giggles to escape!

Grandparents Visit & Blessing

We were so excited to finally introduce Spencer to some of his wonderful grandparents. Grandma Whitaker was the first to arrive July 4th weekend.

Spencer is five weeks old in these pictures. At his last doctor's appointment he had grown 2 inches and gained almost 3 pounds!

We took a trip to Point Pleasant Beach, NJ to show Mom (and Spencer) the beautiful Jersey shore. We walked the boardwalk, played games and enjoyed the evening fireworks over the water.

Grandma and Grandpa Maldonado arrived one week later to meet two new grandchildren - Spencer and Katie.

Spencer and Katie (Mandy's baby girl) were both blessed in church on Sunday, July 13. Here are the new cousins side-by-side. It was a very special day and I couldn't hold back the tears. (I'm still blaming the tears on post-baby hormones!) Following Spencer's blessing, when Scott handed him back to me, Spencer gave a huge smile. It was like he knew he was just blessed!

At six weeks old Spencer is already mesmerized with the Baby Einstein videos. We put him in his bouncy seat to watch the video one afternoon when he was extra fussy...worked like a charm! Here is a brief video clip of Spencer trying out his voice. We expect he will be cooing all the time any day now.