Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Us to You!

Spencer "decking the halls"...

Scott Jr. and Scott prepare for the big Jets game by making gingerbread football men.

Spencer helped a little... :)

Take Me Away...

A much needed get away to Utah to visit family. Always good for the soul!

"This is the Place" Heritage Park with Grandpa.

Enjoying the Pumpkin Festival at Thanksgiving Point...well, maybe not the cow carts.
Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum at BYU Story Time with Aunt DianaHogle Zoo
Watching "Mary Poppins" and eating a cucumber with Grandma...good times indeed!
Mom the LibrarianLearning to shoot rifles and handguns with Spencer & Stephani Sego.

Farewell !

Spencer has always been a fan of his pacifier - and let's face it - I have too! That small device has safeguarded my much needed sanity time and time again.

So, when we contemplated getting rid of our old friend to aid Spencer's speech development, I was a little more than hesitant. I pictured many long afternoons and sleepless nights of this...

To my GREAT surprise, Spencer's transition to life without binki was completely trauma-free. The first night we put him to bed without it, he simply had a puzzled look on his face...and we haven't looked back.

Wow - guess I need to give this kid the credit for growing up. Apparently Spencer is ready to move on to bigger and better things and was just waiting for me to catch on! Will I be playing catch up from here on out?

Animal Heaven

A story about our trip to Turtle Back Zoo -

Spencer, Spencer, what do you see? I see 2 black bears looking at me.

Black Bear, Black Bear what do you see? I see some sheep looking at me.

Sheep, Sheep, what do you see? I see an eagle looking at me.

Eagle, Eagle, what do you see? I see a red panda looking at me.
Panda, Panda, what do you see? I see a tired boy looking at me.

As if the zoo wasn't enough, the next month while Scott and Scott Jr. were away doing a service project, I decided to take Gabriella and Spencer to Point Pleasant to enjoy the beach one last time before the start of school. Note to self: NEVER go to the Jersey shore the last few weekends before September...traffic and parking will be a nightmare!

We finally made it to Jenkinson's Aquariam at the beach and Spencer was so excited, I think Gabriella's fingers were crushed from Spencer pulling her from window to window.

Day at the Farm

To help Spencer understand why New Jersey is the "garden state" we decided to take him for his first trip to a local farm to pick strawberries off the vine. Delicious!

He was so enthusiastic, he could hardly wait to get home before eating them. Spencer was particularly good at finding strawberries with bugs crawling all over them...I guess a little natural extra protein never killed anyone, right? (Yuck!)

We also spent some time visiting the animals on the farm. Spencer liked trying to feed the goats best.

Choo, Choo...Look Who's Two

Yep, our little boy is is two years old. To be honest, I'm a little scared how quickly the time is flying, but Spencer makes us smile every day. We actually celebrated his birthday a day early (on Memorial Day) and invited our family and friends over for a BBQ.

We decided on having a Thomas the Tank Engine party since Spencer loves to point him out whenever he sees him. There must be something about his smiling face. I decided to be adventurous and make a Thomas cake...you can see the before and after below. I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out and surprised at how relatively easy it was to build. :)

Scott has always had a tradition of having a pinata at his kids' birthday parties. Unfortunately, it started raining when Scott set it up, so all the kids took a couple of hits before the candy came spilling out.

Here is a video clip of Spencer enoying his birthday rain.

A few pictures of our guests and family members in attendance. We really loved having so many people over and are blessed to know the best people!

One of our neighbors brought a slip and slide for the kids to enjoy. After the rain stopped, the kids lined up for some more water fun...Spencer too!

Happy Birthday, Spencer!

Digging Out...

Well, the last few months have been a flurry of activity...to say the least. Between work and our callings and more work sometimes I can hardly remember my name. The good news - the craziness keeps us happy, healthy and energized.

Gratefully, Spencer takes it all in stride and he continues to grow by leaps and bounds. His favorite hobbies include: coloring (even in the NJ humidity!); running; climbing; reading and pointing to letters of the alphabet. His little mind never stops! :)

He still carries on his love affair with his siblings when they get to visit. He loves playmates (especially older ones who don't take his toys).

On Easter morning, Spencer enjoyed the delights of his first chocolate bunny. To our surprise he ate quite a bit. Note to self: pick a smaller bunny next year!

He has also taken to hiding himself behind the blinds. He waits until they stop swinging and then all we can see are his feet. He gives a good laugh when he "surprises" you.

Spencer enjoying a grape popsicle...in the bathtub. What a mess he was!