Where Does the Time Go?

This month our little man turned 6. There were moments where the time seemed to slow down and then it seems in the last year or so, it has sped right up. How can he be six? I remember bringing him home and just spending moments looking at him in wonderment. I was going through photos and video on the laptop and found some him at about 18 months. He still had that baby talk and baby face...and was so happy to stomp in a puddle of mud. He would stomp then squeal "again, again," and watching that video made my heart hurt. He will never be that little again, that innocent, that full of awe over the most simple of things.

As he gets bigger and older, I see a lot of myself in him. We both like to laugh, we both are stubborn and we both strive for perfection. It is quite awesome to see him do something and know I would do it the same way, with the same train of thought about it all. This may or may not be a good thing down the road.

He is still obsessed with all things Angry Birds. I thought it would get old but thankfully they keep pairing Angry Birds with things like Star Wars, race cars and now Transformers. These have all kept his attention focused with no time to like any super heroes. He may never get into super heroes and that's okay, there are so many other things for him to fanboy and geek out over...once we get past the Angry Bird stage.

Besides Angry Birds, he is quite a talented artist. He can sit all day and color, draw, cut and create. Both the husband and I are amazed at how he will remember something he has seen and then create it with accuracy. Art camp may be in his future!

He may be 6 but he is still my little man and will let us snuggle with him. He is sensitive and empathetic about his friends and their feelings. It is sweet to be 6 and I'm proud of our little man.

5 Years of Awesome

This past week we celebrated Spencer's 5th birthday. At Christmas his best bud turned 5 and this brought about a lesson in patience and being a good friend. See S, was truly bummed that his friend was now older than him. For some reason he thought because of this, they could no longer be friends. And so he shunned his friend for almost two months. They would play, but their usual fervor was just not there. This all through me for a loop. Even when I explained how I am older than Daddy and how he(S)will always be older than his sister. Nothing could budge his anger or sadness at feeling left behind.

As his birthday got closer, I could see his resolve lessen. He missed his friend and when I asked what would happen once he was 5? He quickly told me things would be sooooo much better. Because being the same age as your best bud? Apparently that's very important stuff when you're a kid. And then his birthday was here and he could not contain himself. I think his shirt was made just for him!

We had a small Angry Bird party and a good time was had by all. There was cake and games and bubbles. There was laughing and boys running around the house like a herd of elephants. Spencer never slowed down and enjoyed every last minute of his big day.

And in end, when he proclaimed "This was the best birthday, EVER!" I could not agree more. Happy 5th Birthday, Spencer!

4

And just like that little man has turned 4. Oh boy he couldn't wait for his birthday and every day asked when it would get here and why he has to wait so long. Thankfully he hasn't asked about turning 5 yet...

He had asked for balloons for his birthday one random day in December or January and I wanted to be sure he had them. Nothing like sending Tim out the night before to corral a bunch of balloons and crepe paper. But like a great Daddy, he did. And we tied balloons from Spencer's room all the way down the hall and into the playroom. We cut the crepe in streamers and placed those on his door and on the playroom door. He woke up and was so excited. I hope he is always so excited by his special day.

It is at these ages that their birthdays are simple. And while it would be fun to throw a big bash every year, I am happy to keep it small and special. He asked for a chocolate cake and was happy to have us make it and him decorate it.

He's four and so proud

Him and his cake

We ended up taking the family to the circus for his birthday which was a throwback to my own childhood. I remember going quite often and loving it. I was always enthralled by the lion and tiger tamers. And even back then I wondered about the big cats and the cages they traveled and lived. But that's for another post. Both kids seemed to enjoy the show and the food and the expensive trinkets.

Ringling Brothers & Barnum Bailey Circus

Enjoying the show

It seems like it truly was just yesterday that I was pregnant with Spencer and yet somehow 4 years have passed. If I blink too quickly he will be in college or engaged.

My Chicken Nugget

Today my chicken nugget turns 3. He is no longer a baby or an infant or a toddler. He's a preschooler. And if you ask him? He will tell you he is a big boy. And in some ways he really is. He can rattle off the alphabet and his numbers. He can remember things and remind you about them when you least expect it. He can use the potty all by himself.

But even as he makes all these strides and milestones into big boy territory, he will always be my chicken nugget. And I will always be his french fry. And together, with his Daddy, who is milk and his sister, who is a hamburger...we make the perfect Happy Meal family. It's silly things like this that will always be dear to me. It's the silly moments that make my heart skip a beat, especially when the kids are laughing. Something about them being carefree and laughing that warms a mother's heart.

So Happy Birthday to my chicken nugget!

And a video to mark the occasion:

V.I.D

That's right, today was a V.I.D., Very Important Day for those of you not familiar with cool lingo. Why you ask? Well today we went from having a baby to having a toddler! You guessed it, Spencer turned 1 today! Here he is looking at one of his birthday cards:


We were lucky enough to have Daddy home all afternoon and spent the afternoon reminiscing about what we were doing a year ago today (me=labor for 13 hours) and then we gave gifts and had cake. Spencer made out pretty good for Christmas so we didn't go crazy with presents. Though anytime I go to the store I see things I'd like to get for him...but I restrain myself. This means I actually thought long and hard about the perfect gift and in the end went with this Cars flip-sofa:

It was a hit. He jumps in and out of it and will lay down and say "night-night". Daddy thinks we out to let him sleep in it!

For a cake theme I went with Cars and had this cake made:

Spencer pretty much loves all things Cars and all things Sesame Street...that's pretty typical isn't it? Throw in an airplane and you have his toy nirvana.

When we presented Spence with his smash cake he was actually pretty civilized about it all, sticking in a finger and dabbling with the icing and cake. And then the sugar rush kicked in and he decided it was time to take the cake to the next level. He really went for it and we ended up with this:






All in all it was a perfect day for our little family. Now we look forward to this next year and all it will bring.
Happy Birthday Spencer, Mommy and Daddy couldn't love you more!