Spencer Is 1!

Little Spencer, you are 1 year old! What a joy you are to know and love. It's not just me who thinks so. You are the little boy who gets everyone's attention wherever we are, and it's usually the good kind of attention. People say, "What a HAPPY baby" and "He's too pretty to be a boy" and "Is he walking? How old is he?" Some also comment on your gorgeous blue eyes and your blonde hair that is curling up in the back. But, mainly they focus on your sweet, playful smile that you flash as you wave your hand to say "hi" to all patrons of Target, Kroger, or wherever else we happen to be that day. You certainly are a people person. You are adored both publicly and privately and have come to expect it as the usual course of things.

Your Gigi insists that you can always teach other things like humility and delayed gratification when you are older but that if you miss instilling the knowledge that you have power to manipulate the world around you and that people like and love you, it's very hard to put that in later. As in most things, I think she is right. And you have definitely internalized these life principles.

You love to rough house, run, be tickled, jump onto soft things, and dance to music. You have finally decided to pay attention to steps instead of just walking on like they are of no consequence to you. You now slow down and hold on to something to go up or down a step. Well, sometimes. A few days ago you finally got your foot up onto your "toy table." You had been getting your knee up for quite some time, but you really needed a foothold to be able to stand on it. Mission accomplished.

You are really into pushing buttons right now. It appears to be the thrill of cause and effect (and it usually involves music). You want to be in on whatever I am doing. You FINALLY enjoy your baths. You dump cup after cup of water on your head and then get a huge smile on your face. You seem to be concentrating on some fine motor skills lately (you certainly have the gross motor stuff down for now). You can take the credit cards out of all the different slots in my wallet, and you can take the battery panel off of the remote control.

You were sick a couple of weeks ago, and you learned how to stand there and stick out your nose when I say, "Let me wipe your nose." You also sit down immediately when I say it if you think we are getting you ready to go somewhere. So, now you have given yourself away. You automatically run the other way when I say I am going to change your diaper.

Your seemingly new sleep schedule involves waking up between 3 am and 5 am screaming. Your dad gives you a bottle and then, instead of being up and at 'em, you go back to sleep. Then you sleep until 6 or 7 and sometimes later! Then, naps seem to be of no importance to you. You refuse them at the old, regular times and you refuse them at later, adjusted times and by the end of the day you are exhausted. You run into everything with your head, you fall, etc. I'm working on getting a new groove, but we've hosted many a virus in our house this past month and we are all worn out.

You are such a precious baby boy.

ps--pix and movies from the birthday party to come