We Have A Walker!

As of last week, Spencer is officially walking. He still prefers to crawl but can take 10-20 steps without sitting down. It is so cute to watch him stand up really carefully, get his balance and slowly walk forward. So proud of our little guy.

Egg Allergy

We have been giving Spencer foods with eggs baked in them and he has been breaking out with bad echzema and still having bouts of upset stomach issues. After letting the allergist know that today, we have been told to start him on an egg-free diet. This is going to be SO hard! He is already an extremely picky eater and now he can't eat things that he loves like cereal bars, certain pastas, waffles, pancakes, muffins, some sausage, etc. Plus I am clueless about all the other things that I am sure are off limits. We have been instructed to do egg-free for 3-4 months, then depending how he is doing we can try to slowly introduce some eggs back in. In the meantime, no peanut butter either since we tried that recently and it could also be affecting him. Guess I need to fill that RX for an epi pen after all, cause this kid is offically a food allergy hazard.

Two Steps Forward

Spence is officially taking some steps! He has yet to exceed two at a time but I think he is starting to get it. Walking is definitely in the near future, and he is so proud of himself!

Look Who's Talking

Spencer has started talking a lot more over the last few weeks. He now says, mama, dada, ni ni, aw dah (all done), ba ba (bye bye), nana (banana) and buh buh (brother). He still says dada by far the most, but at least he is adding new words to his vocabulary. He has also finally starting signing "all done" which looks more like the African dance move in "Can't Buy Me Love." :) He also waves, but only when he feels like it - NEVER on demand.

The nickname "Gilly" is more fitting than ever and it is sticking. When we tell him no, he still laughs and continues to do what he wants. This has earned him many time-outs in his crib which he hates. However, it does not seem to improve his obedience. Some of his favorite things to do are messing with the blinds, pulling off his bib and throwing it on the ground and climbing in the dishwasher. He is just such a mischeivous guy and keeps us on our toes. His other nicknames include Gills, Gill-meister, Spence, Spence Dog and Spence Man.

Here Comes The Sun

We hae been housebound WAY too much over the past 3 weeks. The first week both boys were very sick. Wright had high fever for 5 days and Spencer had RSV. Then as everyone finally got better, Dallas was hit with a huge ice/snowstorm that kept everyone inside for 5 days. After it was over, we went back to school for one day only to be hit with another snow storm that forced us indoors yet again. Needless to say, we had to get creative for our entertainment and we all watched hours of TV and movies. Finally there is some sunshine and warm temperatures, and we are getting outside as much as we can. Here are some pics of what we have been up to...

Wright made Valentine's cards for family and friends.

Some of the finished ones.

Spencer discovered how much he loved starting at himself in the mirror.

Dominos were a big hit.

Snowbell fetch with Lucy.

She actually caught the snowballs.

Brendan went down the slide...

and cleaned it off. :)

Now we have moved on to pegging Lucy with snowballs.

Wright and I attempted a snowman but gave up - the snow did not stick well.

This was the one day we could actually be outside to play in it. The other days were nothing but ice and really really cold temperatures. Wright was very happy to get outside.

Boys Will Be Boys

I always hear people say "boys will be boys," and today I experienced it firsthand. Wright was in his room and supposed to be taking a nap. All of a sudden he started calling "Mommy, I don't want to go ni ni". So I went in his room to tell him to quiet down. When I opened the door, he was standing there holding the lid to his humidifier. He said in such a proud voice "Look mommy, I pee peed in here." Sure enough, the humidifier was filled with his pee. Lovely! It was so hard not to laugh as I was telling him how disgusting that is and to never do it again.

Another funny story is that this morning he told me he wanted to make a Valentine's card for Meg. I asked, "Why? Is Meg your girlfriend?" He said, "No, she just loves me SO much." I asked, "Well do you love her?" He answered "Yes, I want her to spend the night with me in my bed." Oh wow! I told him he is too young to have a friend spend the night in his bed and he said "Ok, she can sleep on the couch."

Spencer Update - 13 months almost

He is allergic to eggs we found out last week. Fun times. Going to see an allergist on Thursday to figure out next steps. Good news is that he is not allergic to anything else and that an egg allergy is common to outgrow.

He is getting really close to walking. His favorite thing to do by far is walk behind his walker toy. He likes to hold onto it with one hand and walk all over the place. Actually, he uses anything he can find as a walker. And he can stand on his own for about 30-45 seconds, but as soon as he realizes he is standing he sits down quickly.

He is improving at playing with toys and playing on his own.

He is still really struggling with frusteration due to lack of communication. The sign language is not coming along very well because of his stubborn personality mostly. I know he gets it but he just won't do it. So instead he screams when he wants something which drives me INSANE. I really find it to be one of the most annoying things a child can do so it is really testing my patience. Hopefully it will stop when he learns to communicate what he wants better...

Down and Out at the Morris House

We are the pits over here. Wright has been sick with a virus of some sort for about 4 days. He had very high fevers (almost 104 at one point) and a horrible cough that caused him to throw up a few times. Yesterday and today he has felt a lot better and has been bouncing off the walls from lack of activity which then throws him into a coughing attack. Spencer managed to stay well until tonight when he got a fever of 102. Plus he has a new tooth coming in and he is constantly fussing, drooling and gnawing on his fingers. Then Brendan hurt his back and has numbness down his leg. So he is not able to help with the kids. Oh life! Sometimes you have to wonder what God is teaching you when it seems all is out of control. Maybe that is just it - Quit trying to control everything! I just pray we are all well soon :)

Spencer's 1 Year Checkup

Stats:
weight - 20lb 13oz (20%)
height - 30 in (55%)
head - 65%

He has only gained one pound since his 9 month!

Wright was much heavier than Spencer is and the dr. said that Wright is just a completely different physique. Spencer is going to be long and lean.

The dr. also assured me that he is right on par developmentally. He can officially say three words (mama, dada and ni ni) which is the expectation at this age. He also sporadically says hi and bye. If he is saying ni ni, hi or bi he will wave and smile, but not if you ask him to. This is part of his stubborn side - the more you want him to do something, the less likey he is to do it.

Wright Quote of the Day

I wanna go to college when I'm big years old.

Spencer's Day of Change

Today was a big day for Spencer.

- He ate eggs for breakfast and then broke out in hives. This is probably the third time he has had hives on a day he ate eggs. So I have determined he is allergic. It doesn't seem to bother him when eggs are an ingredient in something else, only when he eats an egg by itself. Hope the dr does not tell us no eggs moving forward!

- He showed some separation anxiety for the first time. Lupita came today and I left him with her while I took Wright to sports' camp. When I handed him to her, he cried Mama and then kept reaching and crawling to me. When I got home, he seemed sad and wanted me to hold him. He has never done this before at all!

- He waved and said hi hi hi over and over. Guess who he was saying it to? Himself in the mirror in the car. LOL!

- He stood up for about a minute barely balanced with his leg against a chair, drinking his milk. Getting close to walking...

- He got his first haircut - well if you can call it that, it was basically a few snips around his ears and on his neck. But he did great. :)

Amazing what one day can change!

Cousin Christmas Pics

Cute Bath Pics

1 Year Comparison Pics

Spencer top, Wright bottom.

Spencer's First Birthday Party

The whole family (19 people) came over Sunday to celebrate Spencer's first birthday.

Aunt Meggy drove in from Austin.

The cupcake cake.

His very own smash cake.

The prince's throne.

I love my Gigi.

Getting on Daddy's shoulders is super cool.

All his big cousins were very excited about his gifts, but Spencer was more excited about all of his big cousins.

Reading a card from Gigi and Papoo.

Climbing onto his toy shelf is always a favorite activity.

Our family.

This is a cool pic - I love how the pic of my dad is in the background smiling at Spencer.

He was not a fan of the party hat.

But he was a fan of his cake.

He started off delicately taking one piece of icing.

Then dug in for more.

Lucy was a party girl too!