Bonus photos

We had hoped to have these ready for Mother's Day, but they are a bit late. Nevertheless, I think all will agree that Spencer is a cute little boy!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

Looking back at the photos of Spencer, we are tempted to ask, "What happened to our precious baby?!" Because now he is such a big boy. We always have loved him, but early on, it wasn't clear whom we were loving. That made his early days, weeks, months and years so exciting as we waited for clues to his inner self. But at 3.5, he has a very well defined personality. He talks a lot and is fairly predictable. He is very sweet, sometimes shy and certainly happy. He went through a "Caillou" phase, but he never left "Thomas," and he certainly loves his engines more than any other toys! He even likes to play "Thomas" games and do puzzles on the Internet. And he likes to look at photos stored on the computer. He seems to understand that he is the little baby in the pictures. When we look at some of the preemie outfits we saved, we cannot believe that he ever wore them. And then we see the old pictures and notice that even these outfits were -- at first -- too big (see below)! Time flies!

A great Christmas!

Spencer has a great Christmas! Santa brought him lots of presents. His favorite was a flashlight that he uses to "play camp." (He likes to pretend he is camping in our house.)

More recently, Spencer has been starting to read! He recognizes a lot of names. He is very proud of his development and so are we!

Christmas greetings!

Spencer seems to have a better understanding of Christmas. He already has a "wish list" for Santa, too. He would like several (very specific) Thomas & Friends engines, a robot and some stickers. The reason he didn't ask for an iPod Touch is that he thinks he already has one. (However, it belongs to his sister!) He is a sweet boy and has been good all year, so Santa is sure to fulfill his wishes.

Halloween t-shirt

Here is a picture of Spencer wearing his Halloween t-shirt: "I am the creature from next door." It was a special day, too, because he learned to give a kiss on the cheek with a loud smacking sound! Spencer enjoys talking about Halloween throughout the year. He likes to wiggle his fingers and say "wooooh" to make something seem scary. However, he is easily spooked, so great care must be taken to preserve his trust.

Spencer on a carousel

Spencer continues to be a sweet little boy. Wait, make that a sweet BIG boy. Yes, he has been accident free for a month. That includes day and night!

Spencer again resisted the idea of wearing a Halloween costume. Fortunately, he was amenable to wearing a long sleeve Halloween t-shirt. But he certainly wasn't shy about wanting candy!

Birthday boy!

Spencer and his sisters had their photos taken today to commemorate his third birthday. He has grown up a lot in the past few weeks. He is talking all the time and using the potty a lot more. He refuses a sippy cup and prefers cups or boxes with a straw. And he finally has begun to sleep through the night! His love for Thomas & Friends is deepening, and he is hoping to get a lot of Thomas-related presents tonight at his birthday party in Pennsylvania. It is going to rain, so fortunately this year an indoor event was planned. And even though he is a big boy now, he is as sweet as ever.