My Little Pirate

Spencer wearing his eye patch

When Spencer was 4 months old our pediatrician noticed that his left eye was wondering out and suggested that we see an eye doctor as soon as possible.  We were able to get in a couple of days later.  After waving a bunch of things in front of him, and looking through glass pieces at his eyes, she seemed quite concerned.  He wasn't tracking things with his eyes very well and she was worried something might be wrong with his vision. She decided to dilate his eyes so she could look behind them and make sure everything was working right.  It turns out that his vision is perfect and that he has Amblyopia,- a lazy eye.  We have seen the eye doctor several times since then and he has improved a ton.  He now tracks things really well with his eyes and he is reaching for things and playing.  We really only notice his lazy eye when he is tired.  This last appointment we saw some improvement but she noticed that both of his eyes were wondering a bit.  We decided to start patching to strengthen his eyes.  We patch once a day for an hour, alternating eyes.  I really thought he would hate it and try to take it off, but he doesn't even seem to mind.  We call him our little pirate, and I think he looks quite cute with the patch.

O Christmas Tree!

 

red and gold Christmas Tree

We started setting up our tree the Monday after Thanksgiving.  Once the tree came out of the box, and we began setting it up, Preston became extremely hyper.  I couldn't believe how excited he was.  He was everywhere and was touching everything.  After we the tree was all set up we realized that half of our lights had burned out.  We sat there forever switching light bulbs from one strand to another and nothing seemed to work so we decided forgo decorating the tree until we could get new lights.  It was about a week later that we finally bought new lights and were able to decorate it.

 

 Sam & Preston setting up the tree

 undecorated tree - protected from Preston

We decided to keep the Christmas tree behind a fence because Preston is way too rough with it.  He's getting better, I let him in to look out the window and see the tree.  I just knew that one day I would see the tree knocked over.  Also I thought Spencer would be crawling by now so I thought it would need more protecting.

our beautiful tree

Name brand or generic store brand?

When Spencer was around 6 months old I was having a really hard time breastfeeding him.  It just didn't seem like he was getting enough from me and he really liked the bottle.   It didn’t help that every time I tried to feed him he would bite me.  I originally planned on breastfeeding until he was around 9 months so wasn’t quite ready to quit.  I eventually made the decision to stop and switch to formula.   

The thing I don’t like about formula is that it is so so expensive.  I feel like it is the most expensive powdered drink out there.  We were spending about $36 every 9 days.  About a week ago I was trying to print some Enfamil coupons that were emailed to me by the company.  For some reason it kept saying that I had already used my allotted amount.  I was really mad and even considered writing an email to the company.   Then Sam mentioned that he had checked out the target brand formula and that maybe we should consider buying that instead.  I was really hesitant.  I was afraid Spencer wouldn’t get the nutrients he needed and that he wouldn't like it.  A couple of weeks ago I was trying to make the formula stretch a couple more days so I mixed all of the breast milk I had in the freezer with formula and made a bunch of bottles.  Spencer hated it and refused to drink any of it.  So I was really hesitant on trying something new.  After reading a few reviews online I decided that we should make the switch.

Target brand Up & Up infant formula

Enfamil formula:  $36 (we usually go to Smith's, it could be cheaper somewhere else) for 2 - 17.5 oz packages for a total of 35 oz of powder.

Target brand Up & Up infant formula:  $22 for a 40 oz can of powder (not only is it cheaper, but it has more in it).

We have now been using the target brand for about a week and I am so excited to start saving money.  Also Spencer like it just as much as the Enfamil formula.

8 months!

My little Spencer is 8 months old!  He is getting so big and learning to do so much.  A couple of days ago we took him to the doctor because he’s not feeling so well and he weighs about 19 lbs.  To me 19 lbs seems like a lot because Preston weighed about 17.5 lbs when he turned 1.   It’s not that he’s a chubby baby, he is just very long and slender.    

Spencer rocking on his hands and knees, he also looks quite tired.

Little Spencer is still not crawling but he is so close.  Well I feel like he’s been close for a month now.  He gets on his hands and knees and rocks and rocks. He then proceeds to scoot backwards.  This usually makes him a little unhappy because he gets further from the things he wants.  It seems like his little legs really want to move but he just doesn't seem to know what to do with his arms.  Lately he has been doing a move that resembles the downward dog position.

Spencer in his downward dog position.

Other 8 month stats and fun facts:

-He has 5 teeth.  I looked in his mouth yesterday and I couldn’t believe that he had another tooth on the bottom.  That makes 2 teeth on the top, and 3 on the bottom.

-He loves to be cuddled and to be around people.  He is a people watcher.  I think he is going to be one of those boys that sits and watches his older brother get into trouble.

-He still loves to eat.  It seems like he just can’t get enough of it.  We just starting giving him some finger foods (puffs and wheels), although he still isn’t very good and getting food into his mouth on his own.

-He is starting to sit on his own.  Every once and a while he’ll fall back while sitting, but he is sitting on his own quite well.

-He takes 2 naps a day for a total of about 3 – 4 hrs

-We've starting giving Preston and Spencer baths together and they love it.  I was a little nervous at first because Preston still doesn't like Spencer to play with his toys or be too close to him (hopefully that will change soon).

Pumpkins & Halloween!

I'm finally going to update my blog again.  Sometimes I feel like it is way easier just to post pictures on facebook. 

We have had some fun adventures this past October.  We took Preston and Spencer to a pumpkin patch and I think Preston really liked it.  He kept trying to pick up pumpkins larger than him. It didn't work too well.  

 We really thought that Preston would like riding in the wheel barrel but after a couple of minutes he kept signing "all done" because he really wanted out.

Carving pumpkins. We bought a bunch but only ended up carving this one. 

 

Preston loved every minute of carving it.

This year for Halloween I decided that we would dress up as characters from the movie Toy Story.  I decided that next year I am starting a whole lot sooner because they took forever to make. 

We went to our old ward's Halloween party.  It was really good to see everyone and we miss them.

Preston was woody for Halloween.  When I first bought his hat he hated wearing it.  One day we were watching his favorite show, Caillou, and he was wearing a fireman's hat.  All I had to do was point out that Caillou loves wearing his hat and he instantly like wearing it.  

Sam's Buzz Lightyear costume took forever to make.  I used while foam board that I found at the dollar store and I used some ideas from this website: http://mojoturbocostumes.wikispaces.com/Buzz+Lightyear+Costume.  One day I'm going to learn how to sew so I can make even better costumes, but I think they turned out pretty good.

Cute little Spencer as bullseye the horse.

My sister and her husband were Woody and Jessie a couple of years ago so I just borrowed hers.  It was so nice that I didn't have to make it.

6 Months!

My little Spencer is 6 months old!  He had his 6 month checkup a week ago and he is getting to be so big.  He weighs 16 lbs 9 oz (35^th percentile) and he is 29 inches long (99^th percentile).  The nurse measured him twice because she couldn’t believe how long he is.  Maybe he’ll be a basketball player =)  

Here is a little bit about Spencer at 6 months:

• He has 2 lower teeth.  He is still a big drooling machine to the point I'm wondering if it will ever end.
• He can roll over both ways and he's getting close to crawling.  When he's on his stomach he can slowly scoot backwards.
• He is very ticklish.  Every time I undress him, or put clothes on, he laughs so much.
• He loves to eat. He gets solids twice a day and it seems like he just can't get enough of it. At his
• He loves sucking on his toes.  I'm always finding his socks wet. 
• He no longer naps for just 30 min at a time! He takes two really good naps a day now. =)

4 months

Spencer turned 4 months old a couple of weeks ago (he'll actually be 5 months next week). He is getting so big (he's so much bigger than Preston ever was at this age).

A little about Spencer at 4 months:
-he loves to eat, it's as if he never can get enough. I'll probably start him on solids soon.
-he now sleeps through the night but he's not very good at taking naps. He only naps for about 30 min at a time.
-he can roll over from his back to stomach
-he has the cutest laugh and loves to be cuddled
-He loves getting his diaper changed, and laughs when taking off or putting clothes on
-he is a big drooling machine, he produces so much drool. One of his bottom front teeth is starting to come in.
-He always has his hands in his mouth. It seems like that is all he is ever interested in.

Growing Boys!

My two boys - taken about a month and a half ago

Preston had his two year checkup and Spencer his 4 month last Monday. These two boys are different in every possible way.

Preston now weighs 22.7 lbs. He is now in the 2nd percentile for weight. I think he is always going to be my skinny kid.

Spencer is growing quite well. He weighs 14 lbs 3 oz (51st percentile) and is now 25.5 inches long (83rd percentile). I can't believe how long this kid is.

Happy Birthday Preston!

I can't believe that our little Preston is 2. He is getting to be such a big boy.


Here are a few fun facts about Preston:
-he loves playing outside
-he is really good at sorting different shapes and matching colors
-his favorite tv show is Caillou
-he still doesn't talk much but he is really good at telling us no.
-he loves pulling a chair up next to the counter to watch me cook
-he loves helping me clean, especially helping out with the dishwasher (one time he unloaded all of the dirty silverware and put them away).

For his birthday Sam and I decided it was time to get Preston a big boy bed so that Spencer could have the crib. It's just a twin mattress on the floor but Preston loves it. We ended up getting a really good deal for it. We got it at RC Willey with the total being about $230 (that includes a mattress cover). Well it was on sale and after we used a bunch of coupons the total price came out to $66.

It has been a lot of fun seeing where Preston ends up falling asleep each night. Sometimes we find him sleeping on the floor next to the door with his pillow.

Preston had a lot of fun helping me make his birthday cake. Lately he loves pulling a chair up to the counter to watch me cook. When I went to the store last monday I let Preston pick out his cake. Well everyday leading up to his birthday he would open the pantry door and stare at it. I think he especially loved the sprinkles because when it came time to decorate the cake he was eating them as I was sprinkling them on the cake.

I think he enjoyed tasting it more than helping

This was my attempt at decorating a cake. Hopefully I'll get better at it and I'll be brave enough to try something harder.
Preston opening up his presents. He is getting a lot better at it but he still seemed to enjoy the paper rather than the stuff inside.