So You Think You Can Dance

Spencer doesn't need any music to get his groove on. He dances to his own beat and makes up his own songs as he grooves along. We'll be waiting when Apple comes calling to cast their next Ipod commercial. Just remember you saw the magic here first.

Batter Up

With Spencer on the mend, we headed out to the backyard today to play ball. Spencer gamely stood holding the foam bat as I tossed the ball his direction. Thunk. The ball bounced off the bat. "Swing," I said. "Remember to watch the ball." His will is strong; his coordination however needs work. Again and again we tried, his enthusiasm never flagging. The foam bat grew heavy in his little hands. We switched to catch. "Hurray, I caught it," he exclaimed. When Daddy came home, Spencer was ready to play some more. Daddy had the bright idea of being a human tee, balancing the ball on his outstretched fist for Spencer to hit. Spencer swung, hitting Daddy in the arm a few times before managing to connect. Today our backyard. Next stop, Dodger Stadium?

There Were Three in the Bed

And the little one says, "My throat hurts." So they all rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. When we did wake up this morning, Spencer sounded like he'd been a pack a day smoker since birth. His voice grew more and more faint as the day progressed. I had to resort to borrowing a bunch of children's videos (Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Wallace & Gromit, Sesame Street) from the library in a semi-successful attempt to entice him to rest his vocal cords. At least he's no longer feverish. He drifted right to sleep tonight and hopefully will awake tomorrow renewed and feeling much, much better.

In Sickness

The bambino awoke coughing this morning at 5:15am. When a drink of water didn't stop the coughs from coming, he seemed confused and upset. Spencer kept asking, teary-eyed, for help to make them go away, as if the coughs would disappear momentarily with the appearance of his mommy and daddy. It's heartbreaking as a parent not to be able to magically make the situation all better, to be a healing, omnipotent presence in your child's life. The reality was that all we could offer was comfort now that cold medication has been declared off limits for the very young. It probably would not have done much any way; we avoid it even for ourselves.

All day long Spencer has been lethargic, slightly feverish, crying periodically whenever he coughs which is only every half hour or so. There's such a difference in mood when he's not feeling well. He just wants to be close to me and have his back rubbed. We all want our mothers when we're sick.

At the Car Wash

Spencer and Daddy washed both our cars today. It's a toss-up what Spencer enjoyed most: spraying the cars with water, sudsing the outside or drying the exterior with towels. He had so much fun that we may skip the expensive neighborhood car wash altogether and wash our cars at home from now on. Thanks Spencer!

Mother's Day

We celebrated Mother's Day with Nana, Aunt Bobbi and Ika at Pinot Provence in Orange County. I sipped mango mimosa and devoured my eggs Benedict. Believe it or not, Spencer is "smiling" for the camera!

Old MacDonald had a Farm

Forty miles north of Los Angeles lies Underwood Family Farms, our destination for the day. We went to learn about how the farm works and to pick our own strawberries. The road trip took much less time than I anticipated meaning for once we arrived early. While we waited for the tour to begin, Spencer fearlessly climbed to the top of a tall stack of hay bales. When it was time for our tour, he listened patiently for about ten minutes to the description of the life cycle of fruits and vegetables before becoming interested in climbing atop the benches in the outdoor classroom.



At last it was time for the ride out to the strawberry fields. A tractor pulled our wagon along. Spencer enthusiastically picked the red strawberries from the plants, quickly filling his basket. The strawberries were the freshest and most flavorful I had ever tasted. There is something very satisfying about gathering your own food. It made me wish I had the patience to grow my own. Perhaps one day I will, starting with something small like an herb garden.

After a picnic lunch, we watched a presentation about the animals on the farm. Spencer loved petting the baby bunny and laughed delightedly at the lambs who jumped and ran around in circles. We skipped the last of the presentation and went to feed the goats through a long tube. Spencer's favorite experience may have been watching water from an elevated water tower running down descending gutters to a trough at Spencer's height. He dipped his hands in the water. When I finally was able to tear him away, we headed home with our prized strawberries, happy with our memories of our visit to the farm.

Spencer Spencer Quite Contrary

No matter what it is these days, Spencer wants to do it himself or doesn't want to do it at all, at least not for the first five minutes. Today for instance, he absolutely wanted to climb down the stairs and open the garage door himself. He did not, however, want to go to the park. Except that he really did want to go to the park. At nap time, he was not tired. He insisted that he was wide awake. When I explained that it was time to rest, he protested but still went down in the crib and ended up dozing for three hours. It's hard to know what you want when you're two.

Birthday Hugs

Yesterday was Mike's birthday. Spencer bestowed Daddy with birthday hugs through out the day. Mike's birthday wish was an afternoon outing to "Iron Man." When Spencer awoke from his nap to discover that Daddy was not home, he sulked in his crib for five minutes or so before he was ready to play once again. When Mike returned home, he brought with him lemon meringue pie, the very same pie Amelia Bedelia makes to save the day. You can guess Spencer's reaction. "More lemon meringue" became the refrain of the evening.

Amelia Bedelia

Curious George may have a rival for Spencer's affections, namely Amelia Bedelia. I bought Amelia Bedelia as a last minute book to read Spencer on the plane. At first, he seemed not to grasp the humor of the story but as we explained how silly the character was acting by taking everything so literally, he quickly began to ask to hear the story over and over. Today we picked out two more Amelia Bedelia stories from the library. A new passion may be in the making.