Pasta a la Pogo

Spencer had the best time making homemade spaghetti with Grandma and Grandpa. He helped every step of the way. First he mixed the dough.



Next he cranked the dough through the pasta maker, not once, but five times for each section of dough.



When the dough was thin enough, Spencer cranked it through the machine one last time to cut the dough into thin spaghetti noodles. It's definitely a job that requires more than one person - one person to do the cranking and one person to catch the noodles as they come through the machine.

The noodles were placed on a rack to dry. Eating homemade pasta definitely spoils you for the store-bought variety. Not only were the spaghetti noodles delicious, but Grandpa made his family meatball recipe. What a treat for our last evening in Milwaukee!

Christmas 2008

On Christmas Eve, Aunt Grace and Uncle Paul invited us over for a wonderful meal. It was nice to come in from the cold, sit by the fireplace and catch up with Great Grandma Harriet and our cousins.

Grandma and Grandpa were thrilled to be holding their grandson once again.



Spencer picked out a gift on Christmas morning. . .



And took his time carefully unwrapping the present.

Doctor Spencer makes house calls. He loves imaginative play so this dress up outfit was a big hit.

Next time we're all together, our family will have a new member.

Winter Wonderland

This year we enjoyed a white Christmas in Milwaukee. Spencer had a blast playing in the snow. Before he could go outside, he donned, in his words, "snow protection." Good thing for us that Grandma had arranged for boots, mittens, a hat and a snow suit just Spencer's size.

Catching snowflakes was a new experience for him.



Shoveling snow is fun when you're three years old.



But not as much fun as climbing up a big pile of snow and sliding down...



or sledding with Grandpa.



Spencer created a snowman with Daddy and Grandpa's assistance whom he named Frosty.

Posing with his grandparents in the snow.

Spencer makes his first ever snow angel.

Christmas with Nana

We celebrated Christmas early with Nana since we were traveling to Wisconsin for the holidays. Spencer had a great time helping Nana open her gifts.




He loved all his gifts, especially his wagon which was a gift from Aunt Bobbi. It will be perfect for riding in with his little brother next summer.

A Visit with Santa

Spencer had a chance to speak with Santa Claus when he visited our street. Every year, the police escort Santa through our neighborhood on a designated evening so that all the boys and girls can climb aboard his sleigh to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. Spencer requested a princess guitar. We'll soon find out what Santa brings when he comes down our chimney. Better leave out some milk and cookies.

Happy Holidays

Spencer's preschool had a holiday party on the last day of school for 2008. Spencer very intently worked on the art project involving glitter and glue. By the end, he was partially covered in glitter himself and looked quite festive.



Spencer loved listening to the parents sing Christmas carols. He liked "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and ringing his bell to "Jingle Bells."



The best part though may have been decorating holiday cookies. Spencer didn't take much time to admire his work because he promptly ate his cookie. Take my word for it, it looked scrumptious!

Round and Round the Carousel

Today was Spencer's friend Sophia's third birthday party. Her parents invited all of her family and friends to the Santa Monica pier and its historic carousel to celebrate. Tucked among all the horses and carriages on the merry-go-round is one, just one, rabbit. Say what you will about three-year olds but they ALL could pick out that one thing that was NOT like the others. Spencer and Sophia both took a turn riding the rabbit as well as the horses on the carousel.

It was another wonderful birthday celebration and, for Spencer, even MORE cake!

My First Scooter

Spencer took Aunt Bobbi's birthday gift out for a spin and was sure of three things: 1) kitties are afraid of my scooter (that's a direct quote, ladies and gentlemen) 2) my helmet has Thomas the Tank Engine on it, and 3) I don't want to fall off and hit a tree so please don't push me daddy.

Sugar High

With the cake was consumed and the party was winding down, Spencer decided to take one last jump in the magic castle jumper. Talk about bouncing off the walls...take a look at the video and then read the rest of this post.



Now what is Spencer saying as he runs around the bouncy house? "It's my leopard birthday. It's my leopard birthday," is about as close I can guess. In my book, that's right up there with "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" and "I am the Walrus."

I only managed to capture the scene with the camera after Spencer had run about seven laps. His friend Zach was running not far behind him BECAUSE...just after we entered the bouncy house, er "castle," I remarked on how they were running as fast as leopards. And they were off.

"I'm a leopard," one screamed. "No I'm a leopard!" the other one screamed. "We're leopards and we're running!" "We're leopards and we're chasing!" was heard soon after. "I'M (all caps) a leopard and chasing!" said one. "I'M (all caps) a person chasing leopards!" and on for four more laps. So, naturally, I had to get the camera. By the time I came back, Spencer was a leopard birthday. But luckily, his sugar-fueled-bouncy-house-lap-session had just about ended.

Rest assured, although it's hard to tell in the video, there was plenty of safety netting behind Spencer and Zach in the bouncy house. And nap / crash time was not long after...

Thanks to all our family and friends for being such a special part of a wonderful birthday celebration for Spencer. If you are having a birthday or special event, and need a leopard, a leopard-chasing-a-person, or a leopard-birthday, please feel free to contact Spencer to hear his very reasonable rates.

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Turning Three

Today we celebrated Spencer's third birthday! What better way to entertain a group of preschoolers than with a Magic Castle jumper? Spencer loved watching the jumper being inflated almost as much as he loved jumping inside.



We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey during a break in the jumping action.



Spencer loved his carrot cake. He needed a little help from Daddy to blow out all three candles.