The Shape Game

Spencer and Daddy were playing the "shape game" the other day when they were driving around town. Spencer identifies the different shapes of signs - squares, diamonds, rectangles, triangles, etc.

Daddy asked, "What shape is that wooden light pole?" He paused and said, "a big stack of circles." Well, that just about blew Daddy's mind.

He must get the geometric skills from Mommy (not!).

Something Fishy about Saltines

Saturday morning I asked Spencer if his tummy was still hurting after throwing up the night before. I offered to get him some saltines since they would be gentle on his stomach. He gave me the strangest look and shook his head "no."

Mommy: "You're sure you don't want any saltines?"
Spencer (confused/icky face): "No..."
Mommy: "Okay, but they would be gentle on your tummy."
Spencer (confused/icky face again): "You mean those little fish?"
Mommy: "Oooooooh you thought I meant 'sardines!' No, saltine crackers!"
Spencer (big smile): "Ohhhhhhh!"

But he still didn't want any.

Broken Hearts and We'll See

Have you tried explaining the concept of a broken heart to a 3.5 year old lately? Talk about tricky. One of Spencer's favorite Steve Earle songs mentions broken hearts and one day he asked Daddy how a heart could be "broken." Dave told him that sometimes when you love someone a lot, it can hurt. He looked so confused and said, "But how could that be? I love Mommy so so so so so so much!"

The other day when we were driving home from school, Spencer asked me if he could watch something on TV.

Mommy: "We'll see."
Spencer: "I don't like it when you say, 'We'll see.'"
Mommy: "Is that because it usually means 'no?'"
Spencer: "Yes."

Point taken. :)

Canoeing on Town Lake

Yeah, I know it's Lady Bird Lake now, but whatever you choose to call it, Saturday morning was our first time as a family unit to take a canoe out on the lake. We set off relatively early, but it was probably 10:00 AM before we hit the water, and man oh man, that sun started beating down around 10:45 or 11:00 and Spencer said he was ready to go back to shore.

Canoeing on the lake is one of those Austin experiences that when you do it, you keep asking yourself, "Why don't we ever do this??" Anyway, we saw lots of turtles, fish, some ducks, a couple of swans and of course loads of hydrilla. Spencer was such a gentleman, remembering not to move around too much or lean over the side and he helped paddle from time to time. It was a super way to start the weekend!

p.s. Spencer got sick again Friday night. He woke up around 10:00 PM and puked more than I thought one preschooler was capable of! But it was one-n-done, so I think his dinner just didn't agree with him. (I think his tummy is a little off because of the antibiotics from the last illness.) Anyway, when I was cleaning him up in the bathroom, he said in the sweetest, sleepiest little voice, "I like canoeing..." He was already thinking about our Saturday morning plans, and when I told him that we'd have to see how he was feeling the next morning, he started to cry a little bit. I'm glad we didn't have to disappoint our little guy.

Knock-Knock

We've been exploring the art of the knock-knock joke around here. About a month ago we taught a basic one to Spencer. It took a lot of practice, but now he can tell this joke:

"Knock-Knock...Who's there?...Boo...Boo who?...Why are you crying?"

Tonight at Kerbey Lane he wanted to tell knock-knock jokes. We taught him a new one: "Knock-Knock...Who's there?...Who. Who who? Is there an owl in here?"

But by the end of dinner he had developed a new style of knock-knock joke, and let me tell you, he got the biggest kick out of telling them. For ex:

"Knock-Knock...Who's there?...Sheep...Sheep who?...Why are you sheeping?"

"Knock-Knock...Who's there?...Bacon...Bacon who?...Why are you baconing?"


And so on and so forth with an array of animals, foods and other items, each met with belly laughs. So be prepared from some good preschooler comedy the next time you visit with Spencer!

Hill Family Hangout 2012

We had nice little reunion with the Hill side of the family earlier this month at Brazos River County Park. Spencer doesn't get to see his Hill cousins very often so we were excited to get together with everyone. We sure did miss having Grannie and Grandma Hill there, but they were in everyone's thoughts. Several people weren't able to come because of other obligations, but we all decided we'd like to make this an annual event and we'll get the word out earlier next year. Here are a couple of pictures from our (hot, sweaty!) day at the park.

Revisiting May

Gosh, it's been a long time since I've let myself get this far behind on blogging. Just haven't been in the mood lately. But tonight I finished the May web photo album and added one for June. Since I didn't write much in May, I thought I'd revisit it quickly tonight...

Memorial Day weekend was a little uneventful for us because Spencer wasn't feeling well. He'd been coughing and started running a low-grade fever. He even fell asleep on the couch, so you know he felt bad! (Sidebar: That illness lingered and about a week later we found out he had a double ear infection plus pink eye. Thank you, preschool!)

On Memorial Day he was feeling a little more chipper so we decided to make some chocolate ice cream using the Donvier that Mommy found while purging some items from the kitchen. Now, I thought this was going to be super fun for Spencer, but it turns out that waiting 20 minutes for ice cream isn't all that fun for a 3.5 year old. But he did enjoy the final product.

Finally, we received Spencer's first school photos. I must admit I felt a bit like crying when I saw them (silly) because he looks so darn big. Our little guy sure is growing up fast. Love him so much!

Swimming with Ella

Ella and her parents invited us to swim and have lunch at Nana's house Sunday. What a fun morning! Steffani captured it wonderfully on her blog, so click here to check it out. You HAVE to watch the video all the way to the end. You'll be glad you did!

 Hopefully I'll get my blogging mojo back soon and catch up...not sure what's been wrong with me!