Pumpkin Patch and Pox

We barely made it to the pumpkin patch in Tarrytown last Friday before the sun went down. We got a few pictures, but definitely not what we hoped to accomplish. But it's a good thing we went that evening because the next day Spencer woke up with Chicken Pox. He's actually doing really well so far and hasn't acted like he even feels sick. He doesn't have nearly as many spots as Daddy had either. We hear the virus can be pretty mild in babies his age, so hopefully he will have a much easier time than David did.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

From the look of things, swinging at the playground is very serious business.

Birthday Party / Pox Shox / Honky Tonkin'

Spencer's 1st birthday party was a success. He had a good time cruising around the house, seemingly unfazed by all the people... until it was time to bring out the cake and sing "Happy Birthday to You." I think he got a little overwhelmed by all the faces staring at him. He was unimpressed with the cake and icing I made him, but there's always next year!


His friends and family were so generous and he received some fun toys and fabulous books. And what a gift it was to have all four grandparents plus Great-Grandma Hill at the party. He is one blessed little boy!


As most of you have probably heard, David came down with the chicken pox before the party. Unfortunately, he was misdiagnosed and was assured he just had a "random" virus and was definitely not contagious, so we went ahead with the party. We felt terrible about the kids who were exposed, but so far no reports of spots on anyone else. Fingers crossed!

Spencer got to spend some quality time with Grannie the week before his party and with Geep a few days after. He even went honky tonkin' with Geep and me.

Happy 1st Birthday, Spencer!

Our precious boy turned one today. To say this year flew by is such an understatement. What a year it has been. We (okay, I'm mainly talking about myself) spent a lot of time today waxing nostalgic about how this day unfolded last year. The way Spencer arrived was not at all how I planned, but it was the first of many lessons I learned about how planning pretty much goes out the window when a baby is involved.

We had such a fun day. We gave Spencer his birthday gift when we woke up—a Rody Horse. This thing is so cute. I saw them online while I was pregnant and knew I wanted him to have one. We bought a rocking base so that he can use it as a rocking horse now, then bounce on it when he is bigger.


We went to Kerbey Lane for breakfast, then hit the Austin Zoo later in the morning. There are tons of zoo pictures in the October album, but I have to highlight one here. I mean, c'mon! We are so lucky that Daddy is a great photographer. This is one I will always treasure and I hope Spence will, too.


Spencer took a really long afternoon nap after all that activity, and we wrapped up our celebration by having dinner at Dong Nai (aka The Donger)—and we took a family self-portrait at the stroke of 6:28 p.m. Would you believe "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" was playing? Ain't that the truth!

Labor Day

We took Spencer to Double Dave's Pizza to commemorate Labor Day(s) 2008. Last year David and I went there the day before I went into labor and I pigged out. It capped off a 24-hour eating fest that began with a chicken fried steak dinner the evening before. "Ziggy" had finally given me a little breathing room and I had a huge appetite. For you pregnant girls out there, that's a sign that things are getting started.

Dog!

We met Ken, Nicole and cousin Sarah at the Austin Children's Museum this week and had lots of fun. I also learned how difficult it is to get a good picture of two toddlers at a museum. Anyway, when we were walking from the parking garage to the museum, we passed by someone with a big dog. Spencer pointed and exclaimed, "Dog!" We didn't know he knew that word, so we were excited and I figured it warranted a blog entry.

Walking All Over

Spencer has been taking steps for a few weeks—maybe 6-7 at a time before plopping down. Then Geep bought him a cool truck to push and he started getting more confident. While we were in Angleton last weekend, he walked down Grannie and Paw-Paw's hallway by himself like it was no big deal. When we got back to Austin Sunday afternoon, we officially had ourselves a walker. Here's a video of him pushing his truck last week (and making a pitstop to read the Sunday circulars). I'll try to get a truck-free video up soon. Check out the Videos link on the left for two other new uploads.

Trucking from Susan Rives Horridge on Vimeo.

A year ago yesterday was "Ziggy's" due date. It's hard to believe our little baby boy is going to be a one-year-old next week! Stand by for teary, sentimental postings I'm sure...