The Boy - Months 16 & 17

It seems like the months are going faster and faster. He continues to amaze us and he succeeds at wearing us out on a daily basis. Though, the joy and love they bring to our lives daily tops it all.

There were so many first that came with passing of Spencer's 16 month birthday. It felt like a huge transition into toddler hood with his first big boy haircut, and his first big boy tennis shoes (size 8xw thank you very much).

At 17 months of age, Spencer's quite fond of; four-legged creatures big and small, choo-choo's, airplanes, books, his sisters markers (preferably biting the tips off), balls, throwing balls into the street, running into the street, and playing with marbles. With the later two, it will be amazing if he makes it to 18-months.

Thank goodness we can hear and see a train from our backyard! Every time he hears that faint sound of the train he shouts out "choo-choo" and runs to the patio door or requests to be picked up to look out the window over the kitchen sink. We can be anywhere and he'll hear the faintest sound of a train whistle and he's hooked on finding it. We also have an airport (non-commercial) within a few miles from our home. Both spring and fall are great times of the year to watch the airplanes circle overhead. We also enjoy stopping by the "airplane parking lot" (as dubbed by the kids) to count the planes sitting in the lot and watch any planes taking off or landing.

Recently we made our first trip of the season to "the" pumpkin patch that offers Pony rides. For the girls, there was no question that they would like a ride. The last time Spencer was on a pony he seemed unsure about it, so we opted to skip it this time. Just as the girls were getting on their ponies, Spencer insisted he wanted a turn. He pointed desperately at the ponies and kept telling Mommy "neigh neigh up". So, we quickly got him a ticket and onto the pony. He had a blast! He loved petting the pony and he wasn't really interested in getting off.

This boy is obsessed with balls! He's excellent at kicking them and throwing them. He's really working on his dribbling skills, way cute! Thank goodness the gym is open during the girls swimming lessons. It has proven to be an excellent place for Spencer and Mommy or Momma to hang out. Often there are many volleyballs lying about. It is so cute listening to him say volleyball!

The marbles... oh the marbles. Along the lines of balls, this boy is obsessed with marbles. Long story on why we even have this quantity of marbles in the house, but we do. They were hidden on top of the fridge and he spotted them. I'm sure he saw the round objects on the side of the container. Have I mentioned he is obsessed!?!?

He is so good with them and enjoys them thoroughly. This is about the only thing he will sit still for. He will dump them out, run his fingers through the pile, put them back into the container, dump them out, play with them some more, put some back into the container, dump them out again, then kick his feet really fast to make them fly all over the place. He loves to pull out the pots and pans drawer and roll the marbles in our pans. He loves to throw them on the floor to watch them bounce and roll. They roll under the fridge and oven. He pulls the oven drawer out and fishes out the marbles. He does put them in his mouth. But then he'll walk over to you, take your hand, and spit out the marble into your hand. If we could skip them entering his mouth at all, I'd be happy.

Books! Oh wow is he a book lover. We've had to remove his bookshelf from his room because it was incredibly distracting. We read tons of books to him, but for him there is no end. If he wakes in the middle of the night he insists on books. Often he'll flip through a book on his own or he'll bring one to anyone who will read to him. I love it when he backs into your lap with a book! Both of his sisters are book lovers, but he really reminds me of Abby and her love for books at this age.

He continues talking up a storm. He's talking so much that we've been terrible about keeping up on his log of words he can say. He's very much into conversation mode. I love it when he leans over to get our attention because he has something to say. I love it when he looks straight into your eyes and says something huge that you cannot understand. But he means every word of it! He is putting some words together. I like that he can say "help me" and "all done", very useful phrases!

The girls love that they have reached a stage in their relationship where they can ask him to do something and he doesn't hesitate to do it.

Abby or Ellie (okay, okay, include me too): while holding up their hand... "Spencer, give me five buddy!"
Spencer: complete with a huge smile on his face gives them five with gusto.

Fortunately, it is all still cute and innocent. I am however concerned at what the three of them together can accomplish!