12-18 months: 11/06/01 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY SPENCER!!! Our boy is one year old today!  We can't believe that a year has passed since that most wonderful day.  Spencer had some family here to celebrate with yummy cake, and Spencer LOVED the chocolate part!  Our boy loved his balloons, too!  Can't wait until his party on Saturday!  11/10/01 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY .... AGAIN! This time Spencer had a BIG party at the park.  A good time was had by all.  Spekky got to play with Bethany, Hazel, and Michael.  The four of them got along very well.  Best of all, Spekky got to eat lots of cake. He ate almost as much of it as Mommy wore. 11/11/01-2/1/02 - We're sorry we haven't updated the web page recently.  Here are a few things Spencer can now do... He can now walk independently, although when he's walking outside on concrete or  hard surfaces, Mommy and Daddy insist on holding his hand. He can run, which makes Mommy and Daddy nervous. He loves to kick the soccer ball, and anything else that might be on the floor, but especially the soccer ball. He can help us get himself dressed and undressed. Surprisingly, he can get undressed much more quickly when it's time for "splashy splashy" in the tub. He loves to fit shapes into the correct slots. He loves music! He can dance, and sometimes you might think he's got rhythm. He loves little kitties. He now knows how to drink from a straw. He knows how to zip and unzip the zipper on his new toy container.  We've found many of our missing objects miraculously appear in there.  Keys, bottle lids, pagers, pda's, make-up, CD's, you name it. When Spencer wants to tell us he loves us, he'll wink both eyes.  Plus he hugs and kisses us, too. He's been getting better at sharing, too.  He'll share and trade if you ask him. Spencer loves to read.  His favorites include: Blue's Costume Party, Seasons in Blue's Back Yard, Elmo's Alphabet, Rise and Shine!, A Trip to the Sesame Street Aquarium,  and Look at Me.  One of his previous favorites has been retired... but Sleepy Dog will always have a place in his heart, just not during his morning story time.  Spencer's vocabulary includes words like: Mami or Mama (Mommy), Daddi or dada (Daddy), Babhu Ba (Daddy's Aunt), Nona (Uncle Rino's Mom), Ba (Grandmother), Eye (Elmo), Babhul (book), Noi (No), Bbbrrrooom (Balloon or Ball), Hi (Hi), Bye (Bye), Dat,Dat,Dat (That), Yogi,yogi,yogi(we're not yet sure what this means), Nanoo,nanoo! (gimme dat - whining), Apoo (give me - nicely), Takoo (thank you), and a few other sounds that we haven't quite figured out yet. He's also recently put these words together, like Takoo Mammi. He can now feed himself cereal left handed.  He sometimes misses, but I can safely say he's batting a .300. He loves to color in his Elmo coloring book. He uses crayons and markers, and he doesn't even try to eat them anymore. He knows where things are on his body. He can also point to these things on you!... nose ears mouth tongue eyes hair feet hands belly, belly toes fingers He knows how to turn on Daddy's PDA and how to turn on the backlight. He can type an e-mail (and sometimes do some funny stuff with the software, bringing up windows that Mommy and Daddy have never seen.) Here's an e-mail he recently sent to his Abuelo. Spencer is also eating all kinds of new foods, like... Pizza pasta (spaghetti, ravioli, fettuccini, even mac-n-cheese) all kinds of bread cheese (especially mozzarella) yummy bananas for lunch rice (like Mommy loves) He also knows how to blow on hot food to cool it down. Spekky has some favorite friends now, like Bear Blanky, Elmo dolly, Curious George (Jorge Curioso), Kitty Meow Mewo, and Elmo Pillow. 2/2/02-3/28/02 - Lot's of good stuff... He says so many things now. Mommy and Daddy are very clear.  He also says birthday, abre (open in Spanish), Doda (Dora the explorer), Agua (water), birdie, abella (abuella/abuello), meow, hi, bye, bugle (bugle), and lots of stuff we cannot think of right now. He listens intently to whatever mommy and daddy say.  He has an Elmo chair which he can sit in by himself.  He now has his room door open so he can come and go as he pleases.  Very independent of him.  He loves to play the Dora the Explorer 3D game on http://www.nickjr.com  He plays pretty music on the keyboard (piano) He likes to put clothes away in the drawers. He can climb out safely from his car seat, and can climb out of the car like a big boy.  He says 'mail' and knows where to get it and which mailbox it is.  (it's a community mailbox) He loves the beach.  Check out his friend hazel's (1,2) web pages for some great pictures. 3/29/02 - 4/18/02 - Spekky's verbal skills are taking off... Some of the words he says clearly now are... Bottle Bear (with a New York accent - Baya) Birdie (Boydie - references birds and fish?) Cookie Cocoa Binky Dolly (he picked it up from his cousin) Mommy Is Daddy More (mo) Bye and Bye-bye Hi Hello Mouse (referring to Mickey - Moush) Dora (Doda) Elmo (Melmo) Aqua (aga - Spanish for water) Arbol (arbul - tree in Spanish, he refers to flowers as arbul too) Duck Meow (reference to Cats) Pappy (reference to Pappy on Rolie Polie Olie) Bow-Bow (Blue from Blue's Clues) I want (iwan) Towel He is also putting together words, like.... Bye Bye Daddy Is Mommy, Is Daddy Iwan Bottle, Binky, Moush, Cookie, etc. For breakfast he likes for Blue to sit with him in his high chair and he feeds her. He loves to color at his table and is learning to sit in his chair like a big boy.  He knows to turn the TV on first thing in the morning or when we come home, and he turns it off when we leave or when we go to bed. He is being much better about brushing his teeth now that he has new molars coming out.  He likes to take good care of his teeth using his Blue's Clues toothpaste He loves Yogurt for lunch.  He can eat 2 whole yogurt snack cups at one time.  He knows when he's ready for his nap, because he asks for his bottle, then puts Elmo pillow, bear blanky and Blue inside his play pen.  Sometimes when he just wants to relax and not nap, he puts the pillow in a special corner of the living room where we always sit.  He seems to be down to one nap now in the middle of the day, although some days he takes two naps when he's extra tired. He's wonderful at sharing, especially with people he knows, specifically, his cousin Bethany, and his friend Hazel.  He picks flowers for Mommy and makes her feel extra special.  He also picks seashells for Mommy when we go to the beach. He sits on his own at the computer.  He also will sit very calmly when Dora, or one of his other TV friends is on the computer.  Daddy made him his own login to Windows XP.  He has a HUGE paw print as his wallpaper. Because for Spekky, there are clues EVERYWHERE! Spekky loves to dance to Disney songs like the Wiggles' Cold Spaghetti and Head Shoulders.  He also slow dances to Piglet's "If I Could Be Big" Spekky can make more melodic tunes on the keyboard instead of just whacking at the keys.  4/19/02 - We started a nighttime ritual of reading "Goodnight Moon" right before going to bed...  Spekky loves the story, and we've had to read it twice every night.  He gets sad when it's over.  The suspense, the drama... he cried, he laughed, he slept. 4/20/02 - We went to the beach with Hazel...  We played in the sand, drank some salt water, ate some sand and got really messy with sand all over.  4/21/02 - Spekky just got his first tricycle...  He's still getting used to having to sit down and move his feet instead of stand and push the trike along.  (addendum) 4/25/02 - Spekky just started scooting on his trike.  He sat down and realized he can move without standing up.  4/25/02 - Spekky is talking up a storm! He's trying to repeat more of what he hears.  like 'dude' and the letters 'a' and 'b'.

 

18 Months - 2 Years: 5/29/02 - Spekky is saying  so much more... He now says: Ice Pillow Agua (agwa) -water in spanish Bottle -was bollow Big Piece -Slice of Cheese Arroz -rice in spanish Ojos -eyes in spanish Nariz -nose in spanish Boca - mouth in spanish Wipey (api) -when he wants to wipe up a mess he made Pop - as in corn pop's cereal Bugle - (boogle) Olie Polie - a cartoon friend ewwwwww.... - when something's dirty. also reference to diaper. Pari-pari - to rip in gujarati Paanni - water in gujarati Paper - usually reference to crayons which implies writing on paper (we hope) Dora - another cartoon friend Pow - Blue from Blue's Clues. Derived from the sound she makes "pow-pa-pow" Yeah Ball Balloon (Bo-lo-lo) Mouse (moush) - usually in reference to Mickey Mouse Nice (nish) House (housh) Dabu - small container in gujarati Jesus - (jizzus) Ouch - (owee...) Open Burpee Calla - quiet in Spanish.  he's only said this to the dog. Easy - another thing he tells the dog. Banana - now he actually says the whole word. Cow Guy - Cow in gujarati Vaca - Cow in Spanish Bunny ABC - he actually says ay-bee-see Monkey Big Bird Ernie Bert Dali - Varyhari (after dinner fennel seeds) Toys Book Apo - give me in gujarati Apple Carro - Car in Spanish Body Potty Puppy E-Mail Pooh Bear "Mimi" - Bear blankey Melon - honeydew or cantaloupe Cookie This That Band-aid - sesame street band-aids Pow yummies - abc/123 spaghetti in Blue's Clues bowl. Cokaka - derivative of Coco Kaka, originally intended to be Tio-Kaka for Bethany to reference her uncle (me).  Tia (Karen Asquino) says this so much that Spencer now calls her Cokaka. Alo - Light... We don't know why Billy - best friend of Olie Polie the robot. Spot - (Pot) Olie Polie's pet dog. Boom - as in "Spekky go Boom" the act of throwing yourself on the ground and rolling around while laughing very very hard.  Usually cause Mommy or Daddy are tickling.  La La - Music Big Ball "oooh" - the sound Mommy makes when she hugs one of my (stuffed) friends. I want more... - usually comes out like: "iwan mo" Sticker - (ticker) Bethany - (Be---ny) Spinny - (pinny) Boobie - If Spencer knows what it is I shouldn't have to explain it... Butt - again, self explanatory 5/29/02 - He does a lot more too... Hugs Mommy, Daddy and all his friends Kisses Mommy, Daddy and all his friends Brushes his teeth by himself (sometimes) Flushes potty for Mommy and Daddy Throws his diaper away in the trash can. (ewwww) He's better at sharing, especially with girls.  If he wants us to do something or go somewhere he'll grab our hand and pull us. He's getting better at scooting on the tricycle.  He asks for a wipe (ipey) when he writes on something he's not supposed to, so he can clean it up.  6/26/02 - Spencer is saying and doing so many new things now... ...it's hard to keep track of it all.  We'll make sure to update you on the big things. He talks most in the morning and will repeat just about anything he hears.  He usually remembers those words and uses them throughout the day, as he builds up his vocabulary.  Some of the bigger words or phrases are: La-la-bye I want more please, Mommy I want call ___ (Tia or Uncle Rino, or whomever) Check E-mail, Daddy!  (Daddy's favorite) He understands on/off, up/down, in/out, open/close. He can put shapes into their respective spaces on the first try (maybe having to rotate the shape once or twice). He's taking naps in his big-boy bed now, which should help in the transition from crib to big-boy bed after his baby brother is born.  8/03/02 - Spencer has taken a BIG step in his young life: He slept in his big-boy bed for the night for the very first time, and we are proud to say that, (although it took him a little while to fall asleep in it) he slept through the night and came out in the morning to wake up Mommy, holding his Elmo pillow and bear blanky (Mimi) close. 8/20/02 - Spencer met his baby brother Kieran for the first time today: Daddy brought Spencer to the hospital this afternoon to meet baby Kieran.  We put together a special gift bag for Spencer to make this a special day for him.  We gave him Kieran's puppy blanky to give to his little brother, and also bought him a book entitled, "I'm a  Big Brother."  He also received a book set for him and his brother to share, small board books of "Goodnight Moon" and "Runaway Bunny."  Spencer was very loving with Kieran; he gave him a kiss, and also told him, "I love you, baby Kieran."  We were so proud of him today. 8/24/02 - Spencer is the best big brother ever! We are so proud of Spencer and impressed with his behavior the past few days.  We know that this is a time of many changes for him, and that he needs us more to play with him and give him extra love and affection.  We've been doing our best, and he has been such a help to us as well.  He helps with Kieran's dirty diapers ("ewwww"), brings him his binky when he's crying, and constantly kisses and pets him.  He doesn't get mad at all about the changes in the routine, or at Mommy or Daddy when we can't do something because we're holding Kieran.  Spencer really loves Kieran, too, and tells him and shows him in many ways all day long.  Kieran is lucky to have such a wonderful big brother to take care of him. 8/25/02 - Spencer is an awesome big brother. He will give baby Kieran a big kiss good morning and goodnight. He'll tell us when Kieran's crying, and he wants Kieran to sit with us when we read "Goodnight Moon." He says, "Want baby Kieran out [of the swing]." 9/6/02 - Spencer has been very good with Kieran until just recently.  He has been getting more and more jealous and rough at times.  He seems to be acting more like a little baby at times.  But we know it's just a phase and it's normal, as he learns to fit the role of big brother.  9/16/02 - Spencer is learning his ABC's... Mommy and Daddy put an ABC book together for Spekky to practice his ABC's.  Each page has a letter on it and a picture associated with that letter.  Some examples are, "A" for "Abuelo", "B" for "Bethany", "D" for "Daddy", "K" for "Kieran", "M" for "Mommy", etc. We feel that connecting his ABC's to something meaningful will help him to learn the letters easily. So far, he knows almost all of them except Q, X, and Y... 9/17/02 - Guess who peed in the potty?!!?!!...and knows all of his ABC's, too? We took out Spencer's potty today just so he could get used to the idea of having to go in one, since he really enjoyed just sitting on Bethany's potty earlier today. Well, what do you know?  Spencer wanted to "pee in potty," so we gave him the opportunity...and he did!!! We are sooooo proud of our big boy!  On the way to Ba and Dada's house tonight, Spencer wanted to take his ABC book in the car to show them.  As we were driving, he went through each and every letter...and identified them all!  Yay for Spekky! 9/24/02 - A few more things that Spencer is doing as of late... Spekky loves to sing the opening theme to Playhouse Disney's "Out of the Box."  He knows almost all the words, and sings with more rhythm and melody, too. We've had to make some adjustments to Spencer's nighttime routine.  He's been running out of his room in the middle of the night too often lately, so we've decided to close the door when we put him to bed.  If he's upset, he goes to the door, realizes he needs to "stay in here," and goes back to bed like he should.  Then, in the morning, he gets up and plays with his toys and Mommy comes to get him.  Sometimes he's reading books to himself; other times, he's playing with Dora and Olie Polie. Also, Spencer is learning to pee in the potty before his bath, and before bed, too.  He's doing a great job at it! Spencer is eating healthy and feeding himself many times.  In the morning, he feeds himself all of his rice cereal, and will munch on some Cheerios afterwards.  Then for lunch, he will either finish all of his fruit salad and yogurt, or eat up his PB&J sandwich.  When he wakes up from his snack, he'll have some gummy Blue's Clues' snacks (if he's been behaving during the day), and then at night, he will pick out the letters he like and eat his ABC's 123's from Chef Boyardee.  He calls them "Pow Yummies". When he's had a good day and has eaten all of his meals, he gets some ice cream as a special treat after his bath.  We love those days when Spekky does such a good job. 9/17-30/02 - Potty going good... Spekky is now so used to the potty (for peeing), that he goes in the morning before brushing his teeth, pees before his bath at night, then again before he brushes his teeth for bed.  10/1/02 - Pull-Ups Spekky is getting pull-ups at night.  He wants to pee the three times mentioned before, and a couple times throughout the day as well. That's a lot of taking off and putting on diapers when he's standing up.  Pull-ups not only give him the feel of a 'big boy' underwear, but it makes it much easier for mommy and daddy.    10/9-11/02 - Spekky gives up the bottle... Spekky's been off the bottle for quite a while, except at night, before bed.  Tonight Spekky decided halfway through the bottle that it was eeewwwww.  So Daddy asked him if he wanted "pow cup or pow bottle" (if you recall from an earlier update, 'pow' is the sound Blue makes in 'Blues Clues'.  Naturally he said 'pow cup'.  Imagine our surprise.  Unfortunately he doesn't drink as much milk as he used to... I think he's trying to transition himself off the nighttime bottle, which has to happen anyway (otherwise he may pee in the bed once he's potty trained 10/11/02 Opening doors... Spekky opened his bedroom door this morning after playing for a while with his toys.  Mommy thought Daddy opened the door for him before heading off to work.  Boy was Mommy surprised.  We had to put a child proof doorknob cover so he can't get out in the middle of the night and hurt himself. 10/24/02 - Spencer's first real ride! What a rush!  Tonight, Spencer and his cousin Bethany went on their first ride together at the Holy Family Catholic Church Fall Festival.  You have to click here to see the adorable pictures of them together, riding high, having a blast! 10/27/02 - Gotta do it again! Spencer had the chance to go back to the Fall Festival for some more rides, games, and fun.  Click here to check it out the fun as he and his friend Michael got together and had an awesome time on the first ride.  After that, however,  Spencer's mood went sour.  He was scared on the other rides and cried.  We hope it's just because he has a bit of a cold.  We want him to enjoy himself to the fullest when we take him to Disney in a few weeks. 11/02/02 - Party time! What fun we had today at Spencer's 2nd Birthday Party!  We celebrated early.  It was so much fun.  Spencer got a big playhouse from Abuelo and money to pay for some carpeting outside on the patio.  It was the perfect weather for some fun outside on the patio with lots of other toys, too, like Bethany's slide and kitchen.  The kids had a great time and Spencer loved playing with everyone.  Thanks to all for the great gifts.  Now where can we put all this stuff (if he even lets us put it away because he keeps wanting to play with all the new goodies!)?!?!? The theme of the party was Blue's Clues, of course.  Pics up soon!

Little Known Facts: "Why do you call him Spekky?" you may be asking.  Spencer was named after his grandfather, Spencer Silvers.  When Abuelo was little, that's what people in Ecuador called him.  So we've decided to call him Spekky as well, while he's still little.