One-year-old Monkey

My little man is growing up so fast. I can't believe it's been over a year since we brought him home from the hospital. What a fantastic year! This little guy has made me grow more in the last year than I think I have in my entire life. Although being a mom isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am extremely grateful that I am able to have my own children and stay at home to raise them. The Lord has truly blessed the Spear family. I love my baby Talmage! I also love that wherever we go, random people will comment on how handsome our little man is. I shouldn't love it so much, but really, what parent wouldn't be proud of it? I mean, I had a part in this boy's looks, right?

We had a birthday party with my family for all the August birthdays a few weeks ago and we celebrated Talmage's birthday along with revealing the gender of our new baby. It was such a fun night and I've decided that I love watching babies eat their own cake for their first birthday. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Presents! Talmage got a play phone. I was hoping he'd stop wanting to steal mine all the time, but no. He still loves mine over any toy.

Eating cake with cousin Emri

Talmage stuck his face right into the cake. That's my boy!

Before the bath...

After!

 Here are some other random photos I had and decided to post!

Talmage loves my sister's cat, Norman.

I told you he loves playing the piano.

Talmage is walking all the time now. Most parents don't say this, but I'm so grateful he is walking more than crawling! I just thought crawling ruined his clothes faster and he would just get so dirty! Now it's so much better. He's also a pro at throwing tantrums. Man. I didn't know that such a young boy could throw such trantrums. He'll go kamikazi and throw himself on the ground when he doesn't get what he wants. Let's just say I'm not really looking forward to the terrible 2's or 3's. I just have to laugh at him sometimes. He used to be a really good eater until about a week ago. Now every time I put something in his mouth he'll just spit it out without really tasting it, even foods that he loved before. Pretty much the only foods I know he'll always eat are chicken nuggets, bananas, grapes, and green drink/smoothies (thank goodness for the smoothies! Otherwise I'd worry about his nutrition). He just started to shake his head "no" a few days ago, which makes me laugh. He's so good at it, it throws off his balance sometimes. I love this time in Talmage's life! It's a new adventure everyday.

Other than watching our little guy grow up fast, we are anticipating our little girl's arrival! We still haven't chosen a name. We've thrown some around and even called her one for a bit, but nothing seems right to me. Well, except the name that I really want that Daniel doesn't. Ha ha. That's how it is with us. We have a hard time agreeing on names. I feel her kick a lot more lately and I'm glad to be reassured that everything is okay. I have a hard time going into Target without wanting to buy their entire baby girl clothing section. I thought having a boy was fun, but baby girl clothes shopping is way more fun than any boy shopping - and costly! I have to really practice some self control. Good thing we are poor college students so I don't spend tons of money on clothes.

Daniel is loving school. This month has been crazy busy because he has at least 2 or 3 recruiting events a week where he has to put on his best manners and talk up a storm with a bunch of important people at large accounting firms. Finding a job is a lot more involved than I thought it would be. But, if all goes well, we'll know where we are moving by the end of October! Wouldn't that be great?! Other than the fact we might be moving out of state. The future looks bright!

What a Blur

I haven't blogged in forever! Let's just say it's about the last thing on my mind right now. We are in the midst of moving along with Daniel starting school so things are a bit crazy. I just thought I'd write a few things down while Daniel finished his write-up and we went to bed.

Talmage turns ONE on Monday! I can't believe my little guy is already one. I'm not ready for him to grow up. These days I find myself holding him a little more often and rocking him a little bit longer. I just don't want to miss out on anything. He is so close to walking on his own. He'll take a few steps here and there, but for the most part he's been hesitant about the whole walking thing - which I guess is all right if I don't want him to grow up.

Talmage loves playing the piano. I really think I should get this kid lessons when he's like 3 so he can be a child prodigy or at least make money making awesome YouTube videos. 

Talmage loves his cousins.

He loves his grandma.

 I love my boys.

So that's my little man. He's growing fast and getting cuter by the day.

Daniel started school this week at the U and he loves it. I'm so proud of him and all he is accomplishing. I know it's going to be hard work, but I don't know anyone better for the job.

We are moving away from Provo and into my sisters house for awhile. We are trying to save a little money and decide if we want to rent an apartment close to SLC or wait for my parents house to be built and live with them...so currently, we are homeless. But all is well. We are still being blessed.

Oh, and in other news we have a baby GIRL on the way! It was a huge surprise for Daniel and I when we found out I was expecting, but now that we've come to grips with the reality that we have another baby on the way, we are getting excited. I am 20 weeks along and everything looks perfect. Our little bundle of joy #2 is due on January 4th. Surprise, surprise! Can't wait to meet our baby girl.

All Smiles

Daniel and I love our little munchkin. He smiles so much and we love it! He has such a personality. I can't believe that this little spirit has changed our lives so completely.

Talmage loves his dad (which I've mentioned before). I can't tell you how wonderful it is when Daniel comes home and plays with our little man and I hear them both giggling and making other happy noises. Recently, Talmage has been making "da da da" and "ma ma ma" sounds. He also likes to play kick the empty milk carton with Dad.

 This next picture makes me laugh. I wasn't feeling too good one day so I watched Talmage play by himself while I rested on the couch. He started to get into his diaper bag and pulled out a tissue. Now, being a mom I knew I should have just taken it away, but I was just too tired. I thought that if he showed signs of trying to eat it, then I would take it away. So first he ripped it to shreds...and then he stuffed the whole pile in his mouth.

 Talmage has REALLY goofy smiles. Like really. But it is so endearing and wonderful to see his whole face light up when he smiles so goofy-like.

I started buying Bountiful Baskets (love it!) and one week there were beets in our basket (yuck?). Anyways, my clever sister made a soup out of the beets and potatoes, so I thought I'd try it too. Talmage loved it! So we had fun with our purple/pink soup. If you look close you can see his big front tooth coming in on the top. Our poor babe is getting a lot of teeth coming in.

 Talmage loves to play in the dishwasher. I have to wait until he goes to sleep to do the dishes anymore otherwise he will crawl over, fast as lightening, and try and grab and crawl all over it. I think he looks just like his cousin in this picture! It's amazing to me how the older he gets the more I think he looks like my family.

In other Spear news, Daniel was officially accepted into the U, and he got an internship for the summer! So we are trying to move out in the next couple of weeks. (AH!) But we have been so blessed. We're excited to move on to this next chapter of our lives.

Supper Time

The raised eyebrows mean he likes it.

Monkey Boy

It's been awhile since I've blogged because our camera broke. Talk about bad luck. So Daniel's mom let us borrow hers until we can afford to get a new one. Now I really have an excuse to buy one of those nice fancy cameras. Anyways, our little monkey is growing so fast. Here are just some pictures to recap all that has been happening in the past two months. (And by some, I mean very few...remember the broken camera...)

Talmage is eating so well. Lately he has been teething and doesn't want to eat solid food as much, but he's getting really good at picking little bits of food up with his little hands and putting it in his mouth.

He's also gotten good at picking things off the floor and putting them in his mouth too...which means we have to vacuum pretty regularly. Good thing our vacuum is also broken. Ha ha. I guess when it rains, it pours. This is just the time that a lot of our things are broken.

Talmage loves playing with other kids. Especially his cousins. I'm so grateful he has three other cousins so close in age. They are so fun to watch.

Our little monkey is also crawling and climbing on anything he can. I'm pretty sure he's going to be an early walker. I love that he can crawl now because it keeps him entertained for longer. Also, if he wants me, he'll crawl over to me. 

Talmage also loves to climb up on things to stand (or climb up on Daniel and I and stand). He is usually pretty fearless, which means we have to keep a close eye on him so he doesn't go head first over something. He gets cuter and cuter everyday. He started to get in the bad habit of turning over when we are trying to lay him down on his back to change his diaper or his clothes. We call him the "Runaway Nakie."

Talmage is starting to make different sounds, which is always fun to listen to. He also can get really excited when he knows he's accomplished something, or he knows he's about to eat. I think it's adorable. Some of his other favorite things include playing with any electrical cords, trying to eat phones and remotes, taking glasses off daddy's face, sucking on draw strings on clothing, giving kisses, and smiling. Talmage also loves when daddy gets home. It's pretty ridiculous how excited he gets to have dad around. :) I'm happy that that is how it is.

In other big fantastic news, Daniel graduated! We are all so proud of him and all the hard work he has put in this semester to get the grades he needed to get into the U's graduate program. We haven't heard back from the U yet, but I'm pretty sure he is in!

This is how Talmage was at graduation. Stunned into paralysis. He had NO idea what was going on. Poor kid.

Congratulations Daniel! I know that more good things are to come and I can't wait for more years together with you.

Now that I have a working camera, hopefully I'll blog more. Hopefully, being the key word.

I think my baby is gonna crawl...

No, seriously. He's getting close. He can't even sit up for very long before falling over, but he's already getting ready to crawl? Seems like he's skipping some steps here. My baby is too little to becoming mobile. Ah!

Oh, and please don't mind my annoying high pitched whatever I'm saying at the end.

Balloons!

I love Talmage's reaction in this video when he lets go of the balloon.

Disneyland

We had the great fortune of going to Disneyland last week with some of my family. It was such a blast despite the long drives and surviving off practically no sleep. Talmage and I were both trying to get over our sicknesses when we went, and unfortunately got worse while we were there...but that didn't stop us. We had so much fun and were even more glad that Daniel's mom was able to go with us! It was her first time ever going! I didn't snap very many pictures mostly because I hate my camera and we were running around so quick I barely had time to snap any moments.

Here we are saddling up for our first day in Disneyland.

Talmage fell asleep on Pirates of the Caribbean.

We had to keep our little guy bundled up because it was a little chilly in California.

Nana gave Talmage a stuffed Mickey. He absolutely loves to play with it.

My boys!

Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. Look at that smile!

After two days at Disneyland, we spent our last day in California at the beach

 Talmage didn't have any beach hats, so Emri let him use hers, hence the bow and the girly pattern. He's pretty confident in his manliness so we weren't worried.

 We were so grateful to have a vacation before it got really crazy with Daniel's school and work. This semester has been tough on all of us and this vacation is just what we needed. Who knows when we'll be able to go again! Daniel and I can't wait to plan our next visit and have decided that two days is not enough!

Six Months

Our little one is six months old today! Oh my, how time flies. Talmage is changing more and more everyday. 

Here's a video to start out this post. Talmage loves to get his diaper changed in the mornings...

Our baby likes to use his mouth and vocal chords to make different sounds. He growls. He makes raspberries with his tongue and lips. He squeals. He laughs. He makes sounds with his mouth that sound like talking. He is a very vocal baby. We're hoping one day he can sing while his daddy plays the guitar.

My mom keeps asking me if I have gotten his growling on camera. I didn't realize I hadn't yet! So last week before he went down for a nap, I got him growling and caught it on video. You don't realize how hard this is because Talmage will stop whatever he is doing and watch the camera if he sees it. Hence the reason I filmed the floor.

For some reason, Talmage likes things on his head.

He also loves to eat his blankets. I can't get the kid to take a binky, but he'll take a blanket to the mouth. He loves to suck on pretty much anything, including chins (but gags when I try to put a binky in - what?) He loves to play in his little stand up play thing. He also loves to eat food! I've only given him a few different foods so far, but he's liked them all except green beans (who really likes green beans anyway?)

Talmage absolutely loves little kids. He loves to stare at them and always gets a big smile on his face when they interact with him. I went to my parents church a week ago and was waiting outside the RS room for my mom when a little girl looked up at Talmage and said "why is he staring at me?" I just laughed. They don't understand that his only interaction at home is with me and that gets pretty boring.

Some things that Talmage is also doing: almost sitting up on his own, rolling from his back to front and so forth, rocks back and forth on this hands like he is going to crawl, eats hair, grabs daddy's glasses when they play together, smiles at complete strangers (and makes them smile), recognizes mommy, and he's started to reach out for people he wants.  Overall, he's just one happy baby. 

Who does he look like?

New parents, don't we get that question all the time? I'm not saying it's bad (I ask it to everyone I know who's just had a baby), but man alive is it loaded. I usually just say that Talmage is a mix, because really, he is. (He's got my nose, Daniel's chin, my eyes, Daniel's lips, and so forth...) But usually people don't even ask anymore they just say that he looks exactly like Daniel. My baby looks a little like me, doesn't he? Personally, I think he looks more like my baby pictures than Daniel's...but this isn't a competition or anything...

Daniel as a baby...

Talmage...

Me as a baby...

Talmage...

Yeah? You seein' the similarities? Funny thing, as I was typing this I realized that Talmage really does look like Daniel's baby picture. Alright, maybe he does look just like his daddy. That's a-okay with me.

Christmas 2011

I absolutely loved Christmas this year. We were able to enjoy it with Daniel's parents and my family. It was wonderful. 

 Man, I have such handsome boys!

Daniel's parents gave Talmage a play center. He loves it!

Our tired boy watched from his swing.

He eventually fell asleep surrounded by his toys and a new socks.

Later that night we went to the Purles side Christmas party. We also had a blast. Talmage loves being around all of his cousins. G and G Purles gave Talmage a Bumbo! I love that he can sit up and play while watching me cook or clean.