Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Still a HORRIBLE blogger

Tuckered out after a long day at the zoo!
Malachi, Lincoln, Jack and Noura A little diddy, bout Jack and Di....Noura

Me and Jack, Holly and Lincoln and Malachi, Betsy and Noura - the guy who took the pictures thought we were sisters, ha ha
Jack and Daddy at the zoo the day before (neither look too happy if you ask me) it was wicked hot though Jack's first train ride


Luke, Me, Jack....hey Luke....who's the other woman?? We're no polygamists here!!


Our little monkey Jack


Tired on the plane ride home.



Hey I can brush my teeth!!



Not happy, but you can see my teeth

Luke, Me and Jack again

Jack loves Iowa State!!!
OH NO!!!! I just told him their football and basketball records over the past few years!!! OH well, we love them anyways!!! (He has loyalty, he is a Cubs fan)






I know, I know....I always say that I will do better, but alas, I never do. Sorry! I have been especially bad about taking pictures lately and I know that is the only reason you all visit, so I took a few pictures over the past couple days for everyone to see. Things have been fun and busy at the Spence house. Jack and I flew to Iowa on Thursday the 17th. He was very good on the airplane and things went really well. Paul picked us up from the airport and we hung out with him all day. Jack LOVES his Uncle Paul, Paul is pretty smitten with Jack too. Luke came into town on Friday and we got together with the Kaisers and had a good time. My mom spent a lot of time spoiling her "little grandson" and he just LOVES her, Mike, Caroline and Liz.
That weekend, we had a Carey (my mom's side) mini reunion. It was my great aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. It was great to see a lot of my great aunts and uncles and cousins. A lot of my mom's cousins (she has around 40!!) who are part of the "younger" (30-40) group have kids that are around Jacks age. It was cute seeing him play with his (3rd???) cousins. We stayed in a hotel Saturday night and had a great time visiting with everyone.
Sunday we went to my dad's house and Jacks Great Grandma Marvel, and aunts Ellen and Linda came to visit. We had dinner and hung out. It was really fun seeing them all. Jack LOVES his grandma and grandpa Welder and his aunts on that side.

We flew home on Monday and the flights went really well (THANK GOD!). Last week we just hung around the house. I went out with my friends one night and Luke and I went out with our friends Dustin and Nichole another night. The rest of the week was pretty low key. Luke was gone over the weekend and Jack and I spent our time playing outside and going for walks.

Luke and I recently discovered the farmer's market downtown. It is really fun to go to and has TONS of fresh fruit and veggies. Since we have started going there regularly, I decided to dive into making my own baby food. I have a food processer and it is really easy. I wish that I would have tried it long ago, I may have been able to save some money (although fresh produce does get expensive), but more, I like knowing exactaly what is going into my child. Jack LOVES fresh peaches, blueberries and apples. He is also liking fresh greenbeans, pinto beans other different finger food. We are starting to transition him to table foods, so hopefully he'll be off of baby food soon after he turns one.
Jack cut another tooth, his top left one. Now he has 3 teeth!!!! We are brusing his teeth daily and he is starting to mimic me when I do it, so we joke that he can brush his own teeth now.

This week we got some much needed projects done around the house. Yesterday Luke and Jack had a "man day" and went to the zoo. Luke and Jack had a great time spending time with eachother (which they rarely do) and I got some much needed alone time (which I rarely get). I laid out on our deck and got a little tan and read a book. It was GREAT!!! I love my time with my boys, but it is also nice to have some "me time" as well.

Today I met my friends Betsy and Holly at the zoo for a play date. Betsy brought Noura and Holly has two adorable little twin boys, Malachi and Lincoln who are 3 1/2 months old. It was kind of rainy, but we were able to stay out of it for the most part. It was nice having grown up time with some other mommies. Luke leaves tomorrow, and on Friday, Aunt Caroline and Grandma and Grandpa Spence are coming to visit. Jack is really excited to see all of them. I don't know what the plans for the weekend are yet, but it will be fun. Luke and I are going to watch Caroline for a few days while my mom and Mike have a mini vacation in Chicago. We're really looking forward to the weekend!

PS WE PAID OUR CAR OFF TODAY!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE CAR PAYMENTS!!!!!!!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Girls Night

Please sir, I want some more. (Name that musical)
Uh-oh
Bath fun!
Such a cutie!
Going for our walk
Ladies Man.......Courtney Alexander, Jack, Riley Kavanaugh
Not that into eachother
Courtney is almost 6 months old, she is such a big girl!

Cutie pies
Mommies and daughters
I'll show you how to drive Courtney

Sweet Courtney
Sorry Jack, she's not that into you (poor guy, I still think that you're cute)


So, I am TRYING to get better at this blog thing! We have had a pretty good week. Luke was home for several days, which we LOVE! We just hung around the house, went on a couple walks, to the farmers market and the zoo. We LOVED the farmer's market. It was in downtown Indy, we got some delicious green beans, corn and potatoes. I think that i'll get some blueberries next time, they looked YUMMY! I love using fresh veggies and they were really reasonably priced. After the farmers market, we went to the zoo for a little while. It was HOT but was really nice to walk around a bit. We watched the elephant show and Luke and I even got to pet the elephant, pretty cool! Thursday night I went to dinner and mini golfing with my friends Beth and Betsy. We had a good time. I told the girls that I played golf in HS, however they were quick to pick up that my short game wasn't my best (Betsy won, Beth and I tied). Luke stayed home with Jack and had some man time, however, I think that Jack slept through most of it.

Friday Luke left and Jack and I once again met up with Beth, Betsy and Noura and went shopping at the outlet mall. We had a good time and Betsy got Noura a few more things for their Africa trip. I swear, Noura Michelle is going to be the best dressed kid in Burundi, Africa. She got some of THE CUTEST dresses, I swear, my next kid better be a girl. Don't get me wrong, I adore my son, but it is a commonly known fact that girl clothes are 1000 times cuter than boy clothes. I am MEANT to be the mom of a girl........ (or a cross dressing boy....but that's another post) haha!

Saturday my friend Nichole came over and helped me with Jack (THANKS NICHOLE!!) while I got ready for "Bunco Night at the Spence's". My friends Karen, Andrea, Janice, Jessi and Missy came over and we had tacos and some good conversation. My friends and I usually try to get together once a month for a ladies night, most of our husbands have husband's with strange hours at their jobs, pilot, cop, air traffic controller, so it is also often a playdate for our kids. Jack's friends Riley and Courtney came over. They had a pretty good time together and were all pretty well behaved. I had a GREAT TIME!

Today Jack and I went for a long walk with Daisy, which was fun, the weather was perfect. Then we played in the backyard for a little while. I am trying to teach him how to play ball, he is slowly getting the hang of it. He is starting to bite a little bit, so I am trying to squash that bad habit already!

Jack and I are flying to Iowa this Thursday and are really excited to see my Grandma and Grandpa Kaiser and the whole Carey side for a family reunion this weekend. It'll be fun to reconnect with everyone. Hopefully the flights go well and Jack is good! Luke is joining us on Friday.

Schools starts for me on August 21st, so I am getting nervous and ready all at the same time. I still don't have childcare set up for Tuesday's and Thursday's from 3-6 so if any of my Indiana friends know of anyone, let me know. I'll only need childcare on days that Luke is working, and we're trying to get it so he has those days off. Seriously, let me know if you know anyone!

Well, off to get some reading done (I already have a paper due on the first day of class, geez, they really get you started quickly in grad school!).

Monday, July 7, 2008

Parties, Fun and TEETH!

Liz and Jack looking FIERCE!
Posing again
Sleepy boy out for a walk
We were on a trail, and this seriously was the end, we thought it was funny. The trail just stopped, no rail or anything.

Swinging


See my TEETH!!!



Ryan took some of these pictures at the 4th of July party at the Jungbauer's.
Jack and his "auntie" Beth.
A file photo of Jack and Noura, they are so sweet!
Noura eating her cake, we love her so much!
Betsy, Andrew and Noura



So, once again, I let blogging slip away from me and here I am two weeks later, finally posting. Oh well, nothing overly exciting has been going on in the Spence household. My sister Liz stayed with us for a week, which was really fun. It was nice to get some quality "sister time" in, she is 17 and usually MIA when I am back visiting in Iowa. We hung out a lot, went on a couple walks, shopping, the zoo and out to eat. She is a great auntie for Jack and was SO HELPFUL! We had a really great time, I hope that she did too!

After Liz left last Monday, Luke went on a trip as well, so it was back to normal life with just me and Jack. On Tuesday, we stopped at the Healthy Family office and went to lunch with a lot of my friends. It was my friend Beth's last day of work so they had a going away party for her and I was able to show up and see everyone. My friend Laura also showed up with her son Tyler. Tyler is such a cutie! He is 4 months older that Jack, but he is almost twice the size of my little guy. It was so funny looking at them sitting next to each other, I WISH that I would have gotten a picture. Oh well, maybe next time.

Thursday night was fun too. Beth invited me and Jack to a game night at her friend/neighbor's house. I met 5 of Beth's friends, we had a good time, it was good conversation and fun games. I really enjoyed myself and always like meeting new people.

Friday, my friend Tanya's (Mattea's mom) parents had a BIG 4Th of July party at their beautiful house. I was able to spend time with Jack, Beth, Jen and her husband Ryan and daughter Olivia, Lana and her hubby Dave and Hope and her two boys. The food was great and the company we even better. The weather was warm but not too hot, thankfully. Jack loves all of his "aunties" and they are so good to him, I am so thankful for my friends.
Luke got home on Friday night and a group of us went down to the canal to watch the fireworks. We ate sandwiches and had snacks. Jack slept for awhile and watched the fireworks calmly from my lap. It was a really good time.

Saturday Luke was home for the day and we just had some family time, which was wonderful. Jack and I love days that Luke is home.

Sunday was Jack's best friend's birthday party. Noura will be 1 on the 11th. She is our little miracle baby. Betsy gave birth to her at 25 weeks gestation. She was in the hospital for 89 days, but has really thrived. We are so proud of her (and her mom and dad). She was dedicated Sunday morning. Jack and I had a great time visiting her church and meeting all of her friends and family (and Betsy and Andrew's friends and family). Her birthday party was a Veggie Tales party and it was SO CUTE! Noura LOVED her cake and devoured it, she is such a sweetie. I forgot to get pictures of the two together, but hopefully we'll get some updates pictures of them soon. The Timbies are going to be leaving for Africa in a few weeks, we are going to miss our good friends SO MUCH, but are excited (and a little nervous) for their adventure and continue to pray for them, as I hope you will too!

Luke got home today and we went walking on a trail and then played at a park. Jack is such a wonderful little boy and we are so thankful for him!

OH YEAH.....I almost forgot....HE FINALLY GOT 2 TEETH IN!!!!! They finally popped through a couple of days ago, he looks so cute with his two little white teeth. He is growing faster and faster, he'll be 1 next month, man how time flies!

Well, off to feed my child and get him ready for bed. I'll try to update again soon, but we all know that the likelihood of this is VERY SMALL!!

All of our love to everyone!