We Need Your Help!...

HELP! As you can see, our second little man is growing bigger and bigger...as is his mother. He will be here before we know it, and we are STILL confused on his name! We are ready to announce that officially Alden's little brother will be named Spencer. However, poor Spencer is lacking a middle name. We are so grateful to his Uncle Tommy for helping us come up with a great list of possibilities and to his Cousin Katie for spending an evening going through the list...BUT, we are still not sure what we think. What do most people do when they name their kids? Send out a poll on blogger of course! PLEASE help us by voting for your favorite choice. We admit that we may or may not actually listen to the results, but we are also ready to admit that we cannot make a decision on our own. The poll is over to the right of the blog...go for it! If you think you have a better suggestion, click on add a comment after the blog and let us have it.

It is no wonder that we are having trouble sitting down and thinking of baby names. We are going to have an 18 month old toddling around this week! Can you believe it? Where has a year and a half gone?!

We have been very busy going on various trips to the doctor. Alden has spent much of the last two months sick with congestion, fever, cough, stomach virus, etc. that he has picked up from Mother's Day Out. The pediatricians are starting to give me dirty looks when we go in...about every week! Some of the days, we just make it through with a cup of clear liquids, Nick Jr. cartoons, and our favorite dog, Lucy. No, not the real one, the stuffed one.

Alden in his "old man pajamas" cuddling with Lucy and looking for the moon. Thanks to Pops, who introduced the concept, we now have to go and see the "noon" every night before bed. For three nights, we woke up at 2:00 a.m. crying for the "noon" and pointing to the window. He is spoiled, but that is where we drew the line!

Speaking of Lucy's, Joey and I decided that we better find a spare Lucy or two...just in case. After calling every single Pottery Barn outlet in the country and the catalog number and checking ebay with no luck, I decided to simply call the local Pottery Barn store right up the street. Guess what? How many do you want? They have several. We bought them while Alden was asleep in the car, but Daddy slipped and let him spot them when we got home. It was a whole litter of Lucy Dogs.

A new favorite: Turning on and off the light switch. This is the only one in the house that is low enough for him to reach on his own. This is also something we love to do at the doctor's office. At our visit yesterday, the doctor turned on the light on her instrument (the on they use to look in ears) so that we could finish our conversation in the dark. Even she admitted that if it kept him happy, let him do it.

"Mommy!Mommy" is now shouted frequently at our house. This is a favorite in the middle of the night when he wants to be retrieved, but pretty much a standard when the attention is not focused on him, i.e. trying to cook dinner. This mess is way better than engaging in his two newest kitchen tricks: taking things out of the trash can and bringing them back to you and opening and closing the oven door.

We are trying to get ready for baby Spencer, but Alden pretty much just thinks we are going down baby Alden memory lane. Yep, never liked the pacifiers before now, but when they are going to someone else...

Alden had a great time when he had a visit from Toni and Uncle John and Grumps. He gave Grumps a big and very long hug, played ball with Uncle John, and read a book with Toni. Of course, he also showed them every single kitchen utensil that we own and every item off of every shelf in our family room. But he did accomplish one thing none of us seem to be able to do: He actually made Grumps smile for a photo!

In his spare time, Alden helped out Mom and Dad with a bit of pre-Thanksgiving housework.

The weather has been so wonderful that we have spent a few days at the park. Alden is still terrified of swings, so we were happy to find the "little kid" area where he can slide and crawl through tunnels. He only stays on one thing for about 10 seconds before running somewhere else. I am never sure who is actually worn out the most when we leave.

It is always fun to get a ride on Daddy's shoulders.

This might be a sign of negative example on behalf of his parents. Alden loves to drive the bouncy car at the park. When Daddy's phone rang, which is very, very common, Alden decided that he, too, would have a conversation on his "phone" while driving the car. Guess who has started to pick up the bad habits from us? And we thought we still had time to change our ways!Finally, Alden reminding us that summer can last all year long. It is all in the attitude and accessories!