Spencer

We had a busy day on Spencer’s birthday, so we had to rush to squeeze all the birthday festivities in.

I made his cake from scratch.  Coincidentally my mom needed to make a chocolate cake also.  I sent her the recipe I was going to try and asked her to report to me.

She said the batter made so much cake, she filled three cake pans.  The only problem was all the cakes were caved in.  She sent a picture of her attempt (we loved the sunken heart-shaped cake):

I was pretty sure that my mom did something wrong and I was convinced that I could follow the recipe with exactness and my reward would be a perfect, delicious cake.  Imagine my horror when I pulled this out of the oven:

So all you bakers out there — what did we do wrong?  What makes a cake sink in the middle?

Luckily Spencer didn’t care what his cake looked like and Dallas thought it would be great to just fill that hole with a gob of frosting, so we managed our way through that little hurdle.

Spencer opened his presents:

While Dallas was assembling the toy I told everyone to smile.  This is the picture I got:

Cake time!

Despite the crater in the middle, it was a delicious cake.  Spencer loved his piece…and the next day when I pulled it out again, he nearly hyperventilated from excitement.

Yesterday was Spencer’s special day.

We held a little photo shoot to document his one-year-old cuteness.

Yes, I am posting a million pictures of my kid in the same pose.

With the same prop.

Yes, I know you think the changes in his face and posture are minimal

and that he looks pretty much the same in all these shots

and that posting one picture would have been (more than?) sufficient.

But I am his mother.  I’ve studied his little face for 365 days.  I’ve memorized his looks and expressions and features.  I see and appreciate the subtle differences in them.

I know that in another 365 days he will have replaced some of these looks with new ones, and the baby that I know now will have evolved into a toddler with a whole new array of quirks and mannerisms.

And at that moment I will be just as familiar with that two-year-old toddler as I am currently with my one-year-old baby.

But at that moment I will be a year removed from this moment, and I will have forgotten things about my baby that I had meant to remember forever.

Thus my compulsion to capture every nuance of this baby while I still have the chance.

‘Cause babies don’t keep.  And that’s a cryin’ shame.

Tomorrow is a big day for this little guy.

Tomorrow is his birthday.  He will be one!

In light of this special occasion, I thought I better make note of some of the cute things about him at this stage.

He has four teeth on top and two on bottom.  His front right tooth is chipped.  I have no idea how or when that happened.

I think grapes are his favorite food.

He can stand by himself and has taken a step or two on his own but prefers to lunge at what he wants without the added hassle of moving his feet to get there.

He can say mama, dada, and banana.

If we ask a question that begins with the words, “Who wants…?” like “Who wants to go to the store?” or “Who wants a cookie?” Spencer will say “Eeee!” (meaning, “Me!”)

If we ask what a horse says he’ll also say “Eeee!” but this time it’s a high-pitched squeal.

Speaking of high-pitched squeals, that’s Spencer’s favorite way to communicate.

He loves bath time and gets wildly excited when he hears the bathwater running.

He splashes violently in the bath causing his sisters to unleash their own high-pitched screams.

He loves playing with balls, riding bikes, knocking over blocks, and walking with the help of his push toy.

He is a delight, and we sure love our little guy.

So much so that I almost forgive him for waking me up multiple times a night for the first eight months of his life.

Almost.