Jack & Spencer's World

Jack really impressed us this evening. He put together the puzzle in this picture by himself. Note it is 5 ft long with 24 pieces. He took his time and figured out each piece. I've never seen him concentrate on something like this. So impressed in our little big man!

We went to Central Park yesterday afternoon to enjoy the day's snow fall. We met Lisa, Rich, Niamh, & Imy who graciously let us use their sled. While we didn't have a sled, I made sure that Jack was well prepared for snow with a snow bib, coat, boots, and real gloves. Spence also made use of the great snowsuit that Ylang and Phil lent us (did you guys need this back?!?!). Justin and I are, of course, another story, so we bundled up as best we could. This time Jack hopped right on the sled and loved it! He took many rides down the hill. And was pulled back up on most occasions. Finally Rich had him pull the sled up himself. He made it - though it took about four times as long! Jack sporting his snow gear Our little marshmallow - Spence The boys are off (Spence can join next year) Jack working hard to bring the sled back up the hill

Spencer has started to crawl - well, something like crawling. He's able to get where he wants to go and HE LOVES IT!!! Here's a quick video from earlier in the week. I'll try to get a better one in the next couple of days that doesn't involve the cat walking back and forth in front of Spence - and maybe less commentary from the family. :)

While I don't consider myself a great or adventuresome cook, I've tried a few new things in the last year. Today may mark my biggest challenge: pulled pork. I'm attempting to make barbecue pulled pork (for those of us from NC, it's simply called barbecue - no need to be redundant with the "pulled pork" part). I bought a 4.7 lb pork shoulder from Fairway, trimmed it using directions I found online, mixed up a rub from a recipe in a slow cooker recipe magazine, and threw it in the slow cooker for 5-6 hours. Fingers crossed that it turns out ok - will update with the results. Pork shoulder before trimming: After trimming and with the rub Ok, so I didn't take pictures of the after. But it turned out quite nice. I was surprised because the meat truly did fall off the bone. All in all, it was yummy!

Jack and I went to the Central Park Zoo earlier this week. We started at the petting zoo - visiting the pigs, feeding the goats, and saying hi to the cow and alpacas. On our way out, I asked Jack what he wanted to see first at the other part of the zoo (I would call it the big zoo, but it's not so huge either): the sea lion, polar bear, or penguin. Jack said that he wanted to see the polar bear. He then stated that we needed to get food for the polar bear. I asked him what polar bears eat. He calmly replied: Cheerios. 

Justin and I recently sat down with Jack and Spencer to explain the importance of new years resolutions. They were so excited, they each decided to write (well, dictate) their own. Spencer's 2012 Resolutions 1. Self-Powered Movement - In my first year, I've relied heavily on others to move me from place to place. Recently, I've been able to move several feet on my own; however, my direction can be a bit off. This year, I plan to be self-powered (with steering!) as soon as possible so that I can keep up with my big brother and go after all the toys that are just out of reach. 2. Sleep - Mom and Dad were right - sleep for 10+ hours at night is great. I'd like to maintain this habit as well as work towards 11+ hours each night. Everyone in the family is thrilled with this idea. In addition, I plan to move to bigger quarters. Mom's closet and my mini-crib have been cosy, but I'm a growing boy and I need more space. It's a big jump, but I'm going to make...

We have not used the baby monitor since the new year. My mom (Judy) kids me that I'll have the monitor on when Jack is a teenager. This change is short lived as we are moving the camera to the crib so that we can see Spence once he's in the boys' room permanently. For anyone in the market, video monitors are awesome. It makes life so much easier when you can pop on the monitor to check on your baby rather than risking waking him/her up by going in the room. 

Hope that you're comfortable - this post is going to be kind of long because we have lots to catch up on! Let's start with the big events Growing Boys Spencer is getting his first tooth! (I know, you thought I was going to lead with the holidays...that's coming). Spencer has been the king of drool and has chewed on anything and everything the last few weeks. Christmas weekend, he added extremely rosy cheeks to the mix and POP out comes the first tooth. No more toothless smiles from our baby boy. The next tooth isn't far behind. I'll try to get a picture when there is more to see. In addition to getting teeth, Spencer is trying hard to get on the move. He's pushing up on all fours and doing early crawling motions. Right now, he can strike a plank pose that would make most experienced yogis jealous. Jack continues to amaze us. For anyone that has been around him, he is very verbal (hey, at least he got something from his mom!). He is picking up mor...