Seeing Portland

Yes, we have been to Portland several times before, but we actually took the MAX into Portland and walked around it for the first time last week. Isaac and I loved it. We considered leaving Will with his doting Grandma, but didn't think we could see enough of the city in a few hours. We were very glad we made that decision. We left the house at 9:30 and didn't get back until about 5:30 ... And we didn't feel like we got to see much in that time. I'm looking forward to going back. First we walked to Powell,s book store (probably the largest book store you have ever seen) and bought anew kid books there. Next time I'm going to bring a list of books to look for there. They sell tons of older books that you can't find anywhere except online!

Then we went to a local brewery called Deschutes and enjoyed beer and pretzels. They had a great lager that I loved and wished I could have brought some home. Afterwards we went to Stepping Cafe (a place Isaac had heard about from watching Man vs. Food). Isaac tried a peppermint hot chocolate, but apparently the guy had never made it before and put WAY too much peppermint flavoring in it. :) We walked around a lot after that. You know everything takes longer with a baby. Stopping to nurse here ... Looking around there. By the end of the night, we had split up to do two important things ... I went to look for an Christmas ornament to remember Portland by (a tradition we have done everywhere since we got married) and Isaac went to wait in line at The VooDoo Doughnut Bakery. He waited about 30 minutes and that we supposedly a short line to wait. Lol!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I can't wait to go back and try more local breweries, coffee houses, Powells, the Saturday Market and anything more we can discover.

Riding the MAX

A Strange elephant we saw ... My body is trying to cover up the homeless guy sleeping underneath it.

I don't think this needs an explination

These were some cool stairs with a handicap ramp built into the stairs. Awesome!

Casablanca - 5,643 miles away in this direction.

VooDoo Doughnut!!! I liked the Maple Bacon doughnut the best

We cut them up in small pieces so we could each try a bite of them all.

Karsten loving the experience

4 Month Check Up

So we went to the doctor today. The purpose was Williams scheduled immunizations, but since we were all sick, we skipped the shots and just asked the Dr. to make sure Will was ok. Two hours before we left his temperature was up to 100.6 and we thought he might have a low grade fever. He is ok. We all just have a cold and feel gross. Our little man has grown a lot in the last month though! He now weighs 14 lbs 7 oz (30th percentile) and is 26 inches tall (95th percentile). Crazy kid. He is going to be in 12 month clothes soon! I'm going through his clothes every week now ... packing ones that are too small and trying to find something that will replace it. My 4 month old is almost in a one year old clothes?!?! Ah! Here are some pics of my sick little boy.

Mommy and Me in Oregon

We got a few more pics of me and Will together in Oregon. I love, love, love how he touches my face when I am nursing him, but we finally managed to get a few pics of him touching me when I wasn't nursing him. :)

Saying goodbye

One of Isaac's best friends (and the best man at our wedding) is transferring to San Diego this month. We been trying to get together with him a lot lately since we probably won't see him for many years. I was very honored when he told us that William was his favorite baby. :) I couldn't believe he held him one day and so we made sure to ask him to hold William for some good bye pictures. Dorian says that he is William's godfather and will be the one to send us all kinds of gifts we won't want will to have ... Guns, drum sets ... Etc. Dorian, if you read this, we will miss you and I'm sorry Will wont grow up listening to your crazy sailor stories. :)

Christmas Party

I was so excited to attend Isaac's Work Christmas Party. I found a dress at a Goodwill store for only $3 and had so much fun buying several headbands, cutting them up and sewing them into my dress. Val did my hair. She is now my official hairdresser when my sister isn't around. I also looked up how to do my makeup and was very pleased to find a much better way to apply eyeliner and eye shadow. I love how I looked. I felt so beautiful. :)

4 Months

My Dear William,

Merry Christmas! You just turned 4 months old on Christmas Eve. Your Daddy and I think you have grown up so much even in the last week. You turn to us when we call you and we are pretty sure you know what your pacifier is when you take it out of your mouth and every once in a while put it back in. You also grab things very well, making use of both of your hands. You can almost sit up by yourself if you could only stop yourself from leaning forward too much. ;)

Last night as I nursed you, you reached your hands up to my face and gently pulled my hair or grabbed my chin. I loved it. You are so sweet and eager to smile or laugh at me. You just caught a cold for the first time this week, but you are still so happy even if you are a bit more clingy. I'm struggling to see you sick. You don't mind it, but I wish you didn't have to experience pain and suffering. I wish I could take all of your pain on myself, but I know that would steal something very important from you. Our pain and suffering in this life is what keeps us dependent on God. You would think that you were invincible if I could save you from everything and the truth is ... We are humans who can die very easily. Life is precious and fragile. So trust God for your life and health. We may not always be well, but God promises to care for us and provide for our needs. Our biggest need is for a Savior and my prayer is that you are one of Gods chosen children.... And I'm praying for Him to protect you while you are sick.

I love you my son,

Mommy

First Christmas

Ho, ho, ho!!! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

We just celebrated Williams first Christmas and will be on the red eye tonight to go home. It's been a nice week with Isaac's family and I'll post more about flying and about Portland soon. For now I just wanted to share this cute picture with you and say, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Bouncy Seat!

We pulled out the bouncy seat today and William likes it!!! At least as long as I don't leave him in it for too long. 5-10 minutes is his limit. He seems to like being upright and I can talk to him while I work in the kitchen. Hopefully it will help his legs, back and neck get stronger. He still slumps forward a bit in his Bumbo.

Buddies

I finally have a picture of Little Brantley and Will playing together! Our neighbors are in the process of moving and asked me if they could leave their son with me for an hour while they packed. It was so much fun seeing the two boys together. I don't think of William as having a personality yet, but seeing him with Brantley made it so clear that they are both very different. Little B was SOOO active! As soon as I put him near these toys he was flailing and grabbing at everything ... while William was quite content to just watch what was going on around him. He didn't feel the need to play as long as he could watch B play. This just confirms that Will is more like his dad then just his looks. He is so chill like Isaac and is content to sit back and watch rather than participate. I love them both! :)

Favorite Toy

Ok, so it isn't William's favorite toy .... yet! But it is my favorite of his toys and you have to admit ... this pic looks so cute!

Almost Rolling over

Isaac caught William doing this the other day. We think he is close, but we can't figure out how to motivate him to keep trying to roll over. :)

My Little Cuddle Bug

Just some cute pics

1st Class Husband/Dad

Yes, he always was a 1st class husband, but now he actually IS 1st Class Petty Officer Spencer. I couldn't be more proud. Yesterday was the frocking ceremony. I got to attend and even participate in this event. When I arrived at Isaac's command I was expecting to just watch and take pictures, but then he told me that I need to sit up front and it is my job to pin his new rank on him. AH! Of courseI was proud to do it, but who was going to hold William (who was already crying and ready for bed)??? And who would take pictures? I guess it all worked out, after some confusion about if I was supposed to stand with all the sailors, I put Will down on the floor on a blanket and the CO kept an eye on him. :) A co-worker took these pictures:

Just to clarify for all who will ask ... This has not changed our mind about getting out of the Navy. Isaac can still get paid more at a entry level position somewhere else, then he can with this new rank. It will look good on his resume though and will possibly help with asking for a higher pay since folks will think he was getting paid the higher rank when he left the Navy.

Philadelphia Art Museum

Isaac, William and I just went up to Philadelphia for a hiring conference. It is a conference for military folks to interview with a bunch of companies looking to hire soon. It is great because you get to have 5-6 interviews in one weekend and most folks come away with at least one job offer. While Isaac was busy doing all this for 2 days, William and I explored Philly. We went to the Philadelphia art museum on Sunday and IKEA on Monday. It was a very hard and long trip, William didn't get any good naps, but here are some highlights ....

Watching TV at the hotel :)

Massacre of the Innocents

This picture moved me to tears. It is depicting the story of Jesus, when Herod had all boys killed under the age of two in Jerusalem. Jesus, however, had escaped to Egypt led by a dream God gave Joseph. It was very hard to look at this painting now that I have a little boy of my own. I just imagined what I would do to save my own child and how desperate I would feel ... and also how devastated I would be afterwards ... holding a limp body in my arms. It was and still is very hard to look at ...

This picture (the one on the right is just zooming in) is a beautiful painting of lovers under a tree. I loved it because the man is a sailor and I would love to dress like the woman. I need to find a copy of this painting so we can put it in our bedroom. :) It made me very happy.

This painting wasn't too significant. I just thought it was interesting how many (and I mean MANY) paintings show women nursing their babies. I had to laugh because we really do nurse our babies ALL the time! :) It made me wonder why people have such a problem with women nursing in public these days. Before formula was invented women HAD to nurse (or maybe give a baby animal's milk)!!! Nursing your baby has been around for thousands of years! Why, as women, do we feel the need to cover it up and pretend it isn't happening??? I kinda wanted to sit on a bench in the museum and nurse in front of one of these pictures and just DARE the museum security peeps to make me stop. :) LOL

Ok ... tell me when you see it. It made me laugh out loud in the museum. :) This painter must have had a sense of humor. :)

I took lots of other pics, but these are the best and I thought you all would enjoy them