Spencer Says...

I keep meaning to write down all of Spencer's current adorable sayings and such, but with all of the hullabaloo, I've just been putting it off.  So here they are:

*  I do it every the time. This is what she tells me when she wants to do something that I've just said no to.

*  The louder. AKA, her microphone.

*  You're the best in the world!

*  Excuse me, Mr. Man! or Excuse me, Mr. Ma'am!   She says this when she's trying to get someone's attention at a store or other public location- generally to a stranger. (We're still working on the whole stranger concept.)

*  Jesus loves me because He loves me because He loves me! 

The Best Spencer Story Yet

I think this is the best Spencer story ever, although the pee/car keys incident is a close second!   I can't wait for her to read this one day, ha!  We are still up here in the Middle of Nowhere and this weekend we drove up even farther to the Middlest of Nowhere, like no cell phone reception and no bathrooms except for outhouses; the real Middlest of Nowhere.

There is an old family house high up on a mountain, where Spencer's Poppy was born and raised, and we drive up there every time we visit.  But this was the first time we've been there since Spencer was potty trained. About an hour after we got there she told me she needed to go to the bathroom- except there was no bathroom.  So I did what any normal person would do- I took her around the back of the house (don't worry, there are no living souls for miles around) and showed her what to do.  Spence thought it was a pretty funny and she peed like she'd been peeing that way forever.

Fast forward one day.

Spencer is outside walking Leah on the leash when Leah goes to the bathroom.  I guess Spencer really had to go, because in two seconds, and without saying one word, she had pulled up her dress, pulled down her underwear, and was squatting right beside Leah.  Yes, Spencer and the dog were both peeing in the yard.  I was frozen- it was like the perfect combination of horror and hilarity and all I could do was stare, mouth agape.  When they were both done I explained to her that we don't use the bathroom like that, we go in the toilet- then she reminded me that I told her go pee at the Old House in the yard.  She also asked me "why can Leah pee outside?"  It's kinda tricky explaining these things to a three year old, ya know?

We haven't had any outside mishaps since then, thank goodness, but it is certainly an image I will never forget.  Tomorrow we are going home and I'm sad; it's so peaceful and calm here and I love being with PGGPs.  They are really going to miss Spencer, although I don't think they're going to miss watching Pippi Longstocking 15 times a day. 

The Next Picasso, Matisse, or Klimt?

Spencer has been really interested in drawing lately, so she's been making many a masterpiece. And then yesterday she churned out this work of art and said that it was a picture of me!

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty good for a just-turned three year old. And she did it all by herself, I didn't even see what she was drawing until she'd finished it. I asked her what that big black thing on top of my head was, and she looked me like I was pretty dumb before informing me "it's Mommy's hair bow!"

Twinkle Twinkle- A Cute Spencer Story

Spencer and I were singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star this afternoon.  When we finished we both started clapping and she was yelling  "Yea, yea, yea!"  I gave her a hug, poked her in the belly, and said "You're my Little Star."  She pulled away and lowered her eyebrows, looking at me like I was crazy.  Then she replied, "No Mommy, I Spencer."  I burst out laughing, saying "You're not my Little Star?"

"NO!  I Spencer!  Spencer White!"

The Best Online Shopping

Shopping!  That's today's topic over at Kelly's Korner Blog.  There aren't that many things in this world in which I would call myself an expert, but online shopping is one of them.  The funny thing is that I don't even like "shopping," I just like buying, haha!  So years ago, when the Internet was still fairly young, I set about learning how to shop on the computer rather than in stores. When I was pregnant with Spencer, I spent too many hours, an embarrassingly large number of hours, searching for the perfect products and creating extensive lists.

I've never liked having the same "stuff" as everyone else.  I wanted to fit in, but still stand out.  When I had Spencer, I wanted her to have things that were just hers.  I mean, I buy all of her pjs at babies 'r' us and a lot of her play clothes come from places like Target and Old Navy, etc.  But for her going out on the town outfits, I try to find things that aren't on every single other toddler in the universe.  At some of the more expensive places, I wait til a big sale or a good discount coupon becomes available, and then I'll buy things a size too big so she'll be able to fit into it longer.  And the best thing about those clothes are that they last SO much longer- they don't fall apart and pill after three washes.  If I could impart one thing about shopping for a toddler on a budget but still with some pizazz, it would be to splurge on the coat.  A coat is the one thing they wear over and over again, so you want it to be a quality piece, but also unique/classic/fun.  You also want it to last more than one season, so make sure buy it large enough!

So I am going to divide my knowledge about the places to shop into categories, just to make it a little easier.  I hope you find some new sites and stores that you like.

For You

Realistic

Tulle 

Shade Clothing 

 Mod Cloth
Down East Basics
Adorn
Shop Ruby

A Little Luxury

Free People 
What She Buys 

Shop Ruche
Rusty Zipper 

A Little More Luxury

Boden 
The Vintage Pearl

Shop Bop

For the Baby and Kid
  

Realistic

 WonderBrains

Best Dressed Kids

This was Spencer's Easter dress this year, or I guess it was last year - 2009, from Best Dressed Kids

Small Concept

Cutest Kid on the Block
MD Moms 
Little Twig

A little luxury

 Moppet Frocks

Forest and Zoe

This was Spence's 1st Birthday dress from Forest and Zoe.  I love, love, love it!  

Spiffy Baby

Little Luna Blue

Little Boy Chic

Tutti Bella

This was her dress for her 2nd birthday party- the petting zoo extravaganza - and it was from Tutti Bella.

A Little More Luxury

Pink Taffy Designs
Posh Tots

Mommy Couture Designs
2 Little Monkeys

For the Home

Frontgate
Garnet Hill

Gaium
Wrapables

Miscellaneous

Spoon Sisters

 Boatman Geller
 Horchow
Poppy Talk Handmade 

Katie Had a Little Lamb

Yesterday, our church had the annual Christmas Pageant. It was supposed to be the Sunday before Christmas, but due to the blizzard that dropped a foot of snow on the ground, it had to be rescheduled. Spencer was a lamb in the nativity scene, although, stage fright prevented her from actually making it into the nativity. But she was a super cute lamb, if I do say so myself!

My Little Bo Peep, or I guess Spencer was her pet lamb. But that doesn't sound as cute, so I'm sticking with Little Bo Peep and not Little Bo Peep's Pet Lamb!

Maybe just a tad inappropriate for a church!





Not that she cared!

And still refusing to look at the camera.

Afterward, we had a little Christmas party, hence the costume change. Spencer LOVE, LOVE, LOVES my brother, and he told her to look at me and smile, so of course she listened to him! I took over 100 pictures yesterday, and this is the only one where she's looking at me and smiling. Oh well, at least I got this one!

Alaska

Last night, when I couldn't sleep and my mind was in overdrive, I watched Alaska State Troopers on the National Geographic Channel. It was the first time I'd ever seen it and now I LOVE the show! Not only was it filled with beautiful natural scenery, but every single police officer was good looking! There wasn't an unattractive one. Maybe it's because Alaska has more men than women, so the chances of their being more handsome men increases? Maybe I need to move to Alaska? haha! Just joking... kinda...

Watch the show if you get a chance and let me know what you think!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Spencer has been going through a very verbal phase recently- she basically repeats everything she hears and is retaining about 50% of that. Which is both good and bad- good that her vocab is growing but bad that she's adding some things to it I wish she wouldn't. So here's a smattering of her current favorite phrases.

• Oh. My. Go Shhhhhhh.
• No No No No No. (And she always says 5 of them in a row)
• It's MINE, not yours
• Stop. Stay right there!
• Help- I'm stuck.
  
  

and my personal favorite: "I Love You" followed by a big kiss!

Katie/Mommy

When Spencer gets mad at me or wants my attention, she calls me Katie.

Katie

And every single time she says it I crack up and try to not let her see how she's charmed me. You see, I've called my mom by her first name ever since college. I still call her mom, but I use her first name frequently- which she hates. I don't do it out of disrespect, just habit. My freshman year of college, as everyone was getting to know each other, many of us started using our parents' first names when talking about them with each other. It was just easier and less confusing. And then somehow I began calling my mom her first name in front of her.

Each time I said it aloud, she would look at me and say something to the effect of one day my (then future) daughter would call me Katie and then I'd understand why she was mad at me. So of course the second Spencer called me Katie, I immediately called my mom at work to tell her all about it. I don't think she was as amused about it as I was- but did give me the obligatory chuckle, before telling me I was going to be that weird mom who let her daughter call her by her first name.

And no, I'm not going to "let" Spence call me Katie. I didn't call my mom "insert her name here" until I was 19 and I didn't do it in front of her until I was 21 or 22 and I definitely don't do it in front of my dad, because he gets VERY mad. But I can't help it, Spencer makes me laugh when she does things my mom warned me would one day happen. And of course I don't respond to her when she calls me Katie and I bury my head in the closest thing I can find, lest she see me trying to hide the upturning of my mouth and think it's a smile!

Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing at such a young age and what did you do about it?

How Spencer Counts to Ten

When I ask Spencer to count for me she gets very serious and squints her eyes. Then her eyelashes flutter as if to say "you are really annoying me, Mom, but I'll do it anyway so you'll leave me alone." And then this is what I hear next.

One
Twooo
Fweee
Four
Fife
Ix
Seben
EIGHT, EIGHT, EIGHT!
Nine
Tinnn
Tweve!

I'm not sure why she likes the number eight so much, why she refuses to say 11, or why she stops at 12, but I think the whole thing is pretty cute!

Big Girl Shoes

Yesterday, Spencer decided she wanted to go "bye-bye" and she proceeded to do all the necessary things that I always do before we go anywhere.

Find the phone and call our visitees.

She put on "her" shoes- my old Kappa flip flops.

Had to do a shoe reboot, and get the purse.

Got to have the money, honey! .

Found her noonie and "Come on Mum Me, let's go!"

Honestly, I didn't tell her to do any of this, I just sat back and watched in amazement (and took pictures of it) as she got herself ready, just like I would have done. Unfortunately, this was at 8pm and we did not go "bye bye." All dressed up and no where to go!

I Think Spencer is an Apple Fan

I have been a fan of the PC since I knew the difference between Apple and Bill Gates. Like most children in public school however, we used Apples, big floppy discs, and played mass quantities of Oregon Trail. My family's first computer was the Macintosh LCII, purchased in 1991. When the PC became affordable my dad went out and bought one and I haven't looked back since. By the time I got to high school all the computers were PC and Apple was nowhere to be found. I briefly considered going to the dark side when they came out with colored computers, the iMac, but even the idea of a pink or red one couldn't convince me to leave my Windows.

Years later there was a Spencer who entered my life around the same time Apple stared airing commercials with new songs. If she's crying all I have to do is put on one of those songs and she stops wailing and starts dancing. There hasn't been one song that she hasn't liked. Her favorite was "New Soul" by Naim Yael for the MacAir. She also likes "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by the Ting Tings and Fiest's "1234." I am hoping she won't be seduced by their "hip" advertising campaigns, but it seems almost unavoidable. I hope an ipod will be the extent of her Apple devotion!

Isn't This Sweet?