We arrived at Rachelle and Ryan's house about 1 pm, but Ryan was still with his folks visiting his grandparents, Bill & Pat. He came home about 2 pm, and then other people started to arrive. Everyone took turns holding Spencer, so he got somewhat acquainted with all the new faces. Rachelle had went out that morning and bought him a miniature Santa Suit, so she dressed him up and surprised everyone with his new outfit. That Mall Santa would have had a run for his money competing against Spencer, and as an unbiased grandpa, I can vouch for that!

On Christmas Eve morning, we met Rachelle and Ryan with his folks at the Federal Way Mall to have Spencer get his first picture taken with Santa Claus. He did quite well, except he kept looking at Santa, not the photographer, and Ryan had to jump in to get him to smile. Being that they printed out only photo prints, I decided to take my own shots of Spencer in his first, very own Christmas Suit. Even if Santa wasn't around, he still stands out as a cute Christmas Elf, don't you think!

We had the opportunity to have Spencer spend the weekend of Dec. 20th & 21st. Rachelle & Ryan were preparing for a family get-together on Christmas Eve at their house, as well as trying to catch up on their Christmas shopping. With all the snow and ice, we figured it would be better just to keep him over night, instead of running back and forth so late. Amazingly, he did sleep the whole night. But he was happy to see mom and dad pick him up, just as the snow was starting to pile up.

It's now Monday, Dec. 8th, and Rachelle found out Spencer has acid reflux, which is why he kept spitting up and trying to clear his throat after every feeding. So her and Ryan went to the pharmacy to get some special Zantac medicine for infants. I'm used to burping babies, and when they do, that's usually the end of it. But this little guy would just fidget and squirm right after all the initial burping. All he wanted to do was to be held upright, pat his back and walk around - constantly. Hopefully, this will help relieve him of his problem. When he isn't like a wiggle worm, he's a joy to have around.

Today is Dec. 6th, Teri's birthday, and looking after Spencer was an extra birthday treat. When Rachelle dropped him off, she said that he had hardly slept all day. After 6 hours, 2 bottles, 2 diaper changes, all kinds of smiles and cooing, and talking to Great Grandma June for about 20 minutes, it finally caught up with him. He finally fell fast sleep about 11 p.m., and when his mom picked him, I think he stayed awake long enough to get into the car. I heard he slept until 7 a.m., which by itself was probably some sort of record. Like I said before, the boy just wants to have fun and get involved. And at such an early stage in life, too!

On Tuesday, Dec. 2nd, we watched Spencer most of the day. It just reminded us of how much time is spent on "baby-sitting" vs. trying to get any normal routines accomplished. And that's with the 2 of us! He just didn't want to take a nap for very long while lying on our bed. It's like he wants to constantly take in this new world of sights and sounds, and just doesn't have the time to waste on sleeping. With all his facial expressions, he could become a character actor by the time he's one! It was so much fun taking pictures and videos of him while Teri encouraged him with smiles and talking.

After his second bottle around 4 pm, he finally fell asleep while Teri held him sitting in her office chair. That was for over 2-1/2 hours. When Ryan came to pick him up, he was still conked out. Boy, I wish I could sleep like that! In reality, I think he's training us.

Don't you just love that blue knit outfit he's wearing? He looks so much like a well dressed little orphan waif (if he/she could ever exist) from some 1940's Frank Capra movie. Absolutely love it!