Friday, August 2, 2013

18 Months

Holy Cow! A year and half goes by so fast when you're as busy as this little guy! And that's exactly the word I would use to describe Porter at this stage. He is constantly on the move and if I am not right there watching him constantly he gets into all sorts of mischief. He gets into the garbage all the time, pulls the DVDs from the shelves in the TV room, pulls books from the bookcase, gets into the cupboards in the bathroom while I'm showering and scatters cotton balls or Q-Tips everywhere. He can open the front door since it has a lever for a handle, so we have to make sure it's locked all the time. If we don't know where Porter is, you can bet he's getting into some kind of trouble. His new thing is to climb inside the cupboards and hide. He thinks he's so funny.
 I love that Porter still loves to snuggle and will let me hold and kiss him as much as I want.

He is also a big-time climber! As soon as my back is turned he is pushing a kitchen chair out to use to climb up on top of the table. 

 He's also very curious about everything. He couldn't figure out why he was having such a hard time getting a drink from the sprinklers.

Oh how I love this boy of mine and his contagious smile!
Porter's Accomplishments:
Can sign: milk, more, water, finished, please, thank-you--he can also shake his head no and is starting to shake his head yes. He's also very enthusiastic about waving :)
Can say: Ma, Da, vroom-vroom (does this for any kind of car, truck, tractor, or heavy equipment), woof-woof (for dogs) and can say "yes" (sometimes), "uh-oh", and "hot" (sounds like ot). Porter is really good to try to mimic words and sounds. I've had him saying "thank-you" a couple of times, but not consistantly.
Sleeps: Goes to bed at 6:30 each night and waks up around 7am. Takes one nap now around 10:30 and will sleep until at least 12:30 usually, but sometimes will go as long as 2 or 2:30.
Eats: everything!! Loves food, especially snacks. He likes frozen peas and corn (not frozen), fruit, real meat (not lunch meat), hot-dogs, breads and cereal. He's a little thief too. If you have food, he expects you to share with him.
Loves: books, his toy cars and trucks, to wrestle with daddy, to play peek a boo (will cover his face), and hide and seek (loves to hide from us and giggle when we find him). He also enjoys being outside. Each morning he will bring me his shoes and wants me to put them on him so he can go right outside first thing. I have a feeling it's going to be a LONG winter. He's not afraid of the slide. He can climb up the ladder and go down all by himself. 
And probably his biggest accomplishment right now is that he's walking!!! Last Sunday Blake took him out because he was being loud during sacrament meeting and got Porter to take some steps on his own. Then during nursery (we took him a week early) I came in to check on things and I look down and see him walking towards a toy in the middle of the room. It was so exciting!! We have been kind of worried at how reluctant he's been about not wanting to walk at all. It's been almost a week, and each day Porter gets more sure of himself and walks more during the day instead of crawling. Way to go bud!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Lakeside Retreat

Blake's family chose this beautiful location for their family get together this year. We came here two years ago when I was pregnant with Porter and had so much fun together. It's quiet and private and since two years ago there have been several additions to the lake. This year we didn't have to camp, we were able to sleep in beds inside one of the houses. (You can rent this place for your next family reunion. To see more pics and get more info click here)

The first night we were there we saw two eagles. One was a golden eagle that was perched on the fence that separates the lake property from the river. The second one was a bald eagle that was right in the river. I hurried to grab my camera to snap a picture.

 So beautiful and peaceful

The morning of the second day I was able to meet my good friend R. in town and have lunch with her. It's always good to be able to catch up with old friends! When I got back from lunch I found Porter and Blake out for a ride in the kayak
 One of the great things about these reunions is the cousin time! We didn't see Brooke hardly at all the entire time we were there. She just played and the older cousins were so good to look after her. She also loved the hot-tub!
Brooke and J.

Cousin Soup
 While Porter was napping, Blake and I were able to get some wake-skating time in

 This is my "I haven't done this in two years and hope I can at least get up" face
 Yes! Success!
Blake showing K. how to use the sling shot

 Relaxing with Mr. P

Zac got stitches in thumb--luckily the only accident the entire trip

One night we had an auction. Chris (AKA "Hot Karl") was the auctioneer and we all had monopoly money to spend.

the kids getting their money 

Hot Karl
 Brooke's winnings--she was pretty happy about this

 Zac is the lucky winner of a DI prom dress. Cousin S.'s shirt says it all ;)
Porter made off with his own prize from the auction

Steph in her skeleton costume smacking the Justin Beiber pinata
I have to add this pic because there are hardly any of me. I was there!

 Porter loved the swing


 Brooke got stung by a bee one morning and we put a mud mask on her foot. It really works!

cousins J., K, and Brooke going for a ride

Brooke and Blake on the paddle board

cousin H. hops on

more hot tubbin'

DD does the surfin' thing

Blake surfing
 Of course Porter is not interested in the water while he's dressed in his swim suit, but as soon as he has on real clothes, he can't stay out of it.


waving to the boat with Grams



 The last night we had a talent show

Brooke and A.
 The talent show was mostly the kids doing stuff. Some of them danced, a couple of the girls wrote songs and played their ukuleles. At one point Brooke raised her hand that she had a talent (umm, what? Blake and I just looked at each other). She sang this song that she made up about loving her family and not throwing fits. It was really cute.
 Zac is going to waterski in his prom dress and bear costume--he keeps us all entertained :)
 Beautiful night!
Love spending time with family. See you soon!
 Gotta end with the silly faces
Our kids (and mom and dad) crashed hard when we got home! We had so much fun playing that we needed a few days to recover.