Busy, Busy, Busy

We have been very busy since my last post. Porter will be 7 months old this week! He is over a half a year old! I can’t believe how fast it has flown by. We have enjoyed every minute of it! I can’t even remember life without him. He is such a sweet and adorable baby!

He had his 6 month well baby checkup on May 24th and he weighed 19 pounds 10 onces (the 80th percentile) and he was 28 inches long!!! (93rd percentile) He is a BIG boy!

He is rolling over with ease and is scooting around, but desperately wants to crawl. He gets so frustrated! He can almost sit completely by himself, but prefers to stand… with our help. He is eating food 2 times a day and we haven’t found a food he won’t eat! He is trying to get some teeth, but none yet. His favorite activities are bouncing in his jumper, playing with his toys on the floor, snuggling with Mom, laughing with Dad, and smiling at everyone. He loves books, especially Where’s my Mama. He loves his blue bear, Mr. Blue and his new stuffed Peter Rabbit. He is very interested in remote controls and cell phones. He is intrigued by our 3 cats and likes to pull their fur. He is actually pulling on Sandler’s tail as I type this! Sandler is very tolerant. Porter also loves bathtime! In all, he is a very happy and easy going baby. We got lucky!

I had my last day of school and Porter had his last day of day care on May 28th. I was very sad to say goodbye to my school and my kiddos, but I know I will still see them and that they are in good hands. I am very excited for this new chapter of my life. The first week home, we made 3 trips to Target. I knew I was officially a stay at home mom!

Since our summer began we have been very busy. We have had 2 birthday parties, a play date, visits to a camp I used to volunteer at, a visit from Grandma, a trip to visit Mimi and Papa John, and our first time swimming!

Here are a few pictures from our friend Brayden Beck’s 1st birthday on May 30th! It was a Cars theme and lots of fun!

Nicole and Stuart with Brayden

Nicole and Brayden with his birthday cake!

Daddy and Porter watching the birthday Boy

Brayden eating his cake

Brayden playing with the gift we gave him

Zach’s twin brother, Jared’s little boy celebrated his birthday on June 5th. Harman turned 2 years old and had a Thomas the Train theme. We enjoyed visiting with family, but missed Gamma and Poppy. Gamma got sick and was unable to make it 😦 You can tell from the pictures, we had lots of fun!

Mimi and Porter

Papa John and Porter looking at the balloon

Uncle Jimmie helping Porter get the balloon

Harman blowing out his candles with Jennifer and Jared

Uncle Jared and Harman cutting the cake

Porter and Daddy watching Harman open his presents

Enjoying the Party

Harman opening our presents to him

The Popes

Porter with Uncle Jared

Grandma (my mom) came to visit on June 15- 17. We had many new adventures. We went to the Dallas World Aquarium, where Porter loved staring at the beautiful fish. He also got to see a sloth, seals, penguins, flamingos, a cheetah, snakes, bats, owls, sharks and a manatee, just to name a few! To my surprise, they had a rain forest with birds flying loose! Many of you know of my bird phobia, so needless to say, I spent a lot of time ducking and looking over my head. I swear they were trying to get me! 🙂 We also went to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. They had a special Peter Rabbit village with houses from the book made out of plants and flowers. Porter has Peter Rabbit prints on his bedroom wall so I thought it would be special. An hour after walking around in the heat, we finally found the village! My mom and I forgot to grab a map on the way in and instead of asking where Peter Rabbit was, we wandered aimlessly around the gardens in the sweltering Texas heat! When we finally found it, Porter was fast asleep! We visited the air conditioned gift shop afterwards and Porter fell in love with a stuffed Peter Rabbit. It went straight to his mouth, so we had to get him! He loves his new friend! We had such a fun time and were sad to see Grandma go, but we know we will see her soon. We are going to my parents’ beach house in North Carolina over the 4th of July weekend! We can’t wait to see how Porter likes the beach! Here are some pictures of our adventures with Grandma!

Porter and Mom at the Aquarium

Grandma and Porter at the Aquarium

Grandma and Porter

Porter sleeping in front of Peter Rabbit at the Arboretum

Mom and sleeping Porter

Last Friday, Zach and his brothers played in an annual golf tournament with their dad outside of Longview. Porter and I tagged along and we spent the night with Mimi and Papa John. Porter got to swim for the first time and he loved it! He kept trying to grab the water. Here is a video… (there was a girl in the pool who wouldn’t stop talking to me)

Porter also got to meet Dianne’s mom, (Zach’s step Grandma) Gaga! She just loved him! Here are some pictures from our visit.

Porter in the pool for the first time!

Porter floating in the pool!

Porter trying to eat his raft

Hi Mom... I'm swimming!

Porter loves his boat!

Porter meets Gaga

Porter playing with Mimi at her and Papa John's house

Playtime with Mimi

Kisses from Mimi

On Father’s Day, we had a pretty relaxing day of watching TV… Zach watched the World Cup and The US Open. We also went over to Zach’s Aunt Barbara and Uncle Mark’s house to swim and grill out. Porter got to swim again! He also got to meet more family members. Here are some pictures of Porter after swimming. He is laying in his raft and snuggling with his new Peter Rabbit. He looks so cute and chubby! Love those cheeks!!!

Swimming was so much fun!

Posing with Peter Rabbit

Happy Baby!

Ready for a nap

Here are some other videos from over the last few weeks. This one is my favorite. Zach captured this while Porter and I slept…

Here are two videos of Porter in his bouncer. It is making his legs so strong!

Here is some more videos of Porter doing some of his favorite things…

Very Messy, but so much fun!

Porter loves oatmeal. He loves it so much and gets so excited when he sees it coming that he starts laughing and kicking his feet. I have learned the hard way that I have to hold the bowl away from him and hold on to it tight. Last night, he caught me off guard and kicked the bowl. This is the result… So hard to be angry at that little face, plus he thought it was so much fun.

oops!

Having so much fun!

I Love Mommyhood!

I had such a wonderful Mother’s Day. I am so blessed with the best husband and baby in the world! I can’t believe how much I love Porter. Everyone told me I would feel a love like no other, but I never imagined it would be this strong. I told Zach that I think I am obsessed with him and wonder if it is normal to be so consumed by him. I thank God everyday for my precious baby! Only 13 more days of school and then we get to be together everyday!

For Mother’s Day, Zach and Porter made me a framed picture of Porter’s feet and hands along with a black and white photo of me. It was a team effort to make it and the hand prints were a little harder than anticipated, but what a thoughtful gift that I will treasure always.

On Sunday, Zach, Porter and I went to the Swiss Avenue Historic Home Tour. (www.sahd.org/hometour)  I love looking at houses, expecially old homes with all the charm and character.  This is all I wanted for Mother’s Day.  We had such a fun day.  It was a little chilly but the rain held off.  We were so proud of our Porter Pants… we waited in lines, toured homes, and walked around for 5 hours and he never once cried, whimpered, or whined.  He rode on Daddy in his Baby Bjorn.  He wasn’t really sure what to do with his hands so he held them out to the sides of him and grabbed everyone that walked by.  He brought lots of smiles to peoples faces!  He is such a happy baby!  Here are some pictures from our fun day!

cool shades from Gamma and Poppy

Ready for the sun... if it comes out!

The beginning of the home tour...ready to go Dad

Food break

trying to smile

Finally a smile!

the end of the tour

ready to go home

On Saturday evening, we went over to Uncle Jimmie and Andrea’s house for dinner.  He smoked us some chicken and ribs and Gamma and Poppy came too!

Happy Porter

Get this off my head Daddy

Hanging with my Daddy

Playing with Gamma

Getting tickled

Springtime

Oh how I love spring… bring on the warm weather and sitting on patios! There are only 4 1/2 more weeks of school. I have decided to stay home with Porter so these are my last days teaching. I will miss my students so very much, but ultimately I can’t stand being away from my sweet boy. He is growing so fast and changes so much from day to day… I don’t want to miss a minute of it. Everyday he shows us a little more of his personality. He has a very sweet disposition and almost always has a smile on his face. His spirit is full of life and he loves to laugh!

Porter is back to sleeping through the night. For a while there he was waking up in the middle of the night for a feeding. He was moving so much at night and waking himself up. He finally graduated from the swaddle and is now only sleeping in his sleep sack. He just got over bronchitis and a sinus infection, which made sleeping difficult too. He is all better after being on “baby z-pack” for 3 days and alas, sleeping through the night again! YAY! He especially loves rolling over and sleeping on his tummy!

We spent Easter in Houston and Porter got to also celebrate Granddad’s birthday. Grandma gave Porter a singing Donald Duck in a bunny costume that Porter didn’t want to have anything to do with. It is starting to grow on him though. Here are some pictures from our wonderful weekend…

Our little family before Granddad's birthday dinner

Dad, Evan and Mom

The Jacobs Clan

Playing with Mr Blue

Going to Church

Porter in his Easter Basket

Porter's Easter bunny tail

Cottontail

Sittin' with Dad

Big Eyes

pooping face

resting

more pooping face

so serious

All worn out... in deep thought

Here are some more pics from over the last month. Zach and I noticed a trend… lots of pictures of Porter and Daddy in the chair sleeping 🙂

face down

Charlie

Trying to wake up

Daddy's chest is so comfy!

sacked out

Sleeping on Daddy some more

So sweet

relaxing on Dad

Awww, this is the life

So happy he can lift his head... now he wants to crawl. This was taken April 24th!

Look at me!

So cute!

Back to school, Little Leprechaun, Playdate and Being 4 Months Old

My maternity leave officially ended on March 3rd and it was back to school for me and off to daycare for Baby Porter. The first day was, of course, much harder on me than it was on Porter. I think I cried harder when I picked him up than when I dropped him off. I was so excited to see him and so overwhelmed with how much I had missed him. We only had 1 1/2 weeks until spring break so that made it easier. Porter seems to like daycare and his teacher, Miss Tammy. He is always smiling when I drop him off and again when I pick him up, so I have myself convinced that he is smiling all day long! The best part of my day is driving off from school to go pick him up. Nothing is more rewarding than his huge smile when he sees me walk in the door.

On March 13 we had our Annual St. Patty’s Day party at our house. Jimmie fired up the smoker and it was a beautiful day. This is the 4th year we have had this party and boy has it changed…. there were so many children. Having children at the party 3 years ago could have been dangerous 🙂 We had a wonderful day with friends.

Our little leprechaun

Porter and Daddy

Mommy and Porter

Mommy thinks I'm Charming

Our Family

Porter hanging out on his monkey rug

Nicole, Brayden, Lindsay, Tiffany and Stuart

Kelley, Nina, and Kristen (and Pogo the Dog)

Brian, Ben, Clayton and Nathan

Jason, Cory, Brian and Tyler

The Caverichs

Jason and Kylie

BABIES!!

Brian and Lindsay

Giant Jenga

My boys and a creepy leprechaun

Ben, Alli, Kim, Andy and Sarah

A Perfect Afternoon in the backyard

Tyler is a Conehead!

Harrison is very interested in Porter

The following week was Spring Break and my high school best friend, Callie, came to visit. Tiffany invited us girls and babies over to her new house for dinner and Porter’s first playdate. Callie, Tiffany and Tyler, Nicole and Brayden, Jolene and Tabor and Me and Porter all enjoyed visiting and watching the kids “play”. Porter did more watching and crying than playing, but I had a great time catching up with great friends!

Just getting started

Tyler playing with his new pizza toy from Aunt Nicole

Brayden's first driving lesson from mom

Brayden going for a spin

Bevo wants to play too!

Jolene with Tabor and Tyler

Porter and his friends.... he isn't so sure about this

As for Porter, he is now a little over 4 months old. He had his 4 month Well Baby check up on March 17th. He weighed 15 pounds and 4 ounces and was 25 3/4 inches long! He is in the 60th percentile for his weight and 80th percentile for his height. He is rolling over, is lifting his head and is sitting up with some support. He has really been trying to sit up on his own the last couple of days. His sleep has regressed some. At about 2 months he was sleeping up to 10 hours at night, but in the last 2 weeks he has been waking up at around 3:00 am and guzzling a bottle. I read that this sometimes happens and is normal… babies try to sit up and turn over and it wakes them up. I also think he may be going through a little growth spurt because he is eating like crazy right now. We introduced some rice cereal last week. He hated it the first couple of times, but now he opens his mouth wide for the spoon and seems to like it. My favorite thing is how hard he laughs and his great big smile! We tickle his feet and belly and he cracks himself (and us) up! He is such a happy baby and he has the sweetest disposition. We will have to capture a laughing session on video and post it for you all… it will bring a smile to your face. So much joy and innocence. He also plays with his toys now and wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth. It is fun to watch his determination to move his arms and hands to get objects into his mouth. He gets frustrated but he doesn’t give up. It is so amazing to watch him grow and to see his emerging personality. He is such a love. We look forward to his first Easter. He has his basket all ready to go to Grandma and Granddad’s house in Houston. It is my Dad’s birthday on Friday, so he will get to celebrate with his Grandson!

Baptism and the Owl

Porter was baptised on Sunday, February 28, 2010 at Christ the King Catholic Church. It was a wonderful ceremony and we had such a special day with family and friends. Porter is so blessed to have 2 sets of Godparents. Thank you Brian and Kelley Christian and Jared and Jennifer Pope for being such a big part of Porter and our lives! He is one lucky and loved little boy! He can’t go wrong with the Popes and the Christians on his side 🙂 Here are some pictures from the blessed event and a little video clip of Porter’s imitation of an owl.

Getting a little cat nap in before the ceremony

Ready to go!

Brothers and their sons

Jimmie, Lindsay, Zach, Porter, Jared, Harman and Jennifer Pope

Godparents and parents with Porter

Brian and Kelley Christian with us

The Jacobs' and Us

Jared Pope and Porter

Brian and Kelley with Porter

Kelley, Porter and Brian

Mimi and Papa John with Porter

Dianne and John with Us

The Chrisians with Us

Uncle Evan with us

Poppy and Gamma Pilcher with us

Our little Family

Grandma, Porter and Lindsay

Great Aunt Joyce and Great Mimi with Porter

Great Mimi with Porter

Porter checking out cousin Harman

The Pope Boys

Sharon P. and her boys

Porter and Daddy

Relaxing after a long day

What a Day!

You have a baby… in a bar.

So a few weeks ago we decided to meet Brian and Kelley out for Pizza. It was the night of the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics and it was cold so we wanted something casual. We decided on a local fav of Brian and Zach’s called Louie’s. It is a place we have frequented often and didn’t think twice about taking Porter. I guess we had failed to notice in our non-baby days that Louie’s is very much a bar that serves pizza. Let’s just say we probably won’t be taking Porter there again until he is at least 21. When we got there, around 7:30, there were a few families there with children but toward the end of the dinner there was only one table with a child… and it was ours. It didn’t help that halfway through dinner he decided to make a present in his pants. Porter and I patiently waited in line for the single ladies room only to find no changing table… big surprise there! So I whipped out the changing pad and changed him on the sink. Then as we waited to get our check, Porter got fussy and by fussy I mean crying. I guess it was so dark (because it was a bar) people didn’t notice the little man in the car seat, but now the entire place was pretty aware and giving us some interesting glances. I don’t recommend a baby in a bar but we did have fun with Brian and Kelley!

Brian and Porter

Kelley and Porter

Let it Snow!!!

I know I am really behind on updating…. I will start with our big snow. It started on Thursday, February 11 and snowed and snowed and snowed. I know my Iowa family can relate, but us Texans didn’t know what to do with all the snow. Even the trees down here couldn’t handle it. We had over a foot of snow. Zach drove in from Houston and couldn’t get in the driveway. He had to use our garden shovel to clear the driveway. Porter sure has seen a lot of snow in his short little life.

Our House

View down the street

Zach shoveling snow so he can get in the driveway

Zach continuing to clear a path

Yard at night

A tree fell across our street

Another one bites the dust

Happy New Year, Meeting Friends and Turning 2 months old!

So sorry for taking so long to update you all… so much excitement! First of all we had a wonderful New Year’s Eve at our dear friends’ house, the Christians. They have a party every year and we were so excited to include Porter in the festivities! He had so much fun meeting more friends and seeing old ones. We had dinner and partied until 2:00 am! Porter is a party animal already!

Yummy dinner

Tyler checking on Porter

eating

playing trivia games

Porter is giving us the answers

snuggle time

Mommy and Porter

Having a little snack with mom and dad

Polly helps out

Staying awake to see the new year

Kelley opening the champagne!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Singing auld lang syne

Porter's view of the party

Meeting Annie

Cheers!

Celebrating with our sweet boy

Happy New Year with the Popes... sticking your finger in Porter's ear evidently makes him go cross eyed!

Porter and Daddy Dancing

enjoying champagne

Porter in a Lindsay Sandwich

Ladies Man

Brian, Tyler and Tiffany Kriete

Tyler having a ball!

Katia, Baby Harrison, Nina and Kristen

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Getting ready to go home after a long night!

After the New Year, our friend Andrea came to town to visit and to introduce us to her new fiance. My high school best friend, Callie, came in town too and all of us met up for brunch with the husbands and babies!

Porter meets Jolene, Brad, and Tabor Mann

Porter meets Callie

Porter meets Andrea

Tabor an Tyler sharing

Budding romance

Andrea, Nicole, Callie, Baby Brayden, and Tiffany

Tyler's picture of Porter

Andrea and her fiance, Mike

Our Family

On January 19, I celebrated my 32nd birthday. Zach was in Houston, so it was just me and Porter. My mom came in town on Saturday (the 23rd) to stay with Porter so Zach and I could go to dinner and celebrate my birthday with all our wonderful friends. Porter had so much fun playing with Grandma! Grandma couldn’t believe how much he had grown and changed in such a short time. Thanks Mom for coming to babysit and giving us a night out!

On Monday, the 25th, Porter had his 2 month well baby checkup with the doctor. He had 4 vaccinations and was so brave. He only cried for about 10 seconds, but it seemed like eternity to me. He now weighs 12 pounds, 1 ounce (60th percentile) and is 23 1/2 inches long (75th percentile). The doctor said he is very long already and is on track to be tall like Daddy! Thank goodness he didn’t get my heighth, or lack thereof! The doctor said he is doing great and is a beautiful baby, but I already knew that! We seem to have gotten his constipation problems solved after a visit to a pediatric gastroenterologist. He suggested prune juice and it did the trick! Porter goes back to the doctor at 4 months, and we are so happy he is healthy and thriving!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Porter’s first Christmas was a white one! Dallas hasn’t seen a white Christmas in years so it was very special. It made traveling to Gamma and Poppy’s house a little difficult, but we made it and had such a great time! Here is a video taken outside our house Christmas morning…

Here are some pictures too!

Zach and Porter Claus Christmas Morning

Lindsay and Porter Claus Christmas Morning

Porter was a very lucky boy this Christmas. He got to visit with all his Grandparents, either before or on Christmas day. Zach’s Dad and Stepmom came to our house on the Saturday before Christmas and we grilled out and had a nice dinner with them and Jared. Porter got to meet his Mimi for the first time and got his first set of golf clubs from her and Papa John.

Zach, Porter and Papa John with Porter's new golf clubs!

Then on Sunday until Thursday, Porter and I tagged along with Zach to Houston to see my parents. Porter had so much fun staring at the lights on the Christmas tree and spending time with his Grandma and Granddad and Uncle Evan. My parent’s dogs still aren’t sure what to think of Porter. Their little dogs seem a bit scared of the “creature” and a bit jealous when they hold him. Jake, the lab, seems very protective of him. We had so much fun!!!

Mesmerized by the lights

Staring at those lights was exhausting

Long day on the golf course

Wake up Dad

Porter is so happy! He loves his new book that has Granddad and Grandma's voices read to him! So cool!

Opening presents

Opening presents

Porter with his Granddad and Grandma

Granddad, Porter and Grandma

Porter with Granddad, Grandma and the dogs

Our Family

Us with Buster, who just adores Zach!

too much excitement for one day!

Then on Christmas day we hit the roads and headed to Granbury to spend the day at Zach’s Mom and Stepdad’s house. Porter got to meet his great grandma, Mimi and spend the day with his Gamma, Poppy, Uncle Jimmie, Uncle Jared, Aunt Jennifer and cousin Harman. Porter can’t wait to be bigger so he can play with Harman!

Porter is tired from opening all his presents!

Porter snuggling with Mimi

Harman and Uncle Jared opening presents

Harman playing with his new trucks!

Harman loves his trucks!

Harman unwrapping the blocks we gave him!

Uncle Jared and Harman unwrapping the book we gave him.

Uncle Jimmie is exhausted after smoking/grilling the Christmas feast in the snow!

He's Alive!

Getting lunch from Mimi

In addition to having such a loving family, Porter has been blessed with the love of so many of our friends. We have already shared some pictures of him meeting many of our friends, but here are a few more.

Porter spending time with Uncle Jimmie

Porter meets Alex Christian

Porter meets Lisa Bankler Shulgen... a great college friend and fellow San Antonian!

Porter’s 2 week check up went great except for the heel stick they did… not sure if it upset me or Porter more. It is just heart breaking to see him cry and you feel so helpless. His weight was up to 7 lbs 6 oz from 6 lbs 6 oz when he left the hospital. He had also grown an inch!

Porter had another visit to the doctor yesterday due to bowel movement issues… or should I say, the lack-there-of. I will save you the details (for once) and say we are heading in the right direction after a few tips from the doctor. They weighed him and he is now at 9 lbs 15 oz! He is a growing boy! His next appointment is his 2 month well baby check up on January 25th.

We just love our precious son and love watching him change and grow. We are embracing our new life and adjusting to a new “normal”. The lack of sleep has been the hardest part, but we cherish those special moments alone with Porter in the middle of the night. We love to just stare at him and can’t get over how perfect he is. Zach has been an amazing dad and an even more amazing and supportive husband. I never doubted he would be, but I feel so blessed to have such a hands on husband and a true partner in this journey. I love my two boys!