California Trip Part 1

Our family has been spending Thanksgiving week in California. We have had lots of fun visiting with family. Porter adores his grammy and gramps. He chases them around the house all day long. He had fun opening more birthday presents and loves being the center of attention. We were excited when Jared came in Wednesday, and Jared and I got had a fun day just to ourselves while Porter stayed home being spoiled rotten. Tomorrow we are going to the Kings/Mavs game, and will head home Sunday.

Porter's Birthday Party

Porter had lots of fun on his birthday. He loves being around other kids, and he likes to chase his little cousin Ryan around the house...they are such a cute little pair. He had fun eating cake and opening presents, and running around the house like the wild man he is. Here are pictures of the happy birthday boy!

Birthday Cake

We made Porter an entire cake and let him have at it. It took less than 10 seconds for him to dig in and all this damage was done in about 3 minutes. We got a good laugh out of it. It was expectantly messy, and all that sugar kept him up late that night.

Happy Gobble Gobble Day

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I am currently in California and am staying awake a little bit longer than I'd like to so that I can greet Jared who is driving from Utah to California to meet up with us. I'm excited!! Tomorrw we are going to stuff ourselves silly and look at Black Friday ads. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that I will find the camera that I want at an amazing price. I will wake up at 4am for it, really! We are enjoying our vacation, and the milder weather. Porter is following my parents all around the house like a little puppy. I hope everyone has a fun filled, tummy filled Thanksgiving Day! I am so thankful for wonderful friends and family! Happy Holidays to all of you!

Happy Birthday Porter!

I am amazed that tomorrow my baby will be turning 1 year old! How quickly the time has passed by. I still remember the day that I found out I was expecting Porter. We were so excited to welcome this precious little baby into the world. And I could have never imagined how precious he would be. Porter just melts my heart in a million different ways. His little smile is absolutely priceless, and I love how he tries to be funny just to make us laugh. I love it when he hides, and pops out to hear us say "Boo!" I love how he greets us with an adorable sleepy eyed smile in the morning when he wakes up - it makes waking up bright and early worth it. I love how when he wants to get my attention he walks up to me and folds his arms to show me what a good little boy he can be. I love to watch him play with Jared, and how sweet it is to see how they both love and adore each other. I 'love' how he innocently says "uh-oh" after he throws all his food onto the floor. I love watching him figure out new things every day. I love that he likes to cuddle on the couch with me and read books. Selfishly, I love it when he's a mama's boy. I love that he makes me want to be a better person. I love my little angel more than anything in the world. I feel so incredibly blessed that he was sent to our family. He is the light of our lives. Porter, I love you so much. Happy Birthday sweetheart. He will be having cake and ice cream tomorrow with the family, and we will be sure to post pictures soon. The day after his birthday we are flying out to California for some va-ca with the family. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Putting on the birthday suit...

I guess it is just a matter of time until they learn that they can take off their diaper. Porter learned how, and I guess he prefers the no diaper way of life. This means I can't let him run around in his diaper anymore, otherwise this is what we find. What a rascal.

Get an additional 30% off at Gap!

Today - November 13th through November 16th you can print this barcode and get an additional 30% off your purchase at Gap. This barcode can be used multiple times. I also have a one-time coupon code that can be used online that I won't be using if anyone would like - it is D7CDFYLBGJKJ. They have some cute things on clearance right now. I plan on getting this cute little snow suit - it is $16 at the store, so with my 30% off it is only $11. They also have this in pink. Happy shopping!

PS: You may also use this at Gap's partner companies: Old Navy & Banana Republic.

Tagged

My sister in law tagged me. I've never done this before. But here you are...

8 Shows I like to watch
1. Food Network
2. Dancing with the stars
3. The Office
4. Scare Tactics
5. Dateline/60 Minutes
6. Channel 472?? Nonstop music videos...
7. Seinfield
8. Everybody Loves Raymond

8 Favorite Restraunts
1. Red Robin
2. Cafe Rio or Bajios (depends on the day)
3. Cattlemen's
4. LaBou
5. Kneaders
6. Good Wood
7. Brick Oven
8. Los Hermanos

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Took a "nap" at 7am with my baby boy
2. Dropped off a baby gift
3. Went to Costco
4. Ran in the rain with Porter
5. Blogged
6. Made sweet potato fries for the 1st time
7. Made visiting teaching appointments
8. Did some online christmas window shopping - if that exists.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. The Christmas Rush
2. Spending Thanksgiving in Cali
3. Giving Porter a sibling
4. Paying off my house
5. A date night with Jared
6. Watching my children grow, and growing old with J
7. A boost in the economy
8. Spring

8 Things On My Wishlist
1. The Nikon P80 Digital Camera
2. Replacement balls for the Playskool Busy Ball Popper
3. A vacation
4. To be #1 on Google for Platinum Rings (almost there!)
5. Get in shape, and be a hot mom... how does Brooke Burns do it?
6. Find an amazing babysitter that has no social life
7. To be the best mother I am capable of being
8. Have my family close

8 People I Tag (only if you want...)
1. Sarah N
2. Dayna J
3. Amy N
4. Paige S
5. Jamie H
6. Kristen H
7. Tara H
8. Alissa B

Another Birthday Shout Out

This is a little early, but on Friday my little brother (if I can say "little") is turning 18 years old! I am sure glad that he lived with us for two years or else I would be in COMPLETE denial that my little blonde haired brother was an official adult!
Kyle is the youngest of the kids in our family. He was such a cute little toddler. We watched some home videos last year of him when he was I think eighteen months old, close to 2 at least. My mom asked him if he could count, and he counted to 10. Then she asked him if he could count higher, and he counted to 1o again in a soprano voice. It was so cute. That is always how Kyle was to me - little and sweet. I can remember when he was starting preschool and Kindergarten, and all of that. Even when I moved out to Utah, he had just graduated from Elementary school.
After I moved to Utah it was wierd to call home, because the little boy voices I was used to hearing started getting lower and lower and soon I had no clue who had answered the telephone. When we would go home to visit for the Holidays it was just "wierd" to me to see how "big" he was.
Then during Kyle's Junior year in High School he came to live with us. I'll admit I had tried to talk my parents into it for close to a year, but it took that long for them to even WARM up to the idea. My mom actually laughed and said "yeah right" the first time I suggested it. It was awesome to have Kyle here and to get to know him. Kyle is the most giving person and is willing to do anything for anyone. He is such a loyal person, and that is why everyone who knows him loves him. He has more friends than he knows what to do with, because everyone wants to be around Kyle's optimistic and happy personality. Kyle was here when I was pregnant with Porter, and got to deal with my unpredictable moods. He was here when Porter was born, and for the first half of Porter's life thus far. What I am trying to say, is Kyle is just a part of our family. We are THRILLED that he is coming back to Utah at the end of this month. Porter will have so much fun playing with his awesome Uncle Kyle! I know it's early, but I hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday little bro! We'll see you at Thanksgiving in a couple weeks!

Where were you 2 hours before sunrise this morning?

I found these pictures on the SD card, Jared apparently took them this morning when he found Porter and I snoozing on the couch. Porter doesn't really snooze anywhere besides his crib and the car. But when he decided to wake up at the crack of dawn (arrr) this morning, I guess he gave up the fight. I am not a morning person but how can you resist this cute little face?? I could probably resist it until 8am actually. Disclaimer- I DO have an arm around this boy, even though it looks like he's about to fall of the couch! He likes to be on his side.

Funny Boy

Trick or treat? He got the treat AND the trick - the wrapper stayed on. This little boy cracks us up with the little things he comes up with. He decided this was how he was going to carry around this piece of candy.

He's everywhere!

When Porter started walking, there were so many people that asked, "Isn't life so different now?" and warnings of "Now you will be chasing him all day." I never really felt this because he still wasn't crawling and still couldn't pull himself up to stand. But a couple weeks ago he began crawling, which was awesome. And this weekend he learned how to pull himself up. I'm happy for him, but not for me. This was how we learned he could pull himself up -
It was late at night and Porter wasn't going to sleep. We put the portable DVD player on the edge of his crib and put on the night time Baby Einstein DVD to lull him to sleep. We could hear the movie playing through the monitor. All of a sudden we hear a big crash, and the movie stopped. Then we hear "Uh-oh". I go upstairs to find Porter standing up on the other side of the crib looking down at the DVD player on the floor. As soon as I walk in he tells me "uh-oh". So now the crib is down at the lowest level possible.
Since then, he pulls himself up on the couch, and he is here and there and everywhere. There is no confining him to one place anymore. Here is what he does all day... play, get into mischief, and hide and play peek-a-boo.

Snow yo!

We woke up this morning to a beautiful snow covered world! Well, Orem. Ha. I couldn't help but put Porter's snow suit on and take him out back to check it out. He wasn't so sure about touching it with his bare little hands, but he liked trudging around in it and kicking snowballs around. My little snow baby. I can't wait til he's old enough to SHOVEL it! Ha. Actually, I can wait.

Love this boy!

Porter's two front teeth finally broke through and it seems he is finally getting over his little head cold. He wasn't quite himself the past week, but I am so excited to have my happy little boy back. He has his montsrous appetite back and is happy as can be. I woke up this morning before he, and couldn't help but be so excited for him to wake up so we could play. Love my little angel!

A Birthday Shout Out!

Today is my mom's birthday, so of course I have to do a "birthday shout-out". I was lucky enough to be the only girl in my family, which I can't imagine any other way. My mom and I stuck together and have always been close friends. I can't imagine ever having to share her. Although it just dawned on me that one day I will have sister-in-laws? I will dwell on that later, I guess. My mom taught me to be a strong willed person, and to always stand up for what I believed in. She taught me see the good in everyone. She taught me how to be thrifty and responsible. She taught me how to cook and clean, and has taught be how to be a good mom. Here are some fun memories, and lasting memories that I hold dear.

1. Birthday Dates - Every year on my birthday my mom would let me ditch school and she and I would spend the day together. She would take me shopping and let me pick out my birthday gifts, and take me out for my choice of lunch. Usually it was Leatherby's where we would split our favorite sandwich and ice cream sundae.
2. Thanksgiving - I remember every Thanksgiving morning waking up to the smell of Thanksgiving cooking underway. I would come down stairs and find a spot at the stool where I would watch my mom cook and we would chat. She would cook the turkey neck to use the meat for the stuffing, and when she was done I would nibble on what meat was left on the bones. My brothers thought I was disgusting. Ha.
3. Christmas - I couldn't wait until the day after Thanksgiving when we could put up the Christmas tree and start decorating the house. I would BEG my mom to get all the decorations down, and I wanted to have a say in where all the Christmas decor went. Looking back, I'm sure it drove her crazy, but I must have gotten good eventually because now she asks for my advice. Or maybe she's still being nice. Ha.
4. Loving Others - When I was in 2nd grade there was a girl in my class, I still remember her name was Meghan. She was a bully and didn't like most people. One day she decided she didn't like me either, and boy could she be mean. I came home and told my mom about this girl, and inside I was thinking of all the ways I could be rude back to her. But my mom suggested being nice to her no matter what. She told me to try and find something nice every day - whether it be if she was wearing something cute, etc. A week later I was shocked when this girl wanted me to come over to her house after school to play. It was a lesson I never forgot.
5. SO Mad! - Here is a funny memory. One day my brothers and I were not behaving and were getting on my mom's nerves. She angrily began sweeping (hmm I clean when I'm mad too!) and all of a sudden she tells all of us kids in a loud voice, "I'm so mad right now I could just spit!" We all looked at her with wide eyes, and then she turned her head and SPIT on the kitchen floor!! The room was silent for about 10 seconds, and then we ALL busted up laughing! She'll never lay that one down.
6. Encouragement - My mom always believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. She would always give me encouragement, and made me feel like I could do anything I set my mind too.
7,8,9... Wow there are so many fun memories I have with my mom, and they will continue...

Mom, I love you so much and I hope that you have a Happy Birthday! You are an amazing and beautiful woman both inside and out. I am so glad that I have you to look to as an example and that I can always lean on you for support and advice in my life. I feel so blessed to have lived and to currently live each day of my life with you by my side. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Halloween 2008

Woof woof! Is he not the most darling little dog you have ever seen? Well, Porter was darling dressed up on Halloween night. It was, however, a very low key holiday for us. (We feel like boring old people.) He's too young to be trick-or-treating, so we took him to the University Mall where they have trick-or-treating. For once he was able to run wild through a store with a bunch of other kids. He was in heaven. And I don't know if this is typical for those with lil ones, but once again we had strangers taking pictures of him with their phones. During his wild run through the mall he ran into a store and got all sorts of attention from the employees. One gave him a sucker, which was the perfect way to lure him into the stroller and make it back to the other side of the mall to our car. He then enjoyed answering the doors to trick-or-treaters for the remainder of the night. Moral of the story, if there are other kids around, he's in heaven.