spelling bee

a funny story. jared was telling me that he was watching the spelling bee and porter was standing right in front of the tv mesmorized. after a couple of words went by, porter was ready. the judges said a word, and porter said "da-da-da (the word)........ da (spelling the letters).....da......da......da...... da-da-da!(and the word again!)" lol!

a little this and a little that

today is one of my favorite boy's birthdays! zach turned 5 years old today! zach is always so nice to everyone around him, he is such a good helper, and porter adores him. he always has fun, which makes being around zach lots of fun! we love zach and hope he has a happy, happy birthday!




















best daddy in the whole world! while i was on crutches trying to recover from my surgery porter became the biggest daddy's boy ever. i admit i was a bit jealous, but it was probably what was best for everyone considering daddy had to wear lots of hats during the past weeks. i am so thankful that porter has such a good daddy who adores him, and is fully capable of taking care of all his needs. i am so glad that i can be a 100% mommy again, and that for once i hear more than just "daddy where are you?" but also "mommy where are you?" ah, it warms my heart so.








































just the other day we were out working on our deck when lo and behold the sprinklers came on! porter was immediately crawling down the stairs to check out the action (this was his 1st time seeing them come on this year!). i didn't stop him, and he ran through that water for about 5 minutes until he came back with a quivering lip... it was COLD WATER!





















lisa, maylee and spencer had porter and i over to play last week. they enjoyed playing in the water and sand and it was funny to see the difference between boys and girls- maylee had to wash her hands every time she got sand on them, which was A LOT, and porter was making a huge mess, and LOVING IT. thanks for the play date, porter sure does love his cousins!

memorial day milestones

may 23rd 2009 - 18 mos old

porter is eighteen months today! i can hardly believe how fast he is growing up. he is such a delight to be around and i consider being his mother one of my greatest blessings. porter has "grown up" so much the past month, i am amazed at how much he communicates with us. if he gets frustrated, all i have to say is "what do you want?" and he will tell me or take my hand and show me. i love the mommy/porter time we have together- cuddling, laughing, and playing. here are some updates on porter:

fav foods- chicken nuggets, bananas, apples, grapes, hot dogs, fruit snacks, eggo waffles, capri suns, chocolate milk, string cheese... and anything we're eating if he can have the spoon

words he can say- mama, daddy, banana, apple, cheese, snack, chips, drink, juice, please, thank you, more, get it, this, outside, car, truck, knock knock, where are you?, book, baby, shoes, socks, hi, bye bye, show, again, go, okay, hands, toes, eyes, nose, chicken, airplane, keys, pop, balloon, ball, hoop, cow, moo, duck, pig, dog, kitty cat, jeff, kyle, ashlee, zach, grandma, come on, here you go, ice cream, water, stairs, stars, fan, uh-oh, yeah, no, open, shut, fall down, hello, hat, pants, bite, spoon, hungry, eat, blankie, binky, bus, stinky, tree, sun, moon, flower, bee, sheep, choo-choo, whoa, hot, bath, clock, bonk, candy, couch.... + more

fav things to do- play outside, basketball, balls, jumping on the trampoline, playing with cousins/friends, books, splash in the water, push his lawnmower, watching the Backyardigans

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may 24th 2009 - anniversary #6

jared and i celebrated our 6th anniversary this weekend. we hit another milestone and left porter overnight for the very first time. we went up to park city for the weekend just the two of us- we shopped a ton, had a yummy dinner, watched the playoff game from our jacuzzi tub, saw a movie, slept in, and relaxed! it was so wierd to go places and not have to worry about porter or keeping him quiet or entertained... i felt like my brain was on vacation, it was wierd.

so... happy anniversary jared! its so crazy that 6 years ago we were a newlywed couple starting our lives together in the basement apartment next door to our house now! who would have thought.... and here we are 6 years later, multiple jobs later, one business later, one child later, one happy family, and many more years and memories to come...i am so thankful to have you as my husband and appreciate all that you do to make our family happy. i love you

american idol

i have only watched bits and pieces of this seasons american idol. last night was the final episode and although i wasn't watching it, i was getting a play by play report from my 10 year old niece. when she ran downstairs to report that adam lambert was singing with clowns, we had to turn it on. of course we found adam lambert performing with kiss, but i think my niece pretty much nailed it. hahaha. i thought that was hilarious!

i won!

i felt like the kid from willy wonka this morning when i saw that shiny silver wrapped card inside my cereal box. i was pretty excited... even if it was only $5! lol. forget the colorful spoons and cheap toys, just put these in my cereal box from now on. and maybe increase the number.

lately

my spirits are so much higher these days, i am feeling back to my old self again. sorry for the recent pity party, i think i fell apart in every way possible. after my last apt i decided i needed to try and make my life normal again. i hired a girl in my ward to help my clean house twice a week. she's been doing all the things i am not able to right now, and it has lifted my spirits significantly! we also just got a storage unit and have been doing some major cleaning out, which feels GREAT. it is amazing how much the condition of your environment affects you. (or me at least.)

this last weekend we had fun going to the holy cow boutique (cutest stuff!) and then we went to the gardens at thanksgiving point with jared's parents. it was so pretty and it felt wonderful to be outside and have the sun shining down on my face. porter loved it too. he ran wild for hours! and splashed in the water and ran some more. he kept pointing and telling us "flower", "water", "tree". it was darling. he cried when we left. i've made an effort to get out of the house more and have consequently been using a ton of bribery (aka treats) with porter. i think he's put on some pounds. lol.

also, the latest funny story for porter. i'll never run out of them. the house was strangely quiet the other day which means someone is up to no good. i go upstairs to find porter doing his hair! i know, 17 months old, and doing his hair?? i don't even do his hair! i included a picture to capture how lovely he was doing. oh and another funny one... we had a golf tournament playing on our tv the other day. when tiger woods hit his ball into the water, porter said "uh-oh". how does he know?

a mother's day tribute!

My Mom

I was thinking the other day about my senior project in High School; I decided to make my senior prom dress. I went to a fabric store and started looking through dress patterns. I ended up picking out what resembled a wedding dress... not the easiest dress to make. Even worse, part of the fabric was tulle which happens to be that one thing that gives my mom goosebumps. (You know, some people it's the squeaky chalkboard... me it's cutting thread with my teeth... it gives me goosebumps every time, no fail.) I had no idea how to even use a sewing machine, and my mom patiently sat by my side and ended up making most of it for hours every single day. Her bedroom transformed into a sewing room as we worked on my project for weeks. We talked, she taught, we laughed. As I thought about that experience, it perfectly depicted my mom and how it was growing up in our home. She didn't complain or hesitate about helping me with my project. She was so patient and helpful, and of course, we had fun spending time together. What's more is this: me, being the little brat that I was decided when it was all done that I didn't like it. I turned it in for my senior project and got my grade, but I didn't even to wear it to my prom. I can't imagine how that must have hurt my mom's feelings? She never did say anything if it did, and still wore a big smile and was there taking my pictures and giving me hugs as I got ready for prom wearing a friend's dress. So mom, thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for always loving me unconditionally... even when I pulled stuff like this. And a few years too late, sorry! I love you so much, and love to see how much you love and adore my precious little Porter Jay because I feel like we now share the most important thing in common- motherhood. So mom, I don't know why I wanted to bring this up, other than to say that I love that you love and accept me no matter what I say or do, that you will always be here for me... no matter what. I can truly be in my own skin with you.

Mickey - Jared's Mom

While I was in college I worked part time as a preschool teacher at Kindercare. Being around little kids with colds all day long took a toll on my body and I felt like I was constantly getting sick. During this time I was dating Jared. One day I was once again sick with the flu, and was miserable. Jared insisted that he take me to his mom's house, and he did. Mickey made up the most comfortable bed for me to lie in, and waited on me. I slept and she would come in and force me to eat or drink, and even insisted I soak in her bathtub. It was so comforting to be cared for, especially during this stage of my life when I didn't have any family nearby to turn to for support. I have since learned that this is one of Mickey's best qualities. She is a very nurturing person, and if you are ill she knows how to take care of you and make you feel better. Even when you are not sick, visiting her home is a treat because she truly fits the "southern hospitality" trait. I feel blessed that I have a mother-in-law close by that is so nurturing, especially now that I have Porter. I know he is always in good hands. Thank you for your love, we love you!

my never ending story

so when i found out that i had to have surgery doc said that i would be in a splint for 2 weeks after surgery so they could check the incision and then a walking cast after that. last thursday i went in with the hopes of getting my walking cast since it was the 2 week mark. unfortunately i was still too swollen and bruised so he sent me home for 4 more days to see if it improved. today was the 4th day. i went in hopeful that i would be getting my walking cast, but tried to keep my mind open in case it didn't happen again. i was excited to find out that i indeed would be getting my walking cast. i thought of all the things i could do that i hadn't been able to do for the past 3.5 weeks. just to name a few...

• drive
• pick up porter
• walk
• pick up the toys off the floor without crawling around the house
• sweep
• get a bowl of cereal w/o taking 5 trips
  
• vacuum
• walk
• go to the grocery store
• catch porter when he takes off
• unload the dishwasher w/o hopping on 1 foot around my kitchen
  
• walk...

needless to say, i was really (i mean REALLLLY) looking forward to all the things i need to do, and catching up on the housework, etc. they did the xrays and put on my walking cast. then doc proceeds to tell me that i need to keep my weight on the heel of my foot. he leaves me with the nurse, and i get up to try it out. i am just not getting how to walk with one foot on the heel; i am hopping around the room. the nurse is asking questions, and finally calls the doc back in. "doc, i'm just having a hard time trying to figure out how to walk on the heel of my foot," i tell him. he laughs and says, "oh, you're not supposed to WALK... you can just rest your foot on the heel when you are standing still." my heart sinks! "oh, well when can i WALK with my WALKing cast?" i ask. "we'll see you back here in 2 weeks and see if you can start putting more pressure on it then," he concludes.

sigh!!! so once again, i hop on my crutches out the door down the huge stairwell in front of the medical plaza to my awaiting ride. {hey doc, in the future you might not want to refer to this humongous contraption as a WALKING cast if your patient can't WALK on it. you are just setting them up for a HUGE disappointment. love, stacy}