Winter

There is less than a month left until Spring officially begins. And all I can say is: Hooray! Here are a few of our latest run-ins with Winter . . .

Experience #1: Winter Sledding Day
Porter's first sledding experience. We're pretty sure he loved it.

Experience #2: Stupid Ice-On-The-Stairs Day
As I was walking down our concrete stairs to go to work one morning, I slipped and hit my head on the corner of the handrail. I cried on the stairs, crawled back up to the door and cried in the condo, got a bottle of Excederin, then sucked it up so I could head off to work. A terrible headache followed. It was a rough day and I hated Winter all the more for hurting me. But Porter & Brian made it all better. When I got home, this is what I found:

In case you can't tell, the cookie on the plate is the actual size of the plate! Brian swears he was laying on the bed reading while Porter was making quite a ruckus in the kitchen-- apparently making a batch of cookies. I was so impressed. Especially with his handwriting skills at such a young age!

Winter has it's good points. But, oh my goodness, we are so ready for Spring!

Puddin'

Letting a one-year-old fingerpaint with pudding  =  YIKES!

It sounded like such a good idea in my head! =)

Happy President's Day!

Last week, we were doing several activities for President's Day in my first grade class. Before beginning an art project on George Washington, I wanted to find out what the kids already know. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: "Today we're going to be learning about the first president of the United States. Does anyone know who that was?"

There's nothing but silence. I make a mental note that I need to teach them more about U.S. History. But then one little boy gasps and raises his hand. His response? "Joseph Smith!"

Me: "No. That was the first president of a church. The first president of our country was George Washington." I then go on to tell them about George Washington and the reason we're celebrating President's Day.

Finally I realize that they might not know much about current politics either. So I ask, "Does anyone know who our current president is?"

Silence again. But soon, a little girl raises her hand and proudly states, "Thomas S. Monson."

I inform her that he, also, is the president of a church. But before I can tell the class what the real answer is, another girl gets it . . . almost: "Baracka Oframa." I suppress my laughter and write the president's real name on the board and help them learn the correct pronunciation.

We're about to begin our art project when I foolishly decide to tell them that another important president was also born in February. I start to tell them he was important because he helped free the slaves. Then out of nowhere, a boy proudly shouts, "I know who it is! It's Moses!"

Milestones at 1 Year

This little boy is growing up too fast! It seems like he hits a new milestone every day. And we're just busy trying to keep up with him! This past week, Porter ate with a fork (mostly) by himself. I would stick a piece of fruit on the end of the fork, set it on his tray, then he'd pick it up and put it in his mouth. It was a huge event. I got it on video . . . then accidentally erased the memory card without saving the video. Aaargh!

Then this past weekend, Porter learned how to climb stairs. I'm sure many babies develop this skill much sooner, but since we don't have any stairs at our house (except for the concrete steps leading up to our 3rd floor condo--which we're not too keen on letting Porter climb), he doesn't really have many opportunities to practice. Luckily, Grandma & Grandpa Nye have soft, carpeted stairs and Porter was able to climb and climb this weekend for as long as he wanted! 

Porter can't quite walk by himself yet (another milestone for another day), but he L-O-V-E-S to walk around with anyone who will hold out a hand. 

I can't believe how fast he's growing! Here are his stats from his 1-year check up:

Weight: 27 lb, 13 oz

Heigh: 33.2 inches

On both height & weight he's above the 95th percentile. But on head circumference (19 in.) he's at the 90th percentile. Brian said they tried to put our 3-year-old nephew's football helmet on Porter, but Porter's head was too big and they couldn't get it on! I just figure his larger-than-average brain has got to go somewhere . . . so of course his head's gonna be huge! =)

Oh, and one more milestone I almost forgot . . . he can now pull his own pants off when he's left alone in the crib (and when the pants are several sizes too large)! Isn't our baby so talented?!

First Haircut

Before . . .

During . . .

After . . .

 

So I guess it was more of a trim than a full-out haircut, but I'm having a hard time saying goodbye to those gorgeous, long, blond locks. He's just so handsome!