future missionary

Good thing we still have 18.5 years to train our future missionary. He has much to learn about behavior that is appropriate for church before we can send him on a mission. He's really not bad at church; just loud & happy! We are completely exhausted after the 3 hours each Sunday.

Retro

Brian loves to spoil Porter. However, in this case, I think the toy was more for Brian than for the baby! As I was trying on some clothes at Old Navy the other day, Brian took Porter next door to Toys'R'Us. And they came back with a Smurf! It plays the Smurf theme song & even came with a Smurf episode on dvd. 

I will admit, I'm pretty excited about this toy too!

Back to School

This summer, I decided to redecorate my 1st grade classroom. For the past 4 years, it's had a farm theme. I loved it, but I was ready for a change too. Now the theme is "Woodsy." Here's a peek:

School started last Monday. It's been fun getting to know my new, cute class. I have so many smart & adorable kids. I can tell it will be a fun year!

That being said, I'm still so sad to leave my baby. It's been hard leaving Porter with someone else everyday. Brian's college graduation cannot come soon enough (still a couple years though). Oh, and that reminds me- Brian started school last Monday too! Here's the back-to-school shot I got of him at the front door. I love that he's got his backpack & ninja turtle shirt! He probably has a similar picture when he was going into the 2nd grade (minus the baby of course!).

Ignore Brian's red eyes. I'm on the mac, don't know how to fix it. And ignore Porter's blank, messy look- he just woke up!

This has been a rough transition for Brian too. With full-time school and part-time work, there are some days he doesn't even get to see Porter. But I think it's made us appreciate our time together as a family even more. It's busy around here, but life is still good!

7 Months

Okay, so Porter actually turned 7 months a week or 2 ago, but we've been a little busy around here.

Here's our sweet boy at 7 months:

5 Teeth

3 on top; 2 on the bottom. And he bites! He'll nuzzle his face into my shoulder while I'm holding him and clamp down onto my flesh. Ouch!

Allergies

We've discovered that Porter has inherited his daddy's allergies. The past few days have been full of runny noses, puffy eyes, sneezes, doctor visits, and Benadryl.

Sitting Up

Porter can sit up on his own for long periods of time. We still set pillows all around him because we're paranoid first-time parents, but he doesn't really need them. He sits like a pro!

Big Boy Carseat

After our last well-check at the doctor, Porter was less than a pound away from the infant seat's weight limit. So we moved him to a new (still rear-facing) carseat. Pros: he sits higher so can see out the windows while we drive, which he loves! Cons: we have to carry & hold him everywhere we go. Before, we would carry the infant seat around with him in it; but we could set that down. When we're carrying our 22 lb baby around, there's nowhere to put him when you need a free hand.

Waves

Porter learned how to wave. But he does it at the most random times- never when anyone is waving to him. But he loves it!

Weight at 7 months:     22 lb. 7 oz.

sweet summer

I am so grateful to have a job that gives me 2 months off every summer.  My meetings start next week, so I am in my last week of summer break (& last week of being a stay-at-home mom) and I am trying to soak up every single moment with this cutie pie.

This summer has been very low-key. No vacations, very few outings, not even a camping trip (our first summer without camping). But it's been perfect- just lots & lots of family time and hanging out together. Goodbye sweet summer!

best gift

this t-shirt is the best gift i ever gave my hubby. i gave it to him the day after i gave birth to our baby-- pretty appropriate, i think!

even though i was the one who bought it . . . every time he puts it on, i still think, "wow, my husband really loves me!"

i got it from here

6 months

rolling

drooling

bouncing

eating

sleeping

smiling

growing

giggling

peek-a-boo-ing

almost waving

almost sitting

babbling

swimming/floating

learning

being ADORABLE!

21 lb, 3 oz
29 inches tall
off the charts (above the 95th percentile line) . . . again

happy 4th

Clearfield Parade (July 3rd):

hesitant parents, loud sirens . . . chill Porter

Whenever Porter is exposed to something new, he goes into a trance. He doesn't look at us or smile or do anything. I used to think that meant he was bored or didn't like it. But I soon discovered that his weird "trance" is just him studying and taking in everything around him. Anytime we go somewhere new- a grocery store, an auto shop, a park- it's the same reaction. But after about 10 minutes, once he's figured everything out, he usually goes back to his normal self, babbling & playing. The parade was like this-- but his trance lasted for an hour straight because everything kept changing. It's fun to watch him learning so many new things!

unnecessary precaution: we thought he'd be scared of the sirens. he wasn't.

Clearfield City Fireworks (July 3rd):

hesitant parents, loud fireworks . . . chill Porter

Porter goes to sleep around 7pm each night and sleeps for 11 hours. We were scared to mess up this heavenly sleep schedule, but we really wanted him to see fireworks. So we woke him up at 10. Luckily, he woke up happy & alert. We took him out to the lawn in front of our condos. The city firework show is just a couple blocks east, so we had a pretty good viewing spot. We gave him some glow rings that I'd bought beforehand and he played with those until the show started. He loved it! He stared intently, watching all the fireworks for the 20-30 minutes until the show was over. He wasn't scared at all by the loud fireworks like we worried about. Right on cue, he started yawning at the end of the show and went straight back to bed without any crying! I can't believe we lucked out on getting such a good, happy  baby!

Funniest picture of the day!

Daddy's Boy

I am completely amazed at how great a daddy my husband turned out to be. With me, Porter is usually pretty calm & cuddly and I can get a smile or laugh every now & then. But the second Brian walks in the door, Porter doesn't stop smiling and giggling.

 

Daddy can play peekaboo for 20 minutes straight. He can make up songs & rhymes right on the spot. Daddy can make Porter laugh just by showing him a silly face.

Daddy spoils Porter with big bottles of milk (more than I usually give him-- maybe that's why Porter's so big!). Daddy spoils Porter with cartoon-time (Porter loves tv- but Mommy doesn't let him watch it very much). And Daddy spoils Porter with new clothes anytime he comes back from a store!

 I am in love with my boys.

5 months

Our little boy is 5 months old now! Here's his update . . .

2 Teeth!

We watched the 1st one come in day by day. But the 2nd one just appeared out of nowhere! He's been really great with teething . . . so far! (I'm still trying to get a good picture of his cute, toothy grin-- I'll post some when I do)

Baby Food

He hates rice cereal and loves squash & carrots. So far, that's all we've tried.

Big Boy

He's wearing 6-9 month clothes. Sometimes, he wears 9-12 months too.

Hair

His dark, long hair fell out awhile ago. This month, he grew tons of gorgeous blond hair! We think he looks so handsome! Unfortunately, he still has a patch of the dark, long hair in the back- it's pretty funny.

Scoots

When we put Porter on his back, he wiggles around like crazy until he's turned himself around or moved himself a few feet away. It's fun to see where he ends up.

Hands & Feet

He now grabs his feet and tries to get them in his mouth. Sometimes he's successful- other times, not. Also, he loves playing with his hands and getting his fingers interlocked. It takes all his focus, but he's really good!

As you can tell, we love watching (and taking pictures of) our Porter. Can't wait to see what the next month brings!