books, books, and more books!

One thing that's stuck with me from my reading endorsement classes is a study I read that recommends children get 1000+ hours of book time before entering kindergarten. That's a lot. Porter's got a long way to go! Another study says that the more books that are in a home, the greater chance a child has for academic success. Greater vocabularies, higher reading levels, etc. That one's pretty obvious, right?

Anyway, this is my explanation for my obsession with buying children's books. That, and I teach elementary school- I'm pretty sure this particular obsession is prerequisite for becoming a teacher.

You all know I'm not one to throw parties, let alone a selling party. However, I found out last week that one of my friends from church sells Usborne books. That one hit my weakness. I told her I wanted to buy some books but didn't want to throw a party. So she sent up an online party for me instead.  I told her I'd post it on my blog in case any of you wanted to buy some books too. But please know that there's no pressure. Here's the info:

Hosted by: Dana Nye
Place: www.myubam.com/HOS197166
When: Today thru 5/14/2011 11:59:00 PM

Take Me Out to the Ballgame . . .

Last Saturday we took Porter to a Salt Lake Bee's minor league game. We took him before when he was a baby, so this was his 2nd time seeing them play. And I must say, he did much better this time around! We actually got to stay for the whole game this time, plus a firework show afterward.

He got to see the Bee . . . which made him cry.

We went with my little sister and Mark:

And our friends, Brandon & Marci and cute little Kairi:

Although Porter did so well lasting through the whole game, the effects of keeping him up so late (till almost 11!) were pretty severe and felt for days afterward. But it was totally worth it- we all had so much fun!

Easter 2011

 We had a very busy Easter this year. I ordered Porter's Easter outfit online a couple months ago and didn't let him wear it until today. Luckily I snapped a few rushed pictures (like the one above) before we went to church because as soon as we were about to get in the car, Porter threw up all over his outfit, enough to require a whole wardrobe change! I guess letting toddlers eat Easter candy with their breakfast isn't such a great idea . . . we're still learning these things!

Church was wonderful- I love Easter Sundays! After church, Porter took an extra long nap then we headed to Brian's parent's for a family dinner & egg hunt . . .

 Porter hasn't quite grasped the concept of hunting for eggs yet. He'd grab the eggs happily- but then throw them on the ground or set them in a different spot. Brian & I were the ones mostly collecting eggs in his bucket.

 Easter family picture-- me trying to avoid getting kicked in the head!

 The annual cousin photo. Can you tell which way the sun was shining?

Dinner time!

 Brian's mom always decorates her house so beautifully for each holiday. I just have to capture it in pictures sometimes!

Isn't this cake amazing? Brian's mom had it made by one of Brian's cousins. So much talent!

Oh, and in case you were wondering . . . the Easter Bunny did visit our house. Apparently he likes to give Porter books as much as we do!

Monkey Friends

This is how Brian found Porter sleeping tonight when he went in to check on him. Those monkeys sure love him!

Porter's Spring Break

Porter got a giant dose of his mommy's attention a couple weeks ago while I was on spring break. We soaked up every single moment we had together!

It all began with Porter's 2nd haircut. Stubbornly, I've been refusing to cut off his long, golden, baby locks. I only let them trim his hair for his 1st haircut. But he was starting to look just enough like a hobo for me to give in and agree to let his hair be cut. I'm pretty glad we did it- he looks so handsome now!

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

Porter also had a playdate with his friend, Duncan (and my friend, Annalynne) at a local children's museum. Porter got to experience being the president . . .

. . . travel across the United States . . .

. . . play legos (not building- just throwing) . . .

. . . crawl back & forth on this platform while kids half his age (and half his size) were running circles around him! . . .

. . . play his first game of chess . . .

. . . and, oddly enough, Porter's favorite part of the entire museum was trying to crawl across this bridge. Every time he'd make a little progress, he'd slide right back down. But he never got tired of trying and we had to come back to this bridge over and over so he could try!

We also visited the planetarium twice: once with Brian's brother Jeff & his family. Then we went again a few days later when my mom, brother, and sister were in town.

Porter got to walk (crawl) on the moon:

And he got to walk on Mars (with assistance, of course):

  

All in all, it was a pretty successful spring break for Porter! We had loads of fun and even did much more than these picture show. Now we're just counting down the days till summer break when Porter gets to see Mommy this much every week!

Walking, Talking Update

Porter is now 1 year and 2 months old. He's turning into a cute little toddler and we love him more & more each day!

 Porter recently took his first steps. But he's not walking yet. He's still much more comfortable holding a hand or the couch for support.

Porter also started brushing his teeth on his own. Of course we take turns to make sure his teeth actually get cleaned. But it's so cute that he tries to do it himself!

Porter still loves books more than anything. That makes his mommy very happy considering I've been buying books for him from book orders since before I was pregnant. It's so cute because he's so gentle and careful that we can give him the Webster's Dictionary and he'll gingerly turn the pages and keep himself busy for 5-10 minutes.

Porter's vocabulary so far:
dog, Dada, Mama, ball, balloon, Jesus, yum, banana, dude, no, more, all gone

St. Patrick's Day

I never fully appreciated St. Patrick's Day until I began teaching 1st grade. A sneaky leprechaun plays tricks on our class for the first few weeks of March every year. And each year, we try to catch him. This year, my kids were amazingly creative with their leprechaun traps. I thought I'd share a few:

 The trap above has a gold ring inside attached to the string holding the peg. When the leprechaun grabs the gold, it pulls the peg out and the door closes, trapping the leprechaun in!

Our traps didn't work. Instead, it made him angry and he trashed our classroom!

Although we didn't catch him, he did steal some of our gold coin candy then sent the kids on a treasure hunt to find it.

Unfortunately, I fell for the leprechaun's trick again this year when he left a drink that was only for kids. He left a note warning adults not to drink it, but my students talked me into it and my feet turned green! Those kids thought it was hilarious!

Birthdays

Brian and I both had our birthdays over the past few weeks. For Brian's birthday, we spent the day relaxing & watching movies, went to the mall to get Brian & Porter matching Jazz hats, then went out for yummy Indian food, and had strawberry shortcake with Brian's parents, sis, & bro-in-law.

For my birthday, I worked a half day. Brian came in to school that morning and brought a birthday treat for my class. Then I left work at lunchtime and Brian's mom watched Porter most of the day (Thanks Bev!) while Brian took me on a shopping spree for new clothes! My little sis came up from Provo and we went to dinner at a seafood restaurant. Then after dinner, Brian had family & friends waiting at our condo to have some ice cream cake with us. My cake was one of the best parts: Brian had DQ make a special ice cream cake out of my favorite blizzard flavor, mint m&m (looks disgusting, but tastes divine!).

I know what you're thinking . . . Brian was way better at spoiling me on my birthday than I was on his. I guess I'll have to step it up for next year!

Seuss

Happy Dr. Seuss Day! (aka Read-Across-America Day)

Yeah, I totally bring my work home with me. =)