1 Year Old!

Porter turned one year old on Friday, October 15th. Poor guy was sick with ANOTHER ear infection, but Mommy was not all disappointed because she was able to spend most of her day with the birthday boy.
On the 16th we had a family birthday party for Porter. It was a beautiful, warm, fall day. The party was a barnyard theme- complete with some farm animals!

Our little man is growing by leaps and bounds. At his one year appointment he weighed just over 25 pounds and is 31 inches long; he is in the 75th percentile for weight and height. Here is a developmental update about our VERY busy little boy:

• Says Mommy and Dada and means he wants our attention NOW!
• Is walking and most often running through the house.
• He is a great sleeper and most mornings needs to be waken up by Daddy. He is more like his Mommy and is a slow-waker.
• He still loves books and loves to be read to. He will point to pictures in his books and say, "look!"
• At the end of bath time he repeats after Mommy and says "all done!".
• He loves music and is glued to the tv when music is playing. He has become quite the dancer and his favorite toy is his guitar that Daddy bought him for his birthday.

Pumpkin Patch

We celebrated Fall last weekend by taking a trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a VERY chilly day, but a lot of fun. I can't wait until next year when Porter can run around with the rest of the kiddos. He was very content watching from his stroller, bundled from head to toe. Here are some pictures from the day. We are counting down the days until his big One Year Birthday. Party pictures to come...

Cleared for a Year...

This week we visited Dr. Neuberger, Porter's cardiologist for a check-up. I was very nervous how Porter would do during his echo-cardiogram. He is not the quiet, sit-still and be happy baby anymore. Our little man is a busy, rough and tumble boy, with a little bit of a temper- alright a BIG temper at times. :)

To our surprise, he did great! Porter sat and ate his Goldfish like a good little boy and watched The Wiggles for 10 whole minutes. The test would have taken a total of 15 minutes, but we were so proud of him...what a champ!!

The even better news...we go back in a YEAR. A whole YEAR of no worrying about tests, and the possibility of bad news. There is still a mild leak and mild murmer, but we can live with that. We couldn't be happier, but a little nervous at the same time. I know Porter is healthy. He is growing, thriving, and amazing us each and every day. But there is still a little voice in the back of my head that whispers, "What if...". I am sure that I will shush that voice over and over for the next 12 months; probably for the next 12 years or more. But for now, we will enjoy watching our busy little guy grow and thrive...and keep amazing us every day!

Back to Work...

It's that time again. Mommy is back to work and she is once again slacking on putting posts on my blog. So, I am updating all of you wonderful people who follow me.

I spend my days at Mimi Snider's house with my cousins and friends on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I am at home with Papa Turner. Mommy is back to work and busier than ever. She is Student Council advisor and now heading up the new Color Guard at ICHS. Homecoming for ICHS is at the end of September, so she tells me that she will be around more after that. I miss her, but I have had extra time with Daddy which is also nice.

It is Labor Day weekend and we are having a great time all being together. Here is a picture of Daddy and I before we went to get breakfast for Mommy on Saturday morning. It is our new weekly adventure. I can't wait to turn 1 so I can have a donut too!!

Mommy will post soon....

Love,

Porter W.

Family Vacation

We just returned from our first family vacation to Destin, FL. Here are some photos to recap our trip.

16 hours in the car...finally driving over the bridge to Destin.

Gulf Shores Zoo- petting zoo area

Family photo on the beach at sunset

Playing in the waves with Daddy

Nap time after playing

Swimming with Mommy in the big pool

Splish Splash!

Summer Catch-Up

I had great plans this summer; many like most summers since I began teaching. I was going to read many books, spend time in Mom and Dad's pool working on my tan, sit out on our deck drinking coffee in the morning, and having dinner on the table when Eric gets home from a long day of work.

Although, this summer is NOT what I had in mind- I have not read one book and have even fallen behind on reading my monthly Parents magazine. I have been in Mom and Dad's pool a few times, but cannot remember just floating and relaxing for the afternoon. I haven't been able to enjoy a cup of coffee on our deck, but instead spend Porter's nap time cleaning and picking up the house. And unfortunately for Eric, dinner is usually a balancing act of feeding Porter and whipping up whatever we have in the fridge- leftovers are my specialty.

With all my unfinished goals, this has been the BEST summer. I am able to wake up to the sound of Porter jabbering happily in his crib, instead of my angry alarm clock. We have settled into a routine with lots of playing and good naps. Our daily adventures range from grocery shopping, taking walks around the neighborhood, visiting Gram and Papa, and playing with friends at Mimi's house while Mommy runs errands or gets the occasional pedicure.

I haven't read one book this summer. But I have created so many great memories of my son's first summer; stories that I will cherish forever.

Summer Break

Mommy is on summer break, which means that she is done with school for the summer and can stay home with me all day. No rest for her, though. My wake up call is promptly each morning at 5:45am. There is just so much playing to do...no time to sleep in!

And we have been doing plenty of playing since Mommy is home. We visit Gram and Papa and I love to swim in their pool. We even went to a water park last week....and I love to swim with my cousin's at the Country Club, thanks to Poppa Murphy. The more water time, the better!!

Since Mommy is busy I have taken the liberty of posting some of my favorite shots of me swimming. I will keep uploading and updating all of you. We leave for Florida in 3 weeks...my first vacation, and I am SO excited! We are traveling with Mimi and Poppa Snider, Uncle Justin and Auntie Cole, Riley, and Calli, and Aunt Shannon and Ava too!

Gotta go...need my diaper changed.

Love,

Porter