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

Mother's Day

Where did the last month go? School is wrapping up and each week seems to go quicker than the last. I am not complaining, but somehow my 6 month old baby turned into a 7 month old little boy.

Porter is changing every day. He is working on tooth number 5 and is sitting up on his own. Crawling is in our near future and I just know that once he starts moving he will not stop! It is going to be a BUSY summer in the Snider household.

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day 2010. We spent the morning with Gram and Papa Turner and the afternoon at Mimi and Poppa Snider's house. My first Mother's Day was perfect and I loved spending the day with my two boys!!

My first Mother's Day

Big boy sitting by himself!

Bubba Cool

Flowers that the girls planted for Mimi

Half Birthday

Six months....six months....our little man is now six months old! While you are pregnant, everyone always tells you that it will go fast. You smile politely and reply with, "oh, I'm sure." But I can now say that it goes so fast!
Porter Update: Weighing in at 18 pounds 3 ounces and 26 inches long, he is in the 75th percentile for weight and 50th for height. He has 4 teeth- two top and two bottom. The last month has been a long month with constant runny nose and middle of the night wakings. We were at the doctor on Monday for his well-visit and again on Friday for sickness. Mommy has had it with congestion, runny nose, and eye boogers. Miss Jill our wonderful nurse practioner found an ear infection in Porter's right ear...and one in Mommy's right ear too! So we are home with antibiotics for Porter and nasal spray for Mommy, since I am still nursing- no meds for me. :(

We had a wonderful Easter and have been enjoying Spring weather with walks in our stroller and rides in the baby swing at both Gram and Papa Turner's and Mimi and Poppa Snider's. Here are some updated pictures that are long overdue.

The Littlest Angel

Our family has a new angel in Heaven this week. My Great-Uncle Glenn was laid to rest yesterday morning. The service was beautiful and had Uncle Glenn's name written all over it. Wonderful scripture, music, and beautiful memories shared by those closest to him.

In the last few months we have been fortunate to see Uncle Glenn numerous times. I am thankful for that. Our dear uncle had also become more tech-savvy in the last months which made it ever easier to keep in touch and share pictures of our Porter- whom Uncle Glenn loved so dearly. At the visitation, Aunt Nan shared with Eric and I that Uncle Glenn included Porter each day in their morning devotions. I was so touched. Uncle Glenn praying for Porter is like having a direct line to God- powerful stuff!

I would like to share an email that we received from Uncle Glenn after Porter was born.

Our dear lil' Family --------

How proud we are to add another Porter to the family tree! And Eric, you are more than special for wanting to tell your Unc about the "glad tidings of great joy". Indeed we too were popping buttons all over the place. And such a beautiful boy! Now we are anxiously waiting to see the lil' guy in person. Are you going to come to my surprise birthday party? If so pleeeeeeeeese bring Porter William with you.

A quick family history lesson: Behind Porter there are at least four great,great,great great grand parents named Porter and I'm sure more that I have yet to find. And those Porters were all Godly people. As an example Porter's seventh generation back was Andrew Porter, missionary to the Indians in northern Michigan and the founder of Potaskey, Michigan. Some time remind me to tell you a story of the conversation between Porter's 3rd great grandparents just prior to her death. A beautiful tear jerker.

Won't bore you any longer ----- and don't forget my surprise birthday party on the 15th!!
Your ever loving Uncle Glenn

We did make it to Uncle Glenn's 90th birthday party, but never did hear the story that Uncle Glenn wanted to share. I look forward to the day when I can hear that story from Uncle Glenn when I meet him in Heaven. I know he is looking down on us and continuing to keep Porter in his morning devotions, and telling my Grandpa Jerry all about our 'lil man'. Uncle Glenn would often refer to Porter as his Littlest Angel...for all of you that knew him, Uncle Glenn was quite a small man and seemed to get smaller each time we saw him. I think we can confidently say that Porter has given up the title of Littlest Angel. :)

Porter has something to say...

We love listening to our little man jabber. And I am sure that once in a while he says Mama...even if he doesn't know it. :)

First Tooth!

Porter has his first tooth!! We have been fighting a cold with a fever all weekend. The fever is gone and in its place is Bubba's first tooth...what a trade off! :)

Slow Leak

We had Porter's cardiologist appointment on Friday. It was a spectacular day. Both Eric and I took the day off. Porter was in a good mood and even allowed Mommy and Daddy to sleep in a whole half hour. The sun was shining and spring was in the air. But the best part of the day was hearing Dr. Neuberger tell us that Porter's valve has gotten better as he has grown. He doesn't want to see us for 6 months.

6 months!! My first thought was thank you Lord! My second thought was 6 months is a long time with no Echo's or EKG's...a double edge sword. I shook that bad worry-vibes out of my Crazy-Mommy head and breathed a sigh of relief. The valve looked great and there is no sign that he will need another valveoplaste.

Although, he does have a leaky valve because of the last valveoplaste. We knew that could happen and is not a surprise. The good thing- it is a slow leak and only mild to moderate in nature. The bad news- at some point in our little man's life he will need a valve replacement. What will happen is the valve will continue to leak more and more over time which will enlarge the right side of his heart, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood effectively. Impressed with my doctor-speak?

So we wait and watch. Again, it is a slow leak...leak....leak....leak. Porter could be a 30 year old man with a wife before he needs a replacement. Or it could happen within the next 5 years. Leak....leak....leak. "I hope no one is treating him any differently," were the parting words from Dr. Neuberger. Parting words full of hope.

See you in 6 months Doctor.