Ducky Bread

So a few months ago Kyle and I found this adorable park called the Paul Reem Nature Park. We were looking for a place where we could have a luncheon after Porter and Sophie's blessings when we stumbled upon this little beauty. The Provo river runs just along side of it and there is a big bridge from the little parking lot across the river and into the park. It is completely surrounded with trees and shrubs, and right now most of the trees are beautiful reds and yellows. My favorite part about this place though, is the little duck pond in the middle. Last night we stole Jack and took him and Porter down to the park to feed the ducks. On our way out the door Jack asked if he could take his gun... to shoot the ducks. We explained that we would feed the ducks, not shoot them, and Jack responded, "Yeah, yeah! We feed the ducks "ducky" bread!" He was so thrilled when we got to the park, and for the next 20 minutes he proceeded to feed and yell at the ducks. "Ducks, here's food! Ducks! Here's ducky bread!"

They also have a fun little playground there and Jack had a blast learning to slide down the firemans pole. Jack jumped out onto it with no hesitation, and it quickly became his favorite thing at the park.

And Jack wasn't the only one who enjoyed the playground.

What would we do without it?

I've never been a big fan of pacifiers until about 12 weeks ago. I really don't like seeing 2 or 3 year olds with pacifiers in their mouths, but a 3 month old... that I can handle. Porter has started getting his fingers around the handle of the pacifier and pulling it out of his mouth. This particular time, he pulled it out and fell asleep while still trying to get it back in. (sorry the pictures are so poor, but they do get the idea across)

It's okay to be a little sappy, right?

I am so lucky. Here is my handsome man, holding and feeding our little boy. I've always known that Kyle loves and adores little kids, but I never knew how much he would love Porter. The two of them are inseparable from the time Kyle gets home from work until Porter goes to sleep (and sometimes not even then do they separate).

From reading Porter a book to changing his diaper; from feeding him to rocking him to sleep; from playing with him to licking his eye, Kyle loves and does it all. The world's greatest dad.

I am so lucky.

One of my favorite things...

It's just one of my favorite things in the world. I love Fall.

I love that you get to start wearing sweaters, drink hot chocolate, and wrap up in warm afghans. I love knowing that winter is just around the corner... literally... it snowed yesterday. I love listening to Peter Breinholt music (it just wouldn't be Fall without it) and of course, I love the leaves. I love the beautiful colors that make up fall, and I love taking rides through the canyon to see them. Two nights ago we headed up through the canyon and although most of the reds were gone, we managed to find a few that were left. Porter had just woken up and didn't look too happy during the first shots. But he got happier as we went along.

Three of my favorite things... all together.

Porter, or Calvin?

My all-time favorite cartoon is Calvin and Hobbes. I could read them all day long! I just love how Bill Watterson can portray so many expressions with such a simple little cartoon. One of my favorite comics is where Calvin's mother tells him that if he keeps making a funny face, it will get stuck like that forever. So, Calvin continues to walk around making the face, totally excited to have it stuck that way. This is that same face.


Almost as soon as he pulled that face he pulled this one. So... it's not stuck like that forever.

Can you believe it?

Yes, it's true. Porter is a sitter. He can sit. Look at how cute he is as he sits. His arm may be getting a little support by the boppy, but nevertheless he is sitting! No extra help from mom or dad, just sitting all by himself. Last night I was holding his little hands and sitting him on the ground, when I let go of one hand and he stayed balanced! So, I put him in the center of his boppy, to act as a cushion if he were to fall, and I let go. Although he teetered (and nose-dived) a few times he was able to stay sitting long enough for me to grab some snapshots. He did such a good job, and although I didn't stay very far away, I only had to save him a couple of times. What a tough little kid!

Sophie

Porter was born only 4 days after his beautiful little cousin Sophie. Every week since Porter and Sophie were two weeks old, Angie (Sophie's mom) and I spend some time together. We always plan to do some scrapbooking or watch movies (normally we end up talking for the three hours we're together, but we mean well). But, most recently our favorite part of our visits is when we can sit Porter and Sophie up across from each other and watch them interact. It's like they know one another. Last night we got them together and Sophie just stared at Porter while he chatted, telling her his short, but very important, life story. Sophie seems to be more of a listener and Porter is definitely the talker.

They smiled at one another and got very excited to see each other. Although I didn't have my camera last night, these pictures are from a few weeks ago when they were just as enamoured with each other as we were with them.

And this picture is one of my favorites! We aren't quite sure what these two kids are on in this picture, but it would appear that Sophie was given caffeine and Porter was given a sedative...no wait...that's how Porter is all the time!

Conference Weekend

This past weekend me, Kyle, Porter and my camera packed up headed to Moab to visit Kyle's parents. We took plenty more pictures of Porter and Aiden who are both so photogenic that is isn't even funny. It was a nice weekend to get away from the busy Utah Valley and spend some time in Moab. The weather was beautiful, and although we had a little rainfall, the weather cleared up enough for us to take a walk to City Market. Porter thoroughly enjoyed being in his carrier and was more than content for most of the walk. Near the end we realized we had forgotten his pacifier and he started to get a little feisty. Kyle, being so resourceful, used his finger to pacify him until we got home. He also used his hat to keep the sun out of his face. I'm so glad that I married such a handy/handsome man!

It was a fun and relaxing weekend, and it's always fun to see Porter with his grandparents!

And I think his grandparents enjoy seeing him!

Aiden is one of the most beautiful children I have ever seen. Look at those beautiful brown eyes.

I really do just try to pick out my favorite pictures to post, but I'm afraid that I have too many favorites!

I'm so confused.

When we put Porter to bed at night, we place him in a sleep positioner so that he won't roll over onto his stomach in the middle of the night. However, in the morning as soon as he starts to make that "I'm awake and nobody is holding me" cry, I walk in and this is what I see. Porter has wiggled his way out of his positioner and is at the other end of his crib with his head crammed in the corner. I believe he only starts crying once his head has hit the edge of the crib because there is nowhere else to go. So these are the before and after shots of a nap (actually these are just after shots, I put him back in his positioner to get the full effect of where he starts and where he ends up!) No wonder he has that little bald patch on the back of his head.

The Sweetest Face

I feel that most of my rambling on this blog will be dedicated to the adorable little boy that I have been so blessed to have. He is growing so quickly and I love every minute of it. He can hold up his head so well now. I took him outside today to play in the grass and these are the pictures I took. He is the most handsome and sweet little boy ever. Although, I guess I am a little biased.

And above all, the smiles are my favorite. He loves to smile! He is such a happy little boy. (Grandma M. even got a little chuckle out of him the other night!)

There are things I never thought I'd say

There have been many times over the past couple of months where I have had to stop and think, “Did I really just say that?”

For example; the other night Porter had a hair in his eye and Kyle and I were trying to figure out how to remove it. We gently dropped water into his eye, but to no avail. We decided, I’m sorry, I decided to let it go and it would eventually work its way out. A few minutes later, Kyle came up to me and said, “I got it out!” “How?”, I asked him enthusiastically. “I licked it,” he said.

He said it as though that was the typical home remedy to getting a hair out of someone’s eye.
I’ll allow you all to imagine the conversation that ensued, but it ended with me saying, “Okay, but let’s not lick our son’s eyes.”
Although, to give Kyle some credit, it did get the hair out.

The photo was not taken during the act of hair removal, but was actually taken a few days before. Kyle had just gotten home from work and was playing with Porter, sticking his tongue out at him to make him smile. Apparently the tongue has many uses.

St. George in September

For those who don't know, Kyle, Porter and I are planning on moving this December, and so this past weekend we headed to the St. George area to see where we will set up camp when we move!

My sister-in-law Jill and her family were so kind to allow us into their home for the weekend. We were so grateful for their hospitality, and for their toleration of my incessant picture taking. Having a new camera is so fun and when you have something so adorable (like my little nephew Aiden, and my son) to photograph, you have to take every chance you get! We were able to take some great photos (over 700) while we were there and these are just a few of my favorites!

How adorable is he?

These were at Cedar Breaks, where we stopped to stretch our legs on our way home.

Also, this past week, Porter had his 2 month check up! He is now weighing in at 12.1 lbs, measuring 23.5 inches in length and just as handsome as ever!