9 months

My tiny boy, you are somehow 9 months old already!

You have a hilarious personality and seem to make friends everywhere we go! You know just what to do to get attention if you want to talk to someone. We love your laugh and how you flap your hands when you get excited. You make us laugh everyday! I love you tiny boy. 

So much to be thankful for

When I was pregnant with Porter, one of the things I most looked forward to was being able to share our holiday traditions with him. They still seemed so far away though. Now, they're here and I am unbelievably excited! Porter and I went to the mall in Greensboro yesterday, while Sean took his test, and we were both beyond smitten by the GIANT Christmas tree that filled all 3 stories of the mall! He stared, I stared, we stared together, and we stared some more, we loved it! He saw Santa, but only from a distance (Sean said he wasn't allowed to see Santa without him there also). He was far more interested in the glass elevator behind Santa's head though, maybe next year :) Even aside from all of the shopping excitement, gift planning, tree decorating, and baking, I'm finding myself reflecting on how many things we have to be truly thankful for this year...

*Our salvation and relationship with a wonderful Savior that loves and cares for us, even when we're unlovable

*The blessing of sharing our lives with an amazingly sweet, perfectly healthy, beautiful baby boy that steals our hearts each and every day

*Wonderful family that loves and supports all 3 of us in a way that we couldn't have even imagined {and spoils our little darling rotten!}

*A beautiful house that we get to call our home and adorn with Christmas decorations

*Friends that enrich our lives and make us better, happier people

*A strong and loving marriage that, while not perfect, has grown even stronger and more passionate throughout our almost 4 years together

My list could go on and on, but you get the idea. This year, as we enjoy our holiday traditions and make new memories with our little love bug, I'm feeling extremely thankful and undeservedly blessed! Happy Thanksgiving!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

For the sake of those that get a little impatient with the Christmas season beginning too early (i.e. Sean!), I have waited as long as I can possibly wait. And since I can wait no longer, Christmas cheer is in full swing here in the Mitchell household!!! Bring on the Christmas music, smells, and blog posts... Our Christmas tree can't get here fast enough!

*As a sidenote, I would like to blame part of the premature Christmas excitement on my neighbor (whose house looks like a giant Christmas tree ornament already- and has for 2 weeks already!).

Just a flashback to what last Christmas was like...

I can't wait to share all of these pictures with our little guy, when he is a little older! {And will know not to say, "Wow, mommy you look huge!"}

"Yay"

Of course every parent thinks their child is the cutest one on the planet, and this mommy {me, of course} is no exception. This diaper-wearing, bumbo-sitting little cutie steals my heart! I've been working hard with Porter on some sign language (eat, more, all done, yay, hi, thank you, and blowing kisses- not sign language, but super cute!). While he is catching on to some of them, he also has an equal amount of confusion with others {quite funny when he says 'hi' to tell you he wants 'more'}. Exhibit #1...

Playtime snapshot

Here's a video of what playtime looks like around here these days. Featured in this video: his favorite word and newest favorite 'toy', enjoy!



Freedom!

I knew this day would come, but now?! Again I'll say, I'm not sure I was quite ready for this one. Bring on the babyproofing...



Roaaarrrr!!!

This past weekend we had the pleasure of experiencing Tiger World. I had no idea something so fun was less than half an hour away from us! It is a rescue center for tigers, lions, bears, monkeys, wolves, etc. The wonderful people there have adopted these animals and are attempting to rehabilitate them. Because of the small setting, you are able to get far closer to the animals than at a traditional zoo. I wasn't sure if Porter was going to be old enough to appreciate the animals, but he loved them!! The lion roaring and tigers eating were the highlights of his day!

With tigers running behind him, we had no chance of getting a good picture!

Telling mommy all about the cool tigers. I love this boy and his excitement!

"Let's go look over there mommy!"

Adorable tiger cubs :)

The 3 tigers he got to watch eat. These guys were his favorite!

Roadtrip, VA style...

Our Virginia trip {two weekends ago} wasn't Porter's first roadtrip, but it was his longest. We drove to Churchville, VA for my cousin, Daniel's, wedding.  We were a little nervous about the 5 hour car ride, but our little champ slept over three hours of it! The weather was perfect and wedding was beautiful. Unfortunately, my camera was m.i.a. for most of the weekend. I know, I know new moms are supposed to have them on-hand at all times. Oops! It was Porter's first hotel stay, and well...we'll hold off on future hotel trips for a while! Let's just say the hotel room didn't inspire sleep for him ;) However, the room was amazing and continental breakfast (not your regular hotel-style breakfast!) made up for some of the temporary sleep deprivation. I wish I had more pictures to share, but hopefully we can get some from Daniel and Kellsye soon! Here are the ones that made it to the camera...

"Mommy, you can't get ready any faster than that?"

Worried face :)

Yes, this is what we do to a hotel room in a matter of hours!



Snip, snip...

You guessed it! Porter got his first haircut today!!! It was a big day around here, as his hair seems to be the topic of conversation in any room he enters :) The 'shark fin' {as we have lovingly called his baby hair} had officially gotten too long and was quickly passing the cute stage and entering the wow, your mom doesn't take care of you stage. He didn't seem to mind it all that much, thanks to a few distractions (spray bottle, towel, and comb) and actually sat relatively still. I can't say that I'll be his forever hairstylist, but I just couldn't see paying someone to trim a few baby hairs. Without further ado...

Before...

After...

And to all who are worried... yes, I saved the hair ;)

Happy Halloween!

Last night, Porter enjoyed his first Halloween as an adorable dinosaur. We took him to dinner and made a couple trick-or-treat appearances to friends/family. He was a little less enthused about his dinosaur suit than we were, but he tolerated it {read: only screamed about wearing the hat 2 times, success!}. Meet Portersaurus...

"Mommy, you forgot the food!"

Such a hard life ;)

Trick-or-treating wore our little dinosaur out!