Flashback Friday

One of my new favorite hobbies is blogging! I love writing them, reading them, finding new ones, following old ones, you name it! I don't always know the writers of the blogs that I follow, but I tend to forget that after reading about their lives on a daily basis. One of the blogs that I love, Life With Jack, is about an amazing micropreemie and their daily struggles, challenges, and adventures. I've become very fascinated with reading about babies born extremely early and the ways that the Lord sustains their little lives and uses their challenges to minister to others. My youngest sister was born at 26 weeks gestation 18 years ago, so my fascination isn't all that far-fetched. Anways, all that rambling was to say that Jack's mom posts a 'flashback friday' picture and story every Friday from his journey through the NICU and I love reading them! So I thought I'd give it a try. My flashback friday moment...

Porter was just hours old here and had just had his first bath in the hospital. The only thing he wanted was a nice, warm snuggle and I was more than happy to oblige! That 7 lb. 14 oz. bundle of joy melted my heart like you wouldn't believe! 

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for a curious boy (who is easily entertained- most of the time). And days at home with moments like these...

Busted!

"Maybe if I smile at her she won't fuss at me."

"Hey, who ate all the snacks?"

A day in the life...

...of Porter. Tough life ;)

The dinosaur at the park is his favorite hang out spot! (I can't get over how GIANT this picture makes him look!)

An ice cream date with mommy and daddy. Cabbarus Creamery- ahmmAzing! Ice cream covered face and bare foot in the air, this kid's got it made :)

13 months

I keep getting tongue-tied now when people ask how old Porter is. Is he one-year or is he 13 months? I told someone 13 years..oops. I'm sure she either thought I was a terrible mathematician or that mommy-brain had officially taken over all of my speaking capabilities. Either way, she looked at me ever so sweetly and I walked away. It was not until we got much further past her that I realized I had actually just told this sweet, inquisitive lady that the tiny person I was holding was the smallest teenager she had ever seen, LOL! Anyways, today is our tiny boy's 13 month birthday and boy is he hilarious! Some of today's antics... As I sat on the couch eating my apple, he continued to leave his toys, walk over to me and lick my apple. Not bite or steal, just lick. One lick was all it took and he was off on his way. This continued over and over again until the apple made its way to the trash can. And boy was he proud of himself for giving mommy's apple a lick! Seeing as how simply crawling across the wood floor is not fast enough, this crazy child put a book under each of his hands and proceeded to skate (or something like it) back and forth across the floor laughing the whole way, hilarious! Poor Charlie and Lola! I have warned them many a time to stay out of his way. Porter's favorite thing right now is to walk across the playroom as fast as he can with the help of his dragon walker. When Lola was in his way, the most logical thing to do (of course) was to run into her. Well, she jumped about a foot in the air and he laughed so hard he literally fell over! This boy has a sense of humor for sure :)

The tiny mischief maker himself...

Toddlerhood

Somewhere among the past few weeks this new {ok, and quite scary, I won't lie} stage has snuck up on us....toddlerhood, yikes! This boy is into EVERYTHING all.the.time! We have moved picture frames, put up gates, locked doors, covered outlets, rearranged shelves, moved toys around, hid things, got rid of things, you name it...we've done it. And yet, he finds something every day {not kidding, literally every day!} that I didn't think he could/would get into. Wow! He's keeping us on our toes and our house just doesn't even know what hit it. Keeping this little guy busy has become quite a feat. He has mommy's attention span, that's for sure. Sorry buddy! Anyways, he's become even more hilarious, even more curious, even more busy {nope, we didn't think that one was possible!}, and even more fun! It's quite difficult to get him to sit still long enough to take pictures these days, so these are a rarity...

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm feeling like there's a lot to be thankful for! This warm weather and outside playtime seems to brighten the mood quite a bit :) Speaking of playtime...boy am I thankful for so many wonderful friends with other kiddos that Porter can play with {a.k.a. get all his energy out and then take wonderful naps for mommy!} We've been able to have several fun playdates this last week. Let's see... Lee and Seth came over to have lunch and play trucks with us, so fun! We've been able to see Becca and Skylar (Porter's bff that has decided the womb is quite a cozy place and doesn't really want to make an appearance) for lunch, dinner out, and some playtime. Jamie, Heather, and Ryan came over Saturday to have pizza and let the boys play together. They had a blast and were such cute play buddies! Porter was able to join me to 'sprinkle' his newest girlfriend, Keaton, and her sweet mommy Angela with lots of adorable presents to help welcome the little sweetie. And we got our dose of twins {how fun! I'm secretly jealous of twin moms, I think twins would be SO fun!} yesterday with Amy, Devan, and their four (yes, four!) sweet babies! Tiny boy overalls and itty bitty girly dresses, oh my! The cuteness factor was through the roof! We sure are thankful for having so many sweet friends to make great memories with! Only bad part...do I have ANY pictures of these adorable playdates? No :(

In other news, my amazingly sweet little boy has learned to hug and kiss and talk about 'melt your heart sweet', oh man! I pick him up and ask him to 'give mommy a kiss' he leans in and kisses (ok, licks rather, but we're working on it) my face and wraps his arms around my neck to give a hug. This boy knows the way to mommy's heart already! {What, you want a present? Ok, sure. Just give mommy a hug. Yikes, I'm in trouble!} Anyways, there's a lot of sweetness going on around here these days and I'm loving it!

Happy Thursday, Y'all! Go be thankful for something today :)

On the move...

Not quite ready to venture out alone yet, but SO close!

Baby boy became a big boy!

Today was a big day around here! {Drumroll} First real haircut (mommy's trims haven't been quite cutting it!). We went to this great place called Snip-Its at Birkdale Village. So fun! It's a super kid-friendly, bright environment that makes a first haircut seem like a blast. Well... mostly a blast :) With sucker in hand (yes, I bribe my child with sugar) we commenced and within minutes our little baby turned into a big boy! Super cute, but wow he looks SO big! Some pics? Ok...

Last "before" picture

Come on buddy, it's your turn!

(If only you could see how far he is leaning away from the back of the chair, lol!)

LOVED! his prize!

H.A.N.D.S.O.M.E!

Spring Cleaning

"Here mom, let me help you clean out these drawers."

If anyone out there needs some Spring cleaning help, I've got just the helper ;)

We're in BIG trouble!

Porter has a new favorite thing to do...YIKES! Extra baby gates anyone??

Thankful Thursday

Seeing as how it's 8:07 pm and I'm fast on my way to bed...I'll make it short and sweet. Today I'm one tired {but extremely thankful} mama! I love all of the days around here with my little buddy, but some days are a little longer than others. What am I thankful for today? Most definitely, a God that has a plan for my life that's much greater than my own and faithfully loves me, no questions asked. Now that's love!