Porter's 1

Porter wasn't too sure of what to do with his birthday cake, he mostly played in the frosting.  Since he has turned one he has decided he wants to not be quite as passive and to start moving around much quicker than before.  He isn't quite crawling on his hand and knees yet, but he is going to get there soon.  He gets up on his knees often now and will pull himself up to the side of his crib and be on his knees there. 

When the weather was warm enough and the leaves had just fallen, he loved to play in them.  This is one of the fun pictures we were able to get one of the times he was playing.  He's so cute!  I just love his smile :)

Curious Stage

It is so much fun watching Porter develop and learn about the world he is in.  He is so curious about everything and loves to get his cute little hands on whatever he can.  Here is one of the fun pictures of him learning about his surroundings:

Some of the other fun things he is doing right now are:
-He loves to clap his hands.  He get so excited to see people or when he is finished with something he starts to clap his hands and has a great big smile on his face
-Whenever we have a family hug he loves to turn Tyson and my faces together so we kiss, then he will separate our faces and do it again and again.
-He loves to hear how things sounds when he pounds on them or rubs his hands along them.  One of his favorites is to run his fingers up and down the cold air returns he can reach.
-Tyson will record little clips of Porter playing and then Porter will watch those little clips over and over again and giggle at himself and the little sounds he makes.

Summer Fun

This summer we have been very busy with many activities.  Below are just a 

few of the things we have been doing and Porter has been learning.

Porter loves his Johnny Jumper.  

Sometimes he jumps so much he wears himself out and falls asleep in it.

 He is still a very happy baby and just growing really fast!

Porter has learned he can continuously roll so he can get to what he wants.  

This was the first time he found his tub of toys and dumped them all of himself.  

It was very funny, and he was giggling the whole time.

 Hanging out and Granny's house and doing toe touches just because he can.

 Porter loves to kick and splash in the water.  This was his first boating outing.  

He had a lot of fun with his cousins riding on the tub.

Eternal Family

On May 30, 2013 Porter's Adoption was finalized.  We are now "legally" a family

On June 8, 2013 we were sealed as a family in the temple.  We are now an ETERNAL FAMILY!!!

After being sealed in the Temple we went to Tyson's parents house and blessed Porter.  He was a little tired by this time because he had missed a nap. His first tooth had just broke through a couple days before too.

Court Date

We are so excited we were recently notified we finally have a court date set to finalize Porter's Adoption.  After we finalize the adoption in court we will be able to have Porter sealed to us in the Temple and be able to bless him.  So grateful he will finally be able to partake in these wonderful blessings of the Priesthood Power. 

Porter 5 Months

Porter's personality is so much fun!  He LOVES it when Tyson tickles him and plays with him.  He giggles so loud with his Dad and they have so much fun together.  Porter has discovered all the noises he can make with all of the inflections and loves when you repeat his sounds back to him.  It is hard to capture all of what is so fun about him in pictures, but here is my attempt to capture some of it.  He always get distracted when we pull a camera out too, so the smile he had on his face managers to disappear by the time the photo is taken.

 

He loves to snuggle with his blankets when he sleeps

He also thinks he is getting big enough to hold his own bottle (this only lasts for about 2 seconds)

Porter 4 Months

Porter has been very busy these last few weeks...

Playing with cousins

Visiting Great Grandma

Helping Jami do her work

And just being fun to play with

Porter 3 Months

Porter will be 3 months this week.  He is so much fun.  He loves to sit by me in his little chair and "talk" to me throughout the day.  When I talk back to him he gets the cutest smile on his face.  Here are some pictures of him and a few with a small glimpse of his smile. 

 

"Hi"

Big Hugs Please

Porter 2 Months

Porter at 2 Months

He is already a little boy who doesn't know how to hold still :D

Power of Atonement

Since we aren't taking Porter to church yet with how bad so many sicknesses are going around I have been trying to take that time to reflect on blessings from Heavenly Father (Tyson has to go to church because he is in the bishopric).  The power of the Atonement has been on my mind many times since we were blessed with Porter.  I am daily grateful for this gift.

The power of the Atonement blessed Tyson and I as we went/go through our infertility journey.  Bringing us the comfort we needed.  It wasn't always easy, and it took, especially me, a long time to be willing to let the Atonement fully heal us the way it has the power to. 

Through all of this I think of Enos in the Book of Mormon.  He too went through his needing the healing by the power of the Atonement.  I love the answer for the Lord when Enos asked him how it was he was healed.  The Lord answered him "Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen....wherefore, go to, thy faith hat made thee whole." (Enos: 1:8)

The best part of the Atonement is that it is available for everyone.  We each have the same access.  Individually we have to have our own faith for the Atonement to heal us.  I love that Heavenly Father has blessed us all with this wonderful gift. I know that by faith in our Heavenly Father in righteousness all things are possible.

Christmas 2012

Our holiday festivities began on Sunday December 23.  They started by us going to visit with Aunts, Uncles, cousins, GG, and Grandpa before they all went down to Temple Square to see the lights.  On Christmas Eve we went over to GG and Grandpa's early to help prepare for Christmas Eve dinner, Family Home Evening, and games.  We enjoyed spending time with all of the family who could be there.  The kids loved the chocolate fountain and the popcorn can game GG and Grandpa have for them every year.  

What is the popcorn can game?  Throughout the year GG and Grandpa collect items that are $1 or less that can be used for different ages of kids.  Then on Christmas Eve they wrap all of these items around a popcorn can with a ball on it with tape.  When the game begins all of the kids sit on the floor in a circle.  They each take a turn rolling two dice.  Whoever gets doubles gets a chance to start taking off the prizes taped on.  When the next person rolls a double the first person's turn is over.  This continues on until all of the items are off the popcorn can.

Christmas Day...We had to wake up Porter to go and see what Santa brought him. Here is a picture of him Christmas morning.

After opening all of the gifts, we went back over to GG and Grandpa's to have breakfast and then spend time with family members as they were able to come over.  During all of the Christmas festivities it was fun to spend time with our family that lives far away from us as well as those who live close.

This is how Porter enjoyed a good part of all the festivities...

New Years 2013

To celebrate New Years we went to visit Granny, Grandpa, and Nummy.  Granny helped Jami finish making the bumper pads and decorations for Porter's room while we were there.  A couple of the cousins who live in Arizona were also there visiting, so it was fun to play with them too.  To bring in the New Year we had fun playing card games and eating yummy treats Granny had made.

Here is hoe Porter's room turned out: