Milestone!

Tonight as Chris was sitting on the floor leaned against one couch and I sitting on the other loveseat... we watched our son crawl for the first time.  It was awesome.  I'm like.. do you see it.. can you see him.. he's doing it!!!  So much fun.  He was motivated by Carter Grace's rubber chicken.  Here's a pic of Carter Grace.. she had to make the blog sometime!  What a great night!

It Seemed Like a Simple Idea? .....

So.. every year I try to think of something fun and unique to give to my co-workers.  I'm not a huge Christmas fan.. but, I'm trying to be more into it.  This year it's been easier with Porter. 

My first thought was a new favorite of mine; Tennessee Teacakes.  Now yes, this sounds really lame.. but I guess they are AWESOME.. and you freak out when you eat them.  I sent them to my sister in law for her 40th.... and it was a hit.  They were also featured on Oprah, so you know they have to be crazy good.  (I love that I just mentioned Oprah on my blog; I'm a huge fan).

Anyway.. when I got into the logistics of the Tennessee Teacakes.. I worried they wouldn't get here on time and I was worried they would end up stale if I ordered too early.

So, to steal an idea I saw from my adoption buddy Joanna in Texas.. I thought I'll make sugar cookies in the shape of Africa.. how hard could it be?  Now, to give you some history on me and sugar cookies.  We got into a huge fight some years back.  I vowed to never make the dough again, cause I didn't know you had to chill it over night.  When I told my sister my little holiday project idea.. she actually reminded me of the fiasco I had several years ago.  I was like.. I know.. I know.. but, now I'm a veteran.. I got this down.

So, first off.. I needed see through goodie bags so you could see the cookie.  I ran EVERYWHERE looking for these things.. do you think I could find any NO!  So, I ordered 35, the smallest quantity I could find on ebay.  My Mom was like, why didn't you just use baggies.. I'm like DOH.. why hadn't I thought of that? 

Then I wanted to find little heart shaped red hots to put over Addis Ababa, where we travelled to.  Do you think I could find any of those NO.  The smallest quantity of those I could find was 5lbs.. and what the heck am I going to do with 5lbs of heart shaped red hots???  I was only making a dozen cookies.  This is insane people.. first I can't find the cellophane baggies and now NO candies.. what the heck?

I finally sent my Mom to the mall; she works near Washington Square and there is a candy store there.  The little gal at the counter fished through a jar to get me the correct color.  Not exactly red hots, but gummy red hearts.. this will work. 

So.. on to making the cookies.. of course the dough stuck to the counter, and then the rolling pin.  Then I put the first tray in the oven.. and they turn from perfect Africa shaped cookies into something that resembles a butt crack.  I'm like.. SERIOUSLY.. how hard could it be... people make sugar cookies all the time.  BUT WHY? 

The moral of the story is that I should have just stuck with the potentially stale Tennessee Teacakes.. but it made for a good story.  I think I will retire from making sugar cookies!  At least I can see humor in it. 

I had a tag on the bag that said "Dream It, and Watch It Come True"

Dimples and Pre-Holiday Fun.

The kid seriously gets attention.. and I LOVE IT.  Where ever we go we seem to have people approach us.  Porter is a people magnet.  I wonder how many doors those dimples will open?  Here's some pre-holiday pictures!  Enjoy. 

PS.. I wouldn't have wanted the Santa visit to go any other way.

Turkey & Football.

Here's a couple pictures from Thanksgiving.  When we yell touchdown he throws his hands up in the air.  Gram was having a blast with him.  He's still doing awesome.  Standing all the time.. eating more and more.  Loves, loves, loves to throw things.. WOW.. the kids got an arm. 

We took him to his first Oregon Football game the day after Thanksgiving.  He did awesome.  The more people around him the better.  It was so much fun to introduce him to our tailgating friends.  We learned he loves popcorn at the game!  Oh, and he chucked his bottle and threw it in the guys back that was sitting in front of us, classic.

Although the pictures make it look like he slept through the game.. he actually was up and at'em most of the time.  It was a blast.. It was a "do-over day"! 

Willy Porter.. a night out!

What a fantastic evening.. it was a "do over day."  We went to a casual dinner and then headed over to the Aladdin our favorite venue.  We arrived at the Aladdin early.  Although we didn't set out for front row seats.. sure enough there were two open seats.  There's not a bad seat in the house.

We always love Willy's opening acts.  He introduced us to Raining Jane, Natalia Zukerman, and Peter Mulvey to name a few.  This show we got acquainted with Meg Hutchinson, she did not disappoint.  

I wish I could remember all the songs Willy played.. but during the on core he sang Watercolor.  It's a beautiful slow song.. and I just got this huge lump in my throat thinking about how a year ago we sat in this theater not knowing that we would move forward with adoption or when, and come to find out, that's the day our son was being given up by his unselfish birth father.  I was in complete awe and the water works started and they just wouldn't quite.

After the show, Chris and I hung back to let the crowd thin out.  We wanted to be the last to meet with Willy so we wouldn't feel rushed by other fans.  I was still choked up about the odd coincidence about Willy and our son.  Maybe it's silly, but I just couldn't help it.  Willy remembered us from last year, COOL.  It was wonderful to talk with him and tell him about Porter and our journey.  We gave him some pictures and our blog info.

So, Willy.. if you're reading this.  Thank you a million times for your music.  Whenever, you come to town, it's a special treat for Chris and I to hit the town, try a new restaurant, and finish the evening with wonderful music and talking with you. 

See you next year, Willy!

Bloggin!

Hello, Howdy, Hi.  I wonder sometimes who's following my blog.  I know that I read several so, I'm sure I may have some random followers.  One thing that has suffered since we brought PJ home is my blog.  I don't blog as often because .... #1 I'm focused on the boy.. #2 I guess if I don't have something to say from the heart I just can't force it.  However.. today, I feel that I have some stuff to say and share!

I couldn't find any blog images on line, so I don't think there will be any images on this post.. sorry!  I wonder how long I'm going to blog?  Sometimes, I worry about the safety in it, other times I think it's such a great way to journal or remember things? 

Here's the update-  Porter is thriving in daycare and life in general.  We've rounded a corner when it comes to what he'll eat.. he's doing good and is up for trying most things we put in front of him (and actually eating most of them).  Super-star!  He is happy, healthy, and LOVES to be around people, the more the better.  He's happy in pretty much any ones arms.  He stands a lot now, his legs are getting very strong.  At the pediatricians request we took him to a physical therapist since he isn't crawling yet.  The general consensus is that he's so mellow in nature that he's content to just sit and chill and doesn't have much motivation to get up and crawl.  I was a little annoyed about going cause I figure all kids are at their own pace, however, I did learn some great things to try and teach him so he'll roll over and get up and crawl.  So, maybe the next post, I'll be mentioning how he's movin' and shakin' all over?

I'm absolutely loving my work schedule!!!  I'm SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, thankful that they were able to accommodate my request.  It's great except the paycheck is smaller.. darn it!  I keep playing the lotto so maybe one of these days, we'll hit it big?

Chris is finally feeling better.  This week I got a urinary track infection and I believe that I also passed a kidney stone.  It was seriously NOT fun.  I've decided that we're going to be healthy here on out and NO more sickness in our house.  We've filled our sick quota for at least the next five years.

In reflection of our trip to Ethiopia.  I think of Porter's birth father a lot.  He'll just pop into my head and I'll wonder how he is doing; I'll think of his gentle smile and disposition.  Sometimes, I'll look at Porter and think... just over a year ago, you were born in a hut, surrounded by fields in a beautiful country many many miles from here.. and now you're watching baby Einstein.  It sort of blows your mind and even though I know all of the history it's still crazy to think that he's here.  He's only been with us for two short months and four days.  It's incredible how our life has changed and how we can't imagine being without him.  We've really gotten into a rhythm in the last two to three weeks.. it's sort of like a beat that just keeps going.

Porter loves music he puts up his little hands and waves/shakes them like crazy.  I'm teaching him to put his little arms up whenever someone yells "touchdown"!  His smiles can melt any heart and if that doesn't get you his dimples will.  Oh, how I love that smile.

If you've been following my blog you'll know the reason that we named him Porter is because we love the musician Willy Porter.  There is a random coincidence about Willy Porter and our son Porter.  The day that Porter was relinquished in Ethiopia, Oct 22, 2009, Chris and I were at the Willy Porter concert.  How random is that.. pretty freaky!  Willy will be in town this coming Saturday the 20th, and we can't wait to show him pictures of his youngest fan and tell him about this random fun fact.

Goodnight blog followers .. until next time!

Where'd The Time Go?

Can you believe I go back to work tomorrow?  I think I'm more nervous about going to my job, that I've been at for over 14 years than I am about dropping off the sweet pea at daycare.  Even though I do customer service, which may sound easy.. it's NOT!  I hope I remember everything and do everything correctly.. it's totally nerve racking.  I am excited to get into the routine of work and to see my co-workers/friends again.  Luckily, I've been able to stay in touch with them while I've been off.  I'm very fortunate that my work was able to accommodate a part time schedule for me.  I've been off for 10 weeks; I'm going back a couple weeks early so I have some PTO left in case Porter J gets sick or I need time off.

Porter J is going to a fabulous daycare about 5 minutes away from my work.  My friend Colleen's kids have gone there for over 5 years.  I feel absolutely confident that all will go well, and Porter J will thrive in this atmosphere.  We went last week and sat with his class, met the teacher, met the other kids and, learned what he'd be doing while he's there.  The teacher is fantastic.  I feel 100% confident with him being there. 

Porter seems to learn things every day.  He's started to eat cheerios, his favorite.  He sometimes eats little fish's, and some little puff treats.  He does love dried strawberry's and banana's.  He's definitely started to put weight on his legs, he can stand for over five minutes while I hold him.  He's still not really interested in crawling.  He loves to scoot backwards on his belly.  The doctor is worried that he hasn't started crawling yet, but we've seen him grow and change so much in the short time that we've had him that I've decided all babies grow at their own pace. 

Chris and I have both been sick off and on since we got home from Ethiopia.  Chris has been sick for a week now and missed most of the week at work.  I hope he's better today.  I'm hoping that I can talk him into going to the doctor and having some blood work done.  I just don't think it's normal that he's been sick this long and even while he's taking antibiotics.  I wish his doctor had done a full blood work up.  That would make me feel MUCH better.  I'm worried.

Here's Porter in his Halloween costume.  I took him all over Washington county this week to show him off.  Who doesn't like a Hershey Kiss?

Who's The Birthday Boy!!! 1 Year Old

We had a small get together with Gram and Auntie Stacie!  He pretty much just played with the cake.

Wait.. Hold on.. Stop the Presses!!!

Seriously... time is just going WAY TOO fast!!  I actually go back to work in 3 weeks.  The time off has zoomed by.. I can't believe it.  I'm definitely not ready. 

Porter is now very comfortable on his belly.. he likes to scoot backward every where.  I believe it's just a matter of days or a couple weeks until he figures out how to crawl.  Am I ready for this mobile independence.. I don't think so.

He also only likes vanilla yogurt, cream of chicken soup, ranch (cause, who doesn't like ranch), and of course, his bottle. 

Lots of things have happened by accident.  Figuring out a schedule for example.  The boy and me both needed a break from one another.  So my first week on my own I decided that he needed to lie down and take a nap.  If he was still screaming after 15 minutes.. then I would go get him.  This my friends.... started a beautiful schedule and time for mom to have a break.  Now you would think on this break that I would be eating bon bons or watching my favorite show.. WRONG.. this is the time for me to get all the things done that I've been neglecting.

We've also been busy bee's.. we've gone to Tillamook one day to visit family and friends.  We went up to Vancouver to Dad's office and went to lunch with my friend Tammy.  We went to Aunt Stacie's work.. and back to my work.  We also, applied for his social security number and are working on on re-adoption here in the US. 

Now during all this craziness, Chris and I were both sick for almost two weeks.. BOOO.. no fun.. It was very difficult to be sick and try to take care of him and all my normal chores.  Luckily, we're back in action and feeling great.

Tomorrow is his BIG first Birthday.. YEAH.. nothing really huge planned.  Gram and Auntie Stac will be over.  I've ordered his cake and have the decorations all planned out.  It should be a fun day!

We're Gettin' It!

Well... here some updates.. I received a potty training pot last weekend.. so far there have been 4 pee's and 2 poo's in it.. now maybe it's a fluke.. but we're pretty excited.  I sing a pee pee in the potty song that he loves.  Basically every time I  change him I set him on it for a sec and sing pee pee in the potty!  Maybe it's working?  I also read him the potty book.

He absolutely hates mashed potato's and projectile vomited all over dad.. WOW.. that was a site. 

He stood for the first time last night.. the couch was kind of helping him but his weight was on his legs.. so that was exciting.  We've been doing some stomach exercises to motivate him to crawl.

Chris and I have both been sick with colds for several days.. not fun.. and we're looking forward to be healthy again.

Porter went to his first high school football game last Friday night to watch his cousin B.  He did great, and looked so cute in his hat Gram1 made.

The Sweetest Sound!

I used to think the sweetest sound was hearing the UofO band came to our tailgate. But, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that hearing my sweet boys little giggle makes my heart warm with delight. I wish I could package the way it makes me feel and sell it.. it's sure to be some sort of drug! His dimples, his sounds; make my heart rocket to the moon and back.

I realized today that I've exchanged my fashionable large hand bag for a diaper bag with only my wallet in it. No chap stick, no adult medication, no tweezers.. extra diapers, wipes, and other essential baby items are all that apply.

Chris and I listen to music in the evening.. always have.. it's our time to recap our day and spend time together. Porter- I realized tonight that there will probably be a lot of music we listen to that you don't like. However.. no matter where you are or what you're doing a universal song that you must love and play at party's (not at our house) is Elton John's Blue Jean Baby. There are many versions, artists twists.. but this is a song that I hope you will love and will make you feel good when you listen to it. We love it.. and we hope you do too.  I'm sure you'll hear us sing this song a lot growing up.

Today, we were at the doctors office and you discovered your belly button for the first time. You were curious and smitten with this part of your anatomy.  Oh how I wished I had our video camera to capture the moment. It was a small moment in time that I will hold in my memory forever and remember in the years to come.

I didn't realize I was a bull rider/wrestler until tonight. Do you know how many buttons and contraptions there are on a high chair? Seriously, people.. you have NO idea!!! When you are sleep deprived.. jet lagged, puked on, crapped on.. trying to collapse a high chair and put it away seems absolutely impossible. Well.. tonight I concurred it.. when I finally figured out all the buttons and switches.. I was like.. OMG.. it's like that movie 8 seconds.. I rode the bull for the qualifying time. There was no standing ovation.. no cheers, hoots, or hollers.. but I did it. Does this mean I graduated to parenthood?

One of my visions and dreams of being a parent was to dance with my child.. and tonight.. I DID!  It was to LeAnne Womack's- I hope you dance.. here are some of the lyrics.. it's one of my favorites.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making

Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

So Here We Are!

Home at last.. over a week into our adventure.

All I can say is thank goodness Chris was home last week.  I don't know what I would have done without him.  We had a VERY busy first weekend.. We had family in from out of town Fri, Sat, and Sun.  We were absolutely exhausted come Monday. 

We had his first doctors appointment on Monday.  Mostly routine but got some vaccines started.  Not sure if the stomach thing and temperature came back because of the vaccinations or because it was still lingering from Ethiopia.. but we've been battling it all week. 

He loves to laugh and giggle.  He hates to eat anything other than his bottle.  He's a pretty good sleeper, just gets up a couple times a night.  It can take a while to get him back to sleep.

Dad goes back to work tomorrow.. so I'll be on my own.. WOW.. that will be an adjustment too. 

The Rest of the Story!!

There are a few things that happened in Ethiopia that I didn't want to mention until we got home from our trip because I didn't want our family and friends to worry about us or Porter.

On Monday when we took custody of Porter they told us that he was running a fever and wasn't feeling well.  Once we got him back to our room we took his temperature and it was over 101.. we had no idea what to do.  I ran up to our friends room and they said to give him Tylenol fever reducer and put a cold wash cloth on his head.  After a few hours of him vomiting, having diarrhea, and a temperature we went back over to the care center with him; we all thought it would be best for him to stay there for the night.

The following day was our Embassy appointment.   We had to take him with us to the appointment.  I was very nervous that he was going to scream the whole appointment and be sick.  When we went to pick him up around 11 or so, they still didn't have any test results back yet on what was causing the fever and illness.  They had just given him his first dose of antibiotics.  Chris was not a happy camper during the appointment.. he was upset that we had to take Porter with us, because he was so sick.

Luckily, he slept the entire drive to and from the appointment as well as the two hours in the waiting room. We were allowed to go first in our group, and they all cheered once we were done.  You normally wait for your entire group to be done before you leave, but they let us leave early with Porter, since he was sick.  Once we got him back to the care center Sister Martha thought it was best for him to be admitted to the hospital and for IV fluids and more antibiotics.  It was scary but I was still calm.

On Wednesday he still was not better so they kept him the entire day and another night.  Under normal circumstances they probably wouldn't have admitted him but because we needed to get on a flight Thursday evening.. they thought it was best. 

Our packet of paperwork from the Embassy was ready for pick up at the Holt office on Thursday morning.  Once we were there they told us that we could go to the hospital since Porter was ready to be discharged.  They armed us with medication and off we went.

One thing I didn't mention is that I fell down some stairs a few days before.. luckily I just had a huge bruise on my rump-shaker.  But, I had been hobbling around for a couple days.  Once we got the hospital.. I was like.. GAME ON.. I want my boy.. and am ready to take him home.  There was no hobbling to get him.. you should have seen how fast I was walking!

There were other Holt families with us at the hospital since we had just come from picking up our Embassy packets.  Everyone was so patient and didn't mind waiting for us to get our boy.  I was just so glad to finally have him and READY to get goin' home!

INTRODUCING!!!

Porter J Alaro Mackin weighing in at 20lbs 11 mo's old

We chose the name Porter because Willy Porter is our favorite musician.  Chirs's Dad has the initial J in his name for Joseph and Alaro is Porter's birth father's name.  Chris and I also fell in love listening to Willy Porter's music, so it has a lot of meaning to us.

We're so excited to be home.  There's nothing better than being back in your own space, especially after this long journey.  What an amazing trip.  He was truly amazing on the flights.  He slept, he played, he ate!  Even the flight attendant said he got the gold star.

We got bumped to business class on our first 8 hour leg to Amsterdam.  At the time we had no idea how or why this happened.  We were so exhausted we didn't even acknowledge it because we thought for sure it was a mistake and that we'd get kicked out.  We found out later that Gram2 travel agent status pulled some weight and hooked us up.  We had lounge seats with tons of leg room.  It was wonderful and very unexpected!  THANK YOU Gram2.

The last 2-3 hours of the second leg of our flight was filled with anticipation to see everyone at the airport.  After a long wait through immigration we arrived in the baggage area with cheers, signs, balloons, and many friends and family!  To see everyone was absolutely wonderful after our long trip.  Everyone couldn't wait to see our beautiful boy.