Big Stuff!

YEAH.. he stood up on his own!  Woo hoo.. so exciting!  We were on the couch and he had his little hands on the coffee table.. and he just popped up on his own.  I was like.. did you see that.. he did it.  He's really been working on standing up, but just couldn't get that second leg underneath him.. then all of the sudden he did it.  He's furniture surfing now!

He seems to be starting to say Mama and Dada.. but he's definitely saying "Hi".  His voice is SO adorable!!! 

I heading to USCIS tomorrow afternoon to start the finalization of US citizenship.  I'm prepared for a complicated process and it being a complete fiasco, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and have all my paperwork in a row and it'll be super fast???  One can hope! 

Here's some pictures of swim class.. it's going well and he's loving it.

Blessed Beyond!

Chris and I applied on-line with Holt almost exactly a year ago.. when we applied we were, I think 12-15 on the wait list.. NOW there is up to a year wait to get a referral.  That's JUST to get a referral.  We got our referral (Porter/Jo) the end of April.. so WE waited 3 month's to find out who our beloved son was. 

I can't imagine waiting 12-15 mo's just to find out who your beautiful son or daughter is.  As I watched Porter playing today I stopped and appreciated that "wonderful moment" and how blessed I was to have the BEST son in the world. 

I wish I had words of wisdom to give those waiting, the strength, the patience, the mind freaking that will be with them over the coming months.  There are no words to explain what it's like to wait for your referral.  Most times, you've already waited months to find out if you could conceive.  My heart truly goes out to those that are waiting.  If you're reading this.. can you send out some positive thoughts into the universe for these waiting parents to get their referral as soon as possible, and travel to pick up their children in record speed!

More Fun!

Today was a great day.  Normally, I feel like I'm running around with my head cut off trying to drop Porter off at daycare, pick him up, run errands, get chores done, fix dinner, and just overall trying to balance life.

Today was Martin Luther King Day.. so I had the day off.  I just felt like Porter and I could spend some good quality time together.. it was so nice just to hang out and enjoy one another.  We had a fun time.  Not really doing anything totally exciting.. but hanging out.  No rushing around... it was great. 

A few small things.  Friday we went to Beaverton Bakery and shared a cookie.  This may seem like a small insignificant thing.. but it was just cool.  I was like.. I'm sharing a cookie with my son.. and it just felt awesome.  Maybe it's like when you start dating someone and every first feels like a huge milestone?  Anyway.. it was awesome.

Tonight was our first swim lesson.. it went awesome.  At first he clung to me like glue.. but within 10 minutes he was more comfortable and splashing around like crazy.  Here's a pic in his suit at home before we went.  I'll have more pics of us at the pool soon.  Seriously.. how cute is he??

Here's What Happens When You Have A 15 Mo. Old.

I think I've almost given up trying to have spotless floors.. it's like there's always sticky fingerprints on them.  Luckily, it only takes a few minutes to pick up.. but.. WOW..   I love that Carter is just laying around taking it all in.

He got into the tupperware cupboard.. honestly.. since we were having people over for dinner.. I was just happy he was entertained so I could get my prep-cooking done.  (is that bad?).

It Was Worth The Wait!

I posted this picture in September.  I love this picture.. it's one of my favorites from our homecoming.  Today, I framed it and put it in Porter's room.  I just feel like you can feel the emotion and understand the road to our dreams!  It says anticipation.. the long road has been worth it!  I could stare at this picture for hours. 

Little Surprises!

You know what is fun.. it's just plan awesome to see my friends and family enjoy Porter.  I love to see the look on their faces when they see Porter do something for the first time.  I just really enjoy watching people enjoy him.  It really makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.. kind of like a hot toddy.. (kidding).

No matter how many times I see him crawl I still feel like yelling.. "LOOK" my son is crawling.. it's so exciting.  Today, we got home from work and like always I try and make or give him a snack.  This normally consists of baby puffs.. but I had the brainy idea to make a cheese sandwich for him.. and (drum roll please) he actually ate it.  It always feels like such an accomplishment when I make something that he'll eat.  It felt like he wouldn't eat anything for so long.. and now.. something as simple as a cheese sandwich is a major victory.  (Rock Balboa arm pumps, and yelled hip-hip-hooray).

We've enrolled in baby swimming classes.  I feel like a complete rookie at these new mom things.  Thank goodness I have veteran Mom friends that can give me advice on if this is something that I should enroll in and what the heck a little swimmer is.  Also, after looking through all is clothes.. YES.. we had swim trunks.. I should have known.  One less thing that I need to worry about and buy.  Now I need to try on my bathing suits and decide if I need a plastic tarp or use one of my suits in my dresser.  (Hindsight, shouldn't have had that last beer, belch)  Not looking forward to getting bare.. but oh well.. guess we'll all be in the same boat, or pool together.  I know that Porter is going to have an awesome time, he loves water.  This starts next Monday, twice a week for four weeks. 

Here are a couple pictures from Christmas.. you'd think we would get a couple pics of Chris, Me, and Porter.. nope.. just Gram and P!  He's in his Christmas pajama's.. our first tradition.  Jammies on Christmas Eve. 

Touchdown.. never gets old.. look at the passion on his face!

Oh Boy..... Watch OUT.... Parents OUT ON THE TOWN!!

We had our first overnight trip without the boy last weekend.  Cannon Beach is almost my favorite place on earth.. it's a tie with a couple other destinations in Oregon.  I'd like to say it was like parents gone wild.. or what happens in Cannon Beach stays in Cannon Beach.. but there wasn't any naked sushi eating, or beer bonging streaking.. however.. we did have a fantastic time.  Basically we did a pub crawl in Cannon Beach.. The night flew by and we were home on Sunday before you knew it.  Here are some of the places we visited.

First To the Lumberyard

Then to Bill's, which is my new favorite place in CB.

Then to The Warren Pub, which is an affiliate of Bills, for a little darts and pool.

Then we had so much damn fun at Bill's that we decided to go back.  Bill is the third one to the right.  It was fun to meet "The Man".

Then to Fultano's Pizza for din din!

Then back to the Surfsand to enjoy the rest of our time away!