Big changes

I have been rather terrible about blogging lately. There has been SO much going on, and in a way, explaining it all on "paper" seemed too overwhelming to me. Our close friends know what has been going on with out family over the last several months, but I haven't shared any of it with our blogging buddies yet for that reason. BIG changes are underway.

In December of last year, we found out that Craig would be losing his job on January 1st of this year. He has been hard at work trying to find a job in Jacksonville ever since, with no success. Porter and I have loved having him at home with us, and we see this trial as a huge blessing as well, for that reason. Other than that...it's been a little trying!

We decided about six weeks ago that it was time to move on. Craig's family lives in Castle Rock, Colorado, and they were gracious enough to invite us into their home. It was a very difficult decision for us for several reasons, but through lots of prayer, we felt that it is where the Lord wants us to be right now. We are so thankful to his parents for making huge sacrafices for us to be comfortable in their home. We are excited to be near Craig's mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and two adorable neices, Abby and Lissie!

Porter and I arrived here in Colorado two days ago. Craig is driving the U-haul across the country with our brother-in-law, Mike, as we speak. (Thanks, Mike, for driving with him, and Shannon for loaning your hubby out for a few days!).

It is so quiet and peaceful here. The weather is amazing: hot during the day and SO beautiful and cool in the morning and evening. It's a concept I have a hard time grasping, but I love it! Porter and I went for a walk this morning, and I had to leave him in his jammies because it was too chilly to put him in shorts just yet. I'm sure we'd be roasting out there by now, though! I love opening the windows, too...another very foreign concept to me!

His parents live in an adorable neighborhood with a gorgeous view of the mountains (I took pictures this morning and will post them when I have the cord/etc. out of the big truck!). For those of my Florida friends who don't know what a mountian is, click here. There are little bunnies everywhere, and I am in love with them! Porter says "nunny!" when he sees one. They also have bird feeders in the front and I absolutely love watching the birdies come and dine on the birdseed all day. They have cutie-cute little hummingbirds, too! I hear that deer come right up to the house, and coyotes can be seen in the back, so I am waiting for that!

I am anxious for Craig to get here safely with all of our stuff so we can get settled and move on as Colorado residents...weird! When I was on the flight here with Porter, the flight attendant said "time to go home!" when I got on the plane leaving Jacksonville and it was very surreal. I guess they think if you're leaving Florida in the middle of summer then you're on your way back home! It was weird leaving home to go home!

We will keep you updated on our transition. I am loving it so far, and Porter is doing GREAT (after a not-so-easy trip here for Christmas, this is SUCH a blessing, and nothing short of a miracle!).

I will miss my house and all of our FABULOUS Jacksonville friends. We love you all SO MUCH and can't wait to see you all for a visit! Come see us! It is beautiful here, and the company is great. :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Porter!

I had WAY too many photos of Porter's Birthday celebrations, so I have attempted my first slideshow. We had such a fantastic time celebrating our little man's fspecial day. We had lots of visitors and loved-ones, which was wonderful. We also had a puppy party at home on his birthday, then another with friends a few days later. Big, big thanks to everyone who was so generous in celebrating such a big day for our little family!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Look how much Porter has grown!!!

Craig and I took Porter's picture with his puppy on the 10th of every month with this special project in mind! I can't believe how much he's changed! Happy Birthday, Noonie!!!
I have a lot of blogging to do about his birthday, etc. so look for that soon!

Happy Father's Day

To my wonderful husband,

Thank you for being a better father than I ever dreamed of for our son. I love that no one else on earth loves our son the way that you do. You are such an amazing father. You are strong and decicated, gentle and sweet. I love watching you play with and love on our baby. It makes me love you infinitely more than I ever thought I could. You are perfect for us, and we love you more than any daddy is loved.

Happy Father's Day, my love.

He's walking!

Look at him go! He has taken about twice as many steps as in this video, but of course I didn't get it on camera. He took about 7 steps last night and today he was off! It's crazy how quickly he is getting it down! Just in time for his first birthday!

This is just the beginning...

Watermelon Baby

On Monday, Memorial Day, we decided to pack up and head for the beach! Porter had visited the beach a couple of times, but hadn't had a "real" trip where he could play in the sand and waves. Really, the whole reason that I wanted to go (not being a beach person AT ALL) was so that I could capture the photo above...my cute baby eating waterlemon on the beach! When all was said and done, I have over 150 pictures of this cute boy and his watermelon (and some of the rest of the fun as well!)

He loved it! He had three pieces of watermelon while we were there, and had a blast playing in the sand!

I love the beach!

It was a gorgeous day, nice and sunny! There were TONS of people there!

Daddy built him quite the sandcastle. Here is Porter helping out.

The one thing he didn't care for was the water. He actually cried, which I have a picture of, but it was too sad to post. It was super cold, so we think that's why he wasn't fond. Here he is down by the waves with Daddy.

A rare picture of Mommy on the beach, fully clothed, of course! Why did I spend so long deciding which bathing suit to wear?!

Doesn't Elliotte look super cute in her swimsuit!? She had a blast, too!

He was SO tired in the car on the way home. I decided to sit in the back with him to see if I could keep him from falling asleep in the car. He was so sweet and sleepy! What a charming boy, and a fun day!

11 Months old

Now that Porter is almost as close to one as he is 11 months, I'd better get this post up here...
Our sweet boy turned 11 months on May 10th, my first Mother's Day!
Believe it or not, he continues to grow cuter, sweeter, and smarter every day!

Here are some things our noonie has been up to in the last little while:
Talking - The child is booming with words. It's actually a little crazy. His pediatrician thinks he's a genius and she shows him off to the other doctors and nurses at the office! Some of his latest include kitty, turtle (tuh-too!), bubble, nose (and he points to my mouth...we're working on that), and if I ask him what a doggie says he says woof, woof! If I ask him what a sheep says, he will usually say baa, baa. (sometimes woof, woof though!) The other day I asked him what sheep says and he said buboo! (bubble). He also says nummy, nummy when it's time to eat. He is such a chatterbox and we love it! Now, please be aware that I am not one of those crazy moms who thinks her kid can actually say stuff that he can't. His words are still very primitave and only a few of them are perfectly formed, but he recognizes things and calls them the same thing every time, and we understand what he is saying...so we think he is a smartie-pants :)
Taking steps - He loves to "walk" to us from the ottoman especially. He will let go and take a step or two, usually lunging forward and crashing in our laps...so cute! He is getting really steady on his feet and can stoop down to pick things up, too. He's not ready to take off on his own yet, though, and Mommy is totally okay with that!
Dancing - He does the cute-baby-bob up and down when he hears a good tune.
Cuddling - Lucky for me, Porter is a little snuggle bug! He loves to cuddle with us! If I ask for a snuggle, he will stop what he's doing and come give me a squeeze. How sweet is that?!
Kissing - Oh my, does he love to kiss. He will seriously attack you, and you will have to bust out the Brawny after he is done with your face. Awesome. He will also kiss his toys or animals is you ask him to. What a loverboy!
Un-Gently Touching- Okay, so this one's not so good... some may call it hitting, but he never hits when he is upset, so sometimes I wonder if he is just touching and doesn't know how to be gentle, but it's a whack nonetheless. Unfortunately he likes to un-gently touch Jackson's head a lot. And my face. Those are his two favorite...good times.
Eating new foods - He loves tofu tossed in crunched up whole wheat Ritz crackers, and he has a new love for grapes. This morning when he was playing in the fridge (which he does a LOT) he opened the bottom drawer, plucked off a grape and popped it in his mouth. Of course I flipped out, not wanting him to choke on it, so I tried my darndest to get it out of his mouth. He had the death grip on that thing. The moment I realized I couldn't get it out was the same moment I realized he chewed it up and it was 3/4 gone...crisis averted. I will definitely remember to zip the grape bag closed from now on....guess he knows what he likes! He also loves pasta with sauce, which is a new one for us. I hadn't been able to eat tomatoes since he was born because they gave him a horrible diaper rash, but lately that isn't that case (yay!). I was reluctant to give him anything with spaghetti sauce, but we tried it and he LOVED it! His little tummy did great, so I am happy to be able to add another food he loves to the list of dinner possibilities.

I can't believe how fast he is growing and how much he is learning. Will he REALLY be one in a few weeks?!?

My sweet Porter,

Today and always, I want you to know just how much I love you. I am so blessed, not just to be a mommy, but to be your mommy. Ever since I can remember, all I wanted was to grow up and have babies of my own. I never imagined the joy that becoming a mother would bring into my life! You are the very special little person who made my dream of becoming a mommy come true. You are the sweet little boy who made me a mommy! 

Having you as my son has been infinitely more rewarding than I ever imagined it could be. With every day that passes, I fall more and more in love with you. I never thought I could be so obsessed with a smile, a cuddle, a sound that comes out of your mouth. When you accomplish something new, my heart leaps with pride. I know that I will always feel that way about the things that you accomplish. 

The last eleven months have been, by far, the greatest of my life. I know your Daddy would say the same. We have become a perfect little family. At night, your Daddy and I always sit and talk about how much we love you, how perfect you are, how we couldn't imagine our lives without you, how we would never go back to life before you were born. We point out your features to each other all day long. "Look at his perfect lips, honey." "Did you hear him say doggie?" "He is the smartest boy ever!"

We pray to our Father in Heaven every night and thank Him for sending you to our family. You fit perfectly. You belong here, and I hope you always feel that way. 

I honestly feel like no other mother has loved her son as much as I love you. I look forward with great anticipation at the years to come, where Daddy and I can watch you grow and learn and  accomplish your own dreams. 

Thank you, my sweet boy, for making my dreams come true. 

With Eternal Love, 

Mommy

Noonie Woods and The PLAYERS Championship

Yesterday, Craig came home with the best 5 dollar gift Porter has ever received... his own golf clubs! It was pretty astonishing to see how he immediately knew what to do with them. He LOVES them! Think he may have seen Daddy play golf in the livingroom??? Craig likes to call him "Noonie Woods" now. I guess time will tell!

This video was taken when Craig first gave him his new clubs yesterday...a hole in one!

Tonight we took our little golfer to The PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra. It was such a lovely evening! The weather was perfect. The sun was hiding behind a few puffy clouds and there was a gorgeous cool breeze. We got there just in time to see Phil Mickelson tee off on the famous 17th hole and then we followed him to finish off the 18th. It was fun being so close to a celebrity! Then we found a cozy spot on the side of a hill with a perfect view back at the 17th and we took off our shoes and got comfortable. Porter crawled around in the grass while we watched the last few groups play through. We also saw beautiful wildlife, including a family of hawks in a giant nest, and a family of egrets feeding their noisy little ones. My favorite part of the night was when Porter would clap every time the crowd would! He loved it! It was a perfect night...except there were no cameras allowed...