Big Boy Cup

Porter has almost graduated to a big boy cup full time. We've started "practicing" at the dinner table & he couldn't be prouder of himself. The other night, he was trying to explain to Blair HOW to do it. "You put it over your nose like this, Daddy...see?"

Zoolander

This past weekend, we had a very fun Saturday. First, we met this wonderful photographer at Como Park & had some Porter pictures taken. Porter was a trooper & the shots turned out better than we could have imagined. Since we had rented a van & made it all the way to Como, we decided to surprise Porter with a trip to the free Como Zoo. The weather was a bit on the chilly side & many of the animals were inside, but we still had a fun time. According to Porter, the highlights were the baby monkey & the tiger laying on his back. Blair got to experience the zoo through Porter's eyes for the first time. He told me he felt like a "real dad" that day.

Here are some highlights from the photo shoot...

Create.

I recently introduced Porter to finger paints...Smashing success!!!

The sun will come up

Every night we tell Porter that he needs to stay & sleep in his big boy bed until the sun comes up in the morning...

This morning I got up & before I headed to the shower, I peeked into his room to see if he was still sleeping. I found him sitting on his bed, whispering to himself. I heard him say, "Let's go check." He then headed over to the window & ever so gently peeked through the blinds & whispered, "Yep, it is."

He turned around & saw me standing at his door & yelped in utter excitement, "Mama, the sun is up! I can get up now!"

Soooo cute.

The Red Balloon

Recently, Porter & I made a "short" trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things. While we were there, an employee walked by with a bunch of red balloons & offered Porter one. He gladly accepted & spent the remainder of his cart ride bopping me in the head with it. I was thankful for the distraction that kept him in he seat & let it slide. I kept telling him he needed to hang on tight to the balloon, but being this was his first helium balloon "experience," the warning didn't stick. We were standing in the checkout when he suddenly let go & away it went, floating up to the ceiling. A look of fear, panic & anger suddenly came across his face & out came the loudest cry you could imagine. Waterworks soon followed. So there we were in the checkout...it's our turn...I'm looking around frantically trying to find that damn balloon girl again. Our cashier was one of the nicest men & soon saved us both from our misery. He asked what was wrong...(His exact words were, "What's wrong, Brother?") I told him he lost his balloon...He said he'd take care of it. Within seconds across the loudspeaker came "We need a balloon for a little boy in Lane 10...We need a balloon for a little boy in Lane 10..." Out of nowhere, the balloon girl appeared (Where was she when I was looking for her?) & happily got Porter another balloon. This time, she tied it to his wrist.

Ninety years young

This past weekend, Porter & I traveled with my parents back to my home town in Wisconsin to celebrate my paternal grandfathers' 90th birthday. It was pretty low-key, just a picnic at my cousin's house, but it was great to see everyone & we had a great time. My grandma tried to stir up some trouble at home by giving Porter a Packers shirt...we amused her & put it on him for a while at the picnic. What happens in Wisconsin, stays in Wisconsin...

I scream, You scream

On our recent trip to the park, we also encountered our first "ice cream man" experience. Usually Porter wants NOTHING to do with ice cream, but today he decided he wanted to give it a try...

If you build it...

On Labor Day, we went to the park as a family. We played football with Porter, did some swinging, went down the slide, but most of his time was spent "building" in the sand. He never actually "built" anything, but somehow associated playing with the sand as building something. We had a hard time getting him to leave that day. He just kept saying, "but I'm still building."

Feeling Puzzled...

Our boy just loves to do puzzles...He can't get enough...at home, at daycare. He will do the same puzzle over & over again, each time he's as excited to finish it as he was the first time he did it. Daycare Anne says he will just sit at her table & "work puzzles" for hours on end. She's started dumping 3 at a time out on the table, just to keep him busy longer. She has puzzle holders that hold about 20 puzzles at a time & recently she rotated all new ones into the slots, just for Porter. He was in hog heaven. I love this about him.