Is this today?

This morning we got a call that daycare was unexpectedly closed, so I sat Porter down & told him that we weren't going to Anne's today, but that we'd be going back on Monday because tomorrow & the next day were "stay-at-home-days." I think he is just starting to grasp the concept of today, tomorrow, yesterday, etc. because after I explained all of this, he sat there for a minute, then put his finger up above his head, swirled it around in the air & said, "Is this today?"

Trick or Treat

We took Porter out trick-or-treating for the first time tonight. He was Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies & he couldn't have been more excited. We had such a blast! We just went around our neighborhood & I have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised. There were so many inviting houses with nice, friendly people...something I just wasn't expecting. It was a beautiful night, which made it so much more enjoyable. There were kids & families everywhere! Porter was a bit apprehensive at first & got scared a few times by some of the hard-core decorations & some of the masks a few kids were wearing, but after a while, he really got the hang of it. We'd go up to a house & he'd say "Trick or treat!" right on que & afterwards "Thank you" as we were walking away. He even got so comfortable to one time say, "Can my mom have a piece?" A few times, "Trick or treat!" was replaced with "Do you have any candy?" which made us all laugh. All in all, it was a great night out.

This was the most popular house on the block! Cars kept driving up to drop their kids off, people were taking pictures, it was crazy!

After a while, Buzz Lightyear was tired & needed a ride from Dad...

What a haul he made!!!

The Porter Hat

I recently bought the coolest hat for Porter. He looks so cute in it & everyone comments on it when he wears it. Anne at daycare calls it the "Porter Hat" because she said she can't imagine anyone else wearing it.

Mama guilt.

This morning I had to take Porter to the doctor to get his flu shot. The appointment was at 9:45am, so I dropped him off at Anne's, went to work to get a few things done & then came back a while later to pick him up & head to the doctor. I didn't really want to tell him where we were going & especially WHAT we were going there for, as the doctor has not really been his favorite place as of late...so I didn't tell him anything. I showed up at Anne's to pick him up & he was sooo suprised & sooo happy to see me show up in the middle of the morning. He came running to me, saying "My Mama's here!" He eagarly put on his jacket & asked me where we were going...Not really thinking, I said "We're just going on a little trip & then we'll come back to Anne's in a little while." It didn't dawn on me until we got to the car what "trip" meant in his mind & soon the questions started...He said, "Mama, are we going on a train?" We drove by a McDonald's & he asked "Are we going to Old McDonald's?" Pretty soon it was "Are we going on an airplane?" Oh, the guilt was setting in...Here he thought I came to pick him up as a surprise to go on a little adventure, when in fact I was taking him to the DOCTOR. TO GET A SHOT. Oh, what was I thinking???
When we got to the clinic, he recognized it right away & said, "We're going to the Doctor? Is she going to look at my ears?" I told him no, she wasn't going to look at his ears, but just check him out & maybe look at his legs. (Yeah, right before they STICK HIS LITTLE LEGS WITH A NEEDLE!) I felt like it was too late now to tell him why we were really there. Turns out, the shot was over & done with before he could even blink an eye & although he screamed a little, he never really cried & was completely fine afterwards. Still, the mama guilt is there. I had dupped him. I should have just told him where we were going & why right from the start. He probably would have been fine with it. I learned a lesson today.
I'm lucky he's still talking to me after all that.

I wanna hold your hand.

Usually these days when we leave for daycare/work, Porter is all about doing everything himself, from putting on his shoes & jacket, to walking down the hallway at the condo to the elevator & pushing the buttons by himself. Well, today was different. For some reason as we were walking down the hallway, he grabbed my hand. He was also carrying 2 teddy bears ("friends") that he had decided were also going to make the trip, but he continued to hold my hand the whole way down to the garage & car. He'd stop along the way to push a button or open a door & would let go, but then would go to grab my hand again afterwards. It was so sweet. It was one of those moments, when I tell myself, "remember this one." In a few years, things will be very different, and there will come a day when he is embarassed to hold my hand.

Did I say that out loud?

There we were, just minding our own business in the chip aisle at the grocery store when we saw a portly gentleman with a rather large stomach...Porter says IN HIS OUTSIDE VOICE, "Mama, does HE have a baby in his tummy?" while pointing at the man. "Ummmm...no, no he doesn't" as we make a bee line to the next aisle over.
Oy. I don't know if I am ready for this.

WHY.

So today it happened...After just about EVERYTHING I said to Porter today, I received the dreaded "Why?" I truly thought I had a few years yet before it started.
"We're going to the store."
"Why?"
"To get some food for dinner."
"Why?"
"Because we need to eat."
"Why?"
"We want you to grow up big & strong."
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why?"
"...Why don't you go ask your Daddy?"

Dr. Doogie Howser

The other night I was helping Blair with his nightly routine, when Porter stumbled upon the box of gloves his aides use & wanted a pair for himself. He took them into the other room & when I went it a few minutes later, I found him playing doctor with his "babies." So stinkin' cute!

Feelin' GROOVY.

To set the scene on this one, Porter just finished up antibiotics for a recent double ear infection & has just gotten over a bad cold...
This morning we were on our way down the hallway to the elevator at the condo, when Porter suddenly exclaimed, "I feel good, Mama. I feel better."
I said, "Well, that's good. I'm so glad."
He then bellered (for the whole hallway to hear), "Yeah, my ear doesn't hurt. My butt doesn't hurt."
Can't ask for much better than that. LIFE IS GOOD.

Leave me alone.

This morning, Porter woke up very early & wouldn't go back to sleep, so needless to say the morning routine was thrown a bit out of whack. When it was time to go to daycare, he didn't want to cooperate & didn't want me to help him AT ALL in getting ready. At one point he said, "Leave me alone. Mama, you're driving me crazy!"
Ummmm....HELLO????

Potty Tales

Today Blair got a call from Anne at daycare saying that Porter wanted to talk to him. He excitedly told him, "Daddy, I went pee pee on the potty! I got a yellow M&M!" Anne said that he got up from his nap & his diaper was already wet, but she asked him anyway if he wanted to go on the potty. He said no at first, but then she told him that if he went, they could call Daddy to tell him. He agreed & she said he sat on that toilet determined for several minutes. Finally, one little drop came out (She said he practically had to shake it out!), but none the less, he had gone on the potty in his book. Anne said she asked him later on in the day if he wanted to try to go on the potty again & he said, "Hmmm...In a few days."

Carrots.

CARROTS FROM THE GARDEN!!!

BIG...Big boy bed

Porter has outgrown his toddler bed, so this past weekend we bought him a BIGGER...big boy bed. A full size. The thought process behind this purchase was that one those (not so) rare occasions when he wakes up in the night & can't go back to sleep, I can now crawl in with him (with room for both of us!) until he falls back to sleep.
He wasn't so sure about it at first, but now he really loves it. I have to admit though, he looks SOO LITTLE in that big ol' bed!

Got your nose.

This morning on our way to daycare, out of nowhere, Porter suddenly exclaimed from the back seat..."Mama, I've got your nose!" He was even doing the hand chester with his thumb between his fingers. I don't know where he got that from, but it cracked me up.

The (other) Purple Dinosaur

Porter has always loved to draw, but lately he's had specific ideas of what he is going to draw. Tonight it was "Mama, I'm going to draw you a dinosaur." I love that he gets an idea in his head & then puts it into action.


(The finished product...The dinosaur!)

Who needs toys?

BELLY LAUGHS & LAUNDRY BASKETS!!

P.O.R.T.E.R.

Tonight on the way home from daycare, the peanut gallery in the back seat started spelling out his name. "P...O...R...T...R" Oooh, soo close! He was admiring the craft project he had made that day & was looking at his name on the back, spelling out the letters. Come on, for a not-even-three-year-old, I thought that was pretty darn good. With a little coaching from me, we finally got through all the letters. Once again you amaze me, Little Man.

Keep your hands to yourself.

Tonight at the dinner table, I was sitting between my two boys as I always do & at one point, Porter turned to me & asked me to hold his hand. I willingly accepted, only much to my surprise, when I grabbed his chubby little soft hand, he yelled, "Mama, keep your hands to yourself!" I'm guessing this is a daycare table rule that suddenly made the leap from Anne's table to ours. None the less, it put a smile on my face.