Visit with Santa

Visit with Santa:

So we made our annual journey to Gerten's to pick out our Christmas tree and to visit with Santa. I don't think we visited with Santa last year. Maybe he wasn't there the day we got our tree, or maybe I didn't want to bother with Porter being 2 mos old. Who knows. I'm fairly certain that Connor was ok with not seeing Santa since he was pretty afraid of him. This year he said he'd go, but he was not going to sit on his lap. He would just stand near him and tell him what he wanted. So, we got in line to see Santa, and Connor said to me "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go see Santa." Well, I told him that Porter was going to see him and he could just wait in line with us. He did change his mind again, and went up to see Santa. It was pretty cute too. Connor had been planning on telling Santa he wanted a Nintendo Wii, but chickened out when he got up there and told him he wanted some Bakugans. I told him he could ask for more stuff, so he did tell him he wanted a Nintendo Wii then. Santa said he couldn't make any promises, and told Connor he needed to not argue, to listen to Mom & Dad, go to bed when he is told and to turn the TV off when he is told. He just nodded solemnly while Santa was talking. Meanwhile, Porter was happy as a clam sitting on Santa's lap listening to this exchange between Santa and his big brother. Next year, we'll see.....

Getting our tree at Gerten's:

Mmmm, donuts:

Could life get any better?:

Connor's first hockey game:

Holiday Makeover

Whew, it's been a while since I last posted. I think everyone is busy right now. We have also been getting over illnesses here too. Porter had a bad cold for a week or so, and also got about 5 new teeth! He's been pretty fun to be around! Jeff caught some kind of virus and was sick on Thanksgiving and all weekend. Not much of a fun holiday, but we are all better now. Something to be Thankful for!

Porter has been walking all over the place and is really getting good. He hardly ever crawls anymore. He's also been making lots of animal sounds, like Baa and meow, and is starting to say a few words. He now says baby, and I think he says puppy, but it comes out more like doppy. He says mi for milk. I'm sure there are a lot more words that I just don't understand yet. It must be so frustrating to not be understood. I suppose a lot like a stroke victim who knows in their brain what they are trying to say, and it's just not coming out that way. He speaks lots of gibberish which sounds just like a very complex conversation. It's really cute. He's starting to dance too, and gives sloppy wet kisses when he feels like it. When he does peek-a-boo, he covers his ears instead of his eyes! Very fun. We all say "Oh no, where has Porter gone? He must have gone to Porterville". He thinks this is so funny. He loves to laugh and will laugh loud when something unbeknowst to us amuses him. He keeps us all entertained.

Cruising around:

Being Goofy:

Brushing:

Playing hockey:

Mugging for the camera:

Climbing on the train table:

Peek-a-boo, Where's Porter:

Baby Yoga:

Connor is doing great in kindergarten. He seems to be enjoying school and making lots of friends there. We were recently at the Spagetti Dinner and Connor was working the room saying hi to everyone he knows. It was pretty funny. He started playing hockey and is in Mites 2. His team is the Wild this year. He has a few friends from his team last year on this years team, and also has quite a few friends from school and the bus who are on his team. He has really been learning a lot of words and is able to read and write quite a few of them. He is always asking how things are spelled. He loves drawing fighter planes, Indiana Jones stuff and Star Wars stuff. He is obsessively into Legos right now and loves watching SpongeBob. He's hoping to learn how to snowboard this winter.

Tub time:

I am on a little vacation from work right now and am just enjoying having some time off. We are waiting for a visit from the accreditation organization for hospitals at work and everyone has been nervous about their visit. It's like a black cloud hanging over all of us. I just wish they'd come (preferably while I'm on vacation!).

We had a nice Thanksgiving at my parents. It was small this year, just us, my parents and my brother Mike, sil Lisa and their 2 boys. It was a little hectic with Porter and with Jeff there but not feeling well. I think we can all recall how relaxing holidays with one-year olds are! Oh well, someday I'll get to sit down and have a relaxing glass of wine!

Mom working hard:

Nellie hoping for a taste:

Jeff not feeling his best:

Reading with Aunt Lisa:

Reading with Papa: