5 Minutes of Pure Motherhood

The times I am "Up all night rocking" are few and far between. And mostly I'm quite glad of that, but last night Porter cried out at 4:06am. I went in and found his pacifier for him, but it seemed like something more was troubling him. He held up his arms and said "Rock", so I scooped him up and we sat in the rocking chair. Something about the weight of his head on my shoulder and his sweet baby breath on my neck as he drifted back to sleep was so precious.

I put him back in his crib after he'd fallen back asleep. I stroked his downy hair. When I got back in bed it was 4:11am. Only 5 minutes I'd been up, but they were 5 minutes of Pure Motherhood...and I loved every one of them.

Happy Easter!

We had a fun Easter this year. The boys loved their baskets. Porter has a major sweet tooth, so he was thrilled to get some candy. Connor got some small Lego kits in his basket, so he couldn't have been happier either. Church was a nightmare though! It's just not very relaxing or enjoyable to go to church with an 18 month old! Someday it will get better :). We had dinner at my Mom & Dad's with my brother Tom, his wife Jenny and their kids Danny & Meghan, and also my sister-in-law Lisa and nephew Michael. My brother Mike and nephew Louie actually were at the Masters! It was a very nice dinner. I was glad to not be working, and to get to enjoy the day with my boys.




There are some other random recent photos as well. Porter is now 18 mos and busy! He has been getting more physically active, climbing up on chairs etc. He has also started some tantrums where he flails himself down on the floor crying. It's really quite comical. I remember Connor doing the same thing around the same age, and you just wonder where it comes from. It's not like they learn by example. How many adults do you see doing that when they don't get their way?? We might feel like it sometimes, but most of us are just not that dramatic! I just have to try to ignore it and not laugh! Also Porter had his 18 month check-up and weighs 27 lbs 13oz which is 75th % and is 90th % for height (though I'm sure that will change given the genetics of his parents :) ).


Connor finally learned to tie his shoes!!! But, he needs to practice a little more to master it. He is also reading better and can read some easy books to us. It's fun seeing some new found skills coming out!











Finally, here is a funny video of Porter going down the stairs. He goes so fast in his little footie pjs. Too cute!

Happy St Patty's Day 2009!

Jack, Connor & Maggie:

We had a fun St Patrick's Day, just me and Connor. I was very lucky (must be the Irish in me) to get the day off today. Porter went to daycare (didn't feel like dealing with a toddler at the Landmark Center), and Connor and I went down to the Landmark Center to meet our friends the McCartys for some fun, music and an Irish beer or two (just Nancy & I, the kids had juice boxes!). Not sure how many years in a row this is for us, but I know we've been coming since way before we had kids. Connor was here as a 2 week old! Anyway, it's our tradition, so I was very glad to get the day off and celebrate. The kids love to make crafts and we all love to watch the Irish Dancers and listen to the music. We weren't dissapointed. It was a great day to be Irish!

Jack, Connor & Maggie at the "Irish Castle"

Jack, Connor, Maggie & Nancy @ Irish Castle:

Connor's face painting:

Connor & his craft:

Connor, Jack & Maggie's crafts:

Connor & Nancy:

Irish Dancers:

Jack & Connor in 2004 at the "Irish Castle":

Connor is 6!!! Jeff is 40!!! Porter is 17 mos!!!

Happy Birthday to Connor! Can't believe he is 6 already! He had a really fun party at Lookout Ridge in Woodbury with 10 of his friends from school. On his actual birthday he got to have his friend JJ ride the bus home with him from school, have a play date and have him over for dinner. Grandma & Papa also came over and dropped off a present for him. Porter and I had lunch with him at school on his birthday too. It was a good day for him I think. He also got a very sugary white cake with blue frosting per his request. Here are some photos of his party and his big day:

Connor & JJ:

Connor with Grandma Joanie & Papa Dan:

Here are some pictures of Connor's Mite Jamboree, the end of the hockey season. They didn't turn out so well through the glass. The second photo is of him getting his trophy. He was super excited about it. So much so that he promptly dropped it on the ground and it broke in two! Thank God for Daddy and Super Glue.




And finally, my honey is now 40! Happy Birthday Jeff! I'm glad you get to take the big step before me!

A couple of photos of Porter too. He's now 17 mos:

Marquette Game

Marquette vs UConn:

Jeff & Connor at the game:

We had a brief but eventful trip to Milwaukee this week. We drove there on Wednesday to see Marquette play UConn in Basketball. We arrived in the afternoon, checked in to our hotel and met up with our friends the Horners and Sippels for dinner at Capone's. My friend Margaret, who lives in Milwaukee also joined us for a bit before we headed to the game. It was a sold out game, and was televised on ESPN. It was really loud and everyone was all pumped up. Unfortunately Marquette lost, but we all had a fun time. Connor thought it was too loud and didn't like how high up we were, but Porter seemed to take it all in, despite the fact that he was going on 20 min of sleep all day and it was past his bedtime! On Thursday we went to Marquette's campus, bought some stuff in the campus store, checked out Joan of Arc Chapel and the Engineering Building and then had lunch at Kopp's, Jeff's favorite burger & custard place. We then headed back to Minnesota and into a treacherous winter storm which was really quite frightening at times. The boys both did great in the car both ways. It took us about 2 hours longer to get home than it normally would have. I'm glad we all made it home in one piece and didn't end up in the ditch or in an accident!

Ben, Porter & Connor in the hotel lobby:

Going up and down the ramp:

Nancy and Porter at the game:

Snuggling in the hotel bed:

Mmmm....room service!

St Joan of Arc Chapel on Marquette's campus:

The Engineering Building at Marquette:

Lunch at Kopp's:

Mmmm...Kopp's frozen custard:

Hamming it up for the camera:

Porter really liked the custard:

The treacherous road trip:

Other big news, Connor got a new bike for his 6th birthday, which is coming up next Wednesday. He now has hand brakes and 6 gears! He's very excited as you can see by the photos. His party with school friends is today. They are going to Lookout Ridge in Woodbury and he will be joined by 10 of his pals from school. It should be a fun time, and I will post photos later.

Connor and his new bike: