JEFF, ERIKA an 'der SON: February already...

I cannot believe it is already mid-February. January just flew right by us... and I mean FLEW BY! We had so much going on and things are changing rapidly around here.

First... I am so excited to say that our house is almost ready to be put on the market. We are hoping to have it up for sale next week, so please pray for a speedy sale. We met with an architect last Monday and talked about what we want and what we don't want... what we need to have and what we don't need to have. He sent us a starting point... and we are already realizing that this is more difficult than we were hoping it would be. There are a few things that Jeff and I really want... and I mean REALLY want and at this point I'm just praying we can incorporate all the things we want without pushing our boundaries too much.

Second... I want to talk about this insane weather! 14 with a wind chill of -6!!!!!!!!! Really... it was 80 degrees on Saturday. I love Texas... but I really despise the weather sometimes. We took Porter out for his first snow pictures... not sure how he felt about it... but after the layers we had on him... I'm sure he was just happy that it was cold! What's funny is this, we're home every day and it never bothers us... but the fact that we couldn't go anywhere... is what drove me crazy. All I wanted to do was go to the grocery store. Not because I needed anything... just because I knew I couldn't get out. I'm glad all that craziness has passed. We took Porter for his first park visit today and he loved it. He was able to sit in the swing and we put in on one of the "horse" rockers and took a few pictures of it. Jeff helped him slide down the slide and then we decided to let him play in the dirt. It took all of 2 seconds for him to pick up and handful of dirt and mulch and go straight for the mouth. I think I was able to deflect most of it... but I figure it won't kill him if he eats a little dirt. He's going to sooner or later... right? I think we're going to make the park a weekly occurrence!

PLAYING WITH THE CHIMES

Third... and the reason for our little blog... Porter is such an amazing baby. I know I've said this before, but we are so blessed with such an angel for a baby. Don't get me wrong... he has his moments... but 99.9% of the time, he is just perfect. We've hit a lot of baby milestones in the last few weeks so let's get started. I'm going to start with Christmas and work up to now.

We had such a great first Christmas with Porter. Of course he had no clue what was happening, but Jeff and I really enjoyed opening all of his presents for him and watching his eyes go back and forth, trying to figure out which one to play with first. He received a laundry list of toys, clothes, and books and he loves all of his new stuff. Right now one of our most useful toys is his jumper. He will hang out in that thing for about 30 minutes at a time (as long as he is in the same room as me) and jump and play the entire time. It is wonderful! He also got this cute zebra (that is bigger than him) to play on. He likes to ride on its back and chew on its ears. He got a "Sophie the Giraffe" and I was amazed at how quickly he learned to pick it up and hold it and put it in his mouth. We are so blessed with such an amazing family that gave us so many fun gifts. But most importantly we were able to spend time with all of our family members during the most wonderful time of the year.

MID-JUMP

January has brought Porter a lot of new things to do. He started eating "big boy" foods the second week of January... and let me say this... I never doubted it for a moment... but that kid LOVES food! Any way he can get it... he loves it. We started off with rice and oatmeal and he definitely preferred oatmeal. I've heard that most babies take a little time to warm up to eating off a spoon... well our little man was trying to "help" us feed him his 2nd time to eat off a spoon. I don't think he's ever going to find a food he doesn't like.

NOT SURE ABOUT THIS MOM

We've been working on sitting up by himself and he's doing pretty well. If I get him in the right position he can sit up unassisted for about 20-30 seconds. It just depends on the level of excitement over the toy in front of him and the day. Sometimes he does really well... and sometimes... not so much. When he is lying down he tries so hard to sit up... it’s so cute to watch him and he gets so irritated that he can't do it. I feel kind of sorry for him when he is working that hard and not able to get it. I just keep telling him to keep trying and he'll get there. He's also decided that he doesn't need mommy's help standing up anymore... well at least when he's standing up next to the bathtub. Last week I was trying to get the bath started and I let him stand up next to the tub and he just grabbed on to the side and hung out! I was shocked! And he was so proud... he had this huge grin on his face the entire time. I keep trying to tell him he is supposed to sit up, crawl, stand up, and then walk... but I don't know if he is listening. I'm beginning to think he has a mind all of his own... not sure who he inherited that from.

I'VE ALMOST GOT IT!!!!

WHAT A BIG BOY

We had his 4 month appointment a few Fridays ago and it went really well... until the shots. Dr. Jones actually used the term "huge". He was in the 95% for both height and weight. He weighed in at 18 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long. (I'm still waiting for that leveling out period) We talked with the doc about starting on fruits and veggies and he said we were good to go and we could even start him on some proteins if we wanted. I can't tell you how helpful it has been to be able to feed him real food. I am making all of his food at home and I really enjoy it. So far we have tried... chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, peas, peaches, pears, bananas, and apples. He wasn't too sure about the bananas and carrots at first, but he likes them now... and he LOVES LOVES LOVES sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and apples. And he's definitely not a fan of peaches... takes after his Momma on that one! He didn't mind peas too much, but we're still working on the green veggies. I think his apprehension with them is the color. He always checks out what is on the spoon before he takes his first bite and I just laugh. I mean really... like he has a choice in the matter. He really likes chicken... but not turkey, which I find interesting. I don't think they are all that different, especially when they are just boiled in water. But he's definitely partial to chicken.

CARROTS AND SWEET POTATOES...YUM YUM

We've also finally made the transition to the big boy crib! YAY!!! And it only took 2 nights. We transferred him 3 Sundays ago and he did okay for about 2 hours and then woke and didn't want to go back down. So we brought his bassinet in from our room and he went right back to sleep. Monday night same thing. Tuesday slept in his crib all night... and hasn’t looked back. He sleeps in there everynight! I am so proud of him and how good of a sleeper he is. I think Jeff and I are actually sleeping less now. It was nice to have him right next to me because if he started coughing or waking up in the middle of the night I could just lean over and check him. Now... I have to get up and go to his room and make sure he's okay or get him to fall back to sleep. By the time I get back in bed it takes me a while to get back to sleep. I try not to get up when he makes noises... only when he has a little coughing fit or starts to wake up. We just have a loud sleeper... and those little noises that he makes all night long wake me up. But oddly enough... they didn't when he was in the room with us. Oh well... I'm sure it will get easier... but for now we'll just go to bed a little earlier every night to try and compensate.

Last Saturday we took Porter to the Stockshow and Rodeo for the first time. He had a blast. I don't think he's ever been so alert and interested in what was going on, at least in the Stockshow. He fell asleep for the better part of the actual rodeo... but when he was awake... boy oh boy! He didn't know what do with himself!

Happy Valentines Day everybody! Porter and I had a mini photo shoot to get Daddy's present ready! I think it turned out pretty good... considering we were using a self-timer on the camera!