Siete

Porter is now 7 months and as amazing as ever! The truth is (and I don't know if it is because is a boy or not) he is different in every way. He is so much more active than my girls even dreamed of being. They were content sitting and staring. He on the other hand, loves to play and jump and roll around to his destination. He continues to have a killer smile though and make people's day.



He has started his babbling- "ba ba ba" and now he waves as if saying, "bye bye."

He is sleeping well but every once in a while throws us for a loop and wakes up randomly.

There is no check up for this month so no weight/height to update but he is large. Ha! He has two teeth and possibly two more on their way. He enjoys toys that talk and play music and loves to bang things to make noise. He still nurses well and I have been able to keep my supply which is an answer to prayer. I had to supplement with Bella around this age when I was away at work and I had completely changed over to formula for Ava at this point, but with Porter (and I think it is his constant demand) we have not had to use any formula. I pump before I go to bed and when I am away from him and while I do not have a great stock in the freezer by all means, we are getting by. Randy is so helpful in this. He also eats a lot of baby food: rice cereal/fruit for breakfast, and two meals with meat and vegetables for lunch and dinner. He has started being able to pick up puffs and eat them though he can get frustrated with that. I haven't been able to take on making my own baby food this time around and the selection at the stores is slim these days as most brands have recently added preservatives/acids that I am determined to avoid. With the girls it was easy to find jars of simply a vegetable or fruit and water. These days almost everything has something else but we are making it work. My biggest concern is providing a variety and I am determined that this child will not be as picky and will eat some meat for goodness sakes. The girls are still boycotting meat of all kinds- other than Chick-fil-A chicken, ugh.

He is sitting up a little here and there (his chub seems to be a factor) but most beneficial for us is that he able to use a high chair when we are out and about. He is not quite ready for the grocery cart but it shouldn't be long.



Overall, he is one happy baby. This past weekend we had a Christmas bonfire for church and we bundled him up in his new winter coat and stroller blanket and the boy looking like ET hiding in the stuffed animals (remember that part?) but he still cracked a smile at us behind that paci and I just melted.

Lets Play Catch Up!

First, there was Thanksgiving at Grandma's. My niece, Sloan, and Porter enjoyed their first one but poor Sloan was sick. She was such a sweetie though.



Then came the Christmas tree. It was a long process this year. We ran out of time over the TG break so we didn't get it until halfway through the next week and didn't even decorate it for a few more days. Sadly, we haven't gotten our lights up outside either but it just doesn't feel right to skip it so plans are to get those up ASAP.



Porter turned 7 months but I will post that separately...

And we tried taking family pictures...

my little beauties

This was so much fun to do! My dad recently brought a few boxes over that I had been storing at his house and in one of them was my wedding dress. This was the perfect opportunity to let the girls try it one and snap a few pictures! If only I were a photographer and had a decent camera... (sigh)



Oh yes, and in that same box was my high school graduation cap and gown...

in honor of TG

I have a few posts I need to post but in honor of Thanksgiving, I am going to skip around. Here are the pictures from this past weekend at my aunt's. Porter and Sloan had their first Thanksgiving and were the center of the show for sure. It was a great time & the food was amazing, as usual.
Poppy & Porter

Daddy & Porter

the kids table (there are three two-year-olds right now & they all sat together. they were the ones super interested in taking care of the babies all day)

Aunt Gloria & Sloan

Sloan

Cousin Ashley has Porter, Cousin Marcy has Sloan & Ashley's daughter Selena in the middle

Poppy & Sloan

Paw Paw & Piper (the dog)

Me & Randy

Uncle Gary & Porter having good conversation about faith & politics

Part of our crew at Poppy's after

BIG NEWS!

I am sorry for those of you that this feels inappropriate for but AVA IS POOPING IN THE POTTY! I wasn't sure it was going to happen and she has some doozies! We never officially tried potty training with her because of our experience with Bella. Bella was well on her way and then I got pregnant with Ava and we had to re-train her two or three times! Ugh. We decided that with Ava we would let her take the lead since Porter was due to arrive shortly after her second birthday. She tried and could take or leave it and then she went through the "want-to-see-ever-potty-in-Charlotte-and-surrounding-areas" stage and so peeing in the potty began. She got lazy for a while and then it became the norm. Pooping in the potty became an issue and she was not having it. Again, we didn't press it but let her know that if she did it, we would reward her greatly. Then one day at school she accidentally went a little bit while peeing the potty so we made a big deal out of it and two weeks later she did it for real. All on her own. I was in shock. Now it has been two days and a lot of treats and I am putting it in the books!

Sorry and not sorry for the lack of pictures related to this post. Ha!!

"yardwork"

The kiddos were working hard to help Daddy in the yard this past weekend...



In actuality, they do help out a lot with their mini-rakes and wheelbarrow. It has become a little family hobby to work in the yard.

Six Months. Seis. Half Of a Year

Porter turned six months old this past Sunday. I can hardly stand it. His first tooth is popping through (and it is sharp!) and he started practicing with a sippy cup. He tries to wave and is just a bundle of joy. He had his check up Monday and was in the 75th percentile for weight, height and head width so he is a proportionate little guy but not in the 90th % as before. He weighed in a t 18 pounds and 11.5 ounces. He is still enjoying vegetables and a little bit of fruit with his rice cereal. We got him a walker with some of his money from Pop Pop and GaYa. He just likes to be busy and we have a bunch of activity type toys from the girls but he just seemed to need a little more action and this way he can find his way to me and the girls. So far he has just been entertained by the toys on the tray and has not actually started moving around in it. He is enjoying jumping in the jumparoo more and more each day so that is nice. He is still a very smiley boy!