Belated Happy Birthday to my pnut

Joe has been working crazy late hours (ie. leaving at 5:30am and coming home at 10pm-1am) this week so I didn’t have the energy to write this.  So, here it is now…

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY PORTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 years ago, this adorable little guy decided to come two weeks early-ready to take on the world! He let me eat my Easter dinner (thank you, love) before my water broke.  He obviously knew how much I hate to miss dinner 😉 We made it to the hospital just in time to get a quick epidural and BAM! There came Porter! It was such a wonderful labor (yes, I did say that), and I took the first picture of him while he still had the umbilical cord attached.  I have to admit that I felt like a young girl holding this little baby.  I was 24, but I was scared to death to raise that little guy.  I knew that I married the perfect person to be his dad but what did I know about being a mom? Together, Porter and I figured it out.  I will always have that special bond with him for that reason.  He has taught me so much, and I am constantly amazed at how astute and smart he is.  He really understands things.  He has moved from Texas to Oklahoma to Kentucky to Colorado in his short 6 years of life.  He has said good-bye to Joe for two deployments, one NTC rotation, and multiple TDY trips.  And, this year, Porter fell head over heels in love with his little brother, Vander.  I am shocked by how much love he has for him.  This just goes to show what an amazing   little person he is. But, don’t think for a second that he won’t start crying at the drop of a hat.  He has been through a lot, and this life has taken a big toll on him emotionally.  But, we are working through it.  And, I will take care of this child and be the best mom that I can be for him until the day I am no longer living.  As I pray, every night “God, please watch over this child and keep him safe and healthy. Please let him live a long and healthy life and always know the joys of this life and follow in your truth. Please don’t let me outlive him.  Thank you for this amazing blessing.”

So, to my lego-loving, glow-stick dancer, and favorite superhero of all….happy birthday love.

First food!!

Vander had his first taste of rice cereal today and loved it!! Porter wanted to feed him which was super cute until he shoved it in his mouth. Yeah, that won’t happen for a little bit…

Hanna-the photo bomber!

 

This happens EVERY.SINGLE.TIME I try to take pictures with Vander! Hanna will come and photo bomb the pictures! She will come up to me and lick me on the mouth-so gross!! I know that I will miss these pictures when she is gone so I keep them and just laugh every time I see them.  I try to tell myself that she is giving me kisses!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

5 months already?!?

 

This little guy is 5 months old today! Where has the time gone?! Here are some highlights from the last month:

-Started to roll over like a champ!

-Slept four nights in a row before daylight savings time came in and screwed it all up…

-Smiles 90% of the time

-Starting to not like being in the carseat anymore but will calm down when he hears the “Jimmies” cd!

-Drools like crazy

-Loves to play with toys for a short period of time. He loves his “keys”

-He plays a game of “Where’s Vander?” with me in the mirror. He loves to find his face in the mirror!

-He is obsessed with my phone and will promptly stop what he is doing (that made me video/take a picture in the first place) and will just stare at the phone.

-Still incredibly happy and an easy baby!!

Ninjaaaaaaa!!

Guess what we got today??

Ninja blender system!!! Wahoo!!

We got it for a great deal at Costco, and I am so excited to use it!! I get to sell our old blender and food processor, because this will do it all! Plus, it looks awesome so I can actually display it on our kitchen counter. I have been going through the recipe books that came with it, and they actually look pretty good!

Anyone have some great tips for using the Ninja??

 

 

“Another day down” deployment countdown sign

 

I am reinventing my side business (formerly PeanutStitches) and will now call it Vanderport Designs! I will be specializing in custom made signs, jewelry, and baby items for military families.  You can find me on Facebook under Vanderport Designs so please go and “like” the page! For now, this is my latest sign adventure! “Another day down” countdown sign for deployments. Stained, sealed, and hardware attached to start counting down the days until your loved one comes home. Could also be used to countdown for PCS moves or anything else that you could think of! The awareness ribbon color can also be custom changed (ie. cancer, suicide awareness, etc) to show progress of remission, days of survival or treatment, etc. Each tag has a number on both sides from 0-9 for endless variations. Sign cost is $20 plus shipping. Please email vanderportdesigns@gmail.com if you would like to order one today!

Out with the old, in with the new!

This morning, at 5:40 am, Joe came in and woke me up and gave me amazing news!! He made the Major promotion list! And, he got a great sequence number on top of it.  But, the best news was that the schooling that he will have to go to will only be four months! There were three options: resident (10 months), satellite (4 months), and distance learning (on your own).  We were really worried that he was going to get resident, because we just moved here and bought a house.  I told Joe that we would go wherever he had to go, but we were even questioning this one.  We have moved 6 times in the 8 years that he has been in, and we are just not ready to leave again.  So, when we saw that he got the satellite course we were ecstatic! He will have to go somewhere around January, but we can handle being apart for four months.  And, as it turned out, Joe’s functional area wasn’t qualified for the resident course so it worked out anyways! (He has already done a couple of the courses so it wouldn’t make sense to send them to a course where they already did some of the work).  So, yeay for everyone else that got the resident course but we are happy!!

I just cannot express how proud I am of Joe and everything that he has accomplished.  This was the first board that was a selection and based on competition.   So, it was all up to his career and how well he has done for himself.  For the last almost 9 years, we have been in this Army life, and I have watched Joe have his ups and downs: deal with some real doozies and meet some incredible people.   I have been his FRG leader, secretary, and biggest supporter.  I have moved all over the place to be with him and started our own family.  I have changed my career to one that is portable with the Army lifestyle.  We have embraced this way of life and to see Joe rewarded for all of his hard work is just amazing.

We are all so proud of you Joe, and we can’t wait to pin you on in the near future!!

 

How did I get so lucky?

Tonight, at bedtime, this was the conversation between Porter and I:

Me: Porter, I am so proud of you and what an amazing big brother you are to Vander. You make me a better person.

Porter: Mommy, you already are a better person.  Even when you think that you aren’t, you are. Just remember that.

Me: (In tears) I love you so much buddy.

This kid is 5 years old. Where did he come from?

First long distance run post-pregnancy!

 

Yesterday, Joe scored an AWESOME running stroller at a garage sale for $5!!! I mean this thing is WAY better than our $130 Jeep running stroller! He talked the lady down from $20 and used the rest of the $15 to get Starbucks and treats 🙂 Then, we went for a family run for 2.81 miles! I ran 2.5 miles of it which is a HUGE accomplishment for me in this Colorado elevation plus pushing Porter in the new jogging stroller! I can only imagine what I could do without pushing him! I just think back 5 years and how I scoffed at getting back to shape after having Porter and could barely run .5 miles. Now, I am 18 weeks post partum and doing crossfit three times a week (and getting stronger and stronger) and running 2.5 miles. I know that I still have a little bit more to go before pre-pregnancy, but I am just so proud of myself for being where I am now!!