Happy Birthday, Porter!

There was 8 of us singing Porter "Happy Birthday!" He was so perplexed by the 8 of us all looking at him and singing.

It was a whirlwind of a day with Easter brunch and then getting the house finished and decorated and set up for the BBQ before everyone came over for another celebration of Porter and his first year. This kid lucked out with two celebrations and lots of people who love him and joined in on the celebration.

Because Porter had been sick and snotty, my brother decided not to bring the whole family over and risk getting their family sick again. So he dropped by with cousin Gracie and Benjamin and hung out with Porter for a little and brought him his first Legos! Uncle Andy showed him how to destroy whatever he made and throw the Legos around. Throwing Legos is the best!

Then Al and Lori came over a bit early to help finish getting our house ready and helped us realize all the things we forgot for the party. Al and AJ made a last minute trip to the store for all the things we forgot. Oops! Lori did a great job getting everything set out in a beautiful fashion and iced all the cupcakes.

AJ BBQ'ed burgers and we all sat down around our dinner table and had dinner. Lauren, Corban, Jana, JJ, baby Finn, Al, Lori, AJ, Porter and myself around our table! It was fun.

Then Porter got his first sugar-free banana cupcake. It was more like a muffin as there was no frosting and he wasn't all that in to it. But it was still fun to sing to him again and help him blow out his candle. Poor little guy still felt snotty and sick but he is a trooper!

Happy First Birthday, sweet baby Porter!

What a year it has been!

Don't grow up too fast. Sniff. Sniff. Tear.

Easter 2010

Porter and his Easter Basket-Shake Shake Shake the eggs!

Porter was at the height of his snotty nose mess and this was his look of the day. Still pretty cute!

Porter and Daddy at Easter Brunch-My two super cute boys!

My only picture of Porter on his actual birthday!

Our poor little baby got sick with a cold the day before his actual birthday. Our plans of the zoo and such were thwarted as it was raining and he was not his normal self. So we did other things that he found to be just as exciting and tiring. We went to lunch at Noah's Bagel, shopped around at REI and then finished it off with a great little shopping trip at Whole Foods. Love Bridgeport! Porter had a great nap on the way home.

We then rushed home and changed him into his very cute and adorable Easter outfit and headed off to Saturday night Easter service. It was so good and it is so much fun to have Porter a little bit older and able to enjoy the worship part of the service with us as a family!

Great Grandpa Ward and Great Grandma Ruth

One of the main reasons I wanted us to all go to Bend is that my mom's dad and his wife, my Grandpa Ward and Grandma Ruth, have not gotten to meet Porter yet. It was a great time to go and see them as Porter is a lot of fun and active and very interactive. He loved their cat and crawling all over their apartment. They live on the 2nd floor of an assisted living home and have a nice little balcony. He crawled all over, even out on to the balcony. That kid is fearless!

We had fun hanging out and catching up with my grandparents. My Grandma Ruth has gotten in to bracelet, earring and necklace bead making. She has quite the showcase of jewelry. She has given me a couple of her beautiful creations. They keep themselves very busy!

Porter and Great Grandpa Ward (my mom's dad)

Maryanne, Porter and Grandma Ruth

Porter's 1st Birthday in Bend

Porter turned 1 on April 3rd. We went to visit my parents the last weekend of March and they wanted to celebrate Porter's birthday that weekend so my dad and mom made him an amazing train cake! We had fun singing to Porter and my dad helped him blow out his 1st candle ever!

My parents are amazing. My dad is a tour guide in Washington DC and travels for many weeks starting in March through June. My mom works full time and helps get my dad ready for each of his trips. This particular weekend, my dad flew home on Friday and as soon as he got home, he jumped right in to making Porter's cake. My mom is the prep chef for my dad. She bakes the cakes, makes and colors the frosting and does all the clean up! My mom showed me a picture progression of their kitchen and dining room how it went from messy to even messier. Then to clean again! It was a labor of love and yummyness. Here are some pictures.

Detroit Dam

The last weekend of Spring Break we all headed over to Bend to visit my parents. On the drive home, it was cloudy and rainy but we decided to stop at Detroit Dam and give Porter a chance to stretch his legs. He loved it! He is our little outdoors man! We bundled him up and he did not want to be carried, he wanted to walk. So walk he did. Through the puddles and up on the curb and almost half way down and back he walked. It was so beautiful with the clouds and the light misting rain. I am a sunshine girl through and through but I have to say it was beautiful! The last picture is one we got back in the car and Porter was sooo happy. Such a fun little guy.