2 Years Old - Not a baby anymore...

Wow, yesterday was such a day that I had to break my posting silence. Read: Get off your butt and put this stuff down or you will forget it! :)

So yesterday was a big day. Porter had her first dentist appointment and her first gymnastics 'class'. Where to start? Maybe I should back up a little and talk a little more about the person she is becoming. I am still constantly blown away but the fact that I can have full conversations with a 2 year old. She uses full sentences and sometimes will say things that just blow me away. Not just that can say it, but that she truly understands it. She knows how to wait her turn (thanks Kirkland Children's School) and most of time is a sweet, caring, loving kid. She can also freak out and throw her plate across the room and look defiantly right at you when she does it. Funny thing is she is usually the first to say "I want a time out".

Ok, let's get back to yesterday. Aubrey had the great idea to bring P along to the dentist a few weeks back for her regular checkup. Porter sat on Aub's lap and watched the whole thing. She knew what to expect. This turned out to be a great intro as for the next few weeks P kept saying "I go to dentist by myself". There has been a lot of "by myself" lately. I have no idea where this sense of independence comes from.... Have you met my wife????

I digress. So we go in and she hops right up on the chair. She has no problem when the hygienist starts working away. Even scraping her teeth she is sitting calmly. The hygienist after about 10 minutes tells us "You guys really need to know how good she is doing. You should be very, very proud". They say usually they are doing these with the kid spread out between mom's lap and the hygienist. Even the doctor was surprised when she came in later that Porter just sat in the chair. I really like her new dentist, I think we will be there for while.

So on the way home, Porter decides she no longer wants us to put her in the car seat. "I do it." And yes, she does it just fine. Wow, she is really growing up.

On to gymnastics. She is fascinated watching the older girls practice. Considering how much she loves to hang on things right now, I am not surprised. This class consists of a room set up for munchkins and then some time in the main facility. Understatement, she is all over this. I think her favorite thing was the pit of foam blocks. I wanted to take a dive in there myself. This actually happened by accident while not looking away from the video camera. I will tell you from experience they are really soft. Almost did it again right afterwards. I don't pay attention much. :)

I am really looking forward to more of these sessions. She is developing physically so fast right now. I swear that either I just didn't notice at the start or maybe I see it watching her interact in new environments but I swear she is a little different after each one. I see more confidence, more agilty, everything. I will say that I love her trampoline run. It's different in that she throws her legs out to the side. Not sure why she does it but it started on the neighbors trampoline (which she can't get enough of). Glad we have a few on our street and that our neighbors are cool people.

Done for now but I will probably think of more as this day progresses. Videos to follow.

Banana

So this is the word this kid learns before 'Papa'. Were not sure if this means all food to her, but she definately loves bananas. If you put the thing in front of her, she will devour a bite the size of her head. It will then mush about for 5 minutes until she can choke it down. It's funny in a way but alarming in another. She is papa's chowhound. Still, she can say 'mama', so where the heck is 'papa'?

So I had a true parenting moment yesterday. While feeding her melon, a fruit fly landed on her hand. I swiped it away with a light slap and immediately realized my mistake. The look on her face soured like I shoved a lemon in her mouth. The tears fell faster than I could count, and she began to shake. I tried to talk to her and cuddle her, but she wanted nothing to do with me. She wouldn't even look at me for 10 minutes.

Crap.

I wanted to just tell her 'I was trying to do you a favor' but how do you communicate that to a baby????

Crap. Crap. Crap.

It took a while but things did return to normal and I might have held her longer than normal. She does this thing where if I act surprised, she runs into me and falls on my chest. I put my arms around her and shake her. I made sure to do this a few extra times tonight.

How the heck am I going to actually discipline her with this kind of reaction? Maybe this was my first trial by fire and I will get stronger. I just hope I send the right message next time.

Tonight was the first walk with P in the dark for some time. I think it was the first time she noticed (really noticed) the moon. Considering she goes to bed at 7 every night, she doesn't see it much right now. That will change quickly.

Summer is leaving us and as always, I will miss the long days.

Bring on Hawaii.

One Year Old

One year. I remember like it was last month splitting my time between work, home and the hospital. I am sure every parent can understand this, but it just doesn't feel like it has been a year. But it was a year, and an amazing, wonderful, educational, emotional, scary, happy, best year of my life.

There were just so many firsts. The first time she looked where I pointed. The first time she ate food. The first time she held her own bottle. The first sign she did (which I believe was 'Thank You'). The day she learned to wave was really something. I came to pick her up at day care and she saw me and waved. I thought to myself, she didn't do that this morning. There were a lot of those moments. I waited for Aub to come home as I couldn't wait to show her. Porter waved proudly as Mama walked in. From then on she was known as 'Princess' at Kindercare as she waved to everyone. She still likes to wave although today I noticed she has changed her pagent wave to an up/down motion. Again, another change. All that is constant is change with this little nugget.

Every day we tell ourselves how lucky we are that we have such a good kid. She sleeps through the night, doesn't fuss (much, about as much as I do) and is just generally happy. I gave some advice to a friend of mine who is about to give birth today and I told her "Just laugh with your baby. Laugh and laugh and let him know how important this is". I think that is just so true. I think it is a big part of who this kid is turning out to be. She does love to laugh and I will still make a complete ass out of myself to make her do it. It is that important. (Side note, I pretty much make an ass out of myself daily anyway so this is really not a stretch, but I would like to convince you all of my continuing efforts)

How has life changed over this year? Well, we don't go out as much. Shocker. But we love being parents so I don't think the change has ever come to mind. When we are not around her, we miss her. It is harder now to just have a night to ourselves because we end up discussing the kid. I never understood this until I had a kid. I used to think parents were nuts, now I am convinced. You have to be a little nuts to do this. And that is just fine with me.

The party. It was great. It was all of baby chaos that I expected. Thank you to everyone who attended as it was the biggest party we have hosted at our house. We are still putting away all of the gifts. Or maybe we are just a little lazy.

Happy 4th to everyone! Have a great weekend! Papa Morck out! I had to include this last photo. How cute is this little chub?

First Birthday This Weekend!

Wow, it has really been one year. Our kid is walking (sort of), talking (sort of), signing (sort of) and just generally being the best kid ever. I can't write too much as I am working at the moment but I did want to get this thread started. I promise to do a full report after this weekend. I am really looking forward to this and I can't believe everyone who is coming over for P's first party. This will be the biggest party we have hosted in the house. No surprise, everyone like her better than us. :-)

More to come but hopefully you are all coming!

Almost Nine Months In...

I honestly can't believe it.

Nine months. The one thing I have heard over and over again is how fast it goes. I feel if I blink too long she will be in college. That's how fast this is going. We are already planning her first birthday party. Wow.

However, if time flys when you are having fun, how much fun must I be having? I think part of what makes it easy is we really do have a good kid. I mean this in not the usual 'It's my kid so everything she does is so freakin' perfect' sort of way. I mean it as she is sleeping through the night, happy and playful sort of way. Sleeping through the night is important as that makes papa happy and when papa is happy, we are all happy.... Just kidding.

I know that what routine we have this week may change by next. I know it and expect it. I know she may start to get an attitude. I know that I don't really know much. That much I do know. But really, who cares? I mean, I come home every day to see these bright blue eyes and my day is complete. Our caregiver at the daycare always tells us that Porter is a 'happy' baby. That to me is the best compliment anyone can give me as that is my number one goal in life. It may not be when she explains why every other kid has a cell phone and mommy works at the cell phone company and I am unfair and she hates me and .... I digress. Stay in the moment, Dave.

Ok, so what is new with Porter? Well, for starters, she is a stones throw away from walking. She has always liked standing, but she now is strong enough to hold herself up. Right up to the point where she falls over. She was never one for tummy time, which means crawling is just so last month. She has started to kick her legs out and can almost walk as long as you help the balance. Oh, did I mention that NOTHING in the house is child proofed yet. Yep.


She talks a lot but is still struggling with rudimentary calculus. I know, I should do better as a teacher but I am doing my best. I think she said her first word the other day. I believe it was 'Aaaarrrrggguuuhhhhppphhhttttt'. She says it a lot actually. We don't know if it means 'Kitty' in her language or 'I am working on a really big poop.' Putting it in context, it could mean both actually.


On the serious side we have been trying to teach her sign language. She does see it, responds to it but doesn't do it on her own. I think this is about natural but as I said before, who knows? She is technically coming up on eight months but just looking at the weight and size of a normal baby, um... I think our kid is on the large size.


P is just about to finish her first round of swim classes. This has been an absolute blast. No surprise as both parents love the water that we gave birth to a fish. The craziest part was when we dunked her she started kicking with her legs. It was like a natural response. She opens her eyes under water and just loves being in the pool. We did find she was not a fan of the life jacket. This could be a problem as what is a summer weekend without a boat. Especially someone else's boat who paid for it all winter while not using it... I digress.


The fact is she is doing great. We are doing great. I am having the time of my life right now. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and that we are healthy (and still employed). I will hopefully soon (right, the kid was 7 pounds lighter on the last post) put up some video soon. I have to tell you we have been so busy. I mean I know every parent is but I come home, we play with the kid, I work out (yes almost every day) and then it's off to bed. Today was a day off from working out so you are all blessed with my wit and lack of wisdom.



Since I forgot to mention earlier, Porter is 21+ pounds now. Papa is getting a sweet bicep pickup up this little kettle ball.

14 & 1/2 pounds and counting!

It's been a while since I posted. Tomorrow will be Aub's first day back at work. This has to be hard for a mom. I could easily spend every day just hanging out with this kid but I also understand that the bond from the mother is especially strong. The part Aub is having the hardest time with is that we will spend a short time with her in the morning and a little time at night. Porter goes to bed so early this may not be enough for mom to get her fix!

Aub is taking it all in stride however. She is a strong woman, and I am very proud of her. I do hope that Porter takes some of the many wonderful qualities my wife has. From me I just hope she gets my twisted sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself. The rest she can get from mom.

What I really should do is post the many lists that have appeared around this house. I do happen to live with a true planner; a good compliment to the seat of the pants living that I prefer. While the items may not all be spelled correctly, she is really good at this. I know event planners that are not this organized. The vehicle is fueled, the lunch is packed, Porter's stuff is loaded (or labeled and in place to be packed), laundry is done. I, um... well, I cleaned. A little. That was my contribution.

Ok, back to my usual gushing about my beautiful kid...

There is nothing like your own child's smile. I look into her eyes and I am just in awe that this little girl is only four months old and she seems to understand so much. I love that I can make her smile with just words. Words that I know she can't understand, but from my intonations, she interprets that I love her. At least I hope she does. Maybe she just really enjoys having more hair than I do. Speaking of which, her hair was falling out but seems to be growing back slowly. She still has this thick patch in the back which does look quite silly sometimes (unless she is going for the male patter baldness look).

The good news is we found a great day care and we really like the gal who watches Porter. We were undecided for so long what we would do for care for her but I think we have found a great solution. When Aub finally wins the lottery, there may be a change. Until then, we will stick to plan 'B' but I expect the lottery to come through soon.

Haloween is just two days away. Expect some sweet pictures soon of a 'P' in the pod. Thanks to Auntie Erica for the great costume. And if you didn't catch it from the title, she is putting on the pounds. She is now on the growth chart for a term baby (actually in the upper percentile). We may have a volleyball player on our hands. Check out those sweet, chubby legs. And these pictures are a few weeks old.

14 & 1/2 Weeks and counting

Ok, my second stab at blogging, please bare with be. First, I can't believe Porter is 3 months old and I can't believe I've lived my entire life without having Porter in it. She's amazing! The love I have for this little girl is overwhelming.

Sleeping - everyone asks about sleeping.
Porter has put us on a schedule. She likes to go down for the night around 8PM. As we approach 8PM we begin our nightly routine: bath, diaper change, jammies, SWADDLE and nursing while rocking. Since we moved her from her bassinet in our room into her crib in her very own room. She's been sleeping from 8PM to around 2AM. Moving her from our room to her own room has really helped both Porter AND Dave and I get a better night's sleep. Porter sleeping for six hours in a row is great. However, after 2AM she'll wake between 4:30-5:30 and then again around 6-7AM. The 4:30 feeding is a tough one, but we're making progress so that's all that counts.

Dave has been amazing! Often he'll get up with her at 6AM and rock her and/or change her diaper... whatever she needs to get her settled so I can get a few more zzzz. Once she is up for the morning, Dave will make me breakfast before he's off to work. It's been SO helpful to have breakfast in bed everyday while I'm feeding Porter. Dave makes a fantastic over-easy egg!

Huckleberry - Porter's tumor/birthmark

To date, Porter has had 3 laser treatments for the birthmark on her left cheek. Prior to the last treatment, Porter had a bad reaction to the numbing cream used to numb the site before the laser zap. Her poor little face around the birthmark ended up blistering and peeled off, leaving some open skin. Good news, Porter did not seem to be in any pain or discomfort. All the same, this scared Dave and I. After another topical Rx from the baby dermatologist, her skin has healed and she will have her 4th laser treatment this Thursday 10/9. The dermatologist estimates that Porter will have another 6 to 8 treatments (roughly every 3-4 weeks) and the birthmark will be significantly reduced, if not gone! We are anxious to have the small red circle gone from her face, regardless, we think she's the most beautiful little girl!

How life has changed

Everyone says life will change when you have kids, and this is an understatement! I never knew how much I could love someone until Porter came along. I nearly cry daily at all the little things she does, the smiles, her talking, her progress, the toots from her butt! Dave is extremely smitten too. Porter has him wrapped around her little finger.

Dave and I are doing our best to take care of one another too. We are making time each week for a date night for us. It's funny how much I look forward to these few hours a week! Our parents have been wonderful about watching Porter during these times. This past weekend was Dave's 39th birthday. Friday evening we dropped Porter off at Grandma McKim's house for the evening while we celebrated Dave's birthday with 20 or so friends. Saturday evening Grandma and Grandpa Pruatt came over to watch Porter while I took Dave out to dinner and Phantom Of The Opera. So we've been getting out a fair amount.
The down side, Porter has forgotten how to take a bottle... Something we learned all too well this weekend. The Grandparents had a rough time feeding her. My goal for the next two weeks is to reteach her to take breast milk from a bottle. I need to get her back on the waggon before Dave and I head to Leavenworth for our ONE YEAR anniversary (October 17th).
We can't thank our parents enough for helping out whenever we need a hand.

Porter's Development

Being a preemie (born 5 weeks and 4 days early), we've been curious how Porter would grow physically and progress mentally. Can she truly be called 14 weeks? Or is she more like a baby who is 8 weeks old?

Physically, Porter is growing like a weed. She weighs ~13lb (born @ 5lb 5oz). She's more than doubled her weight! As Dave likes to say, she's Papa's little "chow hound" and has "sausage legs". She does love to eat and poop & toot! She's also beginning to hold her head up on her own. It's a little wobbly, but she's getting better.

Mentally, we think Porter is right on track with a normal 3 month old. She's able to follow objects from side to side with her eyes. She's able to bat at objects in front of her. She's smiling when talked to and is beginning to laugh. The smiling and laughing brings tears to my eyes every time!!! Especially when she smiles for Dave!

How we spend our days

Porter and I generally spend our days going for walks in the morning. She likes to "work out" in her little floor gym between naps. Afternoons are spent getting a few things done, chores or making dinner for Papa!

Going Back to Work

Ho Hum, going back to work... I have a little over 3 weeks until I go back to work on October 30th. The past few weeks have been really tough coming to grips with the idea of leaving my baby girl everyday. To add to the fact I'll only get to see her a few hours a day, we are behind the 8 ball in regards to child care. Our whole timeline was shifted to the left with Porter's early arrival. We are on the waiting list for daycare at a FANTASTIC center, Bright Horizons. However, we had always planned on an early 2009 enrolment, with their waiting list being full, we'll be lucky to get in in January. So how to care for Miss Porter until then?

We have frantically been interviewing possible nannies, but I'm so apprehensive about leaving Porter alone, in our house, in a stranger's care!

We've also been researching other daycare centers, but waiting lists are LONG (Sept of 2009 in most cases). If only I didn't have to go back to work... with the economy turning the way it has the past few weeks, quiting my job is not an option (just plain silly to turn away my great job at T-Mobile. I do love it there). Once we find a solution for this dilemma, we'll post.

Thanks to everyone for their continuous support!

xoxo

Aubrey