Big Boy Chair

This is Porter's new chair. I got it for him for a couple of reasons. First of all his friend Madelyn has one and he really likes it. Second I am hoping that once we start getting out baby bouncers and swings and he has a little sister in them, he can sit in his "Big Boy Chair" and not try and sit in or ON her in the swing. (I know, I have really high hopes.) And third he is getting into the TV a little bit more so I thought he would enjoy sitting in it while he watches TV.
Well he loves to play in the chair BUT.... He still enjoys watching TV like this!!

Happy Easter

This morning we woke up and sent Porter out into the living room to get his Easter basket and of course the first thing he goes for is the ball. Anytime we are in a store with those big ball containers he just freaks out and has to play with the balls. He also got some blocks, this kid is a stacking maniac!

Here he is in his cute new church outfit and his Easter basket.
He hated the grass in the basket, I don't know if it was the feeling of it our what, but he hated it!


He wasn't sure what to think about the bubbles. It was so cute every time we blew some he would say "OH!"

And last but not least we went out this afternoon to collect some more Easter eggs. It is still so cold here in Chicago. You can't tell by the pictures but there is still snow on the ground from 2 days ago. And so sad to say, my boy came back in for the first time smelling like a little OUTSIDE BOY! and I know you all know what I mean. That smell that little boys get when they go and play outside. So sad:(

I hope you all had a wonderful EASTER and took time to remember our Savior, and the sacrifice he made for each one of us. And the blessing he is in our lives. Happy Easter!

Kirtland, Ohio

Road Trip!This last weekend Jason, Porter and I were able to take a trip to Kirtland, Ohio to visit Jason's Parents who are serving as the Visitor Center Directors. We had so much fun, and it was so nice to be with family! It took a whole day for Porter to get used to his new surroundings and his grandparents giving him hugs and kisses. But once he warmed up, we had a lot of fun.

The Kirtland Temple

Newel K. Whitney store

Whitney Home

Johnson Inn




Porter had a lot of fun playing at grandma's house. Some of his favorite things to do were climbing the stairs, opening all of the kitchen cupboards, playing the piano, pointing to all of the pictures around the house of cousins, aunts and uncles. Helping grandma cook, and of course grandma's treats!!

Daddy's little Boy or Daddy's little Girl?

Porter loves anything that goes on the head even if it means wearing mom's headbands and clips! I know it is just because he sees me wearing them, and anything that goes on the head is okay with Porter! And well the beads...he found these a while ago and loves to play with them. But to have a clip in his hair and then go and play with his beads makes us a little nervous! :)

WHaTevER!!

Porter is all boy and we love him to pieces!!! Here he is with TRULY his favorite thing to put on his head! Daddy's HATS!! (P.S. I love that he puts them on backwards like this!)

We love our porter BOY, he loves CARS, BALLS, BLOCKS, BOOKS and daddy's HATS and SHOES! I can not tell you how many times a day Jason and I are always saying how dang cute he is, and how lucky we are to have him! Love you Monkey!

Tag I'm it

Blast From the Past Tag...
What television show or movie did you want to be in when you were little? Grease and Saturdays Warrior

Which character or star? Sandy and Emily

Most embarrassing moment your friends will never let die? One time I was hanging out at my friend Carli's house, we were chatting on her bed when all of a sudden I let out the BIGGEST fart, it came with no warning! It is defiantly one of those you had to be there moments.

Your proudest moment or accomplishment? Being a mom!

What adult did you have a crush on when you were little? Uncle Jessie (John Stemos)

What habit or personality trait do you have of your mother or father? Oh goodness, I think I have a few from both.

What did you want to change your name to when you were little? I hated my name when I was a little girl. I thought it sounded like a "little girl" name and always said "Can you imagine someone calling me Grandma Mindi?" So that being said...I wanted to change it to Ashlyn.

Who was your first kiss? If you count around 3 years old it was Chirstopher Welch. I would have to say Josh Warner (9th grade).

What are 3 adjectives that someone from high school or middle school would use to describe you? Silly, cute, and happy!

What hairstyle, clothes, or other accessories did you rock back in the day when it was cool? Are you ready for this...Jerbaus, Jnco's, wide leg Lucky's, Doc Martins, overalls, those nasty butterfly clips, you name it I wore it!

What job did those long and annoying surveys in school say you would be good at? Interior Design.

And what did you try and make the test result outcome be? Interior Design or Teacher

What made you laugh harder than you have ever laughed before? Too many! But my favorite times to laugh is when it is WAY to late at night and you will laugh at the stupidest things until your stomach hurts and you start to cry!

Favorite memories of hanging out with your best friends? Sleepovers

What's the most trouble you have ever got in with your parents? I have to say I always tried to be a parent pleaser, but I KNOW I got in trouble plenty. I do remember the consequence that made me the most upset was my Sophomore year in High School. I got in trouble and my parents told me I couldn't go out that weekend. So of course it had to be that weekend when I got asked out on my first official date and I had to say NO! They must have been really mad to not let a girl who was pleading to do whatever it took to go on that date.

What was your 5 year plan when you had to write it out in high school? Get married as soon as possible and have children.

And last but not least...What is your 5 year plan now? Be a mom to the cutest kids in the world, help Jason finish Law School and get a job. Be happy!

I would like to tag....Jessica, Mary, and Kari!

Here fishy, fishy!

Shedd Aquarium

A few weeks ago my friends and I thought it would be fun to take our kids to Shedd Aquarium since there was like an entire week where all the museums and things down town were free. Porter and I thought it was a lot of fun and we saw some really cool stuff. Even though we didn't get to see the REALLY fun stuff you still had to pay for (dolphins and a baby beluga.)

Stingray

The kiddos (oops...I cut off Leah's head)

I thought the turtles were a lot of fun, and look at the cool under-belly of the Stingray!


This snake was HUGE and we got to see them feed it lunch (a rabbit) that is why she is all coiled up she is digesting! YUM!!

The coolest thing was in the center of the Aquarium there was a HUGE tank with way cool animals. I was too stupid to know how to turn off my flash so most of my pictures didn't turn out :(. So some of the other cool things we saw were some sharks, an AWESOME Sea Turtle that was gigantic, and some Sea Horses that looked like they were glowing! Other than that we saw lots of fish!!

Sneaky, Sneaky, Sir!

My son has some kind of silly game that he has been playing the last week or so. He will go shut his door and play in his room for a while. (Nothing new there, he loves to shut his double doors and play in his room.) Well sooner or later he will open his door just a crack and sneak one toy at a time outside of his room and shut the door again. He will repeat this for quite a while, but if he catches you watching him it is over.

I have tried for days now to take a picture of this. But like I said if he catches you he is done and will just come out of his room. And well this time he didn't catch me spying on him!

This first picture is the start of the pile, remember this is one toy at a time.

Here we are about 10 minutes later. Now this is just a proud mom moment but if you look at the pile he has stacked his blocks "4" high. This is a new accomplishment. His friend Madelyn has some wooden blocks that he can stack up to 5-6 but his blocks are plastic and slippery and hard to stack very high (even for me) he has been stacking 3 forever and has just mastered the soft touch to get number 4!