Spring...Planning a busy Summer and Please, Please, Please someone buy my house!

We kicked off Spring with a fun Easter in Cedar Rapids with the family!  It was a decent day for an Easter egg hunt and Porter most definitely has the idea now!  He got more than 2 baskets full of toy and candy filled eggs.  It is always fun to see Porter with his cousins, but he is getting old enough now to really play along with everyone and he loves every minute of it!

I have made an offer on a new house for us, which was accepted, but it of course is dependent upon us finding a buyer for ours.  I spend every spare minute hoping and praying...and worrying - so I have turned to looking forward to spring and summer instead of going crazy over it.
Here is the house....not able to call it our house, just yet: http://desmoines.craigslist.org/reo/3687046924.html

As it turns out, the next 3-5 months are going to be EXTREMELY busy =)!

I have my bike all tuned up and got a Peapod trailer, so I can ride with Porter as well.  I have a long weekend in California, swimming, Birthday Parties, Bike Rides, Sand Volleyball, Family Reunions, a family wedding in Memphis, Broadway musicals, visits from friends, concerts, festivals....lots of outside fun planned already.  I am hoping to have to take time out in all of this fun to move as well, but no doubt Porter and I are always going to have fun possibilities.

Yet another attempt at the world of blogging:)

Porter Update

Porter is so very amazing to me! I know to say this is my right as a Mom as it is every parent’s. Just as it is true of every child. There is really nothing more entertaining than seeing a small child learn, grow and develop their own little personality. There is nothing more terrifying and satisfying as seeing pieces of yourself come to life in them. A child is an amazingly clear reflection.

Porter turned 3 years old in mid-November. He is SO much fun and such a challenge at the same time!

He loves to be around other kids, though still only interacts with them part of the time….but at the same time misses them when they are gone. He just loves being around people! I love this and try to foster it whenever I have the chance.

He has a sweet nature and is very polite, but likes to get his way and is bordering on being a little spoiled: something that I am battling to keep from happening, sometime at the expense of more than a few pleasant evenings:)

He still loves playing outside and I can’t wait for “real” spring so we can spend the majority of our time at a park or taking walks with the dogs or bike rides.

He has a very sweet and pretty good and on-key singing voice, loves music and likes to sing and dance! We do all of these things often. He loves all kinds of music….classical, children’s, pop, dance…old and new. Yellow Submarine is among his favorite oldies:)

A little sample of his dancing :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDGsoBMj1Wk

He is intelligent and the only thing keeping him from being absolutely amazing in the arena of structured learning is his lack of dedicated interest and attention and hopefully that will improve naturally with maturity. He already corrects me when we are reading books we have read more than once before if I don’t repeat verbatim….which is pretty good as we read many, many books!

His favorite shows and characters are Team Umi-zoomi, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Bubble Guppies, Mickey Mouse, Angry Birds…he likes Elmo books, but not especially interested in Sesame Street.

LIFE Update

Porter’s life has changed significantly since about Christmastime. Steve and I decided to separate and have recently finalized a divorce. Porter spends half of his time with me and half with Steve on an alternating 2/2/3 day schedule. I worry every day about how this will impact the person he is becoming and strive to help these challenges shape him in a positive way rather than a negative way. I can say I am striving for the same for myself.

Porter and I along with Zeus, Ollie and Critter have started out on a new adventure together. Life has changed significantly and will change more over the next few months. In general we are adjusting well.

We are working to sell our house and I am working to find another that will suit Porter and I (and the Manimals:) well. These two items are what I see as the last two items standing in the way of really enjoying our new start together so I hope and pray that all the stars align and we can accomplish these goals quickly.

It has been a challenge to not have a lot of control over many of the changes we are facing that are responsible for such great impacts on our daily lives.

In general, I feel confident that I am moving through this situation that I did not want for myself or Porter with relative grace and dignity. My mental focus has been on Porter and though I miss him terribly when I can’t be with him and it is the only time I allow myself a little sad…the time apart allows me to focus on finding a new happy for myself…learning to enjoy time to myself, get things done so I have the chance to enjoy time with Porter more fully, and making opportunities to spend more time with the vast number amazing people I have in my life.

For anyone reading this that was not aware of our life’s new direction: I apologize to you about not having the opportunity to share. Despite the unfortunate prevalence of such a change, there is no “good” way to disseminate such information. THIS is not in my opinion a good way to do so either….However – my thought is that you might like to know before I run into you a half a year from now and you ask me about my husband…and I have to tell you that we were divorced in March.

I am not much of a dweller and it is serving me well in this case: My direction has remained forward and in general I can assure anyone concerned that I am happy much more frequently than not. I consider myself so fortunate. I am very blessed in so many ways; I have no right to curse this minor bump in our road.

Porter Now

I made a comment about being sad that Porter is getting so big so fast after talking to Steve about buying him new shoes, socks and jammies...Porter very seriously said, "Mommy, are you sad I am getting bigger? Don't be sad about me getting big."

11 Months OLD!!!! – Firsts…firsts….and more firsts!

• Porter had his 1^st real haircut this weekend!
• He seems to be trying to mimic us more and more, both words and actions
• Using anything and everything to pull himself up…including his mom, dad and dogs
• He is doing a lot of freestanding, which makes me think he is getting his bearings balance-wise
• Still scooting along, and is often trying to crawl and did a little bit this weekend…always opting back to the scoot
• Hates…hates…HATES getting his nose wiped and his nails filed
• About to switch into his 3^rd and 4^th "big boy" car seat (since we now need one for each car)
• Loves it when mom shares her real food with him. Very big fan of bread, cheese and turkey from mom's Jimmy Johns sandwich this weekendJ Also seems to really like eggs.
• Loves being outside.

We had lots to do this weekend around the house, but still managed to run some errands and have some fun outside! We started our day out with family haircuts! Including little Mr. Porter's first real one!!! He was such a good boy and sat in the chair all by himself – never fussing or anything! We were glad – we had thought it might be a little traumatic.