My poor sick little guy :(

I have had a tendency to feel about as sorry for myself (and Steve) as I have for the little guy when he has been dealing with his recurring ear infections and other things that have popped up to make him sleep less than perfect (a little of my pre-kid selfishness that still remains under the surface), but yesterday – Porter was seriously miserable. It is rare that he actually acts sick during waking hours, but we could hardly get him to crack a smile last night and he wanted nothing to do with being put down. He had been to the Dr. and they never know quite what is wrong, but he basically has a cold with cough and congestion, ear infection and to top that off – I am pretty sure he must be cutting teeth.

The Dr. prescribed a nebulizer for breathing treatments, and he even actually liked it. He must really feel terribleL It makes me so sad.

As nervous as I am about it, I look forward to him getting tubes next Tuesday. I really hope it makes all of the difference everyone says it does!

Surviving the Foley’s and So many firsts!

I know I shouldn't be amazed at how many firsts I am starting to be lucky enough to witness daily since it is only the 7th month of the little guy's life…but I am. I am so blessed to see each and every miracle first in Porter's life! So curious to see this little "thing" turn into a real person with such a wonderful emerging personality! It is good to have such an obvious reminder that God brings us all small miracles every day!

We were only away from his Dad for 2 days and he already missed his first swim, his first clap, his first head shake, his first clown experience, his first sour lime face ;), and of course his first Foley Family Reunion! I made sure to video and photograph what I could, so he got to "see" it at least :)

Here are the links to this year's and last year's Foley Reunion Pictures: 

This Year: http://picasaweb.google.com/lori.m.mcclure/FoleyFamilyReunion

2009: http://picasaweb.google.com/lori.m.mcclure/FoleyReunion2009

At the reunion we always welcome any new family members and remember those who are not with us anymore. When talking to those who may or may not recognize you from last year it is a long standing habit to always introduce yourself, as your relationship to your father…."I am Lori, Dick Foley's youngest…" I had the distinct honor of introducing Dick Foley's youngest grandson only a minute before we had to add him to the list of those we want to remember. It was a little harder than I thought it might be….but always with the sadness, comes the smile of some fond memory…must be Dad's way of telling me to, "Cut that out!":)

Mom and Dad at last year's Reunion

So this past week or so's notable Porter 1sts include:

• playing in a kiddie pool
• playing in a big pool and first dunk;) - didn't fuss at all and really seem to like splashing and hanging out in there once he got used to it
• shaking head
• patting our back (like we do his:)
• clown experience (my cousin Donnie dresses up for the kids at the reunion)
• sour lime face (my cousin Sharon asked if she could let him taste it, he did – made a terrible face, but wanted more!)
• Foley Family Reunion – he was a good boy and a very friendly little guy!
• I wouldn't swear to it, but I think he is starting to give kisses – the big wide open mouth slobbery kind!

“Da-Da” – First official word just in time for first Father’s Day!

Porter and I spent the weekend with Grandma Foley in Cedar Rapids and were fortunate enough to see Aunt Julie and Sam every day too!  Mom seems to be recovering really well from her hip-replacement surgery!!!

7 Months old this weekend!

Since we were with Grandma we didn't get to spend all of Father's day with Steve, but Porter did start saying 'Da-Da' on cue to mark his first official word on Father's day!  We recorded it and sent it off to him Dad that morning - Great present:)  As I said in a previous post he has been big on the 'La-la-la-la' (which Aunt Julie took full credit for).  I also noticed himsaying a quiet whisper 'T' repeatedly. There will be no stopping him soon! 

I thought of Dad fondly many times on Father's Day, but sadness hadn't really been a part of it until Porter Sam and I took a walk around the neighborhood, which is something we often did during family gatherings and something I think Dad really enjoyed.  I wished he was with us...and then I remembered he was :)

Crazy Week so far…

It has been an extremely hectic week so far. Starting with our return home from a weekend away at about 9pm on Sunday night…nephew's little league game Monday…Steve's sister Deb arrived for a visit Monday night…Tuesday…family dinner…last night tried to catch up on my disaster of a house and laundry a little before Porter and I go to visit Grandma for the weekend right after work tomorrow! What a whirlwind~ Whew!!! At least I have a little relief from my biggest worry of the week…My Mom's surgery. It sounds like it went really well and prognosis for her pain relief looks hopeful! What a reliefJ

Porter has been pretty good all week, but last night didn't sleep so well – so his Dad ended up sleeping with him on the couch. I remembered a few other notable Porter milestones that I didn't mention and noticed a few new ones:

• He has been reaching out to be picked up pretty consistently for a few weeks now!
  
• Like I said, he is doing a lot of jabbering…including a lot of "LA LA LA LA LA, DA DA DA DA etc", I swear I almost got him to say his dog's name 2 nights ago…."Ollllliiiiie"
  
• We got him to do a little waving good-bye yesterday at the sitter's….not sure yet if he knows what he is doing, but it is a start!
  
• I forgot to mention his mastery of the zerbert sound….he is a big fan and has been for the better part of a month, I would guess. It hasn't stopped entertaining him yet – not gonna lie we are a little worried ;)
  

Porter has had the chance to spend a little time with his Aunt Deb this week. She lives in Arkansas so has only met him one other time when he was pretty little. So it is great that she has the chance to get to know him right now when his little personality is emerging!

Steve and I are hoping to get the chance to play sand volleyball tonight…it has been a pretty rainy season so far and this week hasn't been an exception, I am afraidL

Dad and Mom

Dad passed away 3 months ago today, on the 16^th of March. Seeing it in writing is hard as I have found the hardest thing about adjusting to the loss of him is forgetting that he is gone and having to remember, over and over.

It doesn't seem right that the world just didn't stop in semi-permanent pause that night…but even in the wake of such a loss - the world doesn't wait around for you to be ready. So we keep on with the daily business of life, with only pictures, wonderful memories and his voice on the answering machine when I happen to miss Mom when I call – as his physical presence. We all miss him so much!


I have stolen this picture from my brother's blog as it is one of my most vivid and fond memories of my Dad. He loved to sit in that very spot, night after night at the house I grew up in – always accompanied by our dog, Magi.

On this three month anniversary I am thinking of my Mom. Not only has it been a long 3 months of adjustment to losing Dad, but she has been in a great deal of pain for some time as well. She will be having hip replacement surgery later this morning. I pray that she has a successful surgery, a quick recovery and that this eases her physical pain, at the very least - and maybe help her move forward in a positive direction.

We are going to try this again…starting now!

Porter is going to be 7 months already this coming Saturday (June 19^th – on Uncle Bruce's Birthday)!

Having him added to our life has been a big adjustment and a wonderful gift! He started out his life with a lot of tummy trouble…probably would be considered colic and has been battling a lot of ear infections for the first months of his life. This made him a pretty inconsistent, a little grumpy and not an excellent sleeper. These things together made our shift to parenthood a little less magical than we had hoped.

Now that he is feeling better most of the time and we have been able to get to know this mostly happy little guy that is so quickly developing quite a charming little personality and we are starting to get our bearings. Teething even only seems to bother him for short bouts at a time.

Big Porter happenings right now:

• Porter has his second front bottom tooth now poking through that is quite apparent when he flashes a big goofy grin!
  


• He rolls over with ease
  


• He is not crawling yet, but is very strong and stands up with support for long periods of time
  


• He is sitting up alone very well…though he still loses his balance from time to time (and has been for a few weeks now)
  


• Is eating all sorts of puréed fruits, vegetables and some meats and several types of cereal
  


• Is 22 lbs and some change….he has been eating VERY well, but is now slowing down, so we think he is just finishing up a little growth spurt
  


• Loves his Rainforest Jumperoo…which is a free standing jumper – which provides hours of entertainment and exercise…very fun to watch!
  


• Chatters, coos and mimics all of the time…he has been known to return a drawn out "Hiiiiiii" from time to time
  


• Has a beautifully contagious giggle
  


• Has acquired a new very throaty horse giggle lately he likes to try out lately that unfortunately makes him cough that unfortunately makes him hurl from time to time
  


• Just had his first weekend away from Mom and Dad – Grandma Foley and Aunt Julie were kind enough to take excellent care of him while we took a quick trip to celebrate our 6^th anniversary (and try to get some sleepJ)
  

The Petersens Visit :) and Porter's very 1st kids Birthday Party and Carousel ride !!!

Kerry, Chelsea, Sawyer and Sophie came to visit this past weekend! We thought about going to the zoo, but a storm was blowing in so we settled for lunch and a quick stop at the play area at the near-by mall.  It didn't really matter where we were it was fun to catch up and see the kids!  They are so stinking cute and changing so fast :) Love them!

Porter is already flirting with his girlfriend Sophie:)

After we left them we headed off to Celebrate our friend Amy's little Calvin's Birthday!  I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of Calvin - since he was out playing, but Porter got to hang out with Sophie's competition, Chloe and meet a few new friends!  It is so fun to see him start to interact with other little kids!