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!

June

June has been a crazy busy month is seems leading into the summer. It's not over but will continue in much the same week with our friend Gina's wedding and the yearly Foley Family Reunion.

At the beginning of the month I realized I was finally growing out of my normal clothes and within a week I hardly felt comfortable in any of them. It is amazing how fast that stuff happens. I think between what I have bought and what my friend
Michelle generously donated I should be covered until Barstow shows up:)

Mitch's Graduation Party













The first weekend of the month I went with my sister Julie and niece Samantha to the Quad Cities to help celebrate my cousin Mitch's Graduation. Our visit was cut short so I didn't even get a chance to take a pic of him on his day (Sam got a little sick...so we had to head home:( ).










17 Week Appointment

I had my 17 week appointment on the 12th which was not too exciting, but I got to hear Baby Barstow's heartbeat again, which is nice since I at this point am still waiting to feel him move. His heart-rate was 150 this time:)

Camping - our first BFGB Weekend with the Lucas' and Hughes'

This past weekend we went camping with our friends the Lucas' and the Hughes'. It was the first year we got to make it camping with them and it was a lot of fun! Even though it was plenty hot and we had a little rain - everyone still had a great time!

Father's Day

Of course Sunday was Fathers day so I went home to celebrate with my family. Everyone made it this time except for Bruce and Wil so it was a pretty full house and really nice to see everyone.

Here is a picture of Sam, myself and of course Baby Barstow, who is trying to start to show his/herself =)