Update on Porter

Porter did absolutely fantastic with his first night in his big boy bed!!!! Although I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop for nothing ever seems to be this easy with our children!!! :) He did have one mishap....he FELL OUT OF BED! He scooted towards the top and fell off at the top of the bed, by his pillows around 10:15! I felt to bad, I heard a *thud* and went running! He was upset, but calmed down super fast, I rocked him and sang Twinkle, Twinkle to him 2 times, put him back in his bed and didn't hear a peep out of him until this morning! I was downstairs working out when he woke up this AM and Mike said that Porter woke up and called for him, he didn't get out of bed on his own. We'll see how nap time goes today! :)

Milestone....*sniff, sniff*

Well, we did it! Tonight is Porter's first night in his big boy bed! He'll be 2 in May and although he was perfectly happy in his crib, we thought he was old enough to be in a bed. We received the bunk beds from Steve and Linda's neighbors from the lake. They sold their home in Johnston and had no need for the bunk beds, they were just a year or so old. He was SO excited when Mike put them together! And so was Stella, of course they both love being on the top bunk! Thankfully, Porter can't quite climb to the top by himself and Stella knows that she is not allowed on the top without me or Mike in the room....we'll see how long that lasts for! Porter did AWESOME tonight! I was expecting the worst, but he didn't make a peep. Mike put him down for bed and Mike said he was super smiley tonight before going to bed, excited to sleep in a big bed! :) I'm sure he'll be up tonight and I'm anxious to see how naps will go....but I'm hopeful. I remember crying the night we moved Stella to her big girl bed and tonight I didn't cry, things are easier the second time around. Although when I put him down for his nap in his crib today I did rock him extra long for I knew it was the last time he would sleep in his crib.

Of course he had to help daddy out!

Excited about his new pillow case! He picked his new sheet set out all on his own, of course they are covered in sports balls!!!

Checking out the top bunk.


I snuck in his room tonight after he fell asleep to snap a couple of photos of him sleeping, his back was turned from me, which was probably a good thing for the flash didn't wake him up. :)

Hockey Game

Tonight we went to the Iowa Chops Hockey game. We met up with some friends and had a great time. The tickets we had (from our friends) were for a suite, which was wonderful for the kiddos to run around. They had a blast and Porter LOVED all the action on the ice!! I think we have a sports nut on our hands!!!

New Look

Yesterday we (well....mostly Mike) painted Stella's room. We switched Porter and Stella's rooms around in December and finally got around to painting Stella's. I bought yellow paint for her room in December but this weekend she decided she wanted a pink room. We figured she could pick out her own color, so we thought she'd go with pink. Well once we got to the store she insisted on purple! I kept telling her if we get purple she can not change her mind to pink! Although purple is definitely not what I would of gone with, she absolutely LOVES it, I guess that's what counts!! She squealed when she saw all of her walls purple. This morning she even told me, "see, mom, I told you purple would be better than pink!". We also rearranged her furniture, not sure I'm sold on this lay out, but again....she does! Who wears the pants in this family?!?!? :)

She really wanted to help us paint so while Porter was napping she was allowed to come in and help paint.

The finished product.....

Stella's 4 Year Stats

Stella had her 4 year well-check today and was very excited about seeing the doctor! She has been so funny since she has turned 4, she has to tell EVERYBODY that "My name is Stella, and I'm FOUR!!", whether it be the doctor, the neighbors, the cashier at Target....you get the idea. She is 40 inches tall (55%) and 36 lbs (55%).
I thought I would take a little trip down memory lane....

On the day she was born-

1st birthday-no real theme but had a caterpillar cake

2 years old-Elmo theme party

3 years old-Cupcake theme party

4 years old-Fancy Nancy theme party

Bowling!

Tonight we met friends downtown at All Play to take the kids bowling and they had a ball! It was so much fun. All Play also has a ton of video games, rock wall, pool tables, etc. They also enjoyed playing the games, but bowling was definitely the biggest hit. It was actually Duck Pin bowling so the balls are smaller/lighter and the alleys were shorter, perfect for little ones!

She has great form, doesn't she?



Anything that has to do with balls is right up Porter's alley (pun intended!) tee hee. He was in 7th Heaven.

Yippee!!!

St. Patricks Day Parade

A few days late, but here are a few pics of the kids at the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The weather was absolutely amazing that day and the had a lot of fun. We met Sara, Hannah and Haydn at the parade, there were a ton of people there.

He has the cheesiest smile! :) And he's NOT digging in his diaper, he's digging in he "bee bo" (belly button), the child is OBSESSED with his (and my) belly button!


Showing all the beads they caught during the parade.

Birthday Bash!

Yesterday was Stella's Fancy Nancy Birthday Party. She had so much fun and loved having her friends and family here to help her celebrate turning 4!
Here's a shot of the set up before it got too crazy. We served brunch with chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls and fruit kabobs.

Stella with her "fancy" cake.

Make a wish!

Opening her gifts.

With one of her gifts, this unicorn is SUPER soft. Stella loved it.

Stella's 4th Birthday!!!!

Today Stella turned 4. It's hard to believe....4 just seems so old!! I guess that makes me a dinosaur. :) She has a super fun day. Started out by opening her gifts, then we played with her new loot. It was gorgeous out today, so after Porter's nap we went to the park and played for a long time. Tonight we went out for dinner at Stella's Blue Sky Diner. Her party is on Saturday and she is very excited for that! :)

Opening the gift that Grammy and Grampa sent her. It came in the mail yesterday.

She totally shocked me and let Porter help her open her presents this morning! Of course he loved being in on the action.

She got 7 Disney Princess Barbies! She was thrilled, but I know I'll forever be stepping on Princess crowns, shoes, necklaces.....

And a photo of her tonight at Stella's with her special birthday ice cream sundae.

That Was Fast!

Today we woke up and found Barney #2 dead. Stella was upset, but not too bad since she didn't have long to get know him! We only got them on Saturday. Elivs is still alive and kickin'. Barney never would eat any of his food, so I wasn't really shocked. Mike said that he saw Barney eat, but only once. I told Stella we could go get a new fish tomorrow, but now she wants a HAMPSTER!!!!!!!! She fell totally in love with the hampsters when we were at the pet store the other day! I REALLY don't want a hampster, so I doubt we come home with one. She's been talking about a hampster all morning!!!!

Newest Family Members!!

We gained a couple new members in our household this weekend. Stella and Porter both picked out new fishies. Barney, our first fish, met his maker a few months ago. Stella has been wanting a new fish ever since, but I kept putting it off! Finally this weekend they got to get a new fish and now we have two instead of one.

Introducing: Barney (#2!) he's the orange fish is puffy cheeks. And, Elvis, the black fish, he is also Porter's fish. I asked Porter what he wanted to name his fish and he said "E"....so we call him Elvis. :)

Last night we had Jeff, Lucy, Berlin and Eric over for dinner. Here is Berlin and Stella making themselves look like Barney with his puffy cheeks.

A couple pics of Eric and Porter.


And Jeff giving rides on the beloved Minkey blanket! They kids had SOOOO much fun doing this! :)

Fun In The Sun

We got home yesterday afternoon from our trip to sunny Arizona. We had a wonderful time with Mike's parents and also were able to see a lot of my family and friends down there. We kept busy the entire time and the kids were worn out most days!

Thursday the Roe's had us over for dinner. Stella had a ball playing with Jaya and Sophia. Little Dominic is the cutest and best baby! Porter loved their doggy and couldn't get enough of him.


Enjoying a brewski with EJ, she just turned 21 in January....it's hard to believe she's legal!!!

A handful of the Watson girl cousins. EJ, Stephanie, Amy, Jenn and me.

Last Saturday the 4 of us when to Goldmine, a ghost town. The kids had fun running around.



Sunday we all went to Eloy, about 30 miles from Steve and Linda's house to see the parachuters. Skydiving teams come from all over the world to practice their jumps/stunts here. It was really awesome to see the parachuters jump from their planes and their landings were perfect.


Tuesday night Mike and I went to Chris' house and stayed overnight while the kids had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa. The next morning Chris took us hiking up the White Tank Mountains. It was a beautiful hike and at the end was a tiny (remember we are in the desert!!) waterfall and spring waters.


Thursday we went to the Phoenix Zoo, Chris had the day off and met us there, which was awesome b/c Stella stuck to him like glue, which meant he (not me!) had to carry her when she asked! :)
Porter wasn't too happy in this photo!



Chris stuck in a giant spider web.

Steve bought a Wii before we got down there. We've never played one, but Stella figured out the bowling on it and had a lot of fun. She even beat Mike once when she scored a 185!

Steve and Linda wanted to celebrate Stella's birthday while we were down there, which of course she loved! Linda took her to the grocery store and she picked out her own cake. She loved all the FROSTING! :)

Porter and Grandpa watching the Suns game! :)

Porter zonked out on the way home from Denver to DSM. He slept the entire time-whoo hoo!