I’m not feeling very inspired to write these days. Blogging definitely has its highs and lows. Looking at pictures, however, is easy. I came across two family pictures and it made me realize how happy I am with our little family.
Having a baby hasn’t been easy. It’s involved a lot of personal growth and stretch on Luke’s and my relationship. And to be perfectly honest, I still jump when I hear Porter make noises in his sleep. In the beginning it was because I was afraid he wasn’t breathing, but now it’s just because I need more sleep at night. The last 11 months have made me feel more alive, and I’m excited for the future. I even started reading a potty training book today. Wishful thinking?
Today I laughed with my son so many time’s I can’t even count them. Then after he went to sleep I laughed with my husband. I hope you get to experience happiness at this level, because it feels so freakin’ good!
A couple days after Porter was born.
Late October, Porter 9 months. Photo by Ashley Romero.
We had a wonderful day baking at home and sharing dinner with Chelsea and her family. There are so many things to be thankful for and the friends that we have here in Boise are on the top of my list, always.
This year, specifically, I’m thankful for the family that Luke and I have created. If I had to look back on one thing to be especially thankful for in the last year, it is my birth experience with Porter. It was everything I hoped for, and considering how much faith I had to put into the process, I’m very thankful that it went as perfectly as it did. I’m thankful that my husband and I made it through the first few months of having a new baby and are stronger and more in love than ever.
There are so many wonderful moments that I’m thankful for, but I’ll leave you with this last one. I’m thankful that tonight’s feast included a few scenes from the Sound Of Music, a personal favorite. You know it’s a good holiday when the night ends with children and adults singing along together. Every night before Porter goes to sleep I sing him lullabies, my favorite one is Edelweiss, and I’m thankful that I know a sweet song to sing to my baby that he can hold in his heart forever. Happy Thanksgiving!
We were too busy being thankful for each other today that we didn’t really get any pictures of Porter’s first Turkey Day. Here he is keeping me company in the kitchen.
Two weeks ago we took a trip to Maui with my parents. It was Porter’s second trip to the islands and this holiday was decidedly more engaging than the first, when he was two months old. I feel incredibly blessed to have parents that can make amazing trips possible. We’re so happy that Porter can get to know his grandparents in such beautiful (and warm) places. He certainly chose the right family to be born into! Here’s the photo story:
It started very early in the morning at the Boise Airport.
A brief layover at the San Jose Airport.
Then a long flight over the Pacific. Porter fell asleep quickly, but it only lasted an hour into our 5 hour flight.
Then it was time to look for Care Bears in the clouds.
Porter takes flight safety very seriously.
He was also a HUGE hit with the flight attendants, and everyone else on the plane. I couldn’t ask for a better travelling baby.
He was thrilled when the flight attendant scooped him up and brought him with her while she worked.
We finally arrived at the airport and were greeted by Grandpa Kamehameha.
Dada got lei’d.
This was Porter’s first time in the pacific ocean. He loved it, it was just like a big pool.
My parents found the perfect tube for baby floating.
Initially the sand was a strange and foreign thing…
…but was then found to be perfect for eating, kicking and grabbing.
A big fan of the beach and a clean change of clothes.
Can you find the cloud dragon?
Sunset from Napili Point Resort, my parents most favorite place to stay.
First pineapple, a decided success.
There were rainbows almost everyday. This one is from our lanai.
Rainbow in Lahina.
We took a trip to the Maui Aquarium. Getting a glimpse of a honu (turtle) up close.
Porter LOVED the fish and the underwater tunnel is the best.
We had few days of big waves and the surfers, aka wait-staff, took full advantage. The water cleared everyday before noon so all the servers could get to work. It then filled back up after the lunch rush, hence the landing pattern we have here.
Surf’s up!
Lunch at Pacific O Restaurant. Great breeze, amazing view, good food.
Perfect sailing conditions.
Porter was ordering the grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich with fries and a Mai Tai.
It wouldn’t be a trip to Maui without getting a mani-pedi from mom.
Porter loved playing in the kitchen while Grandpa cooked.
Got honu?
Nothing says Hawaiian princess like a techno-color plastic lei crown.
So over the quinoa already!
My parents became regulars for lunch at Star Noodle. I can’t blame them either! Their Singapore Noodles and Pickle Jar rock my world!
It’s not a trip to Maui without POG juice.
Molokai in the distance in a rare moment of cloud free beauty.
My baby prefers a king sized bed with fresh linens to the cramped crib.
On day 2 of our trip I chopped off my hair. When I told the stylist that she was cutting all my hair off she asked if I had just gotten married, hmmm? Luke asked if I was mad at him and my dad asked if I remembered to bring my softball equipment. Sheesh!
He fell backwards and then realized that we were sitting under an amazing tree. He then laid that way for a good 5 minutes gazing up.
Last sunset before the long journey home to icy Idaho.
Me and my baby, so so happy.
Before I was born, my mom wished for a baby on one of her trips to Hawaii. So, last year I did too, right at this very spot. I think the Hawaiian Islands make wishes come true.
This sums up our trip pretty well.
He had a lot to say that night.
Pineapple vs quinoa. Pineapple wins.
While sitting in the aquarium tunnel a scuba diver, feeding the fish,
came and gave Porter a close up. It was awesome.
When I wished for a baby I didn’t know I was wishing for him,
but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have gotten a better baby.
In the post Sea Of Green you got to see the installation of our new Xerilawn from The Turf Company. We have a huge lot of land, none of which has been particularly fun to walk or sit on. It was hardened earth with lots of divots, weeds and poor quality grass. I wanted to have a real lawn because I love walking barefoot outside, sitting on the cushy ground, and most of all I wanted a place to play with Porter outdoors where he didn’t have to worry about staying on a blanket. Let me tell you, a crawling baby is not content to sit, or crawl, quietly within the confines of a quilt. I am so happy to be able to tell you that my dream has come true!
Today while Luke was lumber-jacking in the backyard I looked at our new lush green lawn and thought, “Gee, it would be so nice to sit in the sun on the grass.” Since we’ve been babying the newly laid sod it hadn’t even crossed my mind that we could now use it, duh. I jumped up, kicked off my shoes and plopped Porter onto the dark soft grass, and the fun began.
At first he didn’t know what to do with it, or if he even liked how it felt on his toes. Before too many minutes passed, however, he was crawling from one side of the yard to the other. He found the hose and sprinkler and had a fantastic time in the warm autumn sun. We then had a family picnic on our new lawn, and it was glorious! Not only did we finally get to enjoy the fruits of our gardening labor, but Porter ate a whole meal of the same food that we were eating, bean and cheese burritos. No baby food prep, hurrah! It just goes to show you how much can change in a month. We went from no lawn and purred veggies to a picnic on the grass. Life is grand.
You may know that my husband and I are not natives to Idaho (unlike our son and kitties) and part of the reason we moved here from California was because we wanted to live somewhere new. Luke has a sense of adventure, loves to travel and we share something of a pioneer spirit. Maybe it’s because in grade school we learned about the pioneers who settled the west, played the computer game Oregon Trail, or studied the settlements of the California missions by the Spaniards. Whatever the reason, my husband has a thirst to see new places.
Recently, for work, he sat down with a counselor to talk about what makes him happy and how he can live a better, fuller, less stressful life. One of the ideas that came from this talk was a goal to see somewhere new each month. For the past few months we’ve been going new places and seeing new things. You can read about our adventures in my previous posts: Outta Town, Shafer Butte, Big Days (and all the posts about our trip to Maine).
Last weekend we took our next adventure to the small farming community of Emmett, Idaho to Squaw Butte. It’s a butte that we can always see from Boise because it appears to be sitting alone, to the west of the foothills. Now, whenever we see it, we can say we’ve been to the top and seen the view. And quite a tender view it is too!
Yes, this strawberry blond baby with a comb-over belongs to me.
My new mommy mobile, a Toyota Highlander, has a V6 engine and 4WD. Making it the perfect vehicle for bombing up the muddy, unpaved roads to the top of the butte.
Chelsea and Lucy, sharing a moment.
This is Luke’s smile, before I made him do it again.
This is his second smile, hmmm.
View from the car window on the way down the butte.
The road to/from the top was open range, moooo! Remember folks, if you hit a marked cow, there’s a “you break it you buy it policy” and you don’t get to keep the cow!
We finished the day at Cold Mountain Creek Restaurant. From the outside it looked a little shady, no windows, but on the inside it’s spacious, clean and there’s no smoking. The food was great and it was definitely a taste of Idaho. A perfect end to our grand mini-adventure.
I’m a few days late for Porter’s 9 month post, but better late than never. He has stopped growing at break neck speed, but is still in the 90% for height and 65% for weight. He’s 29.5″ tall and 20lbs 13oz. He also enjoys feeding himself and cruising back and forth along the coffee table, but if he really wants to get anywhere he crawls. Playing guitar with his dad is an all time favorite, maybe Luke’s dream of having a musician son will come true after all? He’s also still sleeping through the night for up to 10 hours at a time. I, however, have been trained to go to sleep at 1am. If only I could cry it out and fall asleep sooner. Love this baby more everyday!
Reading! When he gets to the page where Count Dracula is sitting in the dentist chair, Porter leans over and gives the Count a kiss, tender.
Misty, aka Princess Kitty, is ready for her stroll.
Mmm, breakfast is so good, especially when it’s in my hair!
Having a Santa Cruz moment in his baby Uggs and Santa Cruz sweatshirt. Thanks Gwen for the Uggs and Louisiana for the sweatshirt.
It’s October and time to go to the pumpkin patch. We went to Cabalo’s Orchard, which is a pesticide free tree fruit and veggie farm. I felt it was important to take Porter to a real pumpkin patch for his first pumpkin picking trip, but Luke was more excited by going to dinner at El Gallo Giro in Kuna. It is far and away the best Mexican food in Idaho. I had the Tacos de Adobo and they were the best tacos I’ve ever had, mmm green chile sauce. Luke came around and had a good time at the farm too. Porter, who decided that napping was beneath him today, was not in the best of spirits but cheered up and had a great time at dinner. All in all, it was a great success. I’m REALLY excited to get to carve a pumpkin myself this year, rather than share the task of designing with a group of 5 year olds.
Cabalo’s Orchard & Gardens was a true orchard and farm. No pre-picked pumpkins stacked on hay bales here! We got to take our pick of beautiful pumpkins right off the vine, dirt and all. They’re prickly suckers. Note, bring gloves next year.
To get to the pumpkin patch we got to take a hay bale tracker ride.
It’s a bonafide tractor and Porter loved it.
On the way to the patch we crossed paths with the turkeys.
We made it!
There were pumpkins of all sizes and colors. These were the first ones I saw and they were BIG.
Luke and Porter acting as a scarecrow.
Looking for pumpkins was kind of like an Easter egg hunt, with bigger and more orange prizes.
The pumpkin in it’s natural habitat.
There were warty pumpkins too.
Lucy and the farmer.
Tessa thought it was very important to share her name, she was feeling very serious at this moment.
Ahh, there he is.
I had no idea pumpkin plants were almost as tall as a 3 year old.
Our pumpkin, right before I snapped it off it’s prickly vine.
Our pumpkin weighed in at a whopping 28 pounds! Bigger than Porter, at least for now.
That’s Jack, Lucy and Tessa. The Lingo cousins are a tad loud for Porter. When asked if he wanted to sit on the back of the car with them (yelling) he promptly curled his lip and cried. I’ll take that as a no? Little does he know that someday he’ll be the screamy one!
The last 2 days have marked a huge transformation in our yard. If you need to catch up you can read the first posts on our garden escapades at: Garden: Revolution and Garden: Gearing Up. Today our Xerilawn from The Turf Company was installed!! Luke and our good friend Shaun spent the day doing the back breaking installation, and for that I am greatly appreciative. In our original plan, Luke and I decided that we were going to make it symmetrical, but I didn’t do a very good job conveying that to the landscaper. The beautiful sea of green that we ended up with is a free form shape which I think is lovely. I, however, wasn’t on my hands and knees quilting together the bits and pieces all day like my wonderful husband and friend Shaun. Porter and I tried to help where we could, getting sod rolls (which are ridiculously heavy) into the janky wheelbarrow, getting branches out of the way, keeping water and beer flowing, rolling the laid sod, prepping it for water, and general oversight. Next summer we’ll flood irrigate, but for the rest of this season we’ll be sprinkling it. The future holds picnics, playing catch, romping around without shoes on and a whole wonderful world of enjoying our backyard. I love it!! And Luke, I love you too.
I have summed up the work day that lasted from 9am-3pm in 18 seconds, for your viewing pleasure.
The completed sea of green, it’s beautiful.
Porter harassing Olive…
…but only because she couldn’t figure out how to get over the fence fast enough.
He kept tipping his head back and was curious as to why there was no water coming out the bottom of the water bottle. I’m just impressed that he expected anything at all.
Birthing From Within, Dancing For Birth, and Inclusive Women's Circles for Women and Families in Boise and the Treasure Valley
