Hospital Update

We've been spending most of our time hanging at the hospital with Mom. She's done with this IV pole for now I think, but while she had it I kept trying to convince her now is the time to learn pole dancing.

Porter was more than happy to meet & pet this volunteer dog who was visiting patients.
After they disconnected mom from all the various IV tubes today I finally let Porter sit with her on the bed. I think it made them both a bit happier.
Mom is feeling better & stable enough that they may try for another biopsy attempt tomorrow. I say maybe because it seems we never quite know how things will go on this hospital adventure. Tomorrow morning Bri arrives via plane to hang with us all too & enjoy some fine hospital cuisine. Always an adventure, this morning there was a man in mom's unit yelling, "Dammit, Dammit, Dammit Asshole Hospital!" Exactly.

Not in LA

This license plate frame said,

"I Work for Ford, I Drive a Ford."

First Time in MI

Porter & I both are experiencing our first visit here in Mom's new state. The trip in went smooth and Porter did good on both flights. He is tolerating the hospital visiting fairly well, considering I won't let him off my lap as he threatens to pull out all the various tubes Mom has attached to her. She should (possibly) be discharged tomorrow so she can come home to a peaceful house where my 1 year old is hopefully not screeching and making baby proofing suggestions.

Bigger, Faster, Better

Like some kind of photo super hero Adam's got his pics up. Please enjoy his slideshow here. I particularly like this one of the rib frenzy but I couldn't choose a favorite of the cake eating series. Who can beat cute kids on a blanket? We might just promise Matilda's hand to Adlai now.

Sneak Peak at the Birthday Party!

We just got home from the party and I feel like I am soaked in a layer of sweat, BBQ sauce and frosting but here's a preview of pics.

Turns out Porter loves ribs!

And his doggie cake was a hit, he tasted some and demolished the rest.

We Got Fancy!

Tim & I got all spiffed up for the preschool fundraiser tonight which had a Mad Men theme. Here we are before the event when my hair was still big and 60ish.

And later with smaller hair at the awesome LA Athletic Club:

It was super fun, the quilt sold for a ridiculously cheap price, which was fine really because the skirts I made sold for a lot! We got some great deals at the silent auction including gift certificates for everyone in the family: comics, pancakes, gymnastics classes and diapers!

Videos of the Big 1

Porter tastes his first sweet: mint chocolate chip.

Porter & Matilda go crazy in a box.

1st Birthday Doings

We took our duck loving boy down to the Hollywood cemetery which has a lake full of ducks, geese and swans to appreciate.

It was fun for the whole family since Grammy loves a good cemetery, Matilda got to scooter around the lake and Tim got to snoop around an exhumation with police security. Who doesn't love a good mystery?Matilda is getting pretty adept at making funny faces in EVERY photo.
Mmmmm, burger-birthday lunch! And not just any burger, Umami Burger. This boy ate SO many fries.

Watch out world, here they come. When they are walking and holding hands it melts my heart every time. I think they will be quite the unstoppable team. Which may spell trouble for T & me!

P got mint chocolate chip ice cream with his 1st candle. The coldness resulted in some awesome faces, but I think overall he really enjoyed it. Porter got this riding push car from Grammy and is so in love with it. It took us hours to put the car together because he just wanted to sit in the unassembled body. Then he discovered the bag of screws and washers it came with and thought that was the biggest prize ever.Even the tiniest tires he got were carefully inspected and spun.

We Celebrated

Porter had a candle and chased ducks and got some new wheels and generally had lots of fun. He took lots of pictures today too, we'll sort through and get some up soon.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride. We love you to bits.

Wanna Watch Me Pee?

I got drug tested today for some potential employment and it was the strangest experience. They locked all your personal belongings up, give you a specimen cup with a thermometer on the side to ensure your pee is the right temperature, and tape up the faucets so you don't wash your hands before delivering the full cup. I almost flunked because I was on the verge of flushing toilet before it was permitted. I left feeling like I should have just invited the tech into the stall with me to adequately verify the source of my pee.

Forget Happiest, Try Most Tiring!

Adam & Alwyn took us all into THE park today and much fun was had. The Dumbo ride was Porter's first of the day and he quickly demonstrated his approval by clapping and waving and screeching with joy.

At one point in the day we almost tested A & A's parenting skills by ditching them with 3 kids! I think they could handle it.

The girl is now tall enough for a whole other class of rides!

High five for flying jellies. She was so pleased with this new ride she did it twice in a row.

Porter turned on the walking and covered a ton of ground in the park clapping and smiling the whole time.

While he walked, she ran back and forth and up and down Uncle Brian style.
Happy, happy day.

Terrorized Ladybugs

Sometimes they share together so nicely.

Field Trip to Mars

When I arrived to pick Matilda up from school yesterday, I found pictures like this of each kid. They are studying space this week and all took a space walk, even Bunny Rabbit. I hope the kids at school listened to Obama's address today that was nicely timed with the curriculum!

Quilting Update

I made good progress tonight now that I finally have all the squares (a few kids and the teachers had not painted one yet). The top is almost all pieced together and nothing seems too terribly wonky or crooked yet. Tomorrow I will sew the last few rows together (the easy part) and then tackle the (scary) task of choosing a backing & border fabric and figuring out how to make that all work.

Sweetie boy

While M was in school this afternoon Porter & I took our filthy, sandy car to the carwash. He was thrilled with the various riding things there, as well as the pigeons for chasing.

Before heading home to nap (him, not me sadly), we did a quick stop off at the park to inventory the sticks. The fifth tooth (bottom right side) made its appearance this week. Sticks = nature's teether, no?

He was all happy and sleepy with lots of sweet talk ("Awwwww" he says as he leans his head on your shoulder, or his shoulder or the couch or whatever is nearby. Too cute) and little baby hugs.
Porter's calling you on his stick phone. Hello, hello?

Letter to Grammy (as dictated by M)

Dear Grammy,

You are coming for Porter's birthday. Sarah S. and Kelly and Kaz and Kim and Quincy are coming to Porter's birthday. You guys are really coming to Porter's birthday and it's going to be so much fun. There is going to be cupcakes and chips. And there is going to be George there. And all my teachers can come too.

When you are coming I want to go to the Santa Barbara zoo with you, okay? I want to visit you also. I want to visit you guys because it is so much fun. I want to come to your house and see Joey and Grandma Marge.

I love you,

Matilda

(p.s. from Kristen - Matilda also mentioned to me that while you are visiting she wants to go ice skating and to Costa Rica with you. Sounds like you guys are going to have a busy week.)

Learn to Swim Week

Matilda's thrilled to be taking swim lessons every day this week as part of a big promotion at the swim center. This is her first time taking lessons without one of us in the water with her, which is no problem for her. The only problem is for the poor teacher who has to repeatedly ask Matilda to sit still. There are 4-5 kids per teacher and while each swimmer gets one-on-one time with the teacher, the others are expected to sit still on a step. Matilda doesn't really stop moving at all since she's so crazy excited to be in the pool. Here you see her preferred diversion, belly floating with her hands on the step instead of her butt:She will also settle for hanging off the rail, practicing blowing bubbles (an approved use of the wait time), splashing her neighbors or yelling enthusiastic greetings of "Hello Mama!" to me repeatedly. Our girl's got spunk.

That's Not Okay Porter

Almost 13

Not quite bershon, yet.

Costco Crazy

So for $7.66 you can feed my family (high quality, healthful) food from the Costco food court. Then for free you can entertain the kids with juggling huge bags of rice and beans. A very cheap and fun family date night out.

Porter's Ride

I am sure this is not part of quality control at Hoover.

For the record, it was unplugged.