porterfam

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We've been slowly working our way through the house, getting some Christmas decorations up.  The girls are LOVING it, and are so involved in it all this year, which has been a lot of fun for Ryan and I to see!

   

Ella Joyce...

My brother and his wife welcomed their baby girl on Nov. 12'th.

I'm so happy for them!!!  She is SUCH a sweet, sweet baby!!!

Photo catch-up...

I just realized that I never even posted Halloween photos!  Way to slack on the blogging, huh?!

We decided to hold off on carving our pumpkin until closer to Halloween...they always end up going bad so quickly.  It ended up being really nice, it got us all super excited for Halloween the following day!

The finished product...

Then...Halloween evening...

We went over to a friends house for pizza before trick or treating, and then the guys stayed at the house and handed out candy while us moms took the kiddos for a loop down the main street in our neighborhood.  It was a lot of fun watching the girls race to every house, so eager for their candy!  Hailey did get scared a few times, and even flat out refused to go to a few houses where the people who were handing out candy were wearing masks (lol), but all in all it was a really fun evening!  The girls got waaay too much candy, and completely wore themselves out!!!

Hailey was BEYOND excited to be Tinkerbell.  She was so stinkin' cute!!!

And, Alyssa decided she wanted to be Ariel (again...lol).  We were going to dress her as Wendy from Peter Pan to go along with Tinkerbell, and she was excited about that...right up until she saw this Ariel costume, then the Wendy idea was out the window!!!

Our group of pint-sized-trick-or-treaters...

Alyssa updates...

This little (big) girl has been busy, busy, busy since the school year began.  Between ballet, Girl Scouts, friends, and homework she very rarely has a free minute...which is wonderful for her, she can't stand to not be busy!

Right now...

• Every day she gets off the bus, she's asking to go to a friend's house or have friends over.  She has become quite the social butterfly, and we are surrounded by girls her age which is great!  She spends most of her free afternoons at her friend Megan's house, and had another friend, Jade, over for a sleepover recently.  In between that, she loves to have a classmate, Madison and her sister Ellie, over...who happen to live a couple of streets over from us.
• She is enjoying dance, and says her favorite part is tap.  She is looking forward to her upcoming Christmas recital.
• She has become quite the serious student.  She takes her schoolwork very seriously...following the teachers directions well, absorbing everything she can.  She particularly enjoys reading/writing assignments.  At her recent parent-teacher conference, we got to hear that she is doing wonderfully in school...she works hard to behave, and really applies herself in her work...we are so proud of her!!!
• She loves family game nights.  Her current favorite game is Guess Who, the Littlest Pet Shop edition.
• She enjoys reading quietly on her own.  She wakes up early, pulls as many books as she can carry into bed with her, and reads happily until it's time to get up and get going.
• She is such a good big sister.  Yes, they have their moments...but for the most part she really looks out for Hailey, and likes to teach her new things.
• She is still obsessed with jeans.  That's all she wants to wear.  It's the absolute worst thing ever (and we have to hear about it ALL day long) if all her jeans are in the wash and she has to wear a pair of khakis...lol!
• She has a "crush" on a boy named Jonah in her class.  He is absolutely over the moon for her, as well...they are completely adorable together.  And, boy does she ever blush if you dare to call him her "boyfriend"!
• She loves to write.  All day long she is jotting down notes, lists, etc.  That's my girl!!!
• She loves to ride her bike.  Luckily it's been just warm enough to still be outside, so she's been able to enjoy her bike when she has the time.
• She is really enjoying Girl Scouts.  It's been fun to have something for just her and I to do together, and it's such a great group of girls...they all have so much fun together!
• Right now her favorite foods are Lucky Charms, chinese food, baked ziti, and pancakes.
• She can't wait to be a teenager.  She tells us all the time she wants to be 16!

We can't believe she'll be 7 in March!  Where does the time go?  Ryan and I were talking about it the other night...and he was saying how he'd always roll his eyes when his mom would say things like "It feels like I just brought you home from the hospital", etc.  But now...now, we get it.  It really does feel like just yesterday that she was a tiny, sweet, little newborn!

 

 

Hailey Updates...

I haven't done an update on the girls in WAY too long.  I need to get better at these, I love having them here to easily recall a certain detail, or look back on for dates, etc while scrapbooking!  I'll start with Hailey's since I already have photos sized down for her, and then Alyssa's will be up in a couple of days.

Miss Monkey is almost THREE...I just cannot believe that!!! 

Right now...

• She loves the word "awesome", and uses it whenever something is amazing to her. 
• She enjoys being the annoying little sister...she pushes Alyssa's button like it's her main job in life...lol.
• She has an opinion on everything.  She loves to be able to throw her two cents in whether it's what she wants for lunch, or what she'll wear for the day...she loves to have her say in things!
• She loves, loves, loves TV.  She would be a total couch potato if we would let her.  She watches it for about half an hour or so in the mornings after Alyssa goes off to school...and almost always throws a little fit when I say it's time to turn it off.
• She is still completely and totally obsessed with Tinkerbell.  The movie, her dolls, her night shirts, her sheets...she loves it all.  She is always so sad when it's time to wash her Tinkerbell sheets and she has to have a different set on her bed...lol.
• She loves to play with/like the big girls.  She mimics so much of what Alyssa does, for the most part Alyssa is pretty good about this which is very nice!
• She picks up on SO much, it's scary.  She can hear a word one time and suddenly know how to say and use it in a sentence correctly.
• She still says "me" instead of "I"..."Me very hungry", "Me want water, please", etc.
• She thinks "lazy bums" and "goof balls" are the funniest things to say...she just cracks up whenever she says them or hears them!
• She loves to sing, and will burst into song at the most random times throughout the day.
• She still collects rocks wherever she goes.  The pile on the back porch has gotten out of control!
• She is wild...never afraid to try something dangerous!  She never does anything at half speed and will jump off anything, no matter the height!
• She loves the movie "Underdog", and we hear "no fear...underdog here"!!! all day long.
• She is still our little cuddle-bug, and is always up for some snuggling.

 

(notice her feet in this next one!!!)

Yes, we're here...

So much for keeping up with the blog!  I was doing so good for a while this summer...and now I can't remember the last time I blogged!  Oops!

We've been crazy busy.  Alyssa and I have been pretty busy with Girl Scouts.  When we don't have a meeting, I have leadership things going on, so that's been adding quite a bit to our routine.  I've met a few wonderful neighborhood moms and we do some mom's night out's and things like that, so I've been coming and going a little more than usual in addition to my regular stuff.

Ryan is enjoying being back in the office and not working as much as he was while out to sea...haha!  He made a trip up to Fairfax these last two days, and we're looking forward to having him back tomorrow.  He's looking forward to taking some time to check out the golf courses around here since it's been such gorgeous weather.

Alyssa and Hailey are both doing really well.  Alyssa has made so many new friends...between dance, Girl Scouts, homework, and friends, she is very rarely here hanging out with us anymore!  We go back and forth with being so happy that she has such an active social life and happy she has good friends here...and then being sad because we feel like we never see her and can't believe she's old enough to have a "life"...lol.  Hailey is doing good, she's entered into a separation anxiety phase for the first time ever.  I think it might have a lot to do with Alyssa being in and out so much, she's used to always having her sister by her side.  She's doing great other than that...she's sooo smart it's scary, she's constantly coming up with things to do or say that just amaze (and scare...lol) us!  She loves to do anything her big sister does...and watching her emulate Alyssa is too funny and cute!  She is our little cuddle-bug still, and we cannot believe she'll be turning three this Dec!

My dad had another stent put in his heart this week, so please keep him in your prayers.  We're hopeful he can come down this weekend and spend some time relaxing here with us so we can take care of him!

We've gotten over to see my family for my cousin's son's b-day party, and are heading over there again this weekend for her daughter's b-day party.  We're loving being able to be a part of things like this sooo much!!!

I can't believe how much we've had going on.  Some days it feels like way too much.  I can't remember the last truly lazy day we've had!  Better pencil a lazy day in or we're never going to get one...lol!

More soon with lots of photos!  :-)

Love to all!

Settling into our new "normal"...

Ryan is home.  He got home late last week, and we've spent this weekend getting reacquainted with bring a family of four.  We are beyond thrilled to have him back home with us!!!

We took the girls to play putt-putt and then hit the arcade.  We did a whole lot of eating out, and some shopping for fun things.  We played a ton of Wii Resort, and quite a bit of Go Fish and other misc games.  We hung out at the pool a couple of times.  We went to see "G Force".  We took daddy around to some of our favorite spots that we've found since he left, and helped him learn some new short cuts we discovered. 

What I did not do is take pictures.  Shocking, huh???  :-)  I just had no desire to be on the outside looking in, I wanted to be smack in the middle of everything!  Of course I already have some plans forming in my head for a picture day, though...so I'll be dusting off my camera soon and have some new stuff to share.

Ryan is back at work today, and Hailey and I are getting back in our routine this morning.  It's very weird having just her and I in the house now!  We kept Alyssa home from school the first day Ry was home.  So without Ryan and Alyssa it's waaaay too quiet in here right now!

We have a semi-relaxed week ahead of us, so we'll be able to enjoy getting into our new routine. 

So very, very glad to have him home!!!

First day of first grade...

It's quiet around here with this big girl off at school...

 

She had a little attack of nerves last night as I was tucking her in.  Her biggest worry was that "first graders do HARD stuff, and I don't know any of it".  She kept telling me, "it's a REAL grade" with a super serious tone in her voice...lol.  She calmed down after we talked things through a bit, and this morning she woke up without a single worry!

She was very excited, and I had to keep telling her to slow down...she was in quite the rush to get ready and get to the bus stop!  We met her friend at the bus stop a little early so they could be silly and burn off some first-day-jitters.  But we ended up getting there just a few minutes before the bus!  Glad we went early, or we would have missed it!

She stepped up onto the bus, looked back with a huge silly grin and a quick "bye mom, bye Hailey", and she was up and finding a seat to share with her friend without another look back! 

It was a little hard to watch the bus drive away, and know that this is it, summer is officially over.  I feel like it went by way too fast, and way too slow all at the same time.

I hope she has a great first day.  I'm beyond anxious for her to get home so I can hear all about it!!!

A few from last week...

Busy, as usual.

Better update coming.  For now, a few photos from the last week or so...

 

 

 

Is it time for school yet?

I'm beat.  It's official...trying to keep them entertained has worn me OUT!

The girls had a birthday party to go to last weekend, and then Alyssa had her first night of ballet class on Monday.  In between that kind of stuff, we've been at the pool, riding bikes, playing play-doh, and finger painting.

In between our day to day stuff, Ryan made an appearance in the mornings and at night...

 

He was in port for a few days, so we video-chatted with him as much as the time difference allowed.  The girls were beyond thrilled to be able to talk to daddy!  It was a very nice treat!

A few photos from the last few days, and then more updates soon!

Play-doh...

 

Dancing...

 

More soon, I need to go make better use of my quiet time before I have to pretend to have energy again!