Happy Halloween!

We dressed up for the Ward Chili Cook Off so until we have some really Halloween pictures these can hold you over. In case you're wondering I'm a 6 year old. Aaron dressed up as a missionary, I still need to get that picture from our neighbor who was his companion. It was funny when the real missionaries showed up and told Aaron he needed a hair cut to really pull off the costume. Porter is a monkey even if it looks more like a teddy bear. He is an accessory to my costume because he doubles as a stuffed animal.

First Snow

The view from P's window this morning! My husband had tears in his eyes and I giggled with excitement!

I'm a Proud Wife

Aaron is such a good man. I have so much to be grateful for because he blesses my life every day:

• He has worked extremely hard to make sure he's able to provide for this family.
  
• He's is a good provider and because of that I'm able to stay home with our Porter.
  
• He's a great father and Porter just adores him.
  
• He is so driven! If he's going to do something he wants to do it well. He's been playing the Organ for a year now and tries so hard. He's taking a class and is going to start taking lessons because that's just how he is. Most of our F.H.E.s are spent listening to Daddy practice the Organ.
  
• He makes our home a happy place!
  

My list could go on and on! However, today I remembered I married a brilliant dude! A few weeks ago, Aaron told me he had been offered a chance to Co-Author a research article with some well-known names in his industry. He worked hard to prove that his co-authors' research could be documented and illustrated in real engineering. Once he'd done all the work, he got to write about his results for the paper. I can't explain the research without his help so if you want to hear about it ask him. :)

His boss informed him today the paper was chosen by the conference it was presented at as

BEST PAPER OF THE YEAR!

I know he never expected that and was simply excited for the chance. Porter and I are so proud of you Aaron! You always give your best and it is noticed! Thanks for all you do!

Porter Report

Hey everyone! I noticed Mom hasn't said as much about me lately so I'm going to give you the low down on what I've been up to. I've been pretty sick but that hasn't slowed me down. I had to go see the doctor because I've been sick so long and he gave me some yummy medicine I don't really like taking. From my last doctors visit two weeks ago I put on almost a pound! If you haven't seen me in a while you might not recognize me...just kidding ;)

Being the major stud that I am... I really like talking to myself in the mirror. I'm also doing sit ups now and having fun scaring Mom when I pull myself up in my bouncer.
I'm also working on my arm strength so I can start holding myself up on fully extended arms. It's hard work though and I'm not a big fan of push ups. In the mean time though I can do it with my blankets help. I love reaching, spinning, playing and sucking on all my toys.
Mom decided I was ready to give solids a try. I think it's a lot of fun and giggle the whole time Mommy feeds me. I only have it once a day for now and only eat about a tablespoon, but I'm sleeping through the night again.
Mom took these one handed with her phone I couldn't stop laughing! This new way of eating is so much fun!My all time favorite was grabbing the bowl from Mom and throwing it at her! I got her so messy and I didn't spill a drop on myself. Ha Ha... That's right I have mad skills!

P.S. Mom made me put this one in because she loves my curly red hair.

Mini Family Get Away

We'll always go back to Logan, we love it there! Aaron took Friday off so we could enjoy a long weekend in L-town. I found out I had strep before we left but was determined to make the most of our weekend.

We spent a lot of time with Coup & Kal. They feed us late Thursday night and it was so good! We all watched baseball and "The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past." We didn't like it, don't rent it. Friday morning it was obvious Aaron was sick too so we called the doctor and got him on antibiotics. I also called Porter's Doctor because he'd been sick for a while as well; I was told to bring him in as soon as we got home. There we were sitting in our hotel room--one pathetic little family. We decided a swim in the pool would help us feel better and it did. The hot tube did the most good in restoring our spirits. Porter was so good he just watched the whole time we swam enjoying our silliness.

Later that day we took a ride with our favorite bus driver, Uncle Couper! It was awesome! Especially when he threatened to kick us off the bus if we didn't stand behind the white line. While we were waiting for the bus Porter was trying really hard to wave. His little hand would open and close and his face showed pure focus.

{Trying to wave}

{You should enlarge his one because Porter is just so stinkin' cute!}

{Your neighborhood friendly bus driver, as long as you're behind the line.}

After the bus ride Aaron sat down for 2 seconds and fell fast asleep so Aunt Kaleena read Porter a story. He loved it and told her all his thoughts on Bambi. His favorite part were the buttons that made sounds to go along with each character.

We made a late night dash to Maddox in Brigham City to meet up with my Parents & Bay. We had dinner in a room with 50 people celebrating Phil's 40th, all laughing loudly. We were yelling just to hear each other across the table. We also dinned with some fruit flies. These 2 thing got us free pie-- banana cream (best I've ever had!) and chocolate cream. I'm going to confess this because it's a cute memory. I let Grandma and Grandpa Thompson give Porter an itsy bitty bit if banana cream filling. His first solids and spoon experience...he loved it, obviously. (This will not become the norm Grandparents!)

Saturday we had breakfast at Angie's, yum! We went to the USU vs. Nevada football game and I can say it was the best USU football I've ever seen! We sat in the shade and it was cold. Baylee used the free towels to create feet warmers for me. After the game Baylee took some snap shots for our Christmas card. Then we had dinner at Frederico's, again yum! We were all pretty miserable by that point so we headed home. We had fun but it was so nice to be home!{My feet warmers. Fancy, right?}

{He doesn't like his coat or hat yet. We ended up bundling him in blankets instead. We're working on it.}

Welcome Little One

Picture taken by Ashley Thompson

We're excited to have another nephew!!! Congrats Brittany and Tommy he's darling! :)

Reminder to Self: It's Okay

{This is Porter's, "How much longer do I have to stay on my tummy?" face. Just like I play with Porter after I make him work, if you make it through this post I promise more pictures.}

This morning I went to write down the date and Aaron reminded me that it's October so I needed to change my 9 to 10. I knew this...where/how did I get off? Shortly after that he handed me the pills I left on the counter last night when I came downstairs to get a glass of water to take my pills. *rolling my eyes*

I make mistakes and fall short of my own expectations constantly, but it's okay. I can go scribble out all of those 9s and replace them with 10s. That's the beauty of life, there is always tomorrow, and I can keep working on me each day. I don't take my mistakes for granted, they're an opportunity to learn and I intend to improve myself because I can always do better. I have discovered a new stumbling stone in my life: the ignorance surrounding Down Syndrome. It seems appropriate that I'm writing this in October (the 10th month of the year) because it's National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Let me share how this all got started.

The other night we had some old friends over for dinner. Halfway through the evening I was asked by our guest: "It was the car accident during your pregnancy that caused it right?" Me: "Caused what?" Our Guest: "Your son's down syndrome, or was it something you did during your pregnancy?" I am a red head and the bad temper is there deep down inside me! I did my best to stay calm and explain that Porter has an extra chromosome and that it's been there since his conception and that no one did anything "wrong". I had to bite my tongue to not add in the fact that my child was born with a genetic abnormality means that I did everything right during my pregnancy because it's our body's natural response to try and abort embryos with genetic abnormalities. I then had to dispel this persons belief of my sons potential and explain that his future was much brighter than the picture they were painting. I'm not going to lie, I was angry, frustrated, and a little hurt. Did anybody pay attention during genetics in biology class during high school? (lol, I can answer my own question.)

Once I got through the initial shock, I've really had no problems with this sweet angel the Lord blessed us with. Having a son who has a disability (which seems to me more of an ability) is fine, dealing with the extra appointments, doctor visits, therapy, and all that is fine. It would be nice to not have that, but it builds my faith and strengthens the bond I have with Porter. I do believe, however, that I've found my challenge from the Lord and it has nothing to do with Porter. Instead it's going to be patience with other people. I just need to remind myself that people don't know what to say, they don't know much if anything about it, and I really do believe for the most part people mean no harm. I think part of Porter's mission here on this earth is to allow others to experience something different, to grow in acceptance and compassion. As his Mother I need to realize that I play a vital part in how others will respond to him and I can be his voice until he finds his own. I can't respond to people defensively and let the Momma Bear overrule me. I'm adding a new line to my prayers, "Lord give me patience". The next time this happens and I'm pretty sure it will I'm going to take a deep breath and remind myself "It's Okay!"

I wanted to share this scripture it says it best:

St John 9: 1-3
AND as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

All the pictures in the post today are from my phone so they aren't as good as our real camera. I try to send a picture a day to Aaron at work and it's saved us because we haven't had the regular camera out much this last week.

{When the animals don't do what Porter wants he tells them off...that's the Red Hair talking.}

{This is Porter's victory face. He was in a battle with the butterflies and he destroyed them. Can you seem them in the bottom left corner?}

{His Zoolander face...we haven't seen this much since his newborn days}

{Baby wiggles- he was put to bed in the center of his crib with his head safely above the covers and they were tightly tucked in the side.}

{This I took today and I sent it to Aaron with the caption: "Angels take naps too!"}