Maybe Santa isn't so scary................

This is the result we got last year when we took Porter to see the jolly old fat man...



To say the least Porter was not at all impressed with Santa!

What a difference a year can make, this year Porter thinks he is the coolest thing ever. Porter has joyfully climbed upon his lap twice, and both times he was so brave. He told Santa what he wanted the list included flip-flops, a red car, a train, and a tractor. This was the result this year....

Great quote......

I read this quote somewhere and thought it was really great, "The point of marriage, I think, is to create meaning, with every happy and sad memory, every hardship overcome, every kind act, every moment of acceptance, every triumph, every child, grandchild, pet, and friend you accumulate together. The point of staying married, is to have a witness to your whole life, to the meaning you built. In the end, you can look at your spouse and say: Somebody knew me-- and I knew them."

Live in Thanksgiving Daily....

Thanksgiving its a great holiday. A day to be grateful for all of your blessings and then stuff your face with food! This year will be a little different for me, as it will be my first Thanksgiving not in Utah and not surrounded by my family. Because, of lovely roads and weather conditions we decide it would be better to stay in Wyoming over the Thanksgiving weekend. However, I am grateful that we have friends to spend it with and that this has only happened once to us in three years. So even though I will greatly miss the Lloyd family feast, and I do mean FEAST! We are going to try and make the best out of it!

I have a lot to reflect upon and be grateful for. My life may not be perfect but I do have so many blessings in my life and things that make me absolutely happy. So, in the tradition of a Thanksgiving Day post here are just a few things I am grateful for this season...

1. Families of course....



Whether it be my little family or our big families I am thankful to have all of these people in my life.


src="http://www.blogger.com/" />

2. For my kids...



How can you not be grateful for that face. Porter is such a great kid and makes me laugh everyday! In fact as we speak we are watching the Macy's Day parade together and he is tell me to fly to parade mom and waving at the sesame street float. I am also thankful that our little baby girl Eva Vilate is developing great and will be joining our family in March.

3. The gospel...



I am thankful for this gospel, for its teachings, and for the kind of person it teaches us to be. I am thankful for the opportunity I have had over the past couple of years to be around people who question me about it, and who have made me defend it. I am so glad I have something to stand for and believe in.

I am thankful for great food, great friends, great movies, anything that makes me have a good belly laugh. I am grateful for good weather and warm clothes that keep us cozy in -7 degree weather. I am grateful for good people who have given us their extras and been so generous to us, for cars that run, and a job that pays at least some of the bills. I am thankful for the country I live in and freedom. I am thankful for chocolate ex-lax that keeps Porter regular and not so grumpy and tums that reduces my acid reflux. And, last but not least I am thankful for a great husband, who works hard and keeps me in check!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sunday Thought- Children

“Children need sunlight. They need happiness. They need love and nurture. They need kindness and refreshment and affection. Every home, regardless of the cost of the house, can provide an environment of love which will be an environment of salvation.”

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Sunday Thought....Yep Chelsee there back!

" ...righteousness is simply a humble understanding of how unrighteous one is, coupled with a deep commitment to be better. The truth leaves no room for feelings of superiority. Such feelings are nothing but lying vanities."- James L. Ferrell The Peacegiver

Yep......

So, it's November and I am blogging about October! Yep, we did a lot of fun things last month but I just didn't have any ambition to blog. So here are so fun things we did in October only the best month ever!

At the first of the month we went to a pumpkin walk at the Territorial Prison. It was really fun, Porter got to paint pumpkins, trick-or-treat, tour the prison, and go on a wagon ride.








Pumpkin Bowling







Next, on the list Stacy, Dave and McKay come to Laramie over Conference Weekend. We love having any family come visit us, but Porter ex specially loved having McKay here.







Porter had surgery in the middle of October. It was a little rough the first couple of days but he recovered really quickly!


sleeping of the meds



We also got some exciting news in October, most of you already know but we are having a girl!!!! We are all super excited about bringing some pink into our home!!!



Last but certainly not least we celebrated my favorite holiday Halloween. Porter's costume turned out so much better then I even imagined. We decided to go cheap this year and make a custom out of things we already had. Last year my brother and his finance gave Porter a Harley Davidson vest. Since, he loved motorcycles we decided he could go as a biker guy. We gave him a mustache, tattoos, a bandanna, and a Mohawk. He looked so tough and had the attitude to go with it. He was a big hit!!!


On Saturday we went to the downtown trick-or-treat and then hurried to the Cowboys vs. San Diego State. We didn't have time to changed Porter so he went to the game in his Halloween outfit. The camera loved him we made the Jumbo Screen a couple of times and made it on TV.

Fall Family Pictures......

Neither Kevin nor I are photographers, we never claimed to be. But, we do claim to be poor Law School students who can't afford to pay a real photographer to take our photos. So, today we went out to VedaVoo and tried our best to get some cute family pictures. I think we did an ok job for complete amateurs. Here are some of our best attempts at getting a good photo.....

I must admit we did not take this one. We happened to see a lady coming out of one of the trials with a really fancy camera! She took it for us and did a really great job. Thanks random lady from California!

Some Pics of Porter Lynn.......

Some pictures of my boys.......

Like father like son, both pulling their best Zoolander face!

Some pictures of mommy and her little man.....

And here is a really cute Wrangler bum....

*Read on new posts below

14 Weeks

14 Weeks and Counting

This pregnancy has been pretty similar to my first one, but there have been some differences too!

Things to remember:

* The "bump" has made its debut a little sooner this time

* The shiny toilet seat is still my best friend! We know each other pretty well and have formed a bond again. Much like my pregnancy with Porter the throwing up has over stayed its WELCOME. Last time it ended around sixteen weeks, so lets keep our fingers crossed it will disappear here soon! Though, last time it was a more sever flu like sickness, this one comes in waves, usually in the morning and at night.

* Migraines have made an appearance as well, they suck! Now I know how my husband feels all the time, not so much fun.

* I eat my own words, cravings are not made up. I never had them with Porter, but oh boy I sure do this time. I can't get enough of anything with salt on it. Particularly, nice juice tomatoes, cucumbers, cottage cheese, and pickles. I seriously have eaten more tomatoes and cucumber sandwiches then I ever have in my life. Meat, doesn't sound so great but tomatoes sure do!

*When asked if he was having a sister or a brother Porter, quickly said BABY SISTER MOM! Then when I asked what should we name her, he sweetly said, " Mrs. Debbie mom!" Mrs. Debbie is his daycare teacher, he likes her so it makes sense to him.

- New posts below

And you think you have constipation problems......

So, as my two followers know our little Porter has some major issues with his bowel system. Lets just say its not as on top of things as we could have hoped for. We have been working with a constipation specialist (yes, there is such a thing) for a couple of months now and hopefully moving closer to finding some answers. Our last appointment was on Wednesday and we did come to some promising conclusions. After a test on a sample of Porters poo, we found out that his body is not absorbing all the fats that it should be. Which helps us understand why he is 26 months old and weighs only 21.5 ounces, and why he it takes him ten years to gain one pound. The doctor has it narrowed down to three causes:


1. Could be a side effect of Silica's, which is when the body does not process gluten.


2. Could be a side effect of a Hyper-Thyroid


3. Could be a side effect of long-term severe constipation. When a child is severely constipated over a long period of time the body stops absorbing all the things it should.


Test results will come back soon, we are praying for some more answers.


Anyway, one of the things we had to do this weekend to help his body teach itself to poop again was to start by cleaning his system completely out. This means a TWO YEAR OLD ON A ALL LIQUID DIET FOR THE DAY! That equals a lot of tears, distractions, and a nervous break-down by his mom! We started that today and it has not been fun. Our day was full of three adult size doses of chocolate ex-lax, a dose of mirlax ever two hours, lots of Popsicles, chicken broth, and juice. At around five o'clock, after a hour of full on alligator tears, red face screaming for a SNACK, and still not one bowl movement, mom cracked. I gave in and gave the kid a freakin waffle! I am positive it never tasted so good. I know, I know your asking yourself why go all day and then give in, all I have to say is you would have to. I figured with all those laxatives if it couldn't push out a freakin waffle, then it wasn't doing its job. We will call the doctor on Monday and let her know that mom cracked. If I have to do this again she better give me a better way to do it, or I might really have a nervous breakdown!

This is the after math of mom cracking! Look at his little eyes how sad they were!!!!

This is one of the many distractions we tried today, painting with leaves. By the look on his face at this point he had started to loose his mind!

Porter Wants to Share a Secret......

Porter has been waiting to share his big SECRET...HE IS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!!!!!!! Daniels baby #2 will make it debut around March 25, 2011, we are so excited!

Sunday Thought....Someday

Camping Trip Number Two........

The last week of July we went for round number two of camping. Porter really loves the mountains, and never stops the whole time we are up there.



Porter playing cars


Porter playing in his hut


Porter and Uncle Jeb


Porter gathering pinecones


Getting ready to throw the pinecones


Reeling in a fish with Grandpa


The tough mountain men

A Birthday with Chucky Cheese.....

I know this post is late, but better late then never! We had a combined Birthday Party this year for Porter and McKay at Chucky Cheese. From the second we walked through the doors, and Porter caught a glimpse of all the flashing lights he was in heaven. We couldn't get him to eat much pizza, but he had tons of fun playing games, and meeting Chucky Cheese.



Porter enjoying the ride!

Mom and Porter playing Whack a Mole- Porter did better on his own!



Uncle Cody, Porter, and Chucky



Stacy, Mckay, and Chucky



Porter's two favorite games

Porter and Dad playing guns



Ignore my cheesy face and look at how cute Porter looks in his cowboy hat with his new guitar!

Blowing out the candles!