Thanksgiving 2011

We shared Thanksgiving with our Ohio family at my grandparent's house this year. It was Noah's first year to enjoy the feast, and to make it even more special, he got to sit in my Grandpa Bunky's father's highchair which was made in the 1890's!

Right as the meal got underway, I accidentally cut Noah's finger with a butter knife while trying to cut a tomato. It bled a lot, and made for a bit of a stressful situation, but eventually things settled down and I could finish my meal.

Before dinner we all lounged in Tissy and Bunky's beautiful living room, looking at books and playing blocks with my cousin Ross.

Looking at photos with Bunky, Noah's great grandfather!

It's been a rough few days for Noah, what with three teeth coming in, getting cut by his mom, and falling at church yesterday and coming up with a split eyelid and black eye. But we're all doing well. Noah's such a trooper and is as happy and sweet as ever. We have so much to be thankful for, to list our blessings would take too long here so I'll just keep the list in my quiet heart and go to it when I need to.

Wednesday, April 20th

Happy birthday to my beautiful mom. You have taught me so much and are such a source of joy in my life.

On that note, isn't it amazing how you realize HOW MUCH you are loved when you become a parent yourself? I mean it is astronomical!

Talking on the phone with my mum today, I asked about what foods she started us off on. I've been letting Noah gnaw on cold carrots lately to ease some teething pain and expose him to new tastes. She said that we all loved steamed broccoli, so I tried it out tonight and took a video. I'll get that up as soon as I have a chance.

And by when I have a chance, I means possibly never. At least that's how it feels right now.

Noah and Rudy

I LOVE these guys.
Is it just me, or is Noah all of a sudden a little man?!

Two cute things.

A bear I made for our friend's baby, Max.

Noah and his Uncle Cody.

Christmas 2010

Here are some pictures of our California Christmas. Rudy, Noah and I ended up being the stripes triplets...as always.

The boys at my dad's house.

My step-mom's parents, Sue and Bob, with Noah.

My mom, Grandma Cici, with a beautiful piece she did for Noah's room. I can tell he likes it!

I miss my sister, Maya, so much!

Our little family...

We are only one week away from the due date!

California.

{Ashley and I in Vista}

As I said before, I went home to California last week. Here are some snapshots of my trip.

{Me, at 18 weeks, Jenny at 27 weeks and Ashley at 25}

I have had three best friends since elementary school. Three of us four are pregnant right now! I promise we did not plan it to be this way, but it is a lot of fun getting to do this together.

{Jenny with the quilt I made her, and showing off her fantastic bump}

{With Rudy's mom, Gini, brother Cody, and his girlfriend Whitney in front of Cody's 66 Rambler}

{My dad's side of the family, the Porters! Soon to be grandparents, great-grandparents, aunt and uncle}

{A shot of the coastline in Carlsbad I took on my last morning home}

If you look below you will see how much fun I had with my mom's side of the family.

It was really hard to leave on my last morning. I miss my family and close friends so much. As hard as it was to leave San Diego again, it is really nice to be home in Columbus. I feel so blessed by the community we are a part of here.

Family Fun Time.

"There's a puppy on my puppy" Written by Larry Groupé, Le Woof Productions.

Last week I went home to California for a short four day stay. It was so nice to see my family and friends, and was hard to leave them when it was over.

This little ditty was written by my step-dad, composer Larry Groupé. I think it will be a hit for years to come with our baby. Counting by 3's and 2's and "IN ESPANOL!" (even if 13 isn't actually diez y tres, but trece...oh well).

More pictures from my trip to come.

Christmas with the Perkins.

After getting home from the festivities with my family here in Columbus, I decided we should take some pictures of our little family so we could remember Christmas 09 forever. Or just for fun.

Here is our tree with all the presents that my family sent from California (thanks everyone!!) on Christmas Eve. I don't want to take the tree down anytime soon...it feels like it just got here!

Thanksgiving pictures.

This was a very special Thanksgiving for me. It was my very first time celebrating the holiday with my mom's side of the family! We had a great time, ate too much, and watched the video of my grandpa bungi jumping when he was 81*!

My grandma whipped up this centerpiece. She is so very talented.

Here are my cousins wearing my grandpa's air force jackets.

Last but not least, Rudy shaved off his beard and I gave him a hair cut! He told my grandpa that he would shave a few months ago and made good on the promise for the day. Bunky was very pleased, and even called the day after to thank Rudy for thinking of him.

*Rudy will be putting the video up on youtube shortly, and I will post it here when that happens.