Porter the puppy

Here's where having dogs will come in handy. We are used to this--everything that comes near his mouth gets chewed. And the thumb-sucking is more like thumb-gnawing. Our 3 older "children" have nicely rounded all the corners on the furniture already so we're just going to give him our old shoes and something made out of ballistic nylon.

He likes the teething rings, but he won't hold them--they're too cold!

Commenting

I changed the settings on the blog last night so that anyone should be able to leave a comment. Let me know if there are any problems. So, here's a little picture for everyone to comment on.....
This is from the latest portrait session with Vicki. Hopefully she will be emailing me more to post soon!

King Grandchild #4

NOT us!  (Are you crazy?)  Parrish and Katie are going to add #4!  (That's my younger step-brother and sister-in-law for those who don't know.)  He will be here in early October--we are pulling for a boy, so Porter will have a playmate close to his age.  And we can unload all of Porter's out-grown stuff at their house all the time so Lil'Parrish will have lots of stuff and so we can make room for the ever accumulating mound of new baby stuff--win-win situation!

Teething and Dora

There's just nothing like a frozen plastic ring and some Dora the Explorer.

Alligator Riding

Here is a better picture of the alligator riding that occurred on the kitchen table this weekend. This is not a prophetic picture of things to come.... Porter will not be allowed to accompany Daddy on his evening adventures.

Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival 2009

This weekend was the 50-something-th Annual Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. The streets of Fairhope are blocked off, and over 200 artists have booths with their artwork for sale. There are some really amazing things there, and we look forward to this weekend all year. Mama and Bill came down for it--this was Bill's first trip. Mama, Nicole, and the little girls came last year. We got a couple of spoons from the Spoon Man, a turtle painting, and Jared got an alligator.... you'll see later. Here are some pictures from the day. Porter got some wooden cars and trucks, a "Porter" train, some green beans (I think he could have done without if it were up to him) and lots of lovin' from the ladies.

Catherine, Caroline, and Porter.

Aunt Moth Ball and Porter. He's worried that she might eat him.

He's worried she might try to eat him again later.

Aunt Kim and Porter.

First day with vegetables. We tried to hide them amongst the fun-filled Fairhope day. Didn't work. He was not fooled for a minute. He's on top of things...

Done.

Riding Daddy's alligator. It's a bad picture, but it is so funny. It's just the right size for him.

Day 25

I can't believe how much Porter has changed in a month. Jared will be home tomorrow evening, and he's going to be so surprised how big he's gotten, and how much more of a little person he is. In just the last few days he's gotten better at grabbing for things. He still looks like he's either had a little too much to drink, or he's trying to be very precise---like he's threading a needle, but he wasn't really even making any attempt to grab things when Jared left. He's looking around more, and really likes to look at himself in the mirror (see pic below). I think he's trying to grow some real hair too. He's lost a lot of that really fine baby hair, and has some short little blonde hair taking its place. And obviously, he's gaining a little weight. We spend 90% of bathtime investigating old creases and looking for new ones. And then 90% of post-bathtime powdering them all.
Jared will be home late tomorrow evening, and I hope Porter is still awake when he gets home. He has a really hard time staying up past 8:00, with 7:30 being the latest we can start his bath, so he's going to have to hurry if his plane gets here on time (6:30--with a 30 minute drive from the airport). We have a big day planned Saturday---it's the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. Soooo much fun! Can't wait. Hope I can get a little sleep at work Friday night.

Day 24

Porter wasn't feeling very photogenic today. Before bathtime, this is the best we could do. He was not interested in sitting in the chair in his room--he was only interested in watching TV while I standing up holding him. No sitting for mommy. See those eyes glued to the TV....

Don't know why he has to throw a leg over the edge of the tub, but this is where we end up every night. I straighten him up, and he kicks and splashes his way right back here....

Day 23--Happy St Patrick's Day!

Porter felt better today, even though he woke up at 5:00am with fever, and had fever this afternoon at daycare. He had red tender spots on his little hams where he got his shots, but they weren't sore. Here he is being a little leprechaun and then a bathtub pirate.

Day 22

Porter just got home from the doctor's office. He was having a good time to begin with. He get's to get naked, which is his favorite sport. By the time the doctor got there he was tired of being naked and ready to go home, so the regular doctor torture was even worse. About the time we got him settled back down and almost asleep was the grand finale--shots. Everybody in the office were ready for us to go 15 minutes ago, so after that we threw his clothes on and ran out the door. There were periods of quiet because he was doing the mouth-open-but-no-sound-coming-out crying. Then the whole way home you could hear the little sniffle in the backseat. He passed out before we got to the house, and took a little nap in his playpen. He woke up happy and played in his playpen for a while. He was quiet while I was doing a few things in the kitchen, so I went and peaked into the playpen, and... ...he was sucking his thumb. It looks like the thumb might be it. I don't know if I should tell Jared yet....

Extreme Makeover: Garage Edition

If you have ever seen our garage, you can appreciate the difference.....  Yes, it has always had a floor--it's just concrete for those of you who were wondering.  Note to Jared---everything now has a "home" and I am the cataloger---if you need to know where something is, or more importantly, where something goes, just ask me.  :)

Day 21

Today Porter went to Andalusia with Nana and Papa because I have to work a 24 hr shift. He's going to come back with Nannie in the morning, and he's got a doctor's appointment at 10:00. He's feeling better, and starting to eat again. He played with Catherine and Caroline this afternoon, and they both had to take turns holding him.
Catherine and Caroline are both in love with their Papa, and it looks like Nana may have lost another one to the Papa. Porter is mesmerized, and watches him everywhere he goes. Porter also visited Nannie King today (Bill's mother) and I hear he had a good time at her house too.

I can't imagine who packed him this bib.....

Day 20

What a day! We did some more cleaning up and cleaning out--the kitchen drawers, the green egg table, and a little bit more of the garage. Porter started his day with a nap after breakfast and some blurry photography. We move fast, so we had plenty of time to see the sights--the Bass Pro Shop, Kohls, and the Malbis mall.



Jared had a large collection of Dr Suess books growing up, so we have decided to do the same for Porter. He has several already, and added to his collection today. He likes books almost as much as his little TV.

Day 19

I'm ready to go to bed, so this is going to be short. Porter was better today, but got pretty fussy and tired by the time my dessert came at Guido's. ;( Mama and Bill worked on the garage today--it's really clean! We should have taken before and after pictures. The difference is impressive. Jared will be impressed. He's got new peg board, a bike rack, and organized bins. It will never be like the garage Jon and Emily had in Tuscaloosa, but it's definitely lookin' pretty good.

Gross work pictures

Don't worry they're not laid out here for all the world to see. I have considerately hidden them in this post.....
So if you want to see what buckshot does at close range, click here and here.
What ha' happened wuz this man shot his pregnant stepdaughter and her boyfriend (the baby daddy). This is the boyfriend.
To orient you, what you are looking at is the right armpit (or axilla as I have to say at work). The arm is sticking out toward you, his head is to the left, and the rest of his body is to the right. If you will notice, there is some clear-ish looking plastic sticking out of the wound. That is the "wadding" (I think that's what it's called) that holds the metal pellets that comprise buckshot (I'm definitely showing my vast knowledge of ammunition). We also found the "plug" when we were digging around in the wound. He had to go to the operating room because he completely destroyed his axillary artery and vein, and some nerves (brachial plexus stuff--for those of you who know what I'm talking about). The clamps are on the severed ends of the vessels. We tried to just repair the holes in the vessels, but they were too far gone, so we called in the Vascular surgery people and they came in and did a graft to bridge the gap(s).

Andrea Update!

My patient Andrea came to the clinic yesterday for her check-up. She is doing great! And even better--her little girl Mackenzie got to go home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. We couldn't ask for better progress with her illness--she is gaining weight and healing well. Keep praying for her and the family. As far as the weight gain goes... She just needs to hang our my family a little while--we can show her how to eat! I also learned that she has ties to Andalusia and the Harper family.
Here are some pictures from Mackenzie's homecoming and our visit yesterday.

Day 18

Today Porter was sick at daycare so Nannie picked him up and met me at the doctor's office. His doctor think he has ear infections and he prescribed an antibiotic--the good pink stuff. He had a little fever, but felt better after some Tylenol. He is reaching for the toys on his bouncy seat now, so I gave him a couple of toys to play with in his highchair while I cooked supper. He can reach out and grab them occasionally, but he has to concentrate really hard to do it.
Nana and Papa came down tonight after work to spend the weekend. We are going to do some "Spring Cleaning" in the garage, kitchen and office area.