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I (Jared) have been studying all day... Tara has been fighting the real battle, no A/C and 2 small kids. I'm very lucky to have her as my wife. I've caused a little grief at times, but my great looks and intelligence make up for it... right, babe?

I can say one thing about anesthesia school, and I'll quote a dear friend who also made the choice to do this for a living. "This ain't no joke!" I concur with that statement. You can have a ton of clinical experience, but it doesn't matter. You are now learning things that keep people alive... full agonist, partial agonist, noncompeting antagonist... and the genetics that dictate whether or not a drug will give the desired effect, or if the cimetidine you bought over the counter is going to interfere with the anesthesia plan I wanted to follow.... We study @ 10-12 hours a day, everyday.

Tara and Porter came to see me on Labor Day weekend. I had a great time, I think they did too. We went to the Fort Worth Zoo, and a lot of places to eat. Porter and I played a lot... I was usually the tiger and he was the hunter. Needless to say, I was pretend killed a lot. I can't wait to be home, even if its for long weekend.

The Legend of the Conch

When I got home from work Monday, there was a long slender box sitting on the kitchen counter for me.......


The card with it read: "Those who wear the conch," they say, "will return to Key West again someday." The saying comes from the fact that the conch, no matter how it is tossed and uprooted by the stormy sea, always returns home to graze placidly in the seagrass shallows.
So indestructible is this shell, it has become a symbol of strength and endurance against the sea, and for that matter, against all the storms of life.
This Key West Conch shell was designed and created as a tribute to the Island and to all who visit it with the hope that the Legend of the Conch will capture you with its spell and bring you back someday.


This is the first year since Jared and I have been together that we have not taken a trip to the Keys. The first year we went we stayed in Key West at Ocean Breeze Inn. It's near the southern most point, and is a less expensive option. We stayed in a little "Efficiency" Cottage, rented a scooter, and had a blast. The next time we went was for our honeymoon, and we stayed in a much more expensive, (and absolutely awesome) bed and breakfast called The Mermaid and The Alligator. We will be going back there someday. For the last 3 years we have stayed in or around Marathon, which is in the middle keys. We stayed a Heron's Rest, a house on the water, and Rainbow Bend Resort, and just rented a house on a canal. We have a great time every trip.
After I got my necklace and we started naming off the places we have stayed and talking about our trips, it made me miss it even more!

Recent Pics

Here are some pics from this weekend....

Caroline is always alerting us when Porter is drooling, except she calls it "dripping." She points and says, "He's dripping." There's a face that goes with it too. Anyway, notice that "he's dripping" on his fat little belly.

Action shot....

Me and my punkin-head...

Sitting in his "recliner" watching Wall-E. He loved it. He was glued to it for about 30 minutes. I walked by completely unnoticed for a long time.

Easter Weekend

This was a much needed weekend off and away for me. I've been working a pretty random schedule for the last little while at work, and last week I worked a week of nights to end it all. I don't do well with working nights--to put it mildly. Any extended period working nights calls for medication. So Friday morning when I got home I was very excited and ready for the weekend. This is what I came home to.....
Porter always migrates to this corner of the bed. It doesn't matter where you put him in the bed, he will end up here. We've started him with his feet touching the other end, but it doesn't matter. And Thursday night, we had an escapee arm.....
He played in his exersaucer while I packed his stuff. He has started to figure the thing out, but this is the only toy he plays with right now.

He had to visit the ducks when we got home. They've grown so much since last weekend. I don't think he really cared about them one way or the other. He was staring off into space most of the time. We just put the duck in front of where he was looking to make it look like he was looking at the duck.
Saturday morning we took Porter, Catherine, and Caroline to the Easter Parade and Easter Egg Hunt at FBC.



And Saturday afternoon, Porter "swam" in the hot tub at Nana and Papa's. I think he enjoyed it. He didn't cry, so I count it. He will probably enjoy it more when he can float in one of the little baby boats. He can't quite sit up well enough to handle that yet.


The Easter Bunny came. Porter was still a little sleepy and trying to wake up. He got 2 outfits, a bib, a crayon holder and crayons, sunglasses, and lots of chocolate (I worked a deal with the Easter Bunny).

He looked very handsome in his Easter man-suit. It's very masculine and shows off his muscles. (His Daddy was worried about gender identity issues--he doesn't even know what we could have dressed him in.....)

Teething and Dora

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

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 13

Today was a big day. I drove to Andalusia this morning after I got off work. I was home by 8:30. Porter was watching "toons" (what the little girls call cartoons) when I got in. He was in Andalusia partly because that's where the babysitters are, but also because today was Vicki picture day. He had his 3 month pictures (a little late). As always, I can't wait for that little booklet to come in the mail. I'm not going to have any wall space left by the time he's 2.

This afternoon Porter saw his feet for the first time, and thought they were so funny that he laughed out loud! And he talked on the phone to his Daddy. The day is so busy that Jared usually calls around 8:30, and Porter is already asleep. We miss him and can't wait for him to get home.

Day 9

Today's post is kinda late because I am working nights part of this week. I couldn't get the Mac to load the pictures this afternoon, so I had to wait until I got to work to do it, and I've been busy until now. Porter went to daycare today so me and Nannie could run our errands and I could get a nap this afternoon in case I had to be up all night tonight (so far there's been no sleep and it's midnight now). When we picked him up this afternoon we went by Barnes and Noble on the way home and he looked like this when we got him out of the car. Jared says he's like an alligator--if you cover up his eyes he calms down. He didn't like me messing with him when I tried to uncover his eyes, so I just left it.

He woke up when we got home.
Nannie and Porter.