Happy Birthday, Porter!

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We recently celebrated our newly minted TWO year old Porter James! This boy is such a handful, mores than my first three) but what a joy he is to have in our home! Here is the latest and greatest going on with Porter.

Porter has been reminding me so much of Blake as a two year old because Blake was a huge talker early on. Porter can repeat just about anything and has caught onto things that are funny. Will readily say “what da heck” at anything happening to get a laugh out of his siblings. Can say mama, dada, Brooke (book), Blake (bake) and Eddie. Knows lots of animals and their accompanying sounds, body parts and where they’re located and can count to 16. Says please (peas) and thank you (tank you) appropriately and truly turns heads because of his blonde and curly hair.

He has a really good memory and knows and understands routines. When we do something out of order, he will let us know! He reminds us frequently that we need to say a prayer (pway-oh) before our meals. Before bed, he knows to sing wheels on the bus. Has a hard time with anyone else putting him to bed other than mom.

He is a big time mama’s boy! I’ve never had a kid quite like Porter who prefers mama over dada this bad. Sometimes its endearing but most of the time its exhausting. This is mainly apparent when I am leaving to go somewhere. He eventually calms down but man it is heartbreaking.

Really likes oranges, carrots, yogurt, crackers (cheez-its and ritz), pasta of any kind, chicken sausages, pancakes, cereal, applesauce, peanut butter sandwiches, raisins, dates. Will sometimes eat bell peppers and cucumbers when he sees other people eating them. His mood will dictate whether or not he eats a meal 99% of the time. If he gets put into his high chair before he is ready, he will not eat a thing. But if he gets his way and sits at the island on a stool next to his brothers or standing at a normal chair at the dining table, he will eat. 

We are trying to balance independence and staying safe. When we go check the mail, we try to remind him to look both ways for cars and he does! In a parking lot, he wants to walk on his own but I tell him he either holds my hand or I have to hold him. He says “no” every time, so I pick him up and immediately he’s saying “hand! hand!” So I put him down and he holds my hand. Works every time 😉 In the actual store, he refuses to sit in the cart and just wants to grab everything off the shelves and put it into the cart which is cute but not helpful in the least. Its challenging going grocery shopping with him.

Sleeps with his blue blanket and pacifier. The blanket used to be Eddie’s and it starting to fall apart, but the fraying section is his favorite part to snuggle with, so we assume once its completely fallen apart, we’ll get rid of it. (They blue blankets are discontinued by the store that makes them, but I do have a white version of the same blanket that we try to switch out, but he doesn’t like it.) Will rarely wake up in the night, but when he does, I just cuddle him in my bed for 10 minutes to calm him down, then lay him back in bed and he goes right to sleep.

Wants to be just like his brothers and has recently started strongly disliking the stroller. But only if his brothers are around. If he’s on his own, he does just fine. I go on longer 1-1.5 hour walk/runs and he does just fine with a few toys and snacks. But he does eventually hit a breaking point and will start screaming his little heart out saying “all done!” and “down!”

While the screaming is a constant struggle, the more he talks, the less he screams. So we encourage as much communication as possible. 

Loves playing in the water (wawa). Whether its in a bucket in the backyard or having a bath, he loves it all. Also loves brushing his teeth, though he does more toothpaste eating than actual brushing.

Nearly every morning he wants to go say good morning to Daisy (day day), Brooke’s bunny, and feed her carrots or kale which we let him do.

Likes to go on walks pushing his train toy or scooter. Doesn’t ride his scooter, but likes to push it. We got him a balance bike for his birthday and wants nothing to do with it. 

Overall, he is a happy, healthy, super smart kid who just needs his mama. 🙂 We love you so so much, Porty-bug!