We Miss You Daddy!

Brandon went on a "man trip", as he calls, to St. Louis with my dad to watch National Wrestling. Porter, Hudson and I have missed him all week and are VERY excited that he is coming home tommorrow! Love ya!

We're in TROUBLE!!!

We have been having a hard time getting Porter to fall asleep lately. He has realized all of the freedom he has in a toddler bed. Well, with his new freedom and the love of climbing, of course that's what he does. He climbs up the bookcase and worst of all, he climbs into the crib, whether Hudson is there or not! There is a light switch above the crib that Porter likes to turn on. I am worried that Porter is going to step on Hudson accidentally. A few days ago, we put Porter down for bed and then shortly afterward, got Hudson to sleep. I knew that Porter wasn't asleep yet, but still put Hudson in his crib. I reminded Porter to be quiet and to stay in his bed, so that he didn't wake up Hudson. Well, I think it is a known fact that what goes in a two-year-old's ear goes right back out the other ear. Brandon and I were in the family room, and we hear talking from the baby monitor. Then we look down the hall and see the light on. We go in and sure enough, Porter was in the crib with Hudson. Hudson was fully awake, but not only was he fully awake, he was getting a kick out of Porter. He had the biggest grin on his face! I know in about a year or so, Porter is going to have an accomplice. Porter is going to teach Hudson everything and they are going to get into all kinds of mischief together... which means Brandon and I are in BIG trouble!

Best Friends

It's rare to get pictures of Porter and Hudson together. Just thought these were really cute!

I'm four months old...

I love watching the world around me...

I've found my fingers and I like them in my mouth...

And when I'm bored, I can always count on my toes to keep me busy!

Growing!

I took this picture when Hudson was almost 4 months old. He can sit up if I put a ball in front of him. It's good practice. Porter started sitting on his own right after he turned 4 months old, but I know this is not typical. Porter was early with all of his physical milestones. I guess we'll see what Hudson does.

Fort

Porter loves building forts with Brandon. They don't last long because Porter ends up jumping on top of the blankets. It's fun while it lasts!

House updates...

All right mom, here are the pictures you have been wanting to see so you don't have to try to picture them in your head. Enjoy! Everyone else can, also.

We painted our room a couple weeks ago. It took longer than we were hoping it would. I have a love-hate relationship with the vaulted ceilings. I love them because it makes the house so open and adds interest. I hate them because they are a pain to paint and they are all over our house. It takes a lot longer to paint. I'm not complaining too much, I'm glad to have them.

Awww... how cute!

Brandon's alma-mater. Go Utes!

The finished product. It was hard to get a picture of the whole room. We painted all of the walls the tan except for the one red wall.

Gotta love decorating with vinyl lettering. Love it! It's so easy!

BUBBLES!

Porter loves taking bubble baths, so I was surprised that he was scared to get in his bathtub with the jets on. We have been trying to get him to realize that it is fun and not scary. We usually will turn the jets on before Porter gets in and try to coax him in. I finally had an idea to put Hudson in the bathtub to show Porter that it's not scary. Porter saw that Hudson wasn't scared and so he hopped right in! Thanks Hudson! Now we will never be able to get Porter OUT of the bathtub!

A hair cut for Porter

Porter has only had one hair cut, and, as much as I love his curls, I decided it was time for another one. I decided to try and cut it myself (I didn't want to fork out money for someone else to cut it). I was nervous, but I have always cut Brandon's hair and it turns out okay, so I guess I shouldn't have been so nervous.

This is Porter looking not too thrilled to have to sit still.

He's now deciding it's not that bad to get a haircut. Plus mom promised him a treat if he held still.

It was all worth it for the treat! And it turned out really cute, too!

Toddlers are Cool!

I LOVE having a toddler in our house. They have so many quirks and they say and do the funniest things! If I let Porter, he would choose to wear his bear pj's day and night. Luckily I can talk him into wearing actual clothes during the day! Another phase Porter is going through right now is wearing this mitten. For a couple days now, as soon as he wakes up, he has to put this one mitten on his hand. He will literally wear it all day! I have to remind him to take it off while he is eating. Like I said, I love toddlers. They always bring humor to your day!

Bathtime...where's Porter?

There he is!

Oh, Porter!

So, yesterday I was exercising in my room, and Porter was hanging out on my bed with Hudson. I was in the middle of my workout when I started hearing Porter getting frustrated. I just glanced over and saw him under the blankets. I thought he couldn't get out from under the blankets, but I let him struggle so I could finish exercising. When I was done, he was still under the blankets! I took a closer look and realized the he wasn't under the blanket. He had crawled inside our duvet cover and couldn't find the small hole to get out! It was so funny!

Messes...they come with the territory

Yesterday, Brandon noticed that Porter was being really quiet, so he went to check on him. This is what he saw. All I hear is an "Oh,no! Angela, you better come here! And bring your camera." I didn't really want to know what Porter was doing, but knew I didn't have a choice. He was exploring the linen closet and had found an open box of starch that I use to make silly puddy. I have to admit, I thought I was going to find something much worse, so I was glad it was just starch. It vacuumed right up. I am used to the messes my brothers used to make when they were Porter's age, like dumping ingredients on the floor in their room to make cookies, or rolling a watermelon down the stairs! Kids and messes just go together.

Happy Birthday Porter!!

Porter is a big boy! He turned two! We had a Cars party. I even attempted making a birthday cake for him! Thanks to a kit with excellent step-by-step directions, it turned out! I hated to eat it, because it was so cute!

Make a wish!

Porter's friends had fun eating cake, playing with play-doh and silly puddy, coloring, and playing in the toy room. They had a blast, but Porter missed his friends that couldn't come:(


We crammed a lot of people in our house! I'm glad we can accomodate this many people, even though it was crowded. Brandon said that he counted about 30 people total!

Havin' Fun!

It's just another day at the Hoopes'. Playing and having fun!


My two boys being silly.

Porter showing off his new slippers.

Funny Faces

Silly Hudson!

Makin' a Gingerbread House

It's going to be a tradition in our house to make a gingerbread house every year for Christmas. We didn't get to make one for Christmas this year, so I bought one after Christmas on sale. Porter had a lot of fun. If I would have let him, he would have tried to eat the whole thing!

Climbing Maniac

I walk into the room, and this is what I see... we are in trouble! Porter loves to climb on anything and everything. And he doesn't get scared! I'm surprised we haven't been to the Emergency Room yet!

I'm two months old!

Oh, so cute!

Hudson's Blessing

How handsome he is!