Happy Halloween!

Hurricane!

Day 1 of Hurricane Sandy is coming to a close. We all had off work/school today and will be home again tomorrow. The kiddos are sleeping in our room tonight and we're hoping for the best with the big trees in the backyard.
We hope all our friends and family are safe! Love & prayers!

Let's bake!

There's a storm headed our way, so we decided to get busy in the kitchen. Sister helped me make some delicious banana bread and Porter got in on the action too! We love to bake!

Trick-or-Treat Take 1

Trick-or-Treat take 1 was mostly rained out. We'll try again another night soon. Here are a few photos of our cuties to hold you over...

Sibling Love :)

Wordless Wednesday :)

 



Happy Birthday Aunt Nic!

I'm so far behind on posting! The only way to get caught up is to start with the here and now and fill in the blanks later. So, this past weekend, mommy & daddy spent some time celebrating Heidi & Brian, while Nana & Papa spent some quality time with the kiddos.

Isn't Heidi the most gorgeous bride ever? Congrats guys! 

On Sunday, we spent some time celebrating Aunt Nicole's 31st Birthday :)

 Porter enjoyed his green beans before we headed off to brunch.

After brunch and naps, Aunt Nic & I took the kids to our zoo.  We made it just in time for one last pony ride before the horses head off to their winter home in Indiana. Penny is going to miss Red, the Pony. 

 The zoo was all decked out for Fall Harvest. We had some fun with the pumpkins!

 Penny is so strong!

 We were impressed with some of the improvements they've made at the zoo over the past few weeks. There's a new alligator in the playground. Porter decided to take his first ride :)

 The otter put on a show for us. He picked up a rock, balanced it on his head and swam around like this for a few minutes, diving and spiraling under the water while balancing the rock. It was amazing!

 And sister wore her brave sweater to the zoo- the took her first trip down the big tunnel slide. She was so determined- told us she was going to do it as soon as we got to the playground. And she did! Great job Penny!

Another great weekend!

Daily Pics

Here are some of the daily pics from our DS Awareness Month project. Every picture has a story and I hope to update this post with some of those stories soon!

Big girl swimming

Penny has graduated to big kid swim lessons. No more mommy-and-me for this little lady. Swim fishy, swim!

Some days I wish I could freeze time. This age is amazing- she is learning so much so quickly. She cracks us up with her perspective. And her perception- she doesn't miss a beat!

Apparently, she's having a bounce town birthday party in February- she's already started inviting her friends. The other night, as I was washing dishes, she comes running over, yelling "mommy, your booty is hanging out, I will help you pull up your pants" (note to self- it's time to put away the pj pants I wore while pregnant with Porter). She tells me when she doesn't like my clothes and also when she does- "those are some really cool boots mommy." She is understanding consequences and is starting to self correct some behaviors. She is proud of herself when she does something well and wants to tell the world :) She wants to do everything by herself. She loves being the calendar helper at school and loves showing off her baby brother to her friends. She gets Halloween and is excited to dress up. She yells "be careful" at the football players on TV.  She makes me so proud!

Sometimes it feels like we went from baby to big girl overnight. Sometimes, I really wish I could freeze time!

Buddy Walk 2012

Settle in- this is a long one :)

Our first Buddy Walk has come and gone. The day after, it felt like the morning after our wedding - we were so excited by what just happened and we wanted to do it all over again! I'm already counting the days until Buddy Walk 2013!

From the moment we arrived to the stadium, walking down the path lined with the Radnor HS football & cheer teams (who chanted Porter's name and filled this Mama's eyes with happy tears), we knew that it would be an amazing experience.

Despite the rain, we had almost 50 friends and family members who came to walk with us, to celebrate Porter and all his Buddies!

The kids bounced and played on the field before the walk got started. Penny had a blast!

At 10:30, we made our way to the track and got to walking, just as it started to rain.

Armed with strollers, ponchos and umbrellas, we walked. Surrounded by people who love our Porter. We got to be part of something amazing!

As we walked, the announcer read the names of all 100+ teams and gave shout outs as larger teams walked by.

We saw our team name on the billboard :) We felt the love.

Penny walked, hand in hand with Ella. They talked about little kid stuff the entire way :)

Aunt Missy made Penny the most awesome sign that said "I'm proud of my little brother Porter!" So proud!

Porter slept right through his meet-up with his friend Jane...isn't she the sweetest? Her team, The Jane Train, was out in full force :)

 Porter had a superstar on his team- our friend Ashlee!

Ashlee said The Pledge of Allegiance right next to the Phillie Phanatic. And when it was over, she took the mic, thanked everyone for coming and cheered for a stadium full of people. She's fearless! Many thanks to all the Crater's for spending the day with us and for being part of Porter's Peeps!

 When it was all done, we took the party to Flip & Bailey's, our old hangout.   

 Back when we were young and fun (and back when the bar was called The Wild Onion), RC used to meet up with Uncle Chris every Sunday to watch football.  Mommy, Kayte, Sarah, Pete and the rest of the crew all made guest appearances.  This was our first trip with the kiddos, and we can just picture Penny & Luke sitting in these very same chairs 19 years from now!

We had an amazing day! Porter smiled up a storm, as usual. 



 I owe more thanks thank I can possibly give. To our family, friends and co-workers who braved the rain to walk with us, thank you! To everyone who donated, thank you! To everyone who has sent prayers and words of encouragement, thank you! And, to everyone who loves Porter, THANK YOU!

We can't wait for Buddy Walk 2013! We hope you'll join us!

Today!

Buddy Walk day is here! I'm so excited! Today we will walk, with over 50 family members and friends by our side, to raise Down Syndrome awareness and support the amazing Trisomy 21 Program at CHOP. I'm overwhelmed by the support we've received! I'm touched by the love that is shared with our special little guy! I'm blessed! Truly blessed!
Porter, we love you and we're proud to be your "Peeps"! We are so thankful for your smiles, inspired by your work ethic and hopeful for your future. Today is for you Bubby!

Overdue Thank You's!

At the end of August, we had some big changes in our daily routine.  Porter spent his summer days with Aunt Becky and Penny spent her summer days at KinderCare, where she'd been enrolled since she was six months old.

We are so incredibly lucky that Porter was able to spend his summer with Aunt Becky. We're not going to lie- we were sad to see her head back to her classroom for the year. She made him work hard and he got so much stronger because of her hard work! Thanks Aunt Becky for helping Porter get off to a great start in all his therapies! Thanks for helping him learn to fall asleep and reading to him every day. Thanks for changing all the diapers, feeding all the bottles and taking care of our house too! Most of all, thanks for loving our little man! We miss you!

We also said good-bye to the amazing KinderCare family at the end of August. We had such an amazing experience there, but mommy's new commute made it difficult to continue on. We decided to enroll both kiddos at a daycare close to our home. We miss all of Penny's teachers and friends, but we know it was the right choice!

The kids started at their new daycare the last week of August and are doing great! After her first week, Penny was counting to ten in Spanish and had learned some cute new songs.  Porter is quite popular- all the teachers pop into the baby room to get some snuggles and smiles from our little man!

Change is hard, but change is good! We're excited to see all the new things Penny & Porter will learn in their new environment!