Porter turns 6 months!

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old!  Porter is such a sweet baby.  He is my most sensitive and cuddly boy.  He is portly...19 pounds!  He is starting to like some baby food but he really likes to try and eat food off our plates...nice try but you don't have teeth yet Por por.  He rolls all over the place and is pretty close to crawling....(Mom is freaking out!!!)  He can sit up by himself but only for a minute or two.  Until I get to the portrait studio for a 6 month shot...here is a look at the last 6 months.

 

I love you Porter!  You are my PorPor!

Love, Mommy

Miles goes to Kindergarten!!

Miles could hardly contain himself this summer.  He was so excited to be starting school.  After his birthday, and then again after his shots at the dr., he wanted to know if he got to start the next day!  

He gets to ride the bus, which is super exciting.  The morning bus is a few blocks from our house but the after school bus drops him off at the house next door!  It's so fun to watch him run home after he gets off the bus!  

The only time I heard him seem a little nervous was BRIGHT AND EARLY the day that school was starting.  He told me he didn't know if he wanted to ride the bus.  But we walked there together and a neighbor little boy is also riding the bus and in his class, so he is loving it!  

Kindergarten is so different than when I was little.  They have homework everyday!  But it's fun stuff to help them learn letters, sounds, reading, etc...so we have fun.  

I am so proud of you Miles.  You are such a big boy!  We sure miss you when you are at school!  

Enjoy the journey!!

Be careful what you ask for!

Here is another family home evening from the Matthews house.  Allen found these armor outfits at a garage sale and thought they would be good to talk about putting on the armor of God.  

The boys had a blast.  We talked about ways they can put on spiritual armor....reading scriptures, praying, getting along with others, etc...They still don't get it, really.  They are too young to understand that concept.  But Miles did put some scriptures in his bed so he could read his own before he fell asleep....then the next day told me that he needed to put on the armor because he did his reading!  Cute kid!  Then we put the armor on them and shot them with the marshmallow shooters.  

The video is a crack up because it is so our boys.  Miles is directing Quincy how to use the armor.  and Quincy sure listens to him....Miles, you need to be careful what you ask for!!  Quincy will be happy to help out!  

FHE at our house!

Family home evening is a favorite of the boys!  Every night could be FHE and they would be excited.  For them, FHE could be a song and treat and that's it!  Lately, we've been having the boys help out with the lesson.  This week:

Porter helped lead the music.

Miles helped mom do the dishes after dinner and set up the table for treats afterwards.

Quincy wanted to do his lesson on "Nephi" so dad helped him with this awesome lesson. We talk about Nephi a lot at our house because 

1. he had brothers who made good and bad choices 

2. he obeyed the Lord. 

 Nephi always says "Yes mom".  So Quincy and dad talked about how Nephi built a boat and then we acted it out.  

Some weeks I wonder why we even try to accomplish FHE but I know it's the right thing to do and we just have to keep plugging away at it.  This one was really successful.  I hope the boys remember Nephi and how he always remembered to follow the Lord.  (and Yes Mom is good too) :)

Quincy can look so innocent!!

MAMMA'S NEPHIS!!

Never say never!

Before I had kids.....

Before I had kids I always said that MY children wouldn't play with toy weapons.  But since having many boys, I realize that even if I don't have toy weapons in the house, they will turn anything into one.  In primary a couple of Sundays ago, I watched a little boy in Miles' class turn his birthday prize pencil into a rifle....he cocked it back and everything!! Legos, sticks, hammers, golf clubs etc...can all be turned into weapons. SO, for the big number 2 potty prize for Quincy I forgot all I talked about before having kids and let Allen go and get them foam swords.  (I know Quincy's weakness....of course he learned how to go number 2 when a sword was involved) At least he is hitting brother with that instead of a stick or golf club!!  Look at them...they are natural pirates!!

Too good to be true??

I've noticed that a lot of my friends' blogs are super cute and tell all of the wonderful things their families are doing and the accomplishments of the kids,etc...hardly ever do they mention the struggles.  I think it's good to acknowledge that some days are crazy and sometimes the kids just drive you bonkers. (I am sure we drive them bonkers sometimes too)

The other day was one of those days at our house.  Porter has been teething and won't sleep well during the day.  So if he isn't eating, he is super fussy.  I even forgot to feed him at dinner time because he has been so fussy that I totally forgot that he was hungry!  I finally realized that was the problem when Porter started sucking on my neck...poor kid.  

Miles got stung by a yellow jacket and his hand puffed up so much that he couldn't straighten out his fingers. 

If we survive raising Quincy it will be a miracle.  He is into spitting right now!  I sent him to his room, but went to nurse the baby right after that.  He grabbed a chair from his room and threw it down the stairs.  It made a major indention in the wall at the bottom of the stairs.  And of course he just smiles about it.   (But, he can be so lovable...he is sitting right next to me right now kissing my arm)

So if you ever think that you just won't make it through the day, remember that we all have days like that.  AND we make it through the day....and live to tell about it....and smile again in the morning!  

I love being a mom....sometimes I just have "I don't like it" moments!  The boys teach me so much and I love them! Always!  

Thanks boys...for making sure there is never a dull moment!  How boring would that be :)

Summer Pictures

Wow!  Where did the summer go?  Here are some random shots from the last couple of weeks!

Bball shots have to come first of course.  We play a lot of ball at our house.  Quincy has been interested in wearing sweatbands lately.  I even had a lady at McDonalds ask me what happened to his arm....I was confused until I realized she thought the sweatband was a bandage. Miles is our "perfect technique" boy and Quincy just uses his brute strength. But both are very talented.

Porter is so adorable!  He is really fussy right now because he is trying to get a tooth, but what a fun fuzzy boy.  (his head is super fuzzy). He is enjoying being big...tummy time is making mom nervous...he can push up onto his feet...the beginnings of the crawling...ahhhh!

Miles loves to dress as characters.  This is his Cruela Deville outfit. (101 Dalmations)

Don't ask...I have no idea!

Miles found a praying mantis in our backyard and the boys found it fascinating! 

of course....bugs and boys!  I am proud of Quincy that he didn't smash it...no, no not Quincy :)

We had a couple of great rainbows lately.  Our home with the rainbow and the church in our backyard!  Allen still mentions how much he loves having the building so close!

Missionary Boys!

What cute future missionaries we have!  They both wanted to wear a tie on Sunday to church so I had to snap a few pics of them.  I love the last shot where Quincy is looking up at Miles.  Quincy just adores Miles.  During the day, he keeps really close tabs on brother.  He'll come up to me and ask where brother is.  He is really going to miss Miles when he is gone at kindergarten this fall. 

I love you boys!  

Porter Park in Rexburg

 The boys were up with Grandma Matthews for a few days while Allen was out of town, and when Allen, Porter and I went to pick them up, we got to hang out with Tom and Carol for a few days.  Porter must have really missed his brothers!  As soon as we got to Tom and Carol's place to see the boys for the first time in 4 days, anything the boys did, Porter just cracked up.  He is very selective with his belly laughs but they had him rolling.  So cute!  

We got to go to Porter Park in Rexburg.  Sure wish we had a place like that around here.  It's a city park but there is a water aspect to it.  Miles didn't like the big pail that kept filling up and dumping (he must be my child :) but besides that, they really enjoyed it.  

We are very glad to be back home and have our family together again!