December update!

Where has this month gone? We are still here! We have been swept up in the busy-ness of the season. The boys are wrapping up their last day of school before winter break as I type. Due to impending snow, they are getting out a bit early today. They will have 2 1/2 weeks off of school! I've worked hard to get Christmas shopping and wrapping mostly done by today so I can spend quality time with them next week and the week after.

I don't have a ton of share-worthy info, but wanted to check in. Dan and I are spending a night away from home tonight while the boys sleep over with their cousins. It'll be a fun night, all around! Tomorrow it is supposed to get as low as -25 degrees (without factoring in wind chill), so we will be all cozied up!

My next post will be more exciting. :) Thanks for peeking in! Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Spring! Ha!

We got a heavy, wet, large snowfall overnight last night that the boys and I had so much fun with today. Dan is out of town for the week for work, so he sadly missed out on the block's coolest, tallest, most awesome snowman. This one takes the cake! (Based on its height, guess who built 99% of it!)

A few days after Elijah's tummy was back to normal last week Dan and I both caught the bug. It was horrid. I spent two days unable to do anything. We were a miserable family over the weekend! Thankfully, we are all feeling MUCH better.

Elijah's teacher called me today with a mostly good report. She has noticed some "differences" in him in the past month. There are certain things he is fighting with his school work more than ever (math and writing) and this wasn't a surprise (this is an NLD thing). He fights these things at home, as well. The good differences that she noted are also things we have seen at home in the past month. He is able to transition much better, he handles himself socially much better and he can be talked down from an almost-bad situation much more easily.

We have noticed at home that things have been much improved. Sleep is better, using the restroom is (mostly) not a big deal anymore (umm, this is HUGE), anxieties overall seem to have lessened and situations that would have set him off two months ago can sometimes be averted easily. WHY? I have no idea. Essential oils? Prayer? We've been consistent with both of the above, so maybe one or both are the answer?? The ONE thing that has been worse than usual is his attitude toward Sammy. He is usually so good with Sam and they play together so well. Lately he has been mostly positive to everyone except for Sam. Tonight I had the thought that Elijah's confidence seems to have been boosted. When he interacts with all of us, he has a much more confident spirit. For some reason, that confidence is translated into negativity when he interacts with his little bro.

In conclusion! Ha! I have no idea what is going on, but I am accepting most of these changes with open arms and hope that they only continue to blossom into better times and attitudes. Whatever is sparking this change, thank you!

That's all I've got for now. More later, as the week without Daddy unfolds! Thank you for peeking in!

Snow play!

Still kickin'. I have been so behind in updating. You see, I have this problem. When time opens up for me I go right ahead and fill it up with thirty projects, all of which I want to finish NOW. I'm super excited about some personal projects I'm working on. I keep thinking about writing an update here and I get caught up in those other things.

This week Elijah had a "mostly on" week at school. He had his moments, but for the most part did fine according to his teacher. They have been able to get him more one-on-one help, which helps. He still doesn't have his own para, but we're working on it! His sleep has been up and down and up and down. It seems like every other night is ok and every other night is not ok. He gets SO TIRED in the evenings.

When Sammy and Elijah aren't fighting like brothers do, they are loving each other! Their new favorite place to play (and cuddle) is behind the chair in our living room. It looks cozy back there!

We haven't been able to get out to play in the snow much this year because it has been so cold. One day this week it was snowing and NOT below zero, so we bundled up and made a small little snow-dude. Sammy named him Cutie. I think he names all of our snowmen Cutie.

Then I put the boys to work! And their most favorite part...hot chocolate afterward.

This morning my stepmom and I were able to go to Elijah's classroom to watch this week's Reader's Workshop. It was so cute. Elijah did great! He followed along and read great!

I just remembered that I have pics to share from last weekend! We had family over to celebrate Elijah's 8th birthday. It was fun! Pics to come!

Package directions

Since I'm on a roll sharing Sammy funnies..

Today our boy who is ALWAYS looking for a way to get us to give him sweets said to Dan, "Daddy, it sure is cold outside! I bet some hot chocolate and marshmallows would warm us right up!"

Tonight after Dan gave him an Oreo cookie for dessert, Sammy said, "I think it says on the package that each kid should eat TWO cookies." Nice try, Sammy. :)

Today was another odd day involving LOTS of stressful driving on icy, snowy roads. We aren't sure how Elijah's day at school was, but his spirits sure were great at home tonight! Dan took him to get his pre-op physical this afternoon, so he is set for a minor surgery on Wednesday.

More later!

Healing ears and an exciting journey

We had a nice week, and we hope you did, as well. E's ear is healing nicely. The only time he complains about it is when we put on/take off shirts and even then, the complaints are minimal. He's such a tough kid. We will head to his post-surgical check-up on May 13th. Until then, we continue to take it as easy as possible! He has been so good about taking it easy when we ask him to.

Within the past few days I have planned a MAJOR summer vacation for the little boys and myself. Unfortunately, Dan will have to stay at home and work since that it his very busy time. :( We plan to travel to 15 states within 18 days! I must be crazy! But get this, we will (hopefully) meet fifteen heart friends and their parents, most of whom we have not yet met. It will be an amazing experience to bond with children and families who have walked similar paths. I cannot imagine what will be in store for us!

Until then, we continue to enjoy snow and cold weather. Isn't Minnesota wonderful? Thanks for reading and thanks for hanging in there with us.

Cardiology appt

Elijah had his 6-month cardiology check-up yesterday with Dr. G. It went great! His heart function is perfect and his pressures are low. I asked when his next heart cath might be and he said, "Not this year!" A year without a cath? We'll take it. We go back in six months and we will go from there. Thank you, God!

Today will be a busy day for us as we pack and prepare to fly to North Carolina very early tomorrow morning. We are all excited! The new snow on the ground makes us even more excited to get the heck out for a bit. :)

Thanks for checking in! I will certainly have photos to share post-trip!

DARNCHES, it's snow!

Dan and I spent last evening wrapping Christmas gifts. This season seems to be "so much" sometimes, doesn't it? I want our boys to enjoy Christmas, but I also want them to always remember the meaning of it. I always feel so conflicted this time of year. We do not make it to church hardly at all in the summer. Dan is at the dropzone working every weekend, and we are usually there with him so we can spend time with him. One of the things I love about winter is that we can all go to church together! A few Sundays ago, Elijah brought this journal home from Sunday school. He sat down at the table with no prompting from me, and wrote the following:

He calls this little notebook his "Jesus Journal," and occasionally pulls it out to write in it. I think that is "Who I love" on the left and the lines that are hard to read on the right are "I love myself" and "I love all of family." I thought it was super sweet! Especially considering the general tone of our house lately. :(

On most days, most things are a struggle. Not just a little bit of whining, but major fits are thrown over very little things. And now Sammy is starting to follow suit because he thinks this is how it is supposed to be! One of the things Elijah has always done since he learned to talk is figured out which words get a reaction out of Dan and me and then he uses them to get under our skin. We are constantly having to discipline for calling people names or saying bad words or using bad tones. And again, guess who repeats all of these things? Yep, Sammy. An example.. for years, one of E's many made-up phrases has been "Punch punch apples!" He puts a little tune with it and sings it repeatedly. It has always been harmless, so I have never said a word about it. In fact, I sometimes find myself singing it to myself while washing dishes or folding laundry. Until this week. "Punch punch apples" is now "Punch punch (insert name)." Not cool. So now when I ask Sammy to do something, he will say, "Punch punch Mama." Lots of time-outs have been occurring in the Porta house. And lots of talks about being KIND and RESPECTFUL and using NICE TONES and on and on and on. I feel like a broken record, just like I am sure every parent does!

On the funny side of this, Elijah's most recent made-up word that he uses when he is frustrated (thank goodness he finally dropped "cr@p!") is "barnches!" A variation of it is "darnches!" Dan and I have started using it, as well. When I stub my toe on the couch, now I exclaim DARNCHES! :) It has a nice ring!

We got a huge snowfall last weekend, and we had so much fun playing in it! Sammy has always had really sensitive eyes, so he spent most of the time outside with his eyes closed. He has also always been afraid of loud noises, so every time a snowplow drove by he would either run to me or close his eyes tightly and not move an inch.

This is our snowman, Charlie. Charlie is now very droopy, as he has melted a bit since Sunday. When I walk Elijah to and from the bus, he says sadly, "Ohhh. Charlie's sad."

You can't play in the snow without having hot chocolate afterward, right? Or should I say, without eating marshmallows. "More marshmallows, please, Mom!" :)

I thought of a few more cute Sammy-isms since my post about him last week. Any word that begins with a K becomes the CH sound for Sam. "Kitchen" is "chi-chen" and "ketchup" is "che-chup."

I have always talked about what a snuggler Sammy is, and that is still true. Probably ten times a day I hear, "Mommy, come suggle wif me on da blue chair!" He also loves playing with all of his stuffed animals. He will line them up on the couch like they are watching tv and he gets them all snuggled with pillows and blankets. Every once in a while one of the animals will kiss or hug or talk to another animal.

And as always, he is so very independent. He wants to do absolutely everything himself. I wish his brother had a tiny bit of this! :)

Sammy likes to have ALL of the lights on in the house. I am constantly turning lamps and lights off, and then I hear him say, "Mommy, I can't SEE! Turn the light back on!"

One last thing about Sam. He loves to wrestle and have pillow fights, especially with his brother. His signature move is sitting on his opponent's head. Every time he does this to one of us, we say, "AWW! He did THE SAMMY!"

Elijah's ears hurt for a few days after his surgery a week ago, but we haven't needed to give him Tylenol since probably Wednesday. He still cannot hear everything we say, but it is better. His OT and PT both made comments this week that he asked, "What's that noise?" a couple of times. That is something he has never done before, so we know he is hearing new things.

On Monday E had a mole removed from his back that was dark and growing. It is always good to have another thing done! Have a great weekend and thanks for checking in and reading my long post!

What is this stuff?

Dan and Elijah were able to play in the snow, you know, for the few hours that it was on the ground. :)



They told me that it was way cooler to build a modern snow sculpture than to build a snowman.



"Snowballs are fun, Mama!"



"Yes they are! Just don't throw one at..." SMASH "..me."



Daddy's turn!

So far in North Carolina..

We have tried to get our boys to pose for pictures.





One of our boys hasn't been very cooperative.



The other has been smiley.



With his cute new little teeth.



But if I say the magic words, I can make Elijah crack a smile.



And did I mention that it's snowing? My dad said to me this morning, "It hasn't snowed here in, well, in probably two years! Since you guys were here last, now that I think of it." Ah, yes. Of course.



So we are relaxing by the fireplace, keeping warm and trying not to focus on the fact that Dan and I are supposed to leave today for a 3-day childless trip in the mountains.



Samson has done a lot of hanging out in Gramps' arms.



We have done a lot of cooking, especially Uncle Joel.



We have opened Christmas gifts.



Sammy has done a lot of smiling and drooling and he has taken some record-breaking naps.



Juan the Dog has been referred to many times as "Wand" by a certain 3-year-old, and Grammy and Gramps' bathroom has turned into a Walgreens by the same 3-year-old.

And now Uncle Joel is outside making a snowman and making Elijah giggle from inside. If only we had brought our snow clothes!

White

This is how we spent a majority of our weekend. Driving in and/or dealing with massive amounts of snow. Dan and I experienced one of the scariest hours of our lives on Saturday. The snow plows were pulled from the roads (that is saying a lot in Minnesota), yet we were out driving! Wooooo! We had spent the night in downtown Minneapolis for my company holiday party and we were trying to get to our boys amidst literally white-out conditions. I consider it a miracle that we got to Dan's parents' house without a single mishap, based on the number of cars, trucks, PLOWS and hearses (yes, I saw a hearse buried in snow) along the side of the road.

We have exciting travels coming up and other fun things on the horizon. Lots of fun stuff ahead! The snow better not ruin any of it!

Snow!

I don't know if he will remember this, but my dad told me about a vivid dream he had about Elijah a couple months before he was born. He told me that he woke up from the dream knowing three things about our little boy: 1. He would be chubby, 2. He would be extremely stubborn/strong-willed, and 3. He would adore snow.

At the time, I thought "Ha!" about number one. We were having a baby with serious heart defects! We had done our research, so we knew that heart babies typically were not described as being "chubby." Despite the odds, Elijah was always a chubby baby, so that part of my dad's dream was surprisingly right.

Regarding number two, well, we all know that "strong-willed" is one of the main words used to describe Elijah. :)

And number three, the love for snow, I have wondered about since my dad told me about the dream. It was confirmed Christmas weekend that that was right on, too!

I think it's pretty cool that his dream was so accurate.



Elijah certainly did adore being in the snow. He didn't want to move around at all, which wasn't a huge surprise, but he did NOT want to go back inside.



I went inside after a while and I could hear Elijah yelling, "MAMA INSIDE!" I opened the door to say hello and he said, "Shut da door, Mama! Mama in!" He saw his fun little snowy world as being "in." I thought it was cute that he wanted me to come "inside" to the outside.



And how cute is it that this snowsuit was Dan's snowsuit as a little munchkin?



And this was his unhappy face upon learning that it was time to go inside.