All Done

took porter to the doctors office to get shots. the second porter saw the needle, he started desperately saying and signing (to make sure i understood) ALDOHN ALDOHN over and over. after the crying he continued being "alldohn" all the way out the car until we traveled safely in and out of weeks, through a night and a day, and almost over a year, until we were back home and in his very own bedroom.

don't worry porter- with the terrible response time we get with your doctors, i am 'all done' too.

Our Weekend with Penny and Lis and the kiddoes

Visiting in San Diego was a great...thanks for such a fun trip you guys.

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a porter update.

porter-isms:
loves to walk backwards.
now understands that he can make you come with him if he grabs your fingers and pulls you.
twirls.
sometimes will grab our hands and walk us backwards, then forwards then backwards...i'm pretty sure he's dancing with us, since he sees mom and dad do it a bunch:)
cries through naptimes.
signs 'dad' 'mom' 'water' 'food' 'please' 'milk' and 'more'...and he'll sign all of them in a row when frustrated hoping something will communicate.
loves to fold his arms to pray, and will demand prayers up to five times a meal.
runs away every time i say to come here. gotta break that one somehow.
makes a sour face every bite of food when he thinks it will be funny.
throws his arms up for a 'whoohoo' when we drive and the windows are down.
will bring books to us to read to him, then put it back and get another one- suuuper cute.
whines for a second every time he sees me. laughs every time he sees mark. hmm.
misses all of you...oh- wait - that's me. i miss all of you. Porter just misses the grandparents.

mean daddy

Christmas Card

Porter has caught on to baby sign language pretty well…we think. Even though ‘more’ I think translates to “I want” since he signs “more” for just about anything. It’s been fun hearing his voice start to develop and as he’s now attempting actual words (“uh oh” being a personal favorite). Porter has mastered walking in about a week, and has been running into head level items for a while now, which works out since he’s so easy tempered and smiley. We have Porter enrolled at the children’s center at Cal Poly where he’s interacting with lots of toddlers his age, so that Mommy’s able to work a little each day (a break Porter and I both really appreciate sometimes). A highlight was Porter’s first birthday at the beach, with a BBQ, friends and family. Although the time already feels like it’s slipping away from us and that Porter’s growing more independent, it’s also exhilarating to watch his mind lighten up with understanding at something significant each day. We love love him, and are so grateful to our Heavenly Father that he’s in our lives, brightening and challenging them.
Lora is still the breadwinner and mommy of the family. This is the third year of having her massage therapy business and it is growing… ever so slowly. Lora is now also working as an aid to a wonderful woman named Shel, and her beautiful family here in SLO. With Mark’s help, Lora taught a lindy hop swing class at the Adult School and is about to start a second semester. Lora is working with the Primary at church and was in charge of this year’s primary sacrament program where all the kids did fantastic. This summer Lora’s niece and nephews (Hunter, Bella, Bryant, and Thatcher) visited us and tore it up as we skateboarded, skimboarded, danced and cooked all week. Rayne, our favorite preteen, is always a sassy delight, and an incredible help with Porter, who can’t stop laughing every time she comes to visit.
Mark is still the overworked student daddy. He has started on his senior project where he entered into a national design competition designing the riverfront in Minneapolis. It’s been great to watch his portfolio develop into a beautiful and professional compilation from these last several years. We both pray it will pay off as Mark applies to jobs and MBA programs this fall. Mark and Lora both had fun this year joining an adult soccer league, trying to work off both of our baby fat. Mark is on the activities committee at church and directed one of Mom & Dad Scribner’s Reader’s Theater about the life of Joseph Smith. It was a lot of work, but very rewarding. Marks Family all came to SLO for the family reunion this summer and we had a blast filling up our days with fun activities.
The Spencer’s this year have been busy. We’ve been able to take a few trips with some great friends and family. Life with a one year old is great! We love and miss having you all around us but are glad to have this season to remember our Savior and to connect with those we love. Merry Christmas everyone!

JUST PROVING TO THE WORLD THAT MOM LIKES PORTER

In response to mom's kicking and screaming about not being in any recent pictures on my blog, I henceforth dedicate this to mom scribner and declare: MY MOTHER VISITS US! ... oh ... and she likes us too. love you mom, lora mark and porter.

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