Oh, the milestones!

This past week was a huge week for me. I left Topher for the first time. I began my semester last Thursday and Topher stayed at the church building with a friend. He did great! He ate, played and slept. Gina said he did great, and she did great too. She texted me throughout the morning and even sent me a picture so I would be put at ease. I did begin to relax around 10am. I was in such a rush to return to my little man that I didn't even stop and talking to my teacher like I normally do. Yes, I am a teacher's pet... or at least try to be! Topher is so wonderful at being with other people. He gives smiles freely and is not shy about throwing up on anyone!

This past Sunday he also had a first... his first Sunday school time! Usually I take him to class with Ryan and I and he does great... he sits there and listens and occasionally times-in with a very thoughtful and challenging comment, but this past Sunday, he was very passionate about his views and I decided he might be better in the nursery. So, he went to Cradle Roll and met and watched all kinds of new friends! He even took a little nap! I fell so confident in leaving him and the church even has little pagers they give you in case your little one needs you. I have to admit, that even though it never went off... I was constantly looking at it. I even held it for about 10 minutes! Below is my little man at Sunday School. He is really getting so big... well, not compared to the kid next to him! My friend, Shannon, said it looks like Topher is conducting a meeting! He is so precious!

Topher and I also embarked on the wonderful world that is reusable diapers! I am so excited about this! We decided to try a brand of diapers that a friend uses called Fuzzi Bunz. It's a big investment up front, but they will last until he is potty trained, and if we should make another baby, they will last. I am still trying to master the washing, but it seems to be fine! I am excited to cut back on our waste!

Topher also has slept through the night for a whole week now. There are still mornings he wakes up a little early, but I check on him, and tell him he can't get up until 6am. He talks a little and then most times, falls back asleep. He is doing great on his schedule and takes great morning naps and OK afternoon naps. He loves when Ryan comes home and they play.

Topher is 16 wks now and I can't believe how much he's grown. He brings me such joy! He laughs and talks and is wonderfully funny! Next week we will have his 4 month check up... and shots! YUK! But I can't wait to get an offical weigh in and measurment. I'll update that as soon as it happens.

We did it.

Even though we are sleeping through the night... I still fall asleep if I am still for too long!

Sweet baby... I had to take more pictures in this coat that is now too small. I love him with ears.

Hanging out.

Tummy time. His neck is working hard!

4 nights in a row, Mr. Topher Van Sol Porter slept through the night! He no longer wakes up, no cries, no ba-ji, no belly rubs... NADA! Ryan said he heard him squirm a little, but I didn't... I hope I didn't lose my mommy ears! I used to hear every breathe!

So, I think we are headed to a more stable road of eating, playing, and sleeping. He is just a precious baby. I love him more and more. He is becoming so strong and a lot more fun to play with. He loves getting nibbled on and giggling at everything! He is such a joy.

I am truly blessed.

But... this week has been sort of sad for me... I start school tomorrow! I have such mixed emotions about it and have tried very hard not to think about leaving Topher, but about getting back to my degree! I miss learning and interacting with my classmates and friends... but the thought of Topher doing anything without me is really hard to handle. I don't want to miss a smile or cry, I want to put him down for his nap and be there when he wakes up. I know that school and career are really what I need to do- I just hope I can make it through tomorrow with my eyeballs in tact!

Probably going to jinx it...

This week was a weird and emotional time for me... and I can't put my finger on the reason. There were a few days where I just felt like crying. I thought I past these post-partum waves of emotion! With some love and encouragement, I have reached equilibrium again!

But the thing I don't want to jinx is... TOPHER SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! (Okay, well, kinda) We began a more rigid feed/wake/sleep schedule and he went to sleep after a 9pm feeding and woke up at 3:30am, but went back to sleep after a comforting belly rub and slept until 6am, when I woke him for his morning feeding! So, this was the first night he went a full night without eating! WOOHOO! Will it happen again tonight... who knows? Sundays are always hard because of church. He kinda naps at church and feeding is always a little weird, but we shall see! The funny thing is I kept waking up to check on him! I guess I am going to need to learn how to sleep through the night again!

Anyway, it's just a wonderful feeling to 'accomplish' something I felt would never happen! Special thanks to my sister-in-love, Rose. She handheld me through the process and thought about prayed for me!

3 months old

How time flies... Little Man Topher is almost 15 weeks old and is just too wonderful for words. He and I have a great time being home together... most of the time. This week he and I went grocery shopping and he rode around the store in his Baby Bjorn. No tears or whining which was completely exciting for me. When we wear it around the house, he can only stand it for about 10 minutes... so the whole shopping trip was a huge success. Next, I want to try the Moby wrap... again, at home not so much!

I start school next week and have such mixed emotions about it. I feel excited to see my friends again and continue on with my education... but also totally sad that I am going to be away from him. It's going to be a hard adjustment for me. God blessed me with a wonderful new friend at Montgomery who is going to watch Topher for me on Thursday mornings. I feel confident that she will love and care for Topher and she is at the church building, so she'll have plenty of support if she needs it.

We also had a wonderful Christmas holiday with the Brown family and the Porter people. Topher was held and loved by so many and I just count us all blessed by the families that Ryan and I came from.

Christmas Card

This is the newsletter that I sent out to my family in their Christmas cards and I thought it would be nice to post it here. Enjoy!


It's hard to believe that 2009 is coming to a close- it has been quiet a year for ryan and I!

2009 began in the back of my in-law's mini-van traveling across the Southern part of the country after a vacation in Florida visiting Ryan's older brother, Jeremy and his family. It was a wonderful Porter family vacation and it was so fun to visit with Jeremy and Rose and their children. It's also wonderful that Jeremy and Rose welcomed their 5th child this November. Aden, Josh, Zac, and Janae love their new little brother, Zane. Welcome to the family, Zane!

This is Ryan and I in the ocean in Florida

Ryan and I also welcomed a new sister-in-law into our family this past April when Ernie married Daley! It was a beautiful Ruidoso ceremony officiated by Ryan and I was priviledged to stand by Ernie as best (wo)man. We were both honored to be part of their special day!

Ernie, Daley, Angela, and Ryan

Ryan began his Master's degree this year at the local branch of NMSU. The Social Work program is set up for working adults and Ryan has been taking 2 night classes. he is thriving and loving school. This part-time program with hopefully only take Ryan 2 more years! I am so proud of Ryan and his education. Ryan also had a change at work with a shift in jobs. He went form being a psych-tech to an education assistant. This means Ryan gets to spend mroet ime int he classroom witht he residents of the treatment center teaching and less in the lodges. He seems to be enjoying the transition.

Another huge milestone came this summer when Ryan and I purchased our first home! it was a fun and exciting adventure that resulted in a little casa in the North Valley of Albuquerque. It has charm and uniqueness and we are so excited about it. Thank you to both sets of parents that helped us move, again! We are home now... at least for a while!

But the most significant event in the lives of Ryan and I this year was the birth of our son, Topher Van Sol Porter! God blessed his arrival in October and life hasn't been the same since. he has brought new and exciting challenges to our lives and although being new parents is sometimes difficult... his little face makes any challenge worth it! Topher has been blessed by multiple baby showers from our friends and family in Lubbock, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and El Paso. We have felt so loved and taken care of during Topher's first few months!

Topher with his parents, 3 wks

This was a year of firsts for this little Porter family. We have been so blessed and pray that your 2009 was blessed as well. We also are looking forward to 2010... many of our friends are expecting little blessings and we are looking forward to meeting Topher's newest friends!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAVE A VERY WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!

Much love,

Ryan, Angela, Topher, Rufio, and Harper

2 months and doing good!

I am having a hard time believing that my little Topher is two months old today. I feel like only yesterday I was complaining about pregnancy stuff and waiting to have this baby. Time really does move too fast! But what a wonderful two months it has been!

We had his check up yesterday and little man now weighs 11 lbs 1 oz and is 24 inches long. That means for weight, he is in the 25-50 percentile, and for height, the 75th. His head is also in the 50th, but I didn't write down the measurement. It's a wonderfully round, big head! He also got his shots yesterday and while painful for him, it was painful for me. There is nothing like seeing your little one in pain! I wanted to hold him and make it go away... lucky for me, with two month olds and shots, that is exactly what I did. She shot him, he cried, I held him, he stopped! He did wonderful last night too. No signs of reaction and no fever or fussiness. He slept and ate like normal. It's wonderful when things are normal!

He and I had to go grocery shopping today, and of course, it was snowing. He didn't seem to mind, but I pretty much bundled him up really good. He is such a sweet guy. I never really liked the term "Momma's boy", but now I have one and I love it. He is my little man. We laugh and talk almost all day. He lets me shower, most the time, and occasionally, I let him be held a little extra during quiet times!

We seem to be doing good on this feeding thing. Seems like it would never be a routine, but we have one. I am excited to say, he seems to be eating less formula, which means he must be getting more from ME! I have to say, I have never worked so hard for something like I have with breastfeeding. And the funny thing is... there is only so much 'work' to be done. It's either there or it's not. But for the time being, we are nursing first, then formula as a desert. And the scale says that is working for us!

Lastly, I wanted to mention what a wonderful Thanksgiving we had. It was so special to have Topher meet his Uncle Chris. Chris is so good with babies, having 4 nephews and 1 niece already, it was great to see him with Topher. He feed him, held him, kissed, and loved him. Topher even woke Chris up on several different occasions! Thanksgiving was blessed with my parents, Ryan's parents, grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins. I loved being surrounded by family, and Topher did too. He got held and played with and it was so wonderful.

I just feel overwhelmingly blessed today. I am still working on getting my barrings, but days like today make me so incredibly excited about what is going to come.

Meeting Mema and Papa

On our way down the road to Las Cruces, we stopped in T or C to visit and introduce Topher to his great-grandparents, Mema and Papa. It was a wonderful lunch and a fun visit. Topher was a little cranky since he had been in the car all day, it was his first road trip... but overall he did very well. We are so blessed by Mema and Papa and can't wait for more time with them.

Mema and Topher

The boys. 3 Generations... missing Stanna!

Topher loves his Papa.