Flag football Picture

Updated April pics

Hi all,

I updated the pictures in the April slideshow with recent ones. Sneak peak at two of the pices is below.

Today was Fancy Nancy day. Couldn't talk D into wearing a button-down shirt and tie, but at least he wore the suit!

And this is a picture of D on the way to soccer practice. Thanks Grandpa Freddie for the outfit! He looks like a real soccer star now!

Soccer video

This video is on youtube, but figured that I'd upload it here too. Christopher has discovered iMovie on his Macbook and has been spending lots of time perfecting his editing skills. I am the videographer though, so I apologize in advance for the shaking! :)

SIX YEARS OLD!

Donovan is 6 now! He had a great birthday....it actually seemed like we celebrated for over a week. He celebrated at home, at school and at Chuck E Cheese! He's pretty excited about being 6 as he is now old enough to go to science camp (this summer).

Nickolas had a good time while he was here for his Spring Break. He didn't seem to mind partying along with Donovan. I actually think it was a tie as to who had more fun at Chuck E Cheese.

Nickolas was able to spend alot of time with his Dad during the week. They went to the gym, went to Christopher's classes (two of the days) and just generally just hung out together. Nickolas seemed to really enjoy helping Christopher coach Donovan's sports teams. The 5 and 6 year-olds certainly enjoyed chasing after Nickolas as well!

Look out for new pictures in the slide show and on the youtube page soon! T

Hottie

Donovan has learned a new vocabulary word. He has introduced the word "Hottie" into his repertoire. I asked him what it meant and he told me "pretty girl"!! Oh Man! :)

Anyway, Big Nick comes in one week. Hopefully, we will be able to fit some fun into his time here although both Christopher and I have our regular teaching/work schedule. And D has school. I know at least one of the evenings we will be celebrating D's 6th birthday! Can you believe he's so old already? I can't.

I am uploading video from today's flag football game as we speak, so check my youtube link to see some of the action.

We love you all, T

D's Science Experiment

So, I was hanging out watching tv and Donovan comes up to me with a sheet of paper with his "science experiment plan". Its for an ocean in his room. I had to turn off the tv and (OF COURSE) share his plan with you all. Neither Christopher or I helped him with it. Just so you can decipher it.....1. is water, 2. is sand, 3. is oil and 4 is a tube. The picture at the bottom shows how it all goes together.

More football pics!

I also put a video of D practicing on my youtube channel (link to the right). T

Sorry!

Hello,

Okay, so I haven't been too good about posting! Sorry about that. Will try to do better. I do have a new camera, so I at least will be able to share good pict

ures again.

The one below is of Donovan after his last flag football game. Its been lots of fun. And also the reason why I have a new camera. D ALMOST scored a TD and we did not have it recorded for prosperity. Christopher got on the computer that day and started the research for my new Canon! I won't be missing the next TD attempt! :)

Anyway, all is good here with us. D, Christopher and me are all suffering from Spring allergies, but are enjoying the warmer weather. It was a cold winter in Texas this year!

We went to Seattle last month and had a blast with the family there. We ate well, saw some sights (Pike Place Market, Pacific Science Center) and just enjoyed hanging out. My conference was good too! :) I'll post the pics that D's "Grandaddy" took in the slideshow.

Last thing, we have a new pet. Its a guinea pig named Hammie! Christopher's been wanting to get D a guinea pig for a long time now, and the other night was the right time I guess. It didn't hurt that we were on our way home from celebrating Christopher's paper being accepted in one of his field's top journals! Nothing like good news putting you in the mood for buying ANOTHER pet, huh? We now have a guinea pig, 2 frogs, many fish, a turtle and a dog ! :)

T

D opening presents Christmas morning!

Christopher enjoying Nickolas' Christmas present--DJ Hero!

Nickolas opening up the video game he had hinted about since Thanksgiving!

They had snow (man-made) in our neighborhood park one day. The kids had fun throwing snow balls!

The boys played in the snow for over 2 hours that day!

Last year, I bought a gingerbread house kit that D and I put together. This year, I was determined to make my own for the boys. It took two tries, but I was successful! This one was decorated by Nickolas!

This house was decorated by Donovan!

More pictures are posted in the slideshow!

Happy New Year!

I know its been about 10 days of 2010, but I figure I can say Happy New Year's for the next month or so!

Nickolas and Donovan had a great Christmas. We got a nice new family computer that I am posting from, but I am not sure if it was a big hit. When asked what they got for Christmas the boys responded video games (Nickolas) and bubblegum (Donovan)! Oh well, I love it! :)

Their Grammy was here for a few days between Christmas and New Year's Eve. I think she had a good time, but it was the quiet time of the break for all of us. We spent the days relaxing and playing the new video games (DJ Hero is awesome). D and I had some friends over and Nickolas was able to go play with several of the neighborhood boys. I think D's highlight of the break was finally getting to see Alvin and the Chipmunks! It was a good movie and all of us (me, D, Nickolas and Grammy) gave it a big thumbs up! D has been rocking out to the soundtrack every day since!

Nickolas left on New Year's day and Christopher started back to work the following Monday. I have one more week before I go back. D started school again last Wed. The first two mornings were rough, but he was back in the groove on Fri. and I expect (and hope for) no problems tomorrow!

Nickolas spent last week at Walker Creek in CA for outdoor education week. All sixth graders at his school participated. He was pretty excited about it before he left. We spoke to him on Friday when he got back and he said that he had fun. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to participate in all of the activities as he injured his leg while hiking on the second day. Sounds like it was painful but he is doing okay now.

I have a conference in Seattle so we just booked tickets for Christopher and D to join me. That will be fun! D has never been to Seattle before to see Christopher's family there. He just saw his Grandaddy last April, but he hasn't seen Nana in a long while and hasn't met his Aunt Kiara and Uncle Jonathan. He's been asking to go on a plane so when I told him the plan, he told me thank you and said that I was a "good Mommy".

He's been telling us that (mainly me) we are good or bad parents lately. It usually depends on if he gets a yes or no in response to his many requests. I think its a pretty normal thing for his age and find it kind of funny. What is curious is that he got it from school (he told us this). I would love to be a fly on the wall and hear what else these kids talk about!

I don't have many pics from the holidays but will post what I have. We love you all! Tamiko

Camera is broken!

No pictures for you all because my prized Canon G9 is not working! Rotten timing! My plan is to use the old Canon for the holidays but it will be a very big difference in quality of pictures. Oh well!

BTW, I had a great birthday last week. Thanks for the flowers, Seattle Porters! They still look great in our kitchen! Another highlight of the day was the tasty cake that my lovely husband and 5 year-old made!

Everyone please send positive energy to Grandma Cathy! She fell and broke a hip bone! She had surgery (on my birthday of all days) and is recuperating in a rehabilitation center! Hopefully, she will heal quickly!

Love you all, T

Sneaky Recess!

It snowed today! There was a lot of excitement about this as it doesn't happen very much here! I have heard rumors of snow in the 11 years that I have lived here, but today is the first day that I saw it with my own two eyes.

Donovan reported that he had "Sneaky Recess". Sounds like the teachers took the kids out so they could see the snow.

Great Turkey Day!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Ours was nice. We had perfect weather (70's and sunny) and good food. Gertrude was very tasty! :)

Nickolas leaves to head back to CA tonight. He had a great week. Mainly just relaxed but did get in a Monday night football game with his Dad. He also went to the gym with Christopher to lift some weights. D loved having his brother here. As expected, the 12 year-old didn't always appreciate the affections and attentions of the 5 year-old, but they got along pretty well overall. Here's some pics from yesterday.

Baking a pie with Dad.
Waiting for dinner!

Gerturde was pretty and tasty. Christopher did a good job with her.

Last picture of all of the boys before we started our feast!

Prime example of the effects of tryptophan!

Poor Gertrude!

Hello all,

I thought I would share artwork from D's Turkey Day at school. It was last Thursday. Parents were invited to attend so I was able to go and do some arts and crafts with him. We had fun.

Nickolas got here yesterday morning. He was pretty tired but said he was happy to be here. D was superhyped up to see his brother. He told me the other day that he did a good job writing "Nick" at school. I asked why he was writing his brother's name and he said it was because he was writing what he was thankful for! Aww!

For his part, Nickolas seemed to be happy to see his brother too. He even gave his brother a Pluto pen that he won at school (he won two...a Pluto and a Goofy). Aww again! Its a Brotherly Love Fest in the Porter house! :)

The title of this post is due to my lovely husband declaring this morning that he's named our Thanksgiving turkey Gertrude! Its obvious why I put that particular adjective in front of her name! We love you all, T

PS Click on the slideshow and then my name to get to my picture albums. You'll see that I uploaded more soccer pictures from the season.

31!

Hi all!

We picked up 31 issues of the Cy-Fair magazine this month. If you add the two that came in the mail yesterday, we were actually at 33! We've sent many of them off in the mail to the grandparents along with school pics but if you want more, just let us know! We'll be able to hook you up! :)

D has his photo and a little write up on page 26! D's school picture is below. Its not my favorite because he's got the fake smile and clenched teeth thing going on.

Nickolas gets here first thing Saturday morning! D is the most excited about this although we are all looking forward to it. Our plans for Thanksgiving are to relax (except for school for D and me on Mon. and Tues.), play outside, have some family boardgame nights and cook/eat! I love the holidays!

We saw the winner!

Hi all! So this is the mag that D will be in! The kid who won the contest and is on the cover took his picture right before D! We watched his entire photo shoot. He was a really cute kid and very well behaved and agreeable for a 2 year old! T

Not a Cover Boy yet!!

Just saw on Facebook that D did not win the cover contest for Cy-Fair Magazine....

"Congratulations to the winners of the Cy-Fair Cutest Cover Contest! 1st Place – Kaleb Matusek, 2nd Place – Hope Vanderburg, 3rd Place – Azariah Hardy; Honorable Mentions – Anabel Valenzuela, Isabella Castillo, and Donovan Porter; Finalists – Aliyah Presley, Avery Conklin, Evan Ann Woodward, Dakotah Pool, Cole David Wood, Isa Lammie, Davis Treese, and Grayson Goeden"

I am super excited to see his picture in the mag though! Hopefully we will get an issue soon. T

Happy Friday!

Hello all,

We are having a good Friday. Donovan and his Dad are watching the new Spongebob movie (on tv) to celebrate another good week! D's had nothing but stickers on his behavior chart these last two weeks and had the great report card (see previous post) so we are letting him know often how proud we are of him! He is eating up the positive attention like candy, of course! :)

Nickolas' report card should be coming soon, I think Christopher is signed up for a phone P-T conference in a couple of weeks! Nickolas has reported that he's doing well though!

Christopher got an email today from Nickolas' mom....it was kind of a shocker! She got married today! To a gentleman named Guy Jenkins. We don't know anything else (never heard of him before today), but we are hoping that he turns out to be a great stepdad to Nickolas.

Well, that's the latest. We love you all, Tamiko

Donovan's First Ever Report Card!

Its a really good one! I was only able to upload one page of it but click on the image below to see it full size. The boy is really doing well! Love you all , Tamiko

Halloween pics!

Hello all,

Donovan went trick or treating with his friend Faith last night. He had a good time, but we went a little too far which was my fault. I forgot that they had ran around a good part of the afternoon playing soccer and at the playground. So at the end of the night I had one tired little guy! Oops!

We haven't heard from Nickolas yet so not sure how his night went, but Christopher said that he was going to go trick-or-treating last night as a wrestler.

I did not dress up, but my lovely husband picked a kid-friendly costume....the football player Plaxico Burress who famously shot himself in the leg! I told everyone that I didn't know which was worse..... his blue-tracksuit/gold tooth/money chain getup from last year or this one! Poor, mistreated Morehouse was Diego (last minute choice since we couldn't find the pet superman costume)!

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween too! T