celebrating 13 weeks with the vandaveers in birmy!

13 weeks!  the second trimester has arrived & i've welcomed it with open arms.  i'm feeling much better, like i could conquer the world even!  my appetite has returned to a normal schedule, not eating every hour or two.  my biggest cravings are still orange juice & v8 juice.  so random, but i'll certainly take it.  & naps are still my most beloved afternoon activity.  but conquer the world after those naps i can!

to celebrate these 13 weeks, the vandaveers came to visit us in birmy!!  it was little man's first time to our neck of the woods out of the womb.  {julie byrd & little aveer were here when she was 7 months pregnant, almost 2 years ago.}  we ate some amazing food {moe's & saw's, of course}, played at parks & the museum & watched choo choos {malcolm's favorite}, & celebrated easter together!  it was a wonderful & so loved weekend.

 {a sunrise swing date}

 {all 4 fellas on a trip to the park}

little man celebrated his 2nd easter with us!  we made a huge feast with our favorite pioneer woman spicy dr pepper pulled pork, super cheesy potatoes, corn casserole {you know, for a "vegetable"}, spinach & kale wontons {julie's idea of easter food}, coconut cupcakes, & carrot cake cake bites!  little man got an easter basket full of eggs & bubbles & stickers & an easter book & an easter lamb.  he was pretty pumped about the bubbles.  & then he had his first easter egg hunt!  with stickers & bandaids abound.

 {cheers!}

{or boom! if you're blakey}

{a little frat guy in the making}

{love you, julie byrd!} 

happy 13 weeks & happy easter & happy weekend with the vandaveers!

love love,

kjp.

celebrating the holidays in oklahoma!

{oklahoma will always have the best sunsets.}

blakey & i had a wonderful christmas week in the great state of oklahoma!  eight days of family {although we really really missed my mom & ray & sister & benny boo & little man!} & sleeping in & delicious food & amazing friends & celebrations & one incredible football game.  we got to see our adorably pregnant sister-in-law & our tiny little four month old nephew, celebrate christmas a few times & new years a few times, eat cow or mexican at almost every meal. sleep in until 9 or 10 every morning, & spend every moment together.  it was oh so lovely.

{christmas at my dad's!}

{baby aj!}

{happy hour with delicious cocktails at scratch}

{of course we had to have big truck tacos}

{hot tubbing' with tanky}

the ou vs alabama game had to be the best sugar bowl of all time!  did i think we'd win?  absolutely not.  not a chance.  & that made it oh so sweet.  living in alabama & not having to listen to the tide talk about how incredible they are for the next six months, even better.  boomer sooner, friends.  boomer sooner!

{porters celebrating the win!}

{tanky was thrilled too}

{one of the best burgers in norman at the garage}

{old man tanky was worn out from his week o' fun}

merry christmas to you!

love love,

kjp.

our christmas 2013.

as with all things worth celebrating, blakey & i celebrated christmas all week long!  we began last weekend with a puzzle by the beautiful christmas tree, our annual viewing of love actually, our first viewing of white christmas, lots of football, & a couple of days home together.

{my happy boys}

 {the little guy & green man & me & coffee}

 {the beginning of our a christmas story puzzle}

{after three days, success!}

on christmas eve, blakey was working away at the hospital, so i brought a christmas feast to the call team!  we enjoyed some truly delicious smoked turkey from moe's bbq, super cheesy mashed potatoes, & my favorite green bean casserole.  & for dessert - eggnog cheesecake!  a happy christmas eve in the hospital.  

as soon as blakey got home christmas morning, our true christmas celebration began!  we opened presents, watched tanky tear into his presents, facetimed & chatted with family, threw greenman over & over & over, & made our christmas breakfast tradition - migas & chorizo!  it was a beautiful day with my amazing husband celebrating the love of Christ.

 {the pioneer woman's amazing migas}

 {tanky LOVES opening gifts.

that must be why he tried to open our gifts early too.}

 {the awesome new le cresuet tea pot blakey got me!}

{& the GORGEOUS sorel boots blakey got me!

he really really spoils me.}

 {Christ the Lord, the newborn king is here!}

a very merry christmas to you & yours.  may we remember the joy of this day all year long.

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - you.

i love christmas cards.  seriously love them.  we send ours out the week after thanksgiving every year in hopes to receive our friends' & families' cards as soon as possible & have them up to enjoy for weeks.  we love the happy faces, the joyful greetings, & the wonderful wishes from all of you.  they truly make our home a more joyful place at christmas time.  

so thank you for sharing your christmas with us.  we are thankful for each & every one of you.

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,

kjp.

a very merry christmas to you! love, the porters.

a very merry christmas to you & yours!  wishing you much joy & peace & love this holiday.

love love,
kjp.

thankful thursday - sparkles & lights

christmas time makes blakey & me so happy.  whoever gets up first turns the christmas lights on for a bright morning.  whoever gets home first turns the christmas lights on for a sparkly evening.  it instantaneously brings so much joy to our home.  so thankful for this season.

 {our 2013 sweet home alabama ornament}

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,

kjp.

the wonderful mcgowan christmas party 2013.

our favorite birmy christmas party was an incredible day of joy & happiness.  the mcgowans hosted all of us for a delicious southern brunch, amazing football, tasty holiday treats, & so much fun.  the southern meal shined with chicken & waffles, mini pigs in a blanket, pulled pork sliders, & pimento cheese.  we watched an unbelievable sooner win at bedlam & the entertaining big 12 championship & sec championship.  & we thoroughly enjoyed the holiday with these truly wonderful friends.

 {my beautiful friends}

 {our festive holiday attire}

 {our handsome gentlemen}

{blake & ogden in pure joy after sabering a bottle of champagne open.

well done, fellas.  well done.

we are so proud of you.}

a very merry christmas celebration indeed.  so much love for these people.

love love,

kjp.

o christmas tree, clam chowder, & war eagle.

our thanksgiving break was filled with so many wonderful things - resting a little, celebrating a lot, delicious treats, amazing friends, unbelievable football, & four days together.  it was truly incredible.

after the big thanksgiving day, we spent friday decorating for christmas!  our tree is up, lights are on, ornaments are hung, & all is lovely.  our advent calendar is hanging with the annual discussion of whether you count up or down. {down is obviously the answer.}  & we even got to open a christmas gift early from my amazing in-laws - a beautiful new tree skirt with "the porters" embroidered on it!

we had the mcgs over for football saturday!!  i made my dad's new england clam chowder in homemade {& by that, i mean my manager made at work} bread bowls.  all very delicious.  the pups played & played again, although much more tired this time.  we actually took a couple photos to commemorate.  & then we watched THE unbelievable iron bowl.  oh my gosh.  that was an ending for the ages.  & i am very happy to say - war damn eagle.

so many things to be thankful for this holiday season.

love love,

kjp.

giving thanks 2013.

thanksgiving 2013 was a huge, incredibly delicious, & amazingly fun success!  blakey, tanky, & i joined amy, ogden, & lola at their home for a fabulous day of celebrating.  very sadly, the rogers came down with a horrible stomach bug & quarantined themselves.  they were very missed.  but we persevered through, found all of the missing ingredients, & even had delicious alternative dishes.  our traditional day of thanks with the mcgs - a birmingham tradition we will certainly miss & always look back upon with the fondest of memories.

{ogden's brined & fried turkey - incredible.}

{TL: surprisingly tasty store-bought, pre-frozen dressing.

TR: amy's perfect traditional green bean casserole.

BL: my herbed, cheesed, & mashed potatoes.

BR: my jalapeño creamed corn.}

 {amy's gorgeous pumpkin pie!}

 {& my thanksgiving tradition - grandma's pecan pie.}

somehow we did not take a single photo of humans on this thanksgiving.  but just know - we looked adorable & festive & happy & young & like we didn't eat 1,000 times more food than necessary &… :)

tank & his girlfriend lola had almost as much fun as we did.  while lola & i napped in front of the fire & the others watch lots & lots of football, tank destroyed a kong toy & went to town with the squeaky ball.  please oh please enjoy the video above.  

giving thanks always.  especially today.

love love,

kjp.