And then he was three...

I can not believe that Porter, my handsome, intelligent, sweet, willful and hilarious boy is 3!  He is so much fun and cracks me up on a daily basis with his toddler, spirit-of-an-old-man, 30-year-old-vocabulary perspective on life. He is able to reason and charm, and charm and reason himself right out of time-out he often does.  He also is starting to "talk back" and he does so in a way that makes me want to pull out my hair and laugh all at once.  "Mom, I just love you; you're beautiful," "I was just jokin' Mom," "It was just an accident," "Mom, are you kidding me right now," and "I know, it's just a disaster," are his recent quick responses to the time-out threats.  I love walking in on him creating scenes with his Thomas trains, or "reading" books to his sister.  I am so proud of my little man and love the numerous blessings that come with being his mommy.  

We didn't have a big huge party this year, but I did make sure that Porter felt very celebrated... To get ready for the birth-week, we started out with haircuts.  Emma Rose got her first ever haircut at 14 months of age.

Also, in preparation for the big 3, we started potty training.  After a solid 2 weeks, Porter is doing great!  But it did take lots of treats and outings, including Monkey Business, and the zoo!

We visited the new Elephant park on Porter's birthday.  The kids loved it.

That night we opened presents.

Porter was thrilled to get his new concrete truck!

He also was thrilled to eat his requested birthday dinner of grilled cheese and chocolate cake.

We spent lots of time at the pool the 2 days after Porter's birthday.  Emma Rose loves walking in the water and bathing in the sun, just like her mama!

We found a bunny as we were leaving the pool too! (top right-hand corner beneath the leaves...)

We had a little birthday party with the family the Saturday after Porter's birthday.  Man, did he LOVE hanging out with his cousins!

Cousin Caroline wore her glasses the ENTIRE party!

Porter's "working truck" cake!!!

Sunday was Father's Day, and Corey spent the morning in a water fight with Porter, and that evening we all went to celebrate with family at Patti & Gary Johnson's house.  Once again, the cousins had a blast playing together, and it was the perfect end to celebrating "being 3!"

Camping!!!

Emma Rose is developing quite the little personality.  She LOVES nothing more than her big brother's "stuff" - especially the toys he tends to hoard away from her.

She goes about 90 miles an hour and doesn't let go of her excited little grin.

So we knew that she would just love camping...

Here's a look at the start of Emma Rose's 1st, and Porter's 2nd camping trip in Eagle County:

Once there, both kids were thrilled.  EmmaRose had to taste it all: the dirt, the pine cones --- her face and hands were quickly black, and she had grit all over her pacifier.

Porter was adorable and absolutely mimicked everything his dad did.

His reaction to the completion of the tent:

While Porter helped his dad with the fire,

Emma Rose went exploring - on the run.

Roasting Marshmallows was Porter's absolute favorite part of the trip.

I was nervous, but with a close-to-the-Ritz set-up in the tent, both kids slept through the night.

While Porter fervently admitted to really liking camping, he wasn't a huge fan of fishing.

We took the kids on a walk to where Porter found his own fishing stick and daddy went fly-fishing.

It was a lot of work, but the kids had a blast!

And some more

Emma Rose is walking...no, RUNNING!!!...like a little champ and has absolutely no problems keeping up with Porter. It's a little late, but here is a video of some of her first steps, taken about a week before her first birthday:

Just as Porter loves his "Dino," Emma Rose adores her Giraffe - this move here is a sure sign that she is ready for bed:

With all the beautiful weather, both kids spend hours outside playing.

They truly are becoming buddies, and for the most part play really well together.

They fight pretty well together too! 

Emma Rose Sowa ... and family

Emma Rose is a healthy, beautiful 1 year old! She has brought us so much joy. We had pictures taken to remember this adorable time in her life. At 12 months, Emma Rose is walking - sometimes tumbly-running - and claps for herself, calling herself "good girl" all the time. She is full of smiles and personality, loves to wave to any and all audiences and shout, "hi!" She loves her giraffe, her blanky, anything soft, but mostly she adores and mimics her big brother, Porter. He has made her tough, but she is not short-handed when it comes to the drama department. Emma Rose weighs 22 pounds, 11 ounces, is 31 inches long, and she is very smart. She is pure joy to our family and we love her so much. We are so proud of her big brother, Porter, and how gentle, caring and protective he is becoming when he is around her. Just yesterday I looked in the back seat and my eyes welled with tears as I observed the two reaching across their car seats to hold hands. We feel so blessed at this stage in our lives.