I can do it myself

6:00 a.m. in the Burt home

All is quiet

6:05 a.m.

Nora jibberish starts to echo over the baby monitor

6:10 a.m.

Feeding Nora (with the bedroom door closed so her high-pitched coos don't wake anyone else up...she's very talkative in the mornings)

6:18 a.m.

Sounds of a chair scraping across the floor resonate from the kitchen

Any guesses?

Glad I got in there before he poured the milk.

Porter for President? Nope, Just Cutest Kid

So a couple of months ago I entered Porter in a local cutest kid photo contest, and what should I find in my inbox this morning? An email telling me he made the finals!

Apparently, Porter is one of the twelve cutest kids in southern Utah.

The competition is fierce, and it appears we're a bit behind, as kid #6 already has over 50 votes (I don't even know if I know fifty people), but I'm hoping all our blogger friends can help us pull through with a victory. Should you wish to cast your vote for one very cute three-year-old named Porter, click on the link below and vote for kid #2.

http://www.myframedphotography.blogspot.com/

Pretty Please!

You can only vote once from any given computer, but feel free to vote from all the computers to which you have access. And if, like us, you think Porter is cute enough to win this one, feel free to pass this link along to any friends or family you know of who may not see our blog ona regular basis. Thanks, and happy voting!

Digits, please

Q: What do you get when you leave your cell phone in the grocery cart?
A: A shiny new phone that you can't use because you don't have anybody's number.

SO...to all our friends and family, can we get your digits?
Leave it in a comment if you're feeling brave (but please remember, ours is not a private blog), shoot me an email with the requisite info, or if you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, call us up in person. Thanks!

In his Words

Ever wonder what kind of fashion critique a three-year-old can give? Wonder no more.

This morning, after the requisite soggy diaper change and wrestle to swap car PJs for day clothes, Porter looked at me with a dubious smirk and said, "I look like an old brown potato because this shirt is ugly."

He was right. The shirt had shrunk after washing (I hate when that happens), and it was super wide and reminiscent of an eighties belly shirt.

Ok, I hear my mom, who is in town for the weekend, in the background offering Porter a headband for his curls. I'd better go remind her that she does have a granddaughter now.

If you give a boy a birthday...

...Then he'll surely need two more.

Right?

Porter had a very good birthday this year, with a progressive party that spanned almost three weeks, thanks to poor planning on my part and loads of adoring fans in the extended family.

We spent the evening of Porter's actual birthday with Cocoa the horse.

The green frog rainboots were of Porter's own choosing, when with exasperation, he said, "since I don't have any cowboy boots, I guess I'll have to wear my frogboy boots."

After a couple of minutes on the horse, followed by two hours of playing in the dirt, throwing rocks and chasing a vary patient barn cat, we headed home for some birthday cake and a bath.

But that, my friends, was just the beginning.

We had saved the gifts for the "real" birthday party we had planned to throw while Andy's family was in town (and had talked about it with Porter ad infinitum, so there was no getting out of it), but when travel plans went awry, I threw a last-minute (and three times rescheduled) party for Porter so we could give him some presents and sing "Happy Birthday," which we somehow forgot to do on round one of the festivities.

We were joined this time around by Porter's pals Wesley & Holden, and I just love this picture. Who knew birthday candles could be so exciting?

The third portion of Porter's birthday involved present opening from Andy's folks a few days after the second party, followed by more presents from my folks, and one day later, from my sister, on our recent trip to SLC. After being presented with gifts each time Porter has encountered a new family member as of late, I'm concerned he may have unrealistic expectations the next time we all gather.

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate.

And who is this cute three year old?

A quick highlight of some of Porter Bryan's faves as of late:

CANDY

The suspicious candy-filled mouth is no stranger in the Burt home.

UNCLE

Porter adores his Uncle Layne, and after a stint of not seeing he and Crystal for a few days, will start assuming any knock at the door is "Uncle" coming to play (and is oftentimes mad if it's someone else).

TRAINS, PLANES & AUTOMOBILES

If it's got wheels, it's sure to be a hit in Porter's book.

COLORING

Porter loves to color and do "school work." We think he's a lefty, though our fingers are crossed that he'll settle on the right hand when he stops switching back and forth.

And one thing Porter does not like?

Holding Nora.

He loves to talk to her and play near her, but as soon as we suggest he hold her, he runs out of the room. In the almost five months since she's been in the fam, this is only the second picture we've been able to get of the two of them together (and you may note, that he is not actually HOLDING her). This one came after several where Nora was laying sideways while Porter leaned as far away from her as possible.

Grass, Grads and Grandmas

Spring is finally here, bringing with it loads of new stuff that doesn't require mittens and insulating plastic wrap on the windows.

Our spring to date...

GRASS

The mud pit that was once ours is now a bonafide backyard. Since April, we have installed sprinklers (ok, paid someone else to install sprinklers); raked dirt and dug up boulders until our blisters blistered; agonized over fescue vs. bluegrass (bluegrass won); and planned a garden to be planted this weekend (something about waiting to plant in Cedar City until you can see the duck on the mountain).

So far, so good. Though our yard to-do list still includes 50 strawberry plants, 4 tons of decorative rock, lots of drought-resistant shrubery, 2 handmade benches, an iron gate and a partridge in pine tree (or two...minus the partridge). Here's hoping our big backyard reveal is ready before the first frost.

GRADS

Though no new degrees were to be had in the Andy-Jen Burt home, our brother/uncle Layne did graduate from SUU this spring, bringing with him a much-anticipated visit from the Atlanta and Colorado Burt contingencies (AKA: Andy's folks and his brother Chris).

(we used the automatic timer; can you tell?)

GRANDMAS

In addition to our visit from Grandma and Grandpa Burt, we have also spent some grandma time with the McAfee clan as of late on a qucik Mother's Day trip to Salt Lake City. You'd be amazed at how much you can cram into 48 hours. In our case, this past Mom's weekend included...

a trip to the dinosaur "moo-seum"

gardening (slave labor = Mother's Day gifting perfection) visits with the fam

and a special Mother's Day surprise party for my sweet Grandma Black.

Throw in a little speed shopping (Cedar City is a one Wal Mart town) and a family game night, and you wind up with two tired kids and lots of laundry Sunday evening, but all well worth it to spend some time with the fam.