Christmas 2012

We had a wonderful Christmas morning at the Porcaro house!  I was just so excited for Cash to get up and see all the presents under the tree...and wouldn't you know, that little boy slept til 9 am!  In his defense, he played really hard on Christmas Eve at our friend's, the Laurine's, and wouldn't even slow down to eat dinner.  I was awake at 8am, biting at the bit and waiting for Cash to wake up!  It was so nice to get to just enjoy our morning and let Cash take his time opening his gifts.  He did a great job this year and was really into tearing off the paper and even though it took well into the evening to get everything opened, he was loving it!  Here are some pictures of our Christmas morning!

Cash went came out of his room and went right to the big gift in the Sesame Street paper...he wasn't shy about starting to tear the paper off at all!

He just kept grabbing all the Sesame wrapped gifts

"This one next, momma!"

Tearing off the paper like a champ

Checking out his new Ernie learning pad

Too cute!

And of course, he loved playing with all the wrapping paper

Trying to figure out his new Story Reader from Papa Gordie and Gabby

The Story Reader reads the books aloud to him...he thinks it's pretty cool!

Jeff couldn't get this Elmo out of the package quick enough!  Thank you Papa David and Grandma Sandy! You can also see the "hit gift" of the day in the background...his riding pirate ship from Grandma Sue and Rich!

We had a wonderful, lazy day in our pjs and all enjoyed a nap that afternoon.  The rest of the day was spent playing with all the new toys and talking to our family up north.  The only way our day could have been any better was if we could have shared it with our parents and siblings.  The holidays are hard when you can't share them with your loved ones, but Jeff and I are making our own traditions that we hope Cash will always remember and look upon with fond memories as an adult.  We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and know that we send many wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to you all!

Wrapping Up 2012

Where, oh where, has 2012 gone?  I have been asking myself that question for the past few days!  I'm sure that you are asking where we have been the last few months as well, since I realzied that I have not updated since August! 

First, we would like to wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  I cannot believe that it's almost the end of December already. A dear friend of mine once said that once you have a little one, the days are long and the years are short.  I couldn't agree more! 

We have continued to be busy and equally blessed as 2012 is drawing to a close.  Cash is 19 months old now...and boy, does he keep me busy!  Each day is a new adventure with him and I honestly believe that I am more exhausted at the end of the day than he is!  He seems to really be picking up on new things lately and it's so exciting when we realize that he is doing something new or something by himself that once required assistance.  Since I haven't updated in awhile, I will post a few pics from the last few months and give any news that has been going on.  So, here we go!


September:
Cash turned 16 months old this month.  He loves to play outside and doesn't sit still for long at all!  Since we haven't had any "professional" or nice pictures taken of Cash (since he will not cooperate for that too much), we decided to take him to Gilchrest Park in downtown Punta Gorda for a little photo shoot.  As you can see, we did get some great shots, mostly of him on the move.  But that is how he is...always going and smiling along the way!  If you would like to see more of Cash's 16 month photos, let me know and I can email you the Snapfish link!

October:
October brought us some beautiful weather, which meant a lot of playing outside and at the park!  Cash loves being able to "explore" things and we have found a really nice park near us (about a 5 minute car ride) that is on the water and has a ton of shade for days when it isn't quite so nice out!  We were able to go to a local church that was having a Fall Festival and Cash picked out a pumpkin for daddy to carve and as you will see, he did an awesome job again!  We also took Cash out trick or treating for the first time this year.  He really wasn't too into it...we took him to downtown Punta Gorda (which is set up a lot like downtown Plymouth) and it was a MADHOUSE!  Next year, we will have to find something more low key or take him to the mall until he is a little bit bigger to tackle the craziness!  While we live in a lovely neighborhood, there aren't many sidewalks so trick or treating is a little different down here.  Overall, we had a great month of October!  Here are some highlights. 

I love this picture of Cash...he is roaming around our yard and I just caught him at the right time!

Cash and Momma at the Fall Festival

He was so excited to pick out his own little pumpkin!

Our handsome little man!

"Exploring" around the house!

Cash is ready to go trick or treating!

You can't see it that great, but Cash was a bag of Cash!  His "bag" says US Federal Reserve and has fake money coming out the top!  We still have his costume and I need to take some better pictures of him in it!

Here is Cash taking a look at his pumpkin...he did NOT want to help daddy clean it out at all...maybe next year he will be more into it!

Jeff did a GREAT job on the Elmo face!

November:
November brought our family many blessings as one chapter closed in our lives and a new one opened.  As you all know, we were brought to Florida with the acceptance of Jeff's job in 2008 at the Wal Mart Distribution Center.  In November, Jeff accepted a new position with PPI Technologies in Sarasota, FL.  Jeff's buddy, Moke, that he met at Wal Mart, has been with PPI for about a year now and his position as the Shipping & Receiving and Inventory Control Manager was going to be opening up since he was being promoted to a Project Manager.  He was asked if there was anyone that he would recommend for the job, and he called Jeff.  Within a week, Jeff submitted his resume, interviewed with the company and accepted the position before leaving the interview!  We feel so blessed that this wonderful opportunity came our way.  Jeff has been so extremely happy with the new job and I couldn't be more proud of him! 

Before Jeff started his new job, we were able to take a little 3 day staycation to Tampa.  Awhile back, I saw a great deal on Living Social for a 2 night stay in Tampa with tickets to the Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Aquarium.  So we packed up and boy, was it an adventure!  For those of you who have traveled with a little one, you know that it's never really that easy.  Our first night did not consist of a whole lot of sleep for any of us, and it also happened to be the night we turned the clocks back!  Needless to say, we got an early start to our day and had a great time at the zoo (with a little nap for Cash as well!).  Our weather was fantastic and we wrapped up our couple days with a great morning at the Aquarium. 

Cash and daddy trying to relax for bed...Cash was having too much fun sleeping in the big bed to settle down!

Cash and daddy checking out some animals

Cash took his first Merry Go Round ride at the Zoo with momma...best part, it was free!

Cash and daddy checking out the Tampa traffic

Hanging out at the Aquarium

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day for us.  Jeff was off work and had that Friday off as well.  I cooked the full Thanksgiving meal and we hung out at home and just relaxed.  It was a nice day to just be with my boys and while we missed being with our families that day, it was a day to be thankful for all that we have together.  I was able to do some Black Friday shopping since Jeff was home and we put up our Christmas tree that weekend as well. 

December:
I absolutely LOVE the Christmas holiday season!  I am always so excited to set up the tree, wrap the gifts, bake delicious treats, listen to Christmas music and just enjoy the month of December.  This year, I have been especially excited because of Cash.  I couldn't wait to see his little face on Christmas morning and to share in the joy and wonder of a child.  Since we have not traveled to Michigan for a few years now for Christmas, I am always in a rush to get all the boxes out and make sure that all my crafty things (mostly ornaments for the nieces and nephews) are done.  This year, I was surprisingly on top of things!  It's been a bit of an adjustment the last couple months with Jeff's new job...he is now working "normal" hours again (he was working four ten hour days at Wal Mart and had three days off) and I have had to really use nap time to my advantage to get things done.  Jeff's company closes down for the holidays, so we are trying to enjoy our couple weeks together before the New Year begins and it's back to work and school for daddy.  I know that Cash has loved having Jeff home for the past week and I have too.  It's nice for us to get to spend some lazy days together.  We were able to go see Santa this year at Fisherman's Village.  Cash wasn't too sure about him when we got up there, so Mommy had to sit on Santa's lap too!  But Cash did give Santa high fives, as you will see in the pictures.  I will do a separate post for Christmas morning, but we had a wonderful day together!  Here are some December pictures. 

Getting ready for our Christmas card photo shoot!

The Porcaro Christmas tree

Our new tradition...each year we will add Cash's hand print to the tree skirt...what a wonderful keepsake to look at each year!

Momma and Cash with Santa

He didn't want to sit by himself or really look at Santa, but he did give high fives!

Smiles on this Monday...

Just wanted to share a few smiles with you on this Monday!  These videos are a few months old, but they are too cute not to share with family and friends.  These are just a couple examples of the fun we have in the Porcaro house with our little boy! 

The first video is when Cash figured out how to snort for the first time...his face is too cute and we couldn't help but laugh as he continues to try out his new sound! 

The second video is one of Cash's favorite games to play...we call it "Where is Cashew?"  He almost seems to be hamming it up for the video! 

Hope that these videos made you smile and gave you a laugh...as you can see, it's never a dull moment around here!

15 Month Update

Well, it's the middle of August and been almost 3 months since the last update.  We have had a pretty busy few months with some changes, but we are all just chugging along!  Cash went to the doctor on Wednesday for his 15 month well visit.  I am glad that Jeff was able to go because he was NOT a happy camper when we left! He was fine and walked down the hallway to the exam room and once we got in there, I think he remembered what goes down when we are there!  He was like a little velcro monkey on Jeff and cried even before he got his two vaccines!  Cash's pediatrician is very happy with his growth...he weighs 25 pounds and 2 ounces and is 33 inches tall!  I am fairly certain that we have a little string bean!  We are still working on table food...Cash is very stubborn (I have NO idea where he got that from) and we know that this is the one thing that he really can control right now.  We aren't too worried about it because he is gaining weight and does eat quite a few things which is good...it gives him lots of energy to GO GO GO!!!  Honestly, Cash is on the go from the moment he wakes up til we make him go to bed!  There are so many days that I am exhausted and look around to see that I have gotten nothing done on my "to do" list and wonder why I am so tired!  If you ever want a good workout, come stay at the Porcaro house for a few days!  Cash will run you ragged! 

Jeff and I finally decided to give Cash another haircut!  We had trimmed his hair back in February or March, but since then it has gone wild!  He is getting lots of waves and curls like his momma and to be honest, he was getting a little mullet in the back!  But he still looked adorable!  I didn't want to cut it because I LOVE the curls and he is still so little, but he sure does look like a big boy now! Here is Cash with his big boy cut, courtesy of Momma!

 Here is Cash's before...yes, this poor kid was running around with all that hair in his eyes! 

 Since I haven't done an update in awhile, I thought I would share some of Cash's favorite things with you!  Here is Cash with some of his favorite foods...

BACON!!!

My little carrot lover!

 Yes, he LOVES carrots!  I'm glad that he likes something so healthy and we always have carrots on hand since we buy two bags a week at the Farmer's Market.  He started to steal them off my plate at lunchtime and now he loves to snack on them while watching some of his shows or if Jeff and I eat dinner later than Cash, we give him some then.  Cash also loves Cheerios...I'm not surprised since I went through a box a week while pregnant with him!  He also likes to snack on veggie chips, cheese Ritz bitz, snap pea crisps and has loved trying out new cookies as a treat!  So far he likes animal crackers, Oreos, Nutter Butters, and Lorna Doone shortbread!



As I mentioned above, Cash is a very busy little boy!  We play all day long and would probably play all night if we let him!  He has really gotten into "hiding" from us and wants us to jump out and say boo!  Here is Cash hiding in the hall from Jeff!

Trying to peek and see daddy!

Cash loves reading his Elmo book...it's a learning book with a zipper, buckle, button, velcro, etc.  Cash's favorite page is the one with Bert on it...Cash is very determined to get Bert's buckle, as you can see below!

And of course, Cash likes to be sassy and get into anything that he shouldn't!  He finally got onto mine and Jeff's trickery with the toy box...we would open the lid and slide it close to the couch so he couldn't close it all the way and climb on...well, he finally got it closed the other day and here he is "playing" on top.  He is giving me the look like, "What, mom???  I'm not doing anything bad!"

We really are having a blast being Cash's mommy and daddy.  Right now, it seems that there aren't enough hours in the day for everything. Jeff has taken a new position at work and is now on midnights.  He is also back in school after taking a semester off.  We are all trying to get used to the new schedule, but I think that Cash likes that daddy comes home in the morning and plays for a little bit before going to bed!  Every morning, Cash hears Jeff opening the door and goes running to the gate saying Daddy!  It's the cutest thing! 

I promise to be better about making more posts.  If I try to schedule it in on the same day every week, it will become part of our schedule and I won't have any excuses!  We miss everyone very much and wish that you all could see how much Cash is growing and learning right now.  Remember that our door is always open and that we love having visitors!  Lots of love from our family to yours!

Cash's First Birthday

I can't believe that Cash's first birthday has come and gone!  We had a wonderful first birthday weekend and had quite a few visitors.  Grandma Sue, Papa Gordie and Gabby all came down to celebrate Cash's big day and I was so thankful to have them here.  It was a great way to celebrate even though we couldn't have all of our family here.  We had a small party for Cash on his birthday at our house and he had quite the turnout!  Here are a ton of pictures from his big day!

I made this birthday banner for Cash...each flag had a picture of Cash on it from birth to 11 months. 

Oh lord...what has mommy put on my head????

The cake wasn't a big hit...Cash HATES to touch or pick up anything mushy!  He was more intrigued with the sprinkles on the side of the cake than anything!

And then he tried to put the sprinkles back on the cake!

Here daddy...you have a taste!

The Porcaro Family

Yep...that's all the damage that was done to the smash cake!

Big Bird and Elmo showed up to the party!

LOVE these ladies...if I didn't know any better, I would have thought they were old friends from high school!  Here is my mom, Sue and one of my dearest friends, Barb

Cash was ready to open presents after a little nap and some peek a boo with his friend, Taylor!

Kisses for Tay!

A new dump truck!

Here is Cash showing off his bib from Papa and Gabby...you can almost hear his giggles in this one!

And, it's not a party til someone is crying!!!!!

It's my party, mom...and I'll cry if I want to!

He sure did get a lot of goodies...thank you everyone!

Showing off his new ride from mommy and daddy

As you can see, we had a really great day celebrating our little Cashew.  We wish that we were able to have all of our family and friends celebrate with us, but we are so thankful for all of you that sent cards and gifts to remember our little boy's big day.  We cannot believe that a whole year has already passed...we cannot wait to see what the next year holds for our little boy!