Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Porter is 7

On Saturday, Porter turned 7. As it so happens, he also lost his 7th tooth that night and has been referring to it as his "birthday tooth."

Porter is my practical and logical child. We often call him "practical Porter." Whenever Dallin is telling some fantastical story or coming up with some hair-brained scheme, Porter usually explains to him (not so patiently) why his ideas are wrong. A couple of days ago, Dallin was saying that he wanted to buy a toy for himself. Porter said, "Dallin, you don't need to spend your own money, you just need to ask Santa and then it will be free." Dallin, who can't wait for anything kept insisting that he wanted to spend his own money to have the toy now and Porter kept telling him that he was being ridiculous, because if he asked Santa, then he would have the toy and all of his money. (Porter is full of advice and edicts for Dallin but Dallin usually doesn't appreciate Porter's wisdom). This morning, Porter had put his birthday tooth and one other recent loss under his pillow (well, not actually under his pillow. He put them under his body so he would feel if anyone tried to remove them. It was quite a hassle for the tooth fairy to try to figure out where those teeth were). The tooth fairy left him a note telling him that she was leaving an extra dollar for the birthday tooth. Porter was sure that it was from me because (1) I also have a red pen, (2) we have a small notebook with paper the same size that the tooth fairy used, and (3) the writing was pretty nice like mine.

Porter is also very shy. He is trying to be braver and I have noticed that when he is just among his peers, he can be fairly outgoing. Even members of his family don't realize that he can have extended conversations about things because he doesn't like to talk too much in front of people or even look people in the eye. When we went to visit Santa at the mall, Dallin talked his ear off, while Porter looked away, rubbing the fur on Santa's coat and just whispered what he wanted. As part of his shyness, Porter likes to keep secrets. There are lots of things that he tells me that he makes me promise not to tell Dad or Dallin.

Porter likes to be funny. He has been reading joke books and likes to tell us jokes all the time. For Halloween, he had a hard time deciding what he wanted to be because he thought he should be something funny, like a giant banana or a whoopie cushion because he is such a funny guy. I think when he is alone with his friends, he tries to be comedian of the bunch.

Porter also likes to save things. It is hard for him to make decisions about which toy to buy, which shirt to wear, etc. because he likes everything and wants to keep things around him. He saves his teeth instead of putting them under the pillow because he likes to play with them and show them off. He wouldn't put this most recent batch under his pillow until I had taken a picture of them so that he could remember them. When he lost the previous two teeth, he wanted to take them to school so that (1) he could show them to his friends and (2) he could pretend he lost them at school and get one of the tooth-holder necklaces that they give out at school to kids who lose their teeth at school. Unfortunately, both teeth got lost while they were being shown off (though one survived long enough to get the necklace) and he couldn't put them under his pillow.

Porter is also our little athlete. He likes to run, play soccer, and now play basketball. He also was pretty good at gymnastics but doesn't want to do it right now. I am going to try to coax him into taking it a little longer though. He also likes to swim but doesn't know how to very well. Since, Breann moved and hasn't been around to give them lessons anymore, I haven't found any swimming lessons for them. I will be more diligent this spring and summer though because Porter really wants to swim all the time.

Finally, Porter really likes to draw. He gets nervous about getting his pictures just right, so he likes to trace things whenever possible but we also make original art pieces. We signed him up for an art class this fall and he pretended not to want to go but he clearly really liked it. Whenever they were supposed to paint one picture, he would come home with 7. As part of his artistic side, Porter has learned how to make other crafts. He has learned how to make boondoggles and we bought him kits for those and he has learned to finger knit. He likes to try to make scarfs and necklaces for people. One of these days, I am going to have to find someone who can teach him how to knit or crochet for real.

I love my Porter. Happy Birthday to him

2 comments:

  1. We love Porter. He is so great to have around. He is so similar to Gavin in personality and likes and many other ways. I'm glad he and Gavin are such good friends.

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  2. Happy birthday Porter! Dont worry I will be back in one year to teach the boys to swim!!

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