Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. She is "one year older and wiser too."

The kids asked me how old she was. I told them. Jefferson was a bit confused. He said to me, "Mom, I don't understand something."

"What don't you understand?" I asked

"Well, why Nana is older than me. My birthday is before hers, so I should be older."

Happy Birthday to the silliest woman I know. The best Mom. And the most adoring Nana.

We love you! Who couldn't love this face?

A Day in Fairyland

Usually when we visit my dad we have everything planned. But this last time we visited, he said he really wanted to take the kids to Children's Fairyland.

Alright!

 It was a charming park with attractions from every nursery rhyme and fairytale you could think of.

They had an adorable puppet show. The story was a little above my kids' heads, but I found it amusing.

I don't know what fairytale this old town is from, but I want to build the entire thing in my yard... if I ever get property. It's the ultimate playhouse.

 The only reason my kids look so unhappy is because I made them actually stop playing to take this picture. I can be so cruel.

 The kids with Willie the Whale... I have no idea who he is either (do you?), but he was sure fun to play in.

 I promise, there were recognizable attractions... like this brick house made by none other than the wisest of the 3 little pigs. We tried to blow it down and found its structure to be extremely well built.

 and, we took a little train ride. It was thrilling for Reagan whose cheeks I'm sure ached from smiling so big.

My kids were spoiled with toys and even a keepsake shirt. My dad said he wanted them to have the shirts to remember the day by. I told him a shirt wasn't necessary. Every day they spend with their Papa is a memorable one. He makes them light up like no one else can. Every day they spend with him is a day in Fairyland.

Blankie

As I mentioned on his birthday... Jefferson still sleeps with his baby blanket. Lisa, the mother of my dear friend, Melissa, crocheted this lovely blue blanket for Jefferson when he was born. It was made with the softest yarn, and he loved it. He would wrap his finger round and round, suck on the edges, and it would be his comfort.... it was really cute.  

There's not many pictures of him without the blanket.

 

He's still so attached, I caught a picture of him the other morning playing outside with it. (also wearing Shawn's socks, goof!)

Luckily it doesn't have a name, it's just "my blankie"

 But it's not so pretty anymore. It's knotted and torn. And it's not so soft anymore either. It's been washed a hundred times, but never seems to smell fresh. The poor thing has been beat up. But that's proof of how much it's been loved. I just think it's too cute not to document.

So, Lisa, if you happen to read this.... thank you for the best baby shower gift I received. And... I would totally pay you to make a duplicate, because this one has seen its' days.

Happy Father's Day

Besides his dashing good looks, I fell in love with Shawn because he was so good with kids. I enjoyed just watching him play with little ones.... they were drawn towards him like a magnet. I just thought, 'he's going to make such a great dad.' Yep, I thought that when I was 16 and knew I wanted him to raise my kids.

With each child we've had, he's grown into a better father. He is their world! They adore him.... I adore him. He sacrifices everything for them. I could make his favorite dessert and wouldn't be surprised if he's given every bite to the kids before he's even had a taste.

Thank you, Shawn, for steering our family. I know the road is rough at times, but you have kept our family stable and safe. Your love for the gospel and your tender heart has truly blessed us. You are such a strong example to the 3 rascals who live in our house and sometimes sleep in our bed. I know the boys want to be just like you when they grow up.... I hope they are. And Reagan... she just beams when you come home....

Happy Father's Day!

I gave the kids a quick survey about their Dad...

Jefferson:

My Daddy is 28 years old

His name is Shawn Skinner

He weighs 28 lbs and is 20 feet tall

I don't know what color his hair is, or his eyes

His favorite food is ribs

His job is to be an eye doctor

He gets mad when we don't follow him

He is happy when we're good

My favorite thing to do with my dad is celebrate my unbirthday

There's not really a best thing about him, everything is the best!

Grant:

My Daddy is 28 years old

His name is Shawn Leo Skinner

He weighs 60 lbs and is 10 feet tall

His hair is grayish and his eyes are blue

His favorite food is vegetables

His job is building cars

He gets mad when we do something bad

He is happy when we do something good, like eat all our vegetables

My favorite thing to do with my dad is go out and eat and go to Chuck-e-cheese

The best thing about my dad is that he throws me up in the air when he comes home.

Reagan:

I don't know how old my Daddy is

His name is Shawn Nana Skinner

He is very small and this little (pinches finger and thumb together to show a small space)

His hair is brown and he has blue eyes

His favorite food is bananas

His job is to work, just work

He gets mad if you hit him

He is happy when you don't hit anybody. No hitting people

My favorite thing to do with my dad is play with him, like playing 'catch the bee'. We played it one day when I was a baby

The best thing about my dad is that he is my Daddy.

June 16th at 2:35 AM

I don’t particularly like days like these. January 8^th, February 17^th, and June 16^th….. are the days I’m reminded of how fast time flies by and how I wish it wouldn’t…. oh how I wish time would stop.

Today Jefferson turns 7!!!

7 whopping years ago I had my first little munchkin. His delivery was the most traumatic and hardest to recover from, he was colicky, and my most difficult baby. He woke me up every 2 hours for 7 MONTHS!! Enough said. And yet, I wish I could go back. He was my treasure. I can't believe it's been 7 years already.

I wish I had a baby picture of him to show, but those are in my closet, 650 miles away. Just picture the cutest baby you've ever seen.

But here's the birthday boy today, at 2,555 days old...

Some things about Jefferson right now:

He’s entering 2^nd grade next year

His favorite color is pink and purple

He has already fallen in love. I won’t name names, but he adores her. He wants to marry her and is heartbroken that we moved. He woke me up at 4am one morning really upset. He said, “mommy, how am I going to marry ______ if we move?” He told his teacher his ‘secret’ and she told him, “don’t give up hope, Jefferson, my grandma and grandpa met in 1^st grade and were married for 60 years.” He’s holding on to her words…. Cute.

He bites his nails... even with mavala stop on 'em

He just self-taught himself to tie his shoes

HE LOVES MAGIC TRICKS!

He loves movies too!

He still sleeps with his baby blanket

He likes nature, bugs, snakes, frogs, and any sort of creepy-crawler.

 He insists on rolling up his pants about 6 inches from his ankles like this...

It looks ridiculous but he says he’s scared of tripping on his pants.

When he grows up he would like to be a wizard or a scientist

He likes dancing, singing, and acting (well, the watching part of acting)

 He's missing both of his front teeth.

This is a picture of Jefferson with his great-great uncle Ben. I cherish this picture, not only because of the tender moment I captured of this relationship, but because I think Jefferson's face epitomises his personality. I can't help but smile when I see him. He has a joyful temperament that is contagious.

Dear Jefferson,

You are my sweetheart. I’m sorry if I’m too hard on you. It must be tough being the oldest;  always being expected to be an example…. That must be exhausting at times. “you know better”, and “because you're older”, are a couple phrases I use too much. I promise to try not saying those things. But, you are my guinea pig. I’ve never done this parenting thing before. You were my first baby, first toddler, first school child… and you’ll be my first pre-teen, teenager, missionary, and so on. I’m learning how to parent through raising you. Sometimes I think I’ve done things right, other times I know I’ve made mistakes. But please know I love you.

As I have watched you grow, I have seen your kind heart and care of others grow. You have genuine care for everyone in our family, and those you meet. You are my example. Thank you for your desire to put together care-packages for the homeless or needy people we pass on the streets. For lending your umbrella to a classmate who forgot hers on “reading under an umbrella day” at school, and you went without. Thank you for remembering those sick babies and other people in your personal prayers at night. For giving away something you cherished to your brother just because he liked it. Thank you for helping Reagan put on her shoes, or gloves, or hat, and reminding me when she needed a nose wipe or a snack. For saying, “can we talk about something nice now?” when conversations get off track. Thank you for being you. You are my dearest little boy. You keep me company and can talk my ear off, but I love having you near. You have a curiosity about life that I admire. I could squeeze your cheeks as much today as I did when you were a toddler. You’re adorable and I’m popping at the seams with love for YOU!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY!



Homemade speedos

Last week we went up to Sly Park Lake with my friend, Melissa. I thought it would be nice for the kids to just run around. The water is frigid cold, so I obviously didn’t bring bathing suits. Mistake. First the shoes came off, then socks, then pants, then shirts. Don’t worry, I stopped it there.

They went swimming in their skivvies, the best sort of swimming if you ask me. It’s just like wearing a speedo, right?

I also received the best mom award for not applying sunscreen to my kids. Reagan burned. She keeps telling everyone, “I have owies here and here,” pointing to her shoulders. Poor thing.

 Sweet little Ella

 And Ethan, who turned his face every time I tried to take a picture of him. I don't think he likes me much.

 Climbing up a trail on the way home...

 The kids had a fun afternoon. I think I will just keep their bathing suits in the car from now on. That, along with the sunscreen....

What I've got....

is TROUBLE.... with a capitol T, and that rhymes with P, and that stands for Princess!

right here in "River City" I've got this girl....

And she is trouble.

We were shopping the other day and Reagan had gathered an armful of things she wanted. I overhear my mom ask her, "what makes you think you can get all that stuff?"

Reagan responded, "Because I'm a princess..... I get everything I want"

Oh, is that right? 

What have we done?

And how do we undo it?

She is a cutie though. Here she is, getting her nails done, with sparkles. She demands I paint her nails, then when they're dry, she bites the polish off. She insists that it just "comes off by itself" or "it just disappeared." Then a few days later, she wants her nails painted again.

 She may be full of herself, but she does have one small crack.....