The Skidmore Family

Something Big is Coming and a $56,000 Homeschool Sweepstakes! | Home Educating Association

2011-09-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Something Big is Coming and a $56,000 Homeschool Sweepstakes! | Home Educating Association

It's Been 8 Months Since I Posted and...

2011-02-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

A LOT has happened! The biggest news is that we bought our first home! The Lord blessed us so mightily! We weren't even looking for a house to buy, just considering what we might do when our lease was up since our family had expanded and suddenly we were in escrow after only looking at 3 houses and, though the process took longer than we wanted. We moved in right before Thanksgiving and got to celebrate the holidays here in the new house, which was wonderful in general and magical for Colin and I. Just knowing that this is OUR house that the Lord has blessed us with is so surreal. We honestly never thought we would be able to afford a home in California, especially in Valley Center. Our home is on 1.38 acres, including many citrus trees (a staple of a typical Valley Center property), a plum tree, a peach tree and some unknown tree that various people have guessed to be another peach, an apple or an almond tree. It's a really fun guessing game trying to decide what everything is. Also, there are TONS of bulbs planted everywhere- which makes the anti-California girl in me insanely happy- and some truly beautiful roses. I still can't decide if my favorite roses are the coral colored ones or the tiny pink ones that line the driveway. I'm also super happy that the only palm tree in the ground here is in the front where I can't see it. The boys are in hog heaven because the tree outside the front yard has two swings in it that they love to play in. When they are older, we have a gully on either side of the land that will be the perfect place to play boy games, to jump off things, to run and feel like wild savages.

Blossoms from mystery tree

Every time I go outside and do yard work, I feel like the Lord blesses me more and more with the bounty here. When I was a girl, growing up in an orange grove was amazing, mostly because, from about November when the first blush of orange hit the tangerine tree to March when they were barely still edible, I would sit on the boulders beside the clementine tree and eat from the branches all day. My whole adult life, all I've ever wanted as far as a garden is a tangerine tree. One day, I was having an especially hard day with the children that involved several people staring at me with pity and commenting on badly behaved children at the grocery store, and as I was driving up the driveway, the Lord opened my eyes to a tree that had just ripened... it was a clementine. As I got out of the car to inspect it, I noticed another... and another... and another. Seven total. Blessed beyond my expectations and totally unexpected. Another time I was weeding in the area I plan on having an herb garden. As I'm weeding, my hands unknowingly work around a mint plant... and another... and another... and another. When I was a child, my mom always had mint planted under the water faucets outside to be watered by the leaking hose attachment. One of the best memories I have is when she taught me that it was an edible plant because I loved being able to go outside and pluck a mint leaf or two, crush it with my teeth and enjoy the freshness of it while I read my book in the sun. How the Lord blesses us in such simple ways if only we seek His face.

Kitchen Tile

The house is a three bedroom, two bath, 1350 sq ft ranch from 1971. We love the new laminate floors (yay for easy to clean!), the big window overlooking the front yard, the lovely shower the simplicity of the house. I love the pocket door into the kitchen that reminds me so much of my grandmother's house, the deep linen closest, the light that fills the house. I love the window seat we are making under the big window in the living room (another childhood dream... I mean, what avid reader hasn't dreamed of a window seat?), the built in hutch in the dining room, the big old stove in the kitchen and the adorable tile in the kitchen. For the time being, I love the little sea horse clings on the sliding glass door because, they too, remind me of my grandmother's house.

Of course, there are things that are frustrating, as with any house and, from what I hear, especially when it's your own home. I am slowing growing accoustomed to the HUGE, overpowering lava rock fireplace. The kitchen is small and the cupboards are an eyesore on top of not being standard size and the laundry room is in the FREEZING garage. Oh, and the dishwasher is dented so it doesn't close all the way sometimes... which means I am constantly yelling at the dang thing when it's not working and, for some weird reason, pleased with myself when it is, like I somehow bent it to my will and dominated it from obsintantly refusing to clean the dishes.
However, to me, these things are so minor compared with the joy of being blessed with this home. I feel like the Isrealites coming into the promised land. The Lord promised them the land, the cities they hadn't built and the vineyards they hadn't plants and that's what I feel He has done for us. On top of all that, we changed churches and have been welcomed with open arms into a small group of young parents, people who we have become friends with and whose company we truly enjoy.

In other news, Dylan has started preschool which he still can't decide if he loves or hates. He says he only likes it when he gets to go to the prize box. I guess that's a good thing since we are still planning to home school. I am eagerly waiting to get our tax return to purchase our curriculum for kindergarten and am so excited to share the joys of new discoveries with Dylan. Joshua, however, is so jealous that Dylan gets to go to preschool and cries everyday when I bring him home after dropping Dylan off. They are both so smart! When Joshua gets upset that something isn't going his way, he now says, "This is RIDICULOUS! I'm NEVER gonna get it!" Dylan said somethings so funny the other day. "Joshua, these aren't tater teach. They are tater TAUGHTS!" Peter is crawling now. He loves to go in the toy room and play with the big boys but mostly he crawls around the house following me as I clean. His favorite thing is to sit in front of the mirror and "talk" to the other baby.

Welcome Peter Joseph!

2010-05-28T22:50:00.000-07:00

It official: Peter Joseph is our little paradoxical baby. He has defied every expectation we had of him. As many of you know, we were planning a hospital birth since we couldn't afford a home birth. In the middle of May, we found out that our doctor had lost his privileges to deliver at the hospital and we began planning our home birth, which, through God's grace, was much more affordable. We were so happy because we were concerned about getting to the hospital an hour away in time. After our last birth and the fact that we live in what many people consider the middle of nowhere, our midwives were concerned that they wouldn't make it here in time. We were instructed to call as soon as I thought I was in labor. But I was convinced that God wouldn't bring the baby that quickly since He had coordinated it for us to have a home birth with midwives that we trusted. So two weeks later, after many false alarms (most of which I didn't contact the midwives about), one of the midwives asked if I would be willing to have my water broken to "help things along." Though I am not for labor inducement, with my midwives' concern and the annoyance of having contractions for the past few months, I agreed. La Shel said they would be at our house around 8 or 8:30 to break my water after the boys went to bed. When she arrived, we got down to business rather quickly and broke my water. I was instructed to go for a walk to help get things started. So a-walking we went and nothing happened.... After a while, I was told to go to bed and rest and everyone laid down. After a very restless night for Colin and I, Jamin left around 5 AM with instructions to call La Shel if things changed from the 9 minute apart contractions since she is only about 30-35 minutes away. Still nothing happening.
At 9 AM, La Shel called to check on me. Things still weren't really happening but I was still tired. I told La Shel that I was going to lay down again for a little while, then eat breakfast and go for a walk. She suggested that perhaps we should augment our induction with a bit of castor oil. Leaving me with instructions to take castor oil at noon if nothing was happening or call her with any changes, we got off the phone. At about 9:30, I woke up and ate some breakfast and got ready to go for a walk, even though I was still tired. At 9:45, we set off at a slow pace. Within the first 30 feet from the house, I had a contraction lasting a minute. By the time we were 2 houses down from our house, I was having another contraction and Colin was sending La Shel a message to come back to the house. I told him he was crazy and that as soon as she got here, things were going to stop again. We got to the pond and I was having another contraction. Halfway back to the house along the golf course, after another contraction, Colin suggested we head home. I still wanted to lay down and didn't think anything was really happening so I agreed. When we got home, I had another contraction (my 5th) and ended up throwing up on the grass. I told Colin to call the midwife and find out where she was: 15 minutes away according to her GPS and going 80MPH. I sat down on the chair outside, enjoying the sun and breeze and noting a little longer break between contractions. As I started another contraction, La Shel called back to tell me to go lay down so that gravity wasn't helping Baby along. I agreed since I felt a minor urge to push at the time. After laying down, I had the major urge to push and told Colin to start washing his hands and find out where the midwife was: 10 minutes away according to GPS (more like 12 in real life). The next contraction the phone rang and completely broke my no pushing concentration. At that point, I told Colin that he needed to call La Shel again to find out where she was: at the corner of Cole Grade and Valley Center Rd, 6 minutes. She began giving Colin instructions: get the blankets, put some chuck pads under me. After a second of panic, he began to follow her instructions, only to be interrupted by my countermand to undress me NOW because the baby was coming. He dropped what he was doing to undress me and discovered that the baby was crowning. As he reached out to support the baby's head, the entire head emerged, followed quickly by the baby's body. Though not funny at the time, I think it's funny that Colin was trying to tell La Shel what was happening but by the time he said, "There's the head!" the baby was completely out. That's right, Colin delivered our baby with no midwife here, 28 minutes from first contraction to birth! The first paradox: God arranged for us to have a home birth because He knew we would be safer at home! The second: I was sure I wasn't in real labor, my midwife wanted to further augment and my husband was the only one who was sure it was real.
After the birth, Colin followed La Shel's instructions to lay the baby on my belly and begin drying him off, check to see if the cord was pulsating, etc. Even before I could see little Peter Joseph, I said, "He's so tiny!" The whole end of my pregnancy, my belly was so hard and big that we were convinced it was all baby and that he would be close to 10 pounds since his big brothers were both over 9 pounds. Not so! He weighed in at a tiny 7lbs 11oz at birth. I know, I know. This is a normal sized baby but, after having birthed my two 9+ pound whoppers, this little guy is a tiny little peanut. Plus there is something about him that seems... I don't know. Fragile isn't the right word and neither is dainty but even the Thesaurus isn't giving me the word I'm looking for. When the midwife broke my water, my belly halved in size. I seriously looked 6 months pregnant, not full term.
PJ is a teeny tiny eating machine, nursing constantly and easily. What a blessing! Dylan and Joshua love him. Dylan wants to treat him like one of Ava's baby dolls, telling me what to do with him and where to put him down. Joshua has surprised me by easily giving up his number one nursing status and insisting that I nurse the baby every time he so much as moves. Though they are very challenging right now because they are so excited and don't understand the fragility of a newborn, they are adjusting a lot better than we had hoped. Colin wants to hold him constantly, loving the special connection they have.
So all is well here in the Skidmore household, with everyone adjusting to our tiny new addition.

Blessings

2010-05-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

The Lord is good! We have had a lot of changes in the last week, big ones and ones that can change the whole course of our family's life. These changes do come with complications in the short term, though.

The first major change is Colin's new position at work. He is no longer going to be the Casino Operation Scheduler. He is going to be promoted to Manager of a new department that analyzes the efficiency and enacts new ideas throughout the whole property. The program is called Continuous Improvement. This is awesome news since Colin wasn't the biggest fan of his previous position and is very excited about this new position. Ironically, both his father and brother in law are well versed in the process. His father spearheaded this process in American factories and his brother in law is a black belt in the process. So between the personal resources Colin brings to the table and the training he will be receiving, he will be quite ready for this. There are, however, some short term challenges this poses. Being 9 months pregnant, the week long training in Arizona next week is making me a bit nervous. My mother, bless her heart, has agreed to come stay with me and the boys during the time he is away even though she is coming straight from a two week trip to visit my aunt to my house for 6 days with all the drama going on at her own home. She's a bit nervous about it since I can go into labor at any time.

Which brings us to the next big change of the week: I am having a home birth after all! There has been lots of drama that has nothing to do with us but lead us to being able to have the home birth we wanted all along with our midwives from Joshua's birth. We are all very excited about it but, with Colin's impending trip, a bit nervous that the baby may be born while he's gone. If so, my mom will be here to help but Colin and I will both be pretty bummed if he misses it.

Finally, Dylan had an appointment with a pediatrician that focuses on children with ADHD. The doctor actually thinks that if he has ADHD, it's secondary to either Sensory Processing Disorder or Asperger's Syndrome. From what I've read, as a complete non-expert in these disorders and a pretty decent expert in Dylan, it seems like the Sensory Processing Disorder is more likely and more fitting with his symptoms. The pediatrician wants us to take Dylan to a psychiatrist to determine what, exactly, is going on with him but she doesn't accept insurance and charges a whopping $250/hr. Our insurance will reemburse half but we still can't really afford that amount, either. So I am going to try to find another psychiatrist who either accepts our insurance or charges less. We also want to try Cranial Sacral Therapy with Dylan as there is evidence that it helps children with both these disorders and ADHD. BUT the really good thing is that there are doctors paying attention to him, trying to help him as opposed to medicate him and send him out the door without ever looking at him.

Overall, it's been quite the eventful week here in the Skidmore house! While all these things are good and blessings from the Lord, it's been a bit overwhelming to process it all. Please pray that we make it through these next, very exciting and busy weeks easily. Also, that we find a doctor for Dylan that we can work with and that the Lord gives them discernment in the situation.

Hope all is well!

Another day...

2010-04-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official! Our boys had their birthdays and we now have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. And pretty soon we are going to have a newborn too!
Currently the boys are having "nakie time," also known as any attempt to change their clothes that results in their running around the house screaming "NAKIE BOYS!" It reminds me of my mom's little dogs. When you take them out of the bath, the dogs run around the house trying their level best to dry themselves on the furniture and rub themselves dirty on the carpet. That's pretty much the image in my head every time they play "nakie boys." At least they wear themselves out.... Oh wait, they just get MORE hyper!
So there's not a lot going on with us lately. Well, other than the contractions I've been having for the past few months. And they aren't Braxton Hicks, either. My doctor says everything is fine, that I'm not dilating and that if I do go into labor at this point, they won't stop my labor since I'm 34 weeks now. So pretty much any time between now and mid-June these contractions might become the real thing. My doctor has me wearing a Prenatal Cradle, which though comfortable for the most part, is totally annoying. The straps come up really close to my neck so I have 1 or two shirts I can wear without the straps hanging completely out. I suppose it helps make the contractions less intense but doesn't really stop them.
Dylan and Joshua are getting so big! They are physically huge but intellectually, they aren't babies anymore (for the most part). Dylan is learning to read and doing an awesome job with it. For the other mamas out there, I REALLY recommend the Bob Books for reading. Dylan is the type of child who gets extremely upset when he can't do something all by himself, which is one of the many wonderful traits he gets from me, and he was refusing to learn to read even though I knew he was capable of it. The Bob books were awesome because he can read the entire book by himself and it's short enough to hold his attention, too. Joshua knows all his letters and the phonetic sounds they make. Everytime someone is impressed with this, I have to admit that I don't deserve the credit since he learned them from a DVD my aunt recommended called Talking Letter Factory by Leap Frog. The best thing about it- other than teaching them letters and phonics- is that it's not annoying like many other things they could be watching... and I'm talking about Yo Gabba Gabba and various other freaky and annoying shows.
Colin is doing well. He's so excited for the new baby. I honestly think he's so excited because he got to pick the baby's name (and no, we still aren't telling!) and I think it gives him a better connection with the baby. His work is still the same but he got an AWESOME review from the Casino Operations Director and they are making him the scheduler for all Casino Operations instead of just Table Games, in addition to the role he fills ordering the things that the casino needs like cards and signs for events and whatnot. So it's nice that they rely on him so heavily, making him indispensible. My favorite line from his review said something along the lines of how he makes it so that the management staff on the floor can be effective. how awesome is that? He also recently got a lot of recognition for having scheduled effectively enough that the labor cost budget came in about $50K less than anticipated for the year. That's my husband!
Anyway, I just wanted to update this before I start forgetting about it again. I know I haven't really updated my food blog lately either. I haven't really been cooking much with not feeling well late in the afternoon. You can check it out at B's Kitchen.
Hope everyone is well. Please let us know if you have any prayer needs so the children and I can be praying for you!

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately!

Dylan and Ava- This pretty much describes thier personalities!

Dylan's pinata

Store bought birthday cupcakes. What can I say? I was lazy this year!

Joshua using the broken binoculars

Dylan writing his name in sidewalk chalk. I know that it doesn't look like his name, but it is.

Dylan doing a Charlie Brown impression. I have like a million pictures of me as a little girl making this same pouty face. :/

What's Happening?

2010-03-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Not too much is happening that is super fun and exciting to anyone but us but I thought I would put up a post anyway.

We started Dylan in T-ball which is a mixed blessing for him. He likes it a bit but has a hard time with it because he's so young still. But I think I want him to stick with it for a variety of reasons. The main reason being that I think there are lessons he needs to learn from the bigger kids on the team, like not to boss everyone around all the time because no one likes it. Unlike Dylan, Joshua LOVES baseball practice and games. He wants so badly to be out there playing with the big kids and it makes him so angry that he isn't allowed to yet! Last game, he made a break down the fence line and made a hard right onto the T-ball field at the end of the fence. Though I was really annoyed at the time, I'm pretty sure it must have been funny to someone watching a 7 mo. pregnant woman RUNNING after an almost 2 year old.

Dylan is suddenly interested in reading so I went and bought the first set of Bob Books at the bookstore. The day I bought them, he went from being totally discouraged trying to read this word here and that word there in books to actually being able to READ! He also started a new game in the car and at dinner... and just about everywhere, where he spells out a word and I have to guess what he's spelling. And for some reason, he really wants to spell "mailbox" all the time.

I think it's time for some small pet in this house. Poor Dylan captured a snail and is holding it captive as his "pet." I don't know which one I feel sorrier for: the kid or the snail. But he's been feeding it and talking about it. Nana also gave him a small stuffed cat that he's treating like a pet.

Well, I need to get to laundry and cleaning. Or napping. I haven't decided yet which is more important. :)

Since I've been asked...

2010-02-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

Ok so I've had a couple of people ask me why I haven't updated my blog lately so here's a new post just for you guys.. or girls, rather. I haven't posted in almost a year so I guess a lot has been going on.

First of all, Colin got a new position. It's not a promotion but a new job nonetheless. He is now the table games scheduler for Harrah's, the casino where he works. The position is really demanding, especially emotionally since all 318 of the people who he schedules have the natural attitude of their needs being the most important. He has been really stressed with all that so that's been a major challenge.

Joshua has his annual echocardiogram in December and we got some wonderful news: his heart looks so much better that he doesn't have to return for 5 years! What a blessing of healing from the Lord! Obviously, this takes a lot of pressure and stress off of our shoulders and we are so thankful for the Lord's mercy on this. Joshua is a little firecracker. He is getting so big, potty training and talking up a storm. Sometimes, he just repeats exactly what we've just said to learn the new words. He's also quite musically inclined, which he MUST get from Daddy since I'm tone deaf and can't keep a beat to save my own life. It's really a good thing I never wanted to be a cheerleader since I can't even clap to a beat. Or do a cartwheel, but that's a different story altogether. Joshua is already starting to sing songs with correct lyrics, which Dylan, 2 years older, is just starting to do. He is quite sweet tempered and loving... until his temper flares. So pretty much whenever he and Dylan are together. He takes after his mommy in the regard since my temper is both hotter and quicker to flare (and fizzle) than Colin's.

Dylan is getting so big! He's already in 5T clothes and he's not even 4 yet! He's so smart and he's bossy. I think that anyone who knows me, knows where that came from. :) He is starting to sound out words, as long as they aren't in books and refuses to learn how to properly count from 12 to 20. He skips all the odd numbers and tells me that I'm making him give up when I try to teach him the other numbers. I'm trying to think it's funny and not frustrating. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This past year, Dylan was diagnosed with ADHD so we are trying to handle that. We finally caved and gave him the meds because he was having a hard time controlling himself and he has so much more confidence now. We also did an ADHD diet to figure out if he had any dietary triggers that made his behavior more challenging. So we no longer eat dairy, processed foods (like packages stuff from the store), food coloring, etc. It was really hard at first but gets easier all the time. We also switched over to only grassfed meat, so we are mostly vegans now. I am so impressed lately because Dylan has been requesting salad, which is a miracle! Guess that's what happens once you have to eat it for breakfast a few times after refusing it at dinner. :) He's also pointing out the foods that aren't healthy at the grocery store and asking for "healthy snacks" instead of crackers and such. We are going back and forth about whether to enroll him in a preschool or not. We want to homeschool him but feel like he would love the other kids around. The issue is that we don't want to enroll him and let him get used to it and then pull him out and keep him home. I don't really think that's fair to him. So I think we will just wait til he can be enrolled in sports and go about it that way.

Our biggest news is that I'm pregnant again! I'm due in mid-May to early June with ANOTHER BOY! I've been feeling ok but tired out from the children. I've also been really craving breads and baked goods so I've been doing that a lot, which is especially rewarding integrating our new vegan eating habits. Colin is becoming quite the muffin baker, himself.

Lately, i've been reading The Power of a Praying Wife and having my eyes really opened to the ways that I'm not praying for my husband's needs. I really recommend it to all the believing wives out there. I've also started reading Created to Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl. It, too, is opening my eyes to ways I can treat my husband with respect and honor that I've not been doing. Another book that I totally recommend.

Well, time to put the little ones down for a nap. Hopefully I will be on here posting more often. I guess I always feel like I don't have that much to say that anyone would want to read about. :)

2009-04-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, the boys and I went to Em's house after the gym for the afternoon. While Dylan was sleeping, I helped Em watch the girls and Joshie while she gardened. Here are a few pictures from that day. And yes, Joshua is in the front lawn wearing only a diaper like a true redneck baby. Good thing the neighbors already think Em is a bit crazy. :)

The Car

2009-04-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

So I didn't post about our flat tire yesterday when we were leaving the Motocross thing because I just called AAA and out came the tow truck, on went the donut and today after the beach clean up we were just going to head over to Discount Tire to cash in on our $9 free fix or replacement warranty thing that we've used more times than I care to admit. Our tires have bad luck I guess. So there we go to the tire place in the blazing heat, which made for a beautiful early morning beach clean up trip but not so fun for waiting for the car to get fixed. So here's what happened with the tires. We get there and the guy takes one look at the tire and sees that our alignment was so bad, the inside part of the tread on the tire is practically gone, while the rest is still there, looking like we've got lots of use still on them. He can't cash in the warranty but checks the other tires too. The insides of all the tires are just the same so we need to replace them all and get an alignment too. So pretty much, if God hadn't blessed us with a flat tire, we would have continued to drive on extremely dangerous, about to be the tire bits in the middle of the freeway and the family on the side of the road tires without even KNOWING it because I just looked at the tires maybe a week or two ago because I had this nagging idea that we needed new tires. They looked TOTALLY fine because all the wear from the alignment was on the inner part of the tire that isn't evident unless the tire is turned so you can see it. So PRAISE JESUS for flat tires, AAA and warranties. And credit cards since there is no way we had $600 to shell out for new tires.

I will get those pictures up from the boy's parties soon, I promise! I'm waiting for Emily to email me the pictures but Ava and Mad are sick and none of them slept last night so I'm going to give her a few more days before I harass her about it. :)

Our new year

2009-04-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

For me, the new year starts between the end of March and the middle of April. I guess that's the stay at home mom in me that I don't have to be concerned with what the outside world and my husband considers the new year. Nope, our new year starts with Dylan's birthday and finishes with Joshua's. Needless to say, it's a new year in our house.

This past year has been a tough one for us. Between Joshua's illness, broken collar bone and misc other ailments; Dylan's "terrible" twos and potty training; my 8 months of kidney stones before I gave up the fight and got the surgery; Colin's additional work responsibilities; and the daily hubbub that comes from having two wonderfully wild little boys, we've been full of stress and changes.

Here's to our new year.

Dylan and I, though we still have conflict between us, have been getting along much better of late. All of a sudden, he's all snuggles and kisses and wanting to snuggle before bed. Today, Colin got free tickets to a motocross event at his work for me to take Dylan. I don't know if I've ever seen him so excited. He was in AWE of those guys and I have to say that I was too. I don't understand the desire to do stunts like that but I guess that's just part of the difference between men and women. Dylan has also calmed down a lot. Very rarely does he play race cars and run around my house like a wild banshee.

Joshua is just a little love but he's got a temper on him... I wonder where he gets that from? He's finally starting to gain weight or at least look a bit more filled out. That was a big worry for us. Joshua loves to play with his brother and, in fact, Dylan was one of his first words. His favorite word is "again." I always think it's so funny that he never misses me when I'm gone until I get back. Joshua's favorite game is helping mommy sweep or mop the floor. He's also got the Skidmore musicality. Let's face it, that didn't come from my side of the family.

The Lord has blessed us so much in the past year. After Joshua's birth, Colin gave his life to Christ. When Joshua got sick in October, we both became a bit backslidden but in the past few months both of us have been blessed with the thirst for the Lord again. Since we moved it's been hard to go to church on Sundays with Colin's schedule and the fact that we only have one car but my inlaws have been so loving as to agree to pick Colin up from work on Wednesday nights so I can go to church again.

That's all for now, as I have to get the boys into the car so we can go pick Colin up from work. Tomorrow we are doing an early morning beach cleanup with Harrah's and then will probably head over to Em's for lunch so we don't stop at McDonald's and spend money on empty calories. Yesterday was the boy's family birthday party. I'll be uploading pictures from that and from Dylan's birthday with his friends as soon as I upload them.

My Boys

2009-04-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

I sure do love my boys. I LOVE this picture, even though it's such a simple picture. It lifts my heart.

Wild Animal Park

2009-04-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

Another visit to the Wild Animal Park. It was a super fun trip!

Arkansas

2009-04-16T12:19:00.001-07:00

Recently the boys and I went back to Arkansas to visit my dad who had open heart surgery to replace a valve. We saw my sister Tara and my brother Joey and his family. It was an overdue visit since I haven't seen Joey and Joy since their wedding, Tara since before Colin and I got married and neither of my siblings had ever met the boys. And I'd never met my nieces, both of whom are the same age, within days, as Dylan and Joshie. I also got to visit with my Grandma Sylvia who has breast cancer and Grandpa Paul and several other members of the family who I haven't seen since I was about 4. Overall, it was a really good trip other than the fact that Dylan got the flu and ended up in the ER for one of the nights. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Joshua and Riley Kate playing with the balls at the park.

Dylan and Kierra

The babies and Auntie Tara's dog, Pixie

Riley and Tara

The big kids and Auntie Joy feeding the ducks and geese at the Fish Pond

Me with Grandma Sylvia holding Riley

Tara and Grandpa Paul

Tara and me at Eureka Springs Park coming down from the bluff above

The giant Jesus statue at the Passion Play in Eureka Springs

Love this picture

2009-04-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

This picture is so flipping cute! They look all grown up!

So funny

2009-04-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think the children are so funny. Like Joshua spinning in circles and falling over just to see me laugh at him. Or when the boys use the Bumbo as a dinosaur egg from which to hatch. Tonight, Colin and I got a kick out of something that we probably should not have thought was funny at all but was hilarious! At least we contained the laughter until after Dylan left the room again. For dinner tonight, I made zucchini which Joshua thinks is like manna from heaven or something and Dylan would rather lick the bottom of a shoe than eat. So the usual bribing the 3 year old to eat at least one tiny bite of anything remotely resembling something that is green from chlorophyll as opposed to some scary food coloring experiment. Dylan takes his plate to the sink and is told to go potty. A few minutes later he casually, oh so casually, comes back into the kitchen and opens the trash compacter. As we wonder what on earth the boy is doing, he starts spitting something into the trash... zucchini. Then he runs away laughing like a crazy person. Needless to say, after we wrestled him into eating another zucchini and did a body cavity check to make sure it was swallowed, we gently encouraged him to spend some time playing in his room so we could have a laugh about it. Crazy kid. What was he thinking not spitting it in the toilet? That was the perfect out!

My friend's contest

2009-02-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

Check out my friend Sarah's blog at http://catarpilar.blogspot.com/ She's having a contest for the most adorable things right now! Check it out and tell her I sent you!

We're Moving!

2008-11-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

We're moving back to Valley Center!! Well, Pauma Valley but pretty much the same difference. We'll be at the bottom of Cole Grade in a gated community with an executive golf course, fishing ponds, and three pools. It's a nice house with a HUGE kitchen. We're really excited, esp since well only be about 5 minutes from Colin's work.

Dylan Doggie

2008-11-04T14:50:00.001-08:00

Joshie Playing Peekaboo

2008-11-04T14:49:00.001-08:00

Feeding Joshua

2008-11-04T14:46:00.001-08:00

Dylan Painting

2008-11-04T14:45:00.001-08:00

Dylan Talking

2008-11-04T14:41:00.001-08:00

Joshua Update

2008-10-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Just to update everyone, we went back for Joshie's second echo. Though the dr isn't as concerned about the area where there was a possible weak spot, the measurements are still the same so we have to go back again in 3 weeks and keep him on the asprin everyday. He's acting totally fine and has even learned to sit up and pull himself to stand since the hospital.

We've had a lot of visitors coming to see Joshua. Between the local grandparents (Colin's parents and mine), we've had a lot of company but we were also blessed that my dad was able to make it out for about a day and a half. That's the longest I've seen him since Joey's (my brother) wedding and he had never met Joshua.

Please continue to pray that Joshua gets better.

Kawasaki Disease

2008-10-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! As some of you know, we just got home from Children's hospital with our baby Joshua. We were there for three days because Joshie had something called Kawasaki Disease (KD). KD is an infection in the blood vessels that can damage the heart. Though there is only a 1% death rate from the KD BUT the side effects of KD are the leading cause of pediatric heart attack. If your child has EVER had several of the following symptoms at the same time (not even all), PLEASE take them to the Dr and tell them that you suspect that they once had Kawasaki and want the child's heart check via Echo cardiogram. The effects of KD can cause problems many years after the child recovers. And most pediatricians send KD children home with a "virus."

Early symptoms of KD include:

* Fever that lasts for several days
* Rash, often worse in the groin area
* Red eyes, without drainage or crusting
* Bright red, swollen, cracked lips
* "Strawberry" tongue, which appears with shiny bright red spots after the top coating sloughs off
* Swollen hands and feet
* Redness of the palms and soles of the feet
* Swollen lymph nodes

Please take the time to have your child checked if he or she has EVER had any of these symptoms. The specialist we saw at Children's said that if we had waited 3 or 4 more days for treatment, Joshua most likely would have died from complications with his heart. As it is now, he'll need close monitoring for a while because he has some dilation in his Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery, dilation of the aortal root, and a spot where the Dr is concerned that Joshua might develop an aneurysm where the left artery splits.

PLEASE forward this to anyone you know with children. You might save a life. Also, please keep an eye out on your children for symptoms, esp if you are related to Joshua (cousins, etc) since they believe there is a genetic correlation as well.

You can find more information at
http://www.kdfoundation.org/
http://www.pediatrics.ucsd.edu/C9/KD%20for%20Parents/default.aspx

If your children have ever had this disease, please let me know ASAP as the KD specialist treating Joshua would like information from anyone who has had it so they can try to understand this disease better.

Here are some pictures of Joshua before and during our hospital visit.

The Beach with Emily and the children

2008-10-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

Em and I took the children to the beach one of these HOT fall afternoons. It was a beautiful day. Dylan and Ava were hesitant about the water but Joshua had no such qualms. He LOVED kicking his feet in the water. Dylan went off to play with an older boy who had dug a pit in the sand. What's with little boys loving giant holes?

Pumpkins

2008-10-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

We took the children over to Bates, just like my parents did when I was little. Not much has changed, except I think the big pumpkins rot faster now.

Pictures of the Boys

2008-10-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sleepy Baby!

Dylan's not really plugging his nose.

My budding artist

The Aquarium

2008-10-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

I took the boys to the aquarium. Joshua slept the whole time and Dylan spent more time playing with the other children that were there than looking at the fish but we had fun.

Mother's Day

2008-10-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Mother's Day. Colin took me to Outback Steakhouse and the mall to go shopping.

Some new pictures

2008-10-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some new (or newer) pictures of the children and us.

Pictures of Dylan and Joshua

2008-05-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to put up some pictures that are a little more recent of Dylan and Joshua. Joshua doesn't really look like Dylan anymore so I thought that some of you might want to see what he looks like. :)

Joshua's First Bath

Dylan Being a Baby

Joshua Azzariah Skidmore

2008-04-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

I was in active labor for AN HOUR AND A HALF from the start of active labor to the delivery of the placenta! I started having contractions at about 2 yesterday morning that were 6 minutes apart and 1 minute long. My midwives got here about 8 to check on me and I was still 1-2 cm, 50% effaced and at 0 station. They told me to go for a walk, which I did but the contractions didn't get any closer together, just longer. So I took a shower because I was sweaty and I was in the shower praying that the baby would just come, that things would just happen. My best friend who lives in Mira Mesa came in and we talked about her heading home to get her hubby and a quick nap since we were sure that we had several hours left. She was gone about 10 minutes (and didn't have a cell phone with her) when I started having contractions way closer together that were double and triple peaking. Needless to say, she ended up missing the birth but she said she was praying all the way here and all the way home for a quick and painless as possible birth for me. That's exactly what happened! Colin kept trying to time them but they wouldn't give him an end to start timing at. So he called my midwives who were actually pulling into the driveway to check on me. This was at 11. They took one look at me and smiled, the sadists that they are. After about 20 minutes on the couch, they suggested that I go to the bathroom. As soon as I peed, I went into transition BIG TIME. I ended up being stuck on the toilet for a while but it was ok since my water broke into the toilet. Nice easy clean up there. I don't know if I told anyone in this group but I was planning on writing scripture on my mirror to concentrate on while in labor. The favorite was Joshua 1:9 (for several reasons): Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.?
I was stuck on the toilet, quoting it to myself when I could actually talk and every time I would say it, I would get this insane surge of hormones! It was so strong I would start crying just from the hormones. My hubby started filling the birth tub for me and it seemed to take FOREVER! When it was done, I walked the 3 steps from the toilet to the tub, had one contraction in between and, when my feet hit the water (not even my butt but my feet!) I needed to push. I was finally able to sit down and get situated. Five minutes of pushing later and out came Joshua Azzariah Skidmore at exactly 12 noon! He came so fast that my mom, who was outside with Dylan, didn't even know that I was pushing!

He weighs a whooping 9 lbs 4 oz, is 22 inches long and has a head circumfrence of 14 inches. He latched on like an old pro (and enjoyed nursing for 5 hours in the middle of the night last night, much to Mommy's distress) and is totally perfect. He looks so much like Dylan did when D was a newborn, they could be twins! I am so amazed by him. It was kinda surreal when he was born bc we weren't expecting him yesterday or to come that fast. And I will never forget the power of prayer and scripture in making my birth what it was. It was totally amazing.

To anyone thinking about a home birth, it was the best experience I could have asked for. So stress free and comfortable. And the best part was that the midwives didn't only allow Colin to participate, they pretty much insisted. They let him feel the baby crowning, made him help catch the baby and cut the cord, which we all things he missed out on with Dylan.

Easter 2008

2008-03-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, filled with the joys God intends for us and gratitude for the Resurrection. While we were unable to go to church due to Colin's work schedule and the timing of our church's service, we spent a lot of time remembering all that Jesus did for us. We had a little Easter egg hunt for Dylan in the back yard and Grandma and Grandpa got him what he considered an awesome Easter basket with three little cars and one giant car. Needless to say, Mommy is hating the giant car because he runs it in to everything. Here are some pictures.

Baby Shower

2008-03-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to Lynn for throwing my baby shower, Angela for the fun games and everyone else for the wonderful gifts and for taking the time to celebrate the coming of our newest family member! Here are a few pictures from the shower!

Dylan's Birthday PARTY!

2008-03-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

We planned Dylan's birthday party really early in the month so we could avoid the potential of canceling it just in case Baby decided to come that particular day. It was a bit of a bummer because it was BEAUTIFUL all week, rained the day of his party and then was sunny and beautiful again the next day. So instead of putting up all his tents and tunnels in the backyard, we pulled out his train table and let the kids go crazy. Emily made cupcakes instead of birthday cake for Dylan and covered them with orange frosting and gummy worms. All in all, it was a great day. The gift of the afternoon was the sand and water table the Jacky got for Dylan. You can see it in the pictures below since Dylan and Ava decided to climb in it and nap when they came down off their sugar highs.

Wild Animal Park

2008-03-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

So we don't have many pictures of the animals since Dylan and Ava weren't all that into the animals but here are some really cute pictures of the kids holding hands, Dylan being scared of the deer (or antelope or whatever it was) in the petting zoo, and Dylan and Daddy.

Like Father Like Son

2008-02-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

I set up my drums for the first time in two years and Dylan decided he wanted to have a go as well. Surprisingly good for a two year old. Here are the pics and vids from our performance.

- Colin

New Pictures

2008-02-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

(Colin is making a funny face but it's still a cute picture!)

Dylan's New Games and Developments

2008-02-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

In the past few days, Dylan has learned a few new games. The first one was pretty amazing to me: he started to pretend! Two days ago, he was running around the house saying, "Car, Mommy! Vroom!" When I asked him if he was a car, he nodded. Ever since then, he runs around periodically throughout the day pretending he's a car. He even has crashes and says, "Boom!" Obviously, that was learned from Daddy's video games! :) The other new game we've been playing is Follow the Leader. Actually, it's more like Simon Says but I don't think he would get the rules of Simon Says. So we sit together and say "Clap your hands!" and everyone claps. Or whatever else we think of: cover your eyes, wiggle your ears, touch your toes, etc. Dylan enjoys being the leader, too! He loves doing something and having Mommy and Daddy copy him. His other favorite game is a long standing one: running. There's something about running that this kid loves. When we are outside, he'll run back and forth and say, "Running, Mommy! Running!"

We've also been working on learning the sounds that letters make. I haven't been necessarily teaching the ABCs in order but he'll bring me a magnet letter from the fridge and show it to me so I can tell him what it is. It goes something like this:
Dylan: "MOMMY!" and opens his hand
Mommy: "That's a P. P says pah, pah"
Dylan: "Pah, pah."
Then he goes and gets all the other P's off the fridge and tells me that they all say pah.

Dylan has also been telling me that he's running away to Grandma's house because she has a truck. It goes like this:
Dylan: "Bye, bye Mommy," while carrying his snuggle shirt, my purse, his favorite toy, etc.
Mommy: "Where are you going, Dylan?"
Dylan: "Gamma (translation: Grandma)... truck... bye, bye"
Mommy: "You're running away to Grandma's because she has a truck?"
Dylan: "Uh huh! Bye, bye. Truck!"
That's right, Mommy has been demoted because Grandma has a truck!

We've changed Dylan's crib to a toddler bed. It's been going pretty well. It's actually been a lot easier than I was expecting. He lays down pretty easily but will cry for a few minutes. It's getting better though. Hopefully, he'll be in his big boy bed by the end of the month. :) My baby's getting so big!!

Well, that's all I can think of for now.

Time Flies...

2008-02-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

We went to the midwife today for my gestational diabetes test and she told me that we only have 10 more weeks until the baby is due! It seemed like we had so much longer before the baby comes. We have so much to do, like putting together the swing and other baby stuff, buying batteries, getting a new dresser, getting Dylan into his big boy bed, getting my diaper stash and the few things we need, washing all the baby clothes.... I could go on and on but I'll stop now before I go into a nesting panic. But I'm so excited that we are going to meet the baby soon!

On a similar but slightly different note, last night Dylan and I were playing in the living room, with him sitting on my lap. The baby started kicking Dylan and he got this look on his face that was something like amazement mixed with annoyance. He pulled my shirt up on my belly; put both hands on my belly, rubbing them back and forth; and said,"Brother!" Well, it sounded more like "bratha." So cute!

New Camera!

2008-01-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

Ok so we FINALLY got a new camera! The old one has been acting up for a long time now. Here are a few pictures from the new camera!

This is the face Dylan makes at me all day.

Aw!!! That's my baby! He's just about the cutest kid in the whole world!

Colin is soooo tired! He looks so cute!

28 weeks pregnant! 12 weeks left!

Wedding Pictures

2008-01-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

Caylin sent me some pictures she had of our wedding. I'm so glad to finally have decent pictures! Here are a few of them.

Christmas

2007-12-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to apologize for the current lack of pictures. When I turned on my camera last night to take a picture of the tree with all of Dylan's presents next to it, the camera wouldn't respond. We tried changing the batteries and that didn't help. The only thing we didn't do was bang it on the tile but I figured that would probably do more harm than good.

Christmas started yesterday when my parents, step-brother and his wife and my step-sister and her husband and my great grandfather came over for Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner, my parents gave Dylan his big Christmas present: a Radio Flyer WAGON! After we put it together, we took Dylan for a ride in the wagon.

This morning, Dylan woke up trying to reach his stocking and crying for the tube of tennis balls sticking out the top. Daddy went to get him and brought Dylan and the stocking into our bed. He loved the cars and trucks he pulled out, ignored the stuffed balls and danced for his red fake crocs.

After playing with the cars for a while, we came downstairs. He saw his easel and his wagon filled with toys. He was really excited for the easel until we offered to let him open his other gifts. He loved his Mr. Potato Head; his new train set; the mini sports balls (esp. the football); the puzzle of cars, trucks, trains, planes and boats; his bang a ball with a hammer toy; chalk; and markers. Whenever he opened a gift of clothing, he would put it directly on my lap and open a new present.

When Nana and Grandad got here this afternoon, they brought Dylan a BIG WHEELS! They also brought two airplanes, clothes, and some other things I may have missed. Colin and Grandad had a bit of a challenge putting together the Big Wheels. They should really make better directions for these things. Auntie Catherine and Uncle John sent Dylan a stuffed elephant and didn't forget Dylan's baby brother with an adorable outfit! Can't wait to see him in the dino hat.

Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for the wagon and the new clothes. Thanks to Auntie for Dylan's new wardrobe (SUPER CUTE!!), the yummy snacks for Mommy and Daddy. Thank you to both Auntie and Grandpa Joe for the funds to get Dylan's new passes to the Wild Animal Park/ Zoo. Thank you Nana and Grandad for all Dylan's gifts, my sewing stuff and canisters and Colin's sweater, slippers and mouse. Thank you Catherine and John for the stuffed snuggly elephant, Baby's clothes, and my new pot holders (I've already used them!!) and napkins. If I've forgotten anything, I'm so sorry. It was and is appreciated. I'm just feeling a bit worn out from all the excitement.

WOOHOO! We finally got pictures from Nana and Grandad! There isn't many but here's what we have!

Baby Skidmore's Sonogram

2007-11-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

We had our big sonogram today. They check the baby's organs, length, weight, gender, etc. Since I know it will be everyone's first question, IT'S A BOY! That's right, we are welcoming another little boy to our family! We are very excited. To answer the next question, no we don't have any names picked out. We are planning on leaving it be just like we did with Dylan Caden.

Based on the baby's measurements, he's measuring a little bigger than he should. Almost a week bigger. The ultrasound tech. suggested that we will probably be having another big boy. Currently, he's about 10.6 inches long halfway through the pregnancy.

We see our midwife again in about 2 weeks but everything looks good so far! He's starting to move around a lot more, esp. around 7 at night.

Here are the pictures:

This is the baby's profile to the right side of the photo and his abdomen to the left. You can see his spine along the bottom.

The red is the blood going out of the heart and the blue is the blood coming in.

And here's the proof that he's a boy. The arrow is pointing to his genitals.

I'm pretty sure this is the baby's face toward us. The hole looking thing is the ear, I believe.

Here are the baby's toes. They are the whitest area on the left side.

Here is the bottom of his foot.

I hope you all enjoy the photos!

Pregnancy Care Provider Change

2007-11-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

We decided to change to a midwife so we can have a home birth. We decided to go with a team of two midwives. Their website is http://www.sandiegomidwife.com/

Feel free to take a look at the website. We'll let you know how it goes!

OB Visit

2007-09-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally went to the OB. He was wonderful! We are really excited to be delivering with him, even though the drive is super super long from Temecula to Encinitas. Anyway, he said that the due date is in the middle of April, that everything looks great, etc. We go back in another month for another check up. I'll be posting some belly pictures as soon as I don't just look kinda chubby. ;)

Dylan and Muffin

2007-07-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

While we were in MD, Grandma got a new puppy. She is sooo cute and sweet. I named her Muffin, although there is some contention to the name. Dylan loved her, too. She was just the right size to be picked up and carried around and sweet enough not to get feisty about it. Ever since Muffin went home, Dylan has been trying to pick Rosie up. Needless to say, she's a little bit big for that now!

Dylan and Mama's Vacation

2007-07-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well, our vacation was SUPER stressful. I got really sick on the way there; Dylan got really sick right before we left; and a tree fell on the house, knocking out the power and the water to the house. Through it all, we had fun though. We spent a lot of time doing little things as we felt up to them and, of course, hanging out with Em, Ava and their family. We did get to do a few fun things, too. We went to the aquarium in Baltimore, DC, Easton and St Michaels (I think that's what it is called), saw some of Penn. Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Such a Helper!

2007-07-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Dylan is getting to the age where he wants to help with everything! He wants to help Mama help cook, Dada move the couch, Grandma and Mama clean the garage. Here are some pictures of Dylly raking and a video of him helping Dada move the couch.

Dylan's First Trip to the Beach!

2007-06-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Dylan and I went with Nana and Grandad to the beach today (Colin is still in Vegas). We drove down to Del Mar and had lunch at this little restaurant right on the beach and then we went down to the water. Dylan LOVED the sand! He not only loved playing with it and throwing it like any other toddler, for some reason he wanted to lay down on his belly in it. He wasn't into the water though. I think he just thought it was too cold because he wasn't scared of it, or upset by it. He would just watch it come toward him; get this funny, frustrated, annoyed look on his face; and get up and run away from it. I tried to get it on video but my camera wouldn't record enough video to wait for the wave. Dylan was also wandering around, stealing everyone else's tennis balls and various other toys, even though he had plenty of his own.

Here are some pictures:

Our 2nd Anniversary

2007-06-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Our second anniversary was last week and it was wonderful! We dropped Dylan off with Nana and Grandad. Colin and I went down to Del Mar and had dinner at Ruth's Chris. Needless to say, I won't be making steak for a while since I can't get that's butter like consistancy myself. :) Anyway, we had a wonderful time!

Dylan's First Haircut

2007-06-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

Colin and I took Dylan to get his first haircut today. Yes, I saved a lock of his hair! He got to sit in the fire truck chair and watch Thomas the Train while the girl did he hair. Here are the before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

He's so handsome!

Dylan at Nana and Grandad's House

2007-06-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that were taken when we were housesitting for Colin's parents. Dylan had so much fun with all the dogs and chasing the cat. He also loved playing in all the water!

Bath time!

Oh my! Look at that mouth! He must get that from his daddy!

All we need is to photoshop a tennis ball in there and he's the next Skidmore PRO!

Dylan's first lesson on watering tomato plants.

We enjoyed the bubbles more than Dylan but this is a pretty neat picture!

Playing in the kiddy pool was the best part of the trip for Dylan.

My boys after getting out of the hot tub. What a beautiful day and what a wonderful family!

Dylan Has Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

2007-06-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we took Dylan to Urgent Care in Escondido since he San Diego dr wasn't in the office. He was running a fever, had no appetite, wouldn't drink (very unusual!), wouldn't stop crying and refused to be put down. Oh, and he was having trouble breathing. The doctor at urgent care diagnosed him with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. In addition to these symptoms, he has sores in his throat. No wonder he didn't want to eat!

Here is some information on this viral infection. It is also called coxsackie virus.

Dr. Sears' website has some good information on it, plus some pictures. Dylan isn't as bad as the pictures. In fact, it hasn't spread to his hands or feet at all yet.

There is also good info on WebMD. There is also a page on home treatments and treatment from the doctor.

The doctor gave him Tylenol with Codine if it gets really bad but otherwise, there wasn't much they could do.

Pray he gets better soon! He's feeling a little better today!

Mama's New Skirt

2007-06-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

Colin and I finally returned the camera I got for my birthday. (Just for reference, PLEASE don't buy the Flip Video Camcorder. It's junk.) I got a few recycled sari wrap skirts at the Farmer's Market instead. This afternoon, I was trying out all the different ways to wear it and Dylan started running back and forth through the skirt. I decided to let him play with it for a while and this is what happened:

And my favorite picture:

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you; Dylan is laying down BY CHOICE! Wonder of wonders! He loved the feel of the silk on his skin. Looks like Mama's birthday present is fun for both of us!

Daddy and Dylan

2007-06-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

This is a cute but horribly filmed video of Dylan's new game with Daddy. It gets Rosie all riled up too.

Sorry it's filmed sideways. If anyone knows how to turn it, please tell me so I can do so!

He's so cute when he pops out of the closet like that! And we are just obnoxious screaming like that. :)

Welcome!

2007-06-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Skidmore Family home page! We will be posting photos, videos and family news here to share with our family and friends. I hope you enjoy it!