Stylin'

Jordan is out of town, and took the camera with him, so the boys are under strict instructions to not be cute while he's gone so I don't miss out on any photo ops.   Jonah, especially, is not obeying, but such is life.  Skyler's cute thing is that he likes to go into my closet, grab a tie of Jordan's and some shoes (sometimes mine, sometimes Jordan's)  and then come and find me and ask if he's "stylin'".  Here's a picture of stylin' Skyler from a few months ago.

Cookie Monster

Yesterday I made cookies and I think I saw Jonah peeking up over the back of the couch and watching me pull one out of the cookie jar.  He must have because later on, when I was holding him in the kitchen, he was reaching towards the cookie jar.  I held him closer to it to see what he would do.  He pulled the lid off, reached in, and pulled out a cookie. He was so pleased with himself!  Now anytime he's in the kitchen, he's reaching for that jar.

Skyler's Podcast for this week

The latest and greatest podcast from Skyler. He loves making them, do you love watching them?

This Week

This week we opened and closed The Ficklin Bed and Breakfast.  We had some friends stay with us on Monday night and then Jordan's parents stay with us on Tuesday night.  When will it reopen?  That's up to you, oh out of town friends and family ;).



Then Jonah got sick, so we pretty much stayed home the rest of the week.  Aside from a walk to Skyler's "school" (the elementary school they are building down the street) to check on construction progress, we really didn't do much on Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday, Jonah seemed to be doing better and since it was the last day of the summer reading program at the library, we went so we could turn in his paper.  Unfortunately, they were all out of books that he liked (I kept seeing so many good ones on the prize shelf every other time we went!), so he picked a little ball for his prize instead.  Here's hoping he wins the big prize drawing.  I don't know what the prize is, but it's bound to be good.



You can probably tell in the pictures below that Jonah was feeling a lot better by Friday night.  We pulled a tomato plant that fallen victim to curly top, thus leaving an extra dripper - just the right amount of water to make the perfect amount of mud for a cute little boy to play in.

First Friend

There must be something extra special about a kid's very first friend. 



Skyler and Jane first met when we moved to Pennsylvania.  Jane's mom was my visiting teaching companion the entire time we lived there, so these two got to hang out together monthly at least (yes, I used to be a good visiting teacher).  Skyler was just barely two when we left Lititz, and eventually it only appeared he remembered Jane because we'd occasionally show him the pictures they email us.  But a part of him clearly never forgot her.  They have since moved to Texas, and were passing through Albuquerque last week.  These two ran off to play right way, and played without incident for nearly three hours.

 

They are so alike.  Both have such wild imaginations.  I think Jane taught Skyler how to pretend.  I surely didn't ever show him that a box could be a boat (I also think she taught him that naps are no fun - but we still love her anyway!).  I love it that he still has a part of Lititz in his life.  I love it that they are still such wonderful friends.

Last year when we visited them in Texas

2006 - Right before we left Lititz

Golfing

Jordan recently decided that he'd like to golf.  And he wanted to do some of it in Idaho at the reunion.  Having played golf in high school, I jumped at the chance and we headed to the course with his brothers.  Having not played a round in nearly ten years and not picking up a club in probably six, I was quite pleased with how I did (and oh yeah, Jordan did pretty darn good for his first time out).  I had some fabulous shots, and bogeyed or double bogeyed just about every hole (except that one I'm teeing up on which had far too many sand traps for my liking).  Albuquerque has a women's tournament and both years we've been here, the first place girl is leading by like 20 strokes.  They showed the top five on the news and the fifth place had a score of at least 20 over.  I could so do that.  Well, with some practice, my short game does needs some help.

Family Reunion (and a Friend One Too!)

Last weekend, we were up in Idaho for Jordan's family reunion. We started off the trip visiting some friends who used to live in Albuquerque. We adults had fun talking and the kids had fun playing (though Lily's walking has yet to rub off on Jonah). Gabe pulled out a tiny little violin and was showing Skyler how to play it. By the time I was ready with the camera they were done, so there's no picture, which means you'll have to pretend. They were also playing so cute outside. Again, no picture, use your imaginations. Here are some pictures we did get.

Then onto McCall to hang out with family, play games, and enjoy the lake.  There were so many cameras taking pictures that I thought surely one of them had to be mine.  But alas, not so much picture taking happened on this trip.  Here are some shots of Skyler on the canoe and Jordan hanging out with Jonah.

And then the flight home.  While I wouldn't recommend a three and a half hour layover, if you do have to have one, Salt Lake City is a great airport to be stuck in.  They have play areas and shuttle buses to take you over to downtown and Temple Square.  Unfortunatly we didn't learn that until it was too late.  The only drawback?  No free Wi-fi!

Long Movies and Late Moms

Last week I borrowed A Chipmunk Adventure from the library. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid and, in all honesty, I just wanted to watch it again. I convinced Skyler to put it on, and he sat and watched...and watched...and watched. Totally unusual behavior for the kid who thinks that anything longer than a Diego episode is too long (and even those are pushing it). About 2/3 of the way through this tortuously long 75 minute movie Skyler starts bawling. When I ask what's wrong he tells me, "the show is too long, but I like it!" So sad.

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Before our San Diego trip, the primary kids from our ward took a trip to the temple. I drove Skyler myself and then headed to Target while they toured the grounds. I knew what time to be back, and was back on time, but apparently the tour started early and therefore ended early, thus I was late. In the car on the way home Skyler told me about this conversation he had with the nice mom who stayed with him:

Nice Mom: Do you think your mom forgot about you?
Skyler: Yes

He then proceeded to tell everyone he came in contact with about how I was late picking him up. Alright! Sign me up for mom of the year!

Happy Birthday Skyler!

Yesterday, Skyler turned four years old. It's been a rough year - whoever coined the phrase "terrible twos" had never met Skyler. But he's taught me so much patience and humility and I wouldn't change a thing. Though if he'd take a nap every now and then I'd really appreciate it. :)

We had a picnic at the Botanic Gardens and then went to Toys R Us to buy him a bike. When he rode it for the first time at home, he took off down the driveway, got going a little too fast for his liking and then and fell as he was trying to turn. But after a few tears he got right back on to try again. He is still having some trouble turning, mainly because he thinks that to go backwards, he either needs to turn the handlebars completely around or he needs to pedal backwards.

2004

2006
2008

Going For a Swim

We have a little baby pool in our backyard and both boys really enjoy splashing around in it. Skyler is always asking if we can go for a swim.

Random Skylerness

Skyler has said some great things lately, here's a sampling

Skyler likes to hang on things. I told him to quit hanging on something and he said, "But we don't have any vines in our house!". True. I'll have to get Jordan right on that.

In the bathtub Skyler was washing Jonah's back and kept telling me "Jonah's back is disgusting, it's so 'sgusting"

Bandelier (where we went on the Fourth of July) consists of many Indian dwellings that were made by basically creating caves and holes in the rock. We told Skyler this, but he heard "alien" instead of "Indian" and kept calling them alien houses. We kept correcting him, but he was insistent.

Fourth of July Fun

Jordan beat me to the punch as far as posting fourth of July pictures. We went to Bandelier National Monument (well, tried to at least), a quick hike in the mountains, and then a birthday party. It was a long day, but we had a lot of fun!

Oh Yeah, The Carousel

When we rode the carousel at Belmont Park in San Diego, it was Skyler's first time riding on one of the horses that actually goes up and down. He's always wimped out before, but I wasn't about to let him this time (especially when I was planning on putting Jonah on one of them). He was afraid of falling off. I told him to watch the group before us and see if anyone falls off. Luckily no one did and he went on. You can see that he was kind of holding on for dear life, but he relaxed as it went on. Jonah loved it.

Surprise Sunday Podcast

Skyler calls this his surprise podcast, it's also a surprise seeing as it's being posted the same day it was filmed!

Skyler's Four

Well, not quite, but I imagine he'll still look like this next week.

Skyler's Four

Jonah's One

I realize that's old news, but yesterday he had his official one year old pictures taken. Here are a few.

Jonah's One

For more pictures, visit the photographer's site

Everything Else

We went to Sea World.  I've been there many times before but never really realized how incredibly amazing it is that the trainers are able to get the animals to do what they do.  They are more obedient than Skyler!  But Jordan reminded me that if I were to give Skyler some candy every minute, he would do whatever I wanted him to do.  

Here is Skyler before the Shamu show.  He said it was fun but too long.  We were on the very top row, but when they started talking about Shamu splashing the audience he got scared that he'd get splashed too and started laying down on the bench behind me.    He was very relieved when we told him that Shamu couldn't splash that high and had fun watching the people below get wet.  

The Hole

Skyler, with the help of uncle Tyler and uncle Trevor dug a decent sized hole.  Jonah really wanted to climb in it, but Skyler wouldn't let him.  

Water Babies and Sand Crabs

Skyler and Jonah both really enjoyed playing in the sand.  Skyler, somewhat to our surprise, loved playing in the ocean.  Jonah would cry every time the water got him, but it didn't keep him from constantly crawling towards the water or letting me put him down in it.