Happy Birthday Sam

Today is Sam's third birthday. I can't believe he's already three years old. Where has the time gone? He's such a fun little guy and we are very lucky and thankful to have him as a part of our family. Since Chris is out of town this week, we are waiting until this weekend to celebrate Sam's big day. We are having a Bob the Builder birthday bash. ( I love alliteration.) Good times are going to be had. We did have a little shindig when we were in Pocatello, but I'll post about it all later.

Until then, happy birthday buddy. We love you.

Sam's Birth Day

The First Birthday

Celebrating his second with Uncle Mike and Aunt Jennie

Officially three years old

Puzzling or the Puzzle King

Sam is really into puzzles. Really into puzzles. He just loves doing them and he's really good at them. He has puzzles that range from 12 pieces to 100 pieces and he can do them all...by himself. I love watching him put them together, seeing his little mind work. Lest you think I'm one of those mothers who thinks her child is a genius and can do no wrong, I can guarantee you I am not. I can say with certainty that he is very good at puzzles and probably a lot better at them than most kids his age. However, this is the same kid who likes to pee on his hands in the bathtub. It all evens out. Here are some highlights of things Sam has learned or said. Most of the "bad" stuff he learned from us, his parents, so what does that say?

A: Sam, what is Walmart?
S: Icky Gross
A: That's right. And what is Target?
S: Wicked awesome.

C: Where does food go when you put it into your mouth?
S: Down my belly and into my stinky diaper.

A: That pizza was crap
S: It wasn't crap, it was awesome.

A: Chris, that's because you're stupid.
S: Daddy's not stupid, he's funny.

C:(Listening to music in the car) Hey, let's rock out.
S: No daddy don't. It's dangerous to rock out.

C: Where are gonna go to school?
S: Hmmm, BY Woo.

C: Did you have a bad dream last night?
S: Yes
C: What was it about?
S: Eyeballs.

Chris's Mom: Let's get your shoes on so we can go outside.
S: I don't need shoes, I have my feet.

S: (After the opening hymn at church) That was a good song.

S: (Eating a breadstick in the car) I'm going to eat it...all...gone.

We've also done nice things, like telling him about the temple. We told him that you go there to get married and be baptized for dead people. The first time he saw the temple he said "I want to get married." Now he will just randomly start telling anyone that "we go to the temple to get married and baptize by proxy."

Oh, how I love my Sam.

The Ties That Bind

The Skidmore family had our first (well, first for me anyway) family reunion. This was the first time the entire family has been together since Chris's parents returned from their mission in 2008. We stayed in a cabin in Hayden Lake and basically swam, skied, tubed, kayaked, floated....you get the point....the whole time.

Here are some of the highlights and the not-so-much of a highlight of the trip:

I like to refer to the cabin we stayed in as the "cabin that time forgot." It was really old and nothing had been updated since, well, ever. There was a huge flat screen tv though, so I guess that counts for something. My brother-in-law referred to the room Chris and I were sleeping in as the Suite. We all had a pretty good laugh about it since it was the furthest thing from it. I think the thing that classified it as a suite was the fact that we had our own bathroom, even if there was no shower.

The water had the nastiest smell. Not the lake water, but the water in the house. I couldn't be close to it when it was running. I had to hold my breath when I washed my hands because it gagged me that much. I spent a lot of time not washing dishes, so I guess it worked out for me huh?

Being that I'm terrified of the water and can't really swim, I didn't spend much time in it. I went for boat rides a few times and I even braved tubing, but that was the extent of my water adventures. I wasn't alone in my fears though. My three year old son is afraid of the water too so at least I had someone to keep me company.

Be prepared, there are a lot of pictures.

Proof that I actually got on the tube.

Mike and Charlie chillin'


The boys posing for a picture



Shane getting ready to go for a swim



George Dee cookin up some pizza. He was our chef for the week. All the meals were delish.

Mike and George Dee made homemade root beer for the event.

Capping the bottles.

George Dee and Sam painting his model plane.

Ryan taking a nap on the dock.

Charlie's ready for his first boat ride.

The gang enjoying some fresh homemade root beer (Mike, RiLee, George Dee, Jack, Max).

The adults playing Speed Scrabble. I was relieved to be playing with a teammate. That game stresses me out.

A view of our luxurious cabin.

Our view.

The kids just hanging out on the dock.

Charlie hanging out in the tube. He's really enjoying it.

The boys posing in the reunion tees that Mike designed and the shorts that DeeDee made for all the grandkids.

Sam walking down to the dock to throw rocks in the water.

A rare picture of Sam...you can actually see his face and he's smiling, kinda.

Max and Jack going for a ride.

Sam going for his first boat ride.

Chris going for his first ski ride of the day.


Hamming it up for the camera.

The kids decorated cookies that spelled their names. These letters are S-A-M. That spells Sam, in case you were wondering.

Doing some frosting.

Charlie's cookies.

Some more crafting...decorating visors. This was a big hit with all the kids.

Charlie showing off his visor and loving that Aunt Jennie is holding him.

Shane, Henry and Sam watching a movie.

Shannan and Shane taking a break after a long week. This picture says it all.

THE END

Where Has My Baby Gone?

Charlie turned one on Friday. I can't believe my baby is one already. He's growing up too fast, but I'm sure every mother feels that way. I must admit I get baby fever every once in a while and think I want to hurry and have another one. It doesn't help that every woman in my ward who is of reproducing age is prego. But then I have days where both kids are crying and fighting and whining at my feet and suddenly I'm okay with having just two kids.

Anywho, here are some of Charlie's current stats.

• He's walking. I guess technically one could say he started walking at 11 months, but does it really count if it's just a few steps here and there? He has improved a lot though and before long he's going to have some mad walking skills.


• He has six teeth: four on top, two on bottom. His teeth are his best feature or maybe should I say his most distinguishing feature. The top two front teeth are big and have a huge gap in between. I've gotten used to them and think they are quite cute, but I completely understand why the world might not think so. Is it horrible to say that sometimes I think he has a face that only a mother could love?

• He's scared of the water. That little fear is courtesy of his big brother pushing him around in the tub. Thanks Sam! Bath time wouldn't be the same without you.

• He wants to do everything Sam is doing, which drives Sam crazy....which in turn drives me crazy.

• He LOVES cars. This kid is all boy. He will sit and push cars around all day if I let him. He will even make vroom vroom noises.

• He is a very cuddly kid...he just loves to cuddle. I love that he loves it. Also, he will give kisses. It's a wide open mouth kiss so be prepared if he tries to kiss you.

Anyway, onto the birthday festivities. We were in Seattle the day of his birthday, so there wasn't much celebration. However, Chris's brother Mike took us to lunch at Red Mill Burgers. I might add that the food was oh so good. I'm drooling just thinking about it. After that we headed over to St. Edward Park in Kenmore. This was the coolest playground ever. Sam ran around like a crazy man and pointed out all pictures of fish to me 15 times. Charlie, in typical fashion, did some snackin on the sand. Later that evening, we headed over to our friend's house for a barbecue. We had a good 'ol spread of hot dogs and chips. Let me just add that they were all-beef hot dogs and we had two types of chips. Jealous much? Les baked a cake for the occasion, which she didn't think was that great, but I must disagree. It was delish. They even got Charlie a present. It was some ball stack up toys. We whipped those suckers out Saturday and even though Charlie thinks they're pretty fun, (he gets all giggly when the balls roll around) I must confess that I had as much fun playing with them as Charlie did. Thanks Craig and Les.

Sunday was the "real" day of celebration, if you can even call it that. We had dinner and Chuck thought he was a big enough kid to eat a whole corn-on-the-cob.

Then we busted out the cake and presents. You know I made a chocolate cake for Sam and Charlie's first birthdays just so they get extra messy eating, and then we can all go "ooh aww, look at how cute he is." Everyone else got cupcakes.

At first he just sort of picked at it, but then Chris's dad gave him a few bites and he soon figured out that this was good stuff and just dug right in.

After a quick rinse in the tub, we opened presents. Sam is really into opening presents, so he got to do it. We got him a monster truck and a book about trucks. Chris' parents got him an outfit and a piano. Based on Sam and Charlie's reactions to the toys, I think they liked them. They both fought over the truck and Sam claimed it was his. He then threw the book in Charlie's face when Charlie was playing with the truck. All in all I'd say it was a successful evening, but I still can't believe I have a one year old. Sam will be three soon and then I think I really will be in shock.