For Jill

My sister-in-law has been asking for family pictures, and I have yet to send her any. I'm working on getting an appointment for some professional pictures taken, but in the meantime, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Sam dressing up for the cold deep snow outside.

Posing for the camera.

Charlie eating carrots. This kid will eat anything!

Showing off his chubby legs. I love how fat they are.

Trying to get the camera.

Charlie just hanging out with his Uncle Mike.

Just trying to get those cute feet into his mouth.

I think Sam almost looks like that kid from A Christmas Story. Some people say he looks like Dennis the Menace.

This was taken on Christmas Eve. Sam decided to bring me every present from under the tree.

Opening presents on Christmas Day.

Gettin' Busy

Now that the holidays are over, the Skidmore family is entering into a period of time that is commonly referred to as the "Busy Season". I know what you're thinking, and I wish you were correct; unfortunately, it aint not that kind of gettin' busy.


Rather it's the time of year when I and my fellow CPAs retire to our nerderies only to emerge in late April, pale, malnurished, but no longer busy. It is the time of year when we call to action our 10-key skills and our spreadsheet skills and are forced to interact with other humans.

Some accountants refer to this time of year as the "harvest season", but those accountants are usually the accounting firm owners. For them this time is, in fact, the period of time when they bring in around 75% of their annual income. That is great for them, I am very happy for them. But for me and others like me, this is the time of year when our hourly rate gets dangerously close to that of minimum wage: we get paid the same, but work twice as much. This is the time of year when free time is sparce and usually reserved for laundry, paying bills, conjugal visits and other maintenance related tasks. This is the time of year when my caffeinated soda consumption spikes and shut-eye time dives. This is the time of year when my wife wonders (more often than she normally does), why she married a CPA.

We take some solice in that January is nearly over and only 3 months remain of this craziness. In the meantime we are going to try to pace ourselves and get through this busy season and, when we can, enjoy a few quite moments. Who knows...maybe in a few more years we can begin to call this time our harvest season, but until then its all about just getting busy.

Winter Wonderland

This is what is out of our window right now. I think it's close to two feet of snow. The snow on the deck comes up to my mid-thigh. I don't remember the last time I've seen weather like this. The really funny thing is that Chris is in Alaska right now. He had to go to Alaska of all places to get to better weather! He's supposed to come home tonight, but we'll see if he makes it. I'm completely unprepared for weather like this either. I'm used to the rainy winters of Seattle. Why did I ever complain about the rain? I need to buy some snow boots and gloves. If I can get out of our driveway, I'll have to do that.

Big Baby Buddha

Today was a big day for Charlie. He had his 4-month check up which also means he had to have some shots. I was a nervous wreck because I thought for sure he'd cry and cry. On the contrary, he cried for just a few seconds and was done. So here are his stats:

Weight: 18lbs 2oz (+95%)

Height: 25in (50%)

Charlie is rolling over like crazy, drools all over, and loves putting anything in his mouth. I gave him a candy cane the other day to play with, and somehow he got the packaging off. He was going at that thing like there was no tomorrow. So, he's had his first taste of sugar, and me thinks he liiiikes it.

I can't decide if Charlie reminds me of a little Buddha or Jabba the Hut in this picture. I also love his little man boobs.

Fun For The Whole Family

Sam always likes having someone play with him. He will literally grab shirt, pants or even a toe and say "play" or "play cars." He wants to include everyone during play time. This is especially true when it comes to playing with stickers. I know there are lots of types of therapy, such as physical therapy, retail therapy, and the ever popular shock therapy. For Sam, it seems to be sticker therapy and everyone gets to be the lucky recipients of his therapy. Hence the proof below.

Turkeys, Travel, and Tender Moments

This year we traveled to my home state of Idaho for Thanksgiving. It has been six years since I've been with my family for Thanksgiving, so it was fun to be able to do that with them this year. Our travel started the Monday before Thanksgiving. Sam, Chuck and I flew on the "big plane" from Spokane to Boise all by ourselves. It was only a one-hour flight, but I was very anxious about it. The last time I flew alone with a child, Sam was 5 months old and had an allergic reaction. So, he screamed at the top of his lungs and scratched himself bloody for the last half hour of the flight, and I kept getting "the look" from people. This time was much better with only one small glitch. Our plane was a little puddle-jumper really so we had to walk out to the plane. When Sam saw it and heard the roar of the engines, he freaked out. He started crying and trying to go back inside. Imagine me trying to pick up a screaming fighting kid while the Chunk is strapped in the Bjorn and I have two bags hanging on my shoulder. It wasn't pretty. When we finally did get on the plane, Sam refused to sit down so I could buckle him in. It was actually quite funny because I had to literally knock his legs out from under him to get him to sit down. Ah the memories!

Luckily, it was smooth sailing from there on out. Sam played with his stickers for the hour long trip and Charlie slept. The 3-hour trip from Boise to Pocatello was even better as we all slept the whole way there.

When we got to Pocatello, we did a lot of hanging out. I loved it...you can't get more relaxed than that. My sister has a son, Carter, who is just 2 months younger than Sam. So, they had a great time playing together whether it was at the park, watching Wall-E, or sharing their food. They practically take care of themselves when they're together. We just have to check on them once in a while to make sure they're still alive. My sister also has an 8-month old daughter Avery. She is so tiny, and at only 4 months old, I'm sure Charlie could take her. He already outweighs her.

I decided to make a cherry pie for Thanksgiving this year. This was my first time ever making a "real" pie. Ok, so I bought the pie filling, but I did make the crust from scratch. I had no idea that it was so challenging to make pie crust. I think I may have used a few cuss words during the "rolling out the dough and putting it into the pie pan" process. Anywho, doesn't my pie look fabulous. Who wouldn't want to eat it? I especially love how the lattice isn't even laced properly. Unfortunately, the "pie" is the only Thankgsgiving picture I got, since I forgot to bring the camera to the main event.

On the last day of our visit, we drove down to Inkom to visit my grandparents. It was what I would call a bittersweet goodbye. My grandpa Dean has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. I can't describe what it feels like to say goodbye to someone and know it's the last time you will see them alive. I feel very fortunate though, that I had the opportunity to see him before he goes. Also, I'm grateful that he got to meet Sam and Charlie, even though they will never know him on a more personal level. Grandpa is 90 years old, but has always been very spry and active. I've never thought of him as "old" because he just never seemed like he was. Although I know in the grand scheme of things, it will only be a short time before I see him again, it's hard to see the eternal perspective with such limited vision.

Grandpa, I love you and will miss you with all my heart.

Big Christmas Tree

Today we decided to take Sam and Charlie to River Park Square to see the "big Christmas tree." When we told Sam we were going to see it, he repeated "Christmas tree" the whole drive over. It was certainly a lot bigger than I expected it to be...four stories tall. Santa was there too, but we didn't even try to see if Sam would sit on his lap.

After oohing and aahing at the tree for a while, we decided to get lunch. Sam of course had french fries. It seems to be his favorite cuisine of choice these days. Whenever I ask him what he'd like for lunch or dinner, his answer is always french fries. Today I asked him what he wanted to wear for the day, and his answer was french fries. I don't know how it's even physically possible to wear french fries, but Sam is that devoted to them that he could probably find a way. Chris and Sam also had fun playing with their food. They stuck the fries in their mouths and pretended to be walruses. (I couldn't get a very good picture of Sam because he won't let me take a picture of him these days. Every time I try to take one, he turns away.) While I made some purchases, Chris let Sam run laps up and down the stroller/wheelchair ramps. He had a blast just running around and I'll be sad when the day comes that he won't be so easily entertained.

He was not happy to leave to say the least. Chris had to hold him back in the elevator as we were leaving. Both boys were completely exhausted by the end of the trip, so I count it as a successful trip!

As far Charlie goes, he is growing growing growing. He is jabbering and smiling all the time. He certainly seems to have a lot to say, and I always wonder what it is exactly that he is saying. He's been rolling from his belly to his back for a while now, but the other day he rolled from back to belly. He's only done it twice now, but I'm a happy momma and beaming with pride at all the amazing things my child can do. It's really funny to watch him try to roll over though because he's so fat he can't move that well. It'll also be a sad day when his baby fat goes away.