Car Seat Buckles: I Can Do It!
Skye is becoming more and more independent every day. She’s always liked to
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My Dad Is Better Than… YOU!
Westly: “I drank 5 Dr. Peppers yesterday.”
Me: “What’s the record?”
Westly: “I don’t know, we tend black out our consumption after awhile.”
Hunter: “WELL MY DAD! HE DRINKS, LIKE, 25 OR 60 IN A DAY!”.
Give or take a few, right?
Skye’s Tangled Birthday
I finally got a chance to look through the photos for Skye’s birthday party.
Modern Conveniences We Take for Granted.
I’m grateful for indoor plumbing. And as I deposited a dollop of soap into my hand, rubbed it around, and turned on the faucet to discover there was no water; I realized how completely dependent I am upon it.
The Mall Santa feat. Mall Photography
Recently Hunter expressed how upset he was at me for bursting his Santa bubble. I “ruined Christmas,” he told me. When he asked me if Santa was real I just wanted to be honest with him, and he wanted to hear that all the magic was real. I felt kinda bad about it so I made an agreement with him that we’d go see Santa and pretend he was real. In an effort to be accommodating we made a special trip to the Mall so he could still pretend Santa was real and recreate the charm he was wanting. Skye had already been able to visit with St. Nick at the ward Christmas Party, but Hunter passed so he could play with his friends. While waiting in the queue at the Mall we enjoyed the elaborate elf village; Skye was especially enchanted by all of the amazing decorations like a giant 100 foot christmas tree that had a large facade at the base with windows that looked into a scene of elves making Christmas toys. Hunter, on the other hand, was carrying on about how stupid Santa Clause is. Skye, who was oblivious to Hunter’s complaining, immediately ran up to the big guy exclaiming “I WANT TO BE A PRINCESS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!” and then she faltered a few steps away as she briefly reconsidered whether or not she really wanted to lifted up onto the leg of a stranger. By the time it was his turn to sit on the lap of honor Hunter was completely unwilling to participate. “That’s embarrassing,” he says to me. “I’ll only be in the picture if I don’t have to sit on his lap!” So there you have it, the endearingly exuberant Skye and one very mortified 11 year old boy who wishes Santa was real, but doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. You can’t win them all, I guess.
Sweet Peace
I love autumn. Skye and I went walking with Phani and Sydney today. I love walking in this area with rolling hills of green grass and hardly a human in sight. Today the weather was crisp and cool. The wind blew multi-colored leaves from fluttering maple and oak trees. Every sign of urban life was hidden from us; leaving us with the peace that comes from the perfect calm of nature.
Speaking in Tongues
Skye’s favorite stuffed animal, Strawberry (a pink Teddy Bear), has been talking a lot more these days. She speaks in a series of unintelligible high pitched squeaks. Thank goodness Skye translates for me because I don’t speak Beaker.