Happy Birthday, Two Year Old!

Today, our sweet little Skyler turned TWO! It's hard to believe. We actually celebrated last night since Kyle was working late tonight. Kyle took Kylene and Spencer to Wal-Mart so they could each pick out a present, then we had cake and opened presents. Ta da, the perfect two-year-old party!

Skyler is saying a handful of words: ma ma, da da, ball, hat, hot, etc. I am very excited to have him start talking more. But, he loves to sing, "Happy Birthday" to just about anyone. He sings the tune perfectly, using the words, "uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uhhhhh." The last few days as we've talked about his birthday, he has always broken out in song like he's singing to himself! It is so cute. Last night was no exception. He eagerly joined in as we sang to him.

Kylene wasn't too excited over his "blowing" abilities: yuck, he's spitting all over the cake! But he finally blew the candles out with a little help from daddy. He just didn't like the after effects of smoke at all. But he did love opening the presents and had no problem figuring out how to do that. It's amazing how quickly they can learn! Here are a few of my favorite shots.

I figured since all the birthday party pictures were from yesterday, I better take one of him on his actual birthday. Here is my darling two-year-old ready for a walk to the mailbox:

Letting his personality come out a bit!

Skyler is loved by everyone. He is quick to understand and follow directions when he wants to, and loves being a part of the action. His favorite place is outside. He recovers quickly when he falls, and tries whatever he was doing again. He loves to sing, dance, read books (his favorite being the one I just made of pictures of him from 2010), play trains, doll house, play with fake and real cell phones (I think he can navigate Kyle's Blackberry better than me!), play with any balls, or chase his siblings around.

The last few months he has started up a very high pitched scream when something isn't going the way he wants. I think it's mainly frustration since he understands everything yet can't communicate. I'm really looking forward to him waking up one day and being able to speak full sentences and no longer scream. He has the most darling pout face and loves to stomp his foot when he's mad. It's hard not to laugh at.

He absolutely loves his daddy and "da da" has got to be his favorite word. He will go over to the phone, pick it up and say, "da da" over and over until I let him call Kyle. He loves to watch out the window for him coming home and runs to his arms to be swung around and thrown in the air.

He is also excited to be potty-trained, I think. He has had me take off his pants a few times so he can sit on the toilet. It's pretty funny, but I'm really hoping it continues and he potty trains early!! (A mom can dream, right?!) He had a yucky bout with pneumonia a couple of weeks ago but seems to have recovered quickly. He is finally sleeping through (most) nights, and is still thoroughly addicted to his binky. That is another goal for 2011. :)

Instincts

Tonight we were throwing around a football-shaped pillow. The kids were all wound up and excited. Suddenly Spencer walked over to Skyler and "body checked" him. I was like, "Whoa, where did that come from?" Skyler just giggled and didn't seem to mind so I just ignored it. A moment later, another body check, this one a bit harder. Then, another, this time knocking Skyler over. I couldn't help laughing as I told him to stop. Where did my son learn to "body check" people? It's not like we've been watching lots of football on TV lately! (That's coming shortly, though!) All I can attribute it to is "male instincts". Hilarious.


Fortunately, a short while later when we had calmed down (somewhat) and were sitting on the floor, Spencer walked over and put both hands on Skyler's head like he was giving him a blessing. Hopefully that is instinctual as well:).


Here is Spencer boldly wielding the aforementioned football!

One Cool Dude!

When you got it, you got it! (Personality, that is.)

Too Much Cuteness!

Skyler is cuter, and busier, than ever! Man, I can't keep up with this kid. One of my favorite things about this age is, even though they can't talk, you know they understand. He can be so mischievous, silly, flirtatious and more, without saying a word! And don't even think about turning your head for a minute--he's outta here!
Doing is favorite tree-shaking-thing! I hope the tree survives toddler-hood.

Do I have to wake up, mom?

You put my clothes where?

A bin and a book; it doesn't get any better than this.

Drums make the best chairs...

And the best snacks.

Green Smoothie Guy

Ever heard of Green Smoothie Girl? Well, this is my version of a "Green Smoothie Guy." :) I made a green smoothie last week and let Skyler try some. In case it's hard to tell in these pictures (kidding here), he LOVED it. This one was spinach, kale, peach, pineapple, and banana. Yum!

Skyler was, at first, a pretty finicky eater and slow to get going. When he turned one--and while he recovered from being sick--he was hardly eating anything. I should not have worried. Now he LOVES food and can eat it almost faster than he can breathe in. :) His favorites of late are tomato, avocado, cream of wheat, bread with almond butter, crackers, animal crackers, soups, and...cake. I'm sure he has his mother's sweet tooth but we'll try and resist developing that as long as possible:). Food, oh, wonderful food.

Spencer & Skyler's Birthday Party

This past weekend we celebrated Skyler's first and Spencer's third birthdays with a family party. My parents, the Clark family (Jana & Scott and David, Matthew, Michael, Stephanie, & Daniel) and Logan & Shayla were able to make it. We chose a "Cowboy & Indian" theme and a few of us got dressed in the act. Kyle & Jana were Mexican and Argentine cowboys, respectively, so we even had some international representation going on:). Very authentic, thank you very much!

We had lunch together, played games, opened presents, and had cake & ice cream. I think the games were the biggest hit: even though they were simple, they were a blast. The Clark's brought their huge stash of nerf guns and ammo and we had two shooting contests: one to knock over the most plastic cowboy & indian figures and one against our sliding glass door "target" (we drew on a target with different points). We also had fun playing "pin the feather on the indian", which idea Kylene came up with on her own.

It was a wonderful day. My favorite part was definitely seeing the pure joy in Spencer. Kylene & Spencer were both so excited all week for the event, especially Saturday morning before everyone arrived. Spencer's excitement, giddiness, and happiness "spilling over" was so neat to watch. Of course, Skyler wasn't quite sure what was going on but loved all the attention, the new toys, and especially LOVED his first cake experience.

My dad took over 300 pictures in the 2 1/2 hours everyone was here. How do you begin to choose from 300 pictures by a professional? I haven't even downloaded the ones from our camera yet! There were so many excellent ones. Here are a few "standouts" (sorry they're not in order).

The Mexican bandito and me wearing what I could put on in under two minutes:).
The birthday boy in his "gettup" and playing with other guns. We definitely had a lot of different "guns" in our house this weekend. I hope that's not too awful of us!

The Clark Clan definitely got in on the dress-up action. So fun!

Skyler's post-cake joy.

You didn't let me have any of this sooner because why, mom?

Spencer blowing out the candles on his Indian headress cake.

Skyler entranced by the flame on his singular candle:). A shot of the cowboy hat and indian headress cakes I made. I also made a delicious chocolate chip applesauce cake my sister, Alyson, gave me the recipe for.

Look at me walking! Give me a gun, I'm ready to shoot!

Kylene playing with Skyler's new toy.

Yeah, I'm cute!

Skyler admiring his new bath towel my mom embroidered.

Hugs of joy after opening his presents.

Logan & Shayla watching the present-opening action.

Kyle intent on winning the shoot out.

Logan trying to escape Scott's onslaught with the rapid fire nerf gun. SCARY!

Kylene & Stephanie, silly cousins:). (Believe it or not, that is Kylene's "cowboy" costume...she wears it for dress up all the time with a pink wide brimmed hat that she calls her cowboy hat. It's hilarious!)

Pin the feather on the (teeny, tiny) indian.

You can have the ball if you walk to me, Skyler.

One of my favorite shots. Can you spot the nerf bullet in the air? Nice action shot, dad!

Grandma Barney, intent on shooting.

Of course, the only person I don't have pictured here is my dad! Sorry, dad! Definitely part of being the photographer...

Kids' birthdays really are the best! (It makes all the work worth it.)

It's Hard to Believe He's ONE!

Our happy, cuddly, gentle, content bundle of LOVE turned ONE today! Where has the time gone? Skyler has been such a joy and light to our family; it's hard to imagine life without him. I am so thankful he is feeling so much better for his special day. We are celebrating with a family birthday party for him and Spencer this Saturday.

Skyler has always been a happy, content baby. He is active and loves to watch his older siblings in action. Kylene & Spencer both LOVE him to pieces, which often requires a little protection from mom & dad. He was bascially walking on his own a few weeks ago, but after getting sick, he has decided crawling is where it's at (again)! He can take several steps (when coaxed), but most of the time would rather just sit down and crawl to where he wants to go.

He also is quite a picky eater. He's never been a huge finger foods baby, but would (most of the time) eat whatever we spoon fed him. No more. When he was sick he went back to exclusively nursing and is still mainly nursing. I can get him to eat a few foods, but most of the time he clamps his mouth shut. He will eat a few crackers here and there and likes fruit (in his mesh feeder), but I've got to get him eating more solids. I know being more active, and recently having been sick, he is supposed to be thinning out, but he's looking so skinny to me! (I'm use to chunky boy babies!) I guess his happy, active behavior is the best indicator, though, and I have to remind myself that he'll eat when he's ready. It's just a little bit more work for mommy and daddy. But, he's worth it!

He has four teeth on top and two on bottom and a huge full face smile with twinkly eyes. His hair is there a-plenty and always seems to stick up this way or that--so cute! He doesn't love his car seat but hopefully facing forward will help with that. He is usually great about taking naps and going to bed at night, although we definitely need to work on the middle of the night wakings! One year olds CAN sleep through the night!

We love you, Skyler and are so thankful you're a part of our eternal family!

On the Upswing

I am happy to report that we are doing MUCH better at our house! Skyler took his last dose of antibiotic this afternoon and seems to be mostly back to his normal self. He still has an occasional nasty cough, but has been in much better spirits and is sleeping much better (thank goodness)! Today he actually ate some real food, too; definitely a good thing. He is, once again, crawling around like a mad man, but still isn't trying to walk like he was right before he got sick. I know he can walk but finds it easier to just sit down and crawl so he still does that most of the time. Anyway, I am grateful that despite how rough it was, it was short lived.

Skyler's Favorite Chair

Skyler's favorite "hang out" is on our little blue cloth-covered rocking chair. We bought it for Kylene when she was about this age and it has been a great investment. He spends literally hours crawling on it, over it, and just sitting in it. He has fallen off all sides and pushed it over backwards, but most of the time he looks up at you like, "Aren't I amazing?", laughs, and keeps on playing. He has decorated every inch of it with his drool and wiped leftovers on all sides!

It is hard to believe he is 11 months old. He is a busy, happy boy. He can crawl upstairs before you know what is happening or find the tiniest piece of something on the floor to put in his mouth. He is our patient (with all the love he gets from his siblings), happy baby! Now, if we can just get him sleeping through the night...

Definition of CUTE!

I'm the first to admit I'm biased, but I just think my little Skyler is SOOOO cute!

Even behind bars.

I'm loving the fang look right now.

We have to enjoy it while we can because the large, front tooth on the right just broke through.

Skyler is crawling and standing on his own!

At 8 1/2 months old, Skyler finally decided he wanted to crawl. This last week he figured out how to scoot himself across the room. He gets into a full crawl position, except for one leg that is more on its side than on the knee (if that makes sense), that he kind of drags along behind him. I need to get a good picture of him in the "crawl" position. He can move pretty fast when he's motivated.

He has also figured out how to pull himself up on to things. I will leave him sitting, playing with toys and a few minutes later look over at him and he'll be standing up against one of his activity tables, standing in front of the lazy boy, etc. Tonight he was playing with one of the Little People garage structures in the kids' room and pulled himself to a standing position with that. Thankfully most things he uses are sturdy enough not to topple over when he pulls on it. I doubt it will be long until he's walking! Just in time to get to all the Christmas decorations on our tree; joy! I'm sure they will all be positioned a little bit higher up by the end of the month.

Boys Will Be Boys

Aren't you impressed my 2 1/2 yearold can bounce and play with my seven-month old on his lap?

Oh, wait, I guess that is with lots of help from daddy, as this photo reveals.

It's so fun to see the boys start to play together, even if it is with lots of help at this point. I'm sure there is much more wrestling, rough-housing, and tackling to come! Bring it on!

Big Sister Storytime

The other day while I was cleaning the bathroom, Kylene had storytime just for Skyler. She laid out the blankets, got his boppy, sat him in it, and read him the story a few times. It was so precious to watch her be the big sister reading to her little brother.

Here is a little video of the storytime: