Picasa

My dear girl Sooz told me about a great website www.picasa.com makes blogging a snap!! I just wanted to test it out really quick. I'll try something fancier later. Also, what a gorgeous day! 71 and sunny... perfection.

Home Preschool (still rocks)

So, we have made the very difficult decision to pull my little man out of preschool for the year. Many factors here, but it comes down to the fact that he doesn't HAVE to be in school. I can teach him everything and more right here at my kitchen table. I am sad because I loved his school and teacher. Same teacher D had a couple years back. I told her we would be back next Fall. So, now the challenge is to find fun, creative and exciting ways to teach a three year old with a very tiny attention span! So far, we have been working on recognizing his name in print and writing the letters that make his name. We are also counting as high as we can and doing the usual ABC stuff and crafts. That actually sounds really boring now that I read it :( I'll have to start scouring my resources for fun ways to learn. We will still be doing all of our activities, music, gymnastics and doing a preschool swap with another family weekly. I'm excited! Part of me has always wanted to test out homeschool. So, this will be a good little test. I already asked D if he would ever want to homeschool and he said "NO WAY! I love my friends". Sory's response is always, "Do I have to see my fwens today Mama??" There you go!

Memory Lane and a BIG Milestone

Our little family one year ago. Children are a blessing and if you end up with a healthy family what more could anyone hope for? We are so fortunate to have kids and all the joy and many challenges they bring... sleep advice anyone??? My 6 month old who was sleeping through the night at 3 weeks (like 8-10 hr. stretches!!) is now not sleeping at all. What gives?
Also, exactly one year ago while Avi was happy in my belly, her little friend Kate along with her brother Will had just come into the world at 27 weeks gestation (normal is 40 weeks). Such a scary time, but as they share a 1st birthday I'm amazed at their strength and resiliency and that of their parents. I really have a hard time imagining what it must have felt like to not know whether my babies would be alive the next minute, to wonder if they are in pain, to see them so tiny and vulnerable (they were only about a pound and half each) and to have to go home at night without them, praying they would be ok until morning. Today they are doing well, off oxygen, strong and Kate is mobile and into anything she can get her little hands on. What a difference a year makes! Happy Birthday Will & Kate!!

Back To The Midwest

We were fortunate to be able to head back to Michael's hometown in Illinois to spend time with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Bob and Great Grandma and Grandpa Dentino and Michael's sister Aunt Jerri and Cousins Stacy and Riley! Here's part of the crew... impossible to get everyone looking at the camera a one time, but you get the idea. The boys had a blast and I mean BLAST! Bonnie and Bob are the sweetest Grandparents and spoiled the boys rotten with all the toys, sweets, movies and kisses they could ever imagine. Everyone needs to be spoiled by someone in their life and I'm so happy to have such wonderful Grandparents to build memories with. The boys with never forget this trip. I still remember my Grandma's house... the wonderful smells, the delicious food, cousins, cartoons. It makes me happy to know the boys will have the same great memories of their Grandparents.
Everyone tried to get Avi to look up, but nap time was calling and she was in no mood for a photo shoot!
Watching movies on the big bed they made on Grandma Bonnie's living room floor.
The Great Grandparents are getting older... in their 90's!!! And still going strong.... great genes. Soren is obviously ready to move on ;)
Dylan, on the other hand, eats up nearly every social situation. Here he is showing us his first lost tooth. The tooth fairy even knew where to find him all the way in Illinois. She is so smart!
Avi checking out Great Grandpa Dentino.
Avi let 91 year old Great Grandma Alta hold her for just a bit... made them both smile. I think Alta really wanted to keep Avi and kept saying what a pretty baby she was.
Rub-a-dub-dub... three Skaggs in a tub! The very same tub Daddy bathed in 40 some years ago!
One of the most fun things we did was explore the Discovery Children's Museum in Normal, IL. If you are ever in Normal I suggest you check it out. We voted it way better than the Phoenix Children's Museum. Here Soren is painting glass that you could then spray off and wipe down. So messy and So fun!
Mama and Miss Aviana at the Museum.
A close up of the missing tooth.
Making Pizza at the Museum.
Checking out the cash register.
The water feature was a kids paradise... water, buckets, splashing people... perfect.
A day of fishing with Grandma and Grandpa. It was beautiful. Didn't catch a fish that day, but it didn't matter, there were lots of grasshoppers that needed our attention.
Sory and Grandpa Bob giving it a shot.
Yay!!!!!!!!!! The great outdoors :)
The Midwest is full of VERY large climbing trees, something we don't have very much of out here. What a wonderful time we had. Thank you Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Bob. We love You!!

A Walk Down Memory Lane: Fall Exactly Three Years Ago

Exactly three years ago, almost to the day, the Madskaggs took a little hike on the mountain to enjoy the changing fall leaves. Soren was not quite a year old and Dylan was 3 1/2. Looking back it seems like a lifetime ago and just the same it seems like yesterday.
Dylan, such a fun personality, always ready for a conversation, always ready to pose, never afraid to say what's on his mind. This year he had just started Miss Theresa's preschool class. We couldn't have asked for a nicer first teacher. Miss Theresa's nickname around our house was "Mother Theresa" because she was such a kind soul. Back in the day when school was sweet... sigh.
Look at the little forest creature I stumbled upon. Can we keep him??? Soren was, and still is, the sweetest, most cuddly spirit I have ever had the joy of knowing. Looking back at this picture I realize Soren hasn't changed a bit. Oh, he's a little taller and a lot louder ;) But, behind that stare is my same precious boy.

So, I decided to take look back. First, because my friend Sooz (aka bloggy queen) inspired me to do so. Second, because I wanted to see if all this picture fuzziness was me or blogspot

(it's BLOGSPOT!!) and third because many of these older pics. are just sitting on the computer and if I don't put them here, they may never be seen again!

Oh, and forth because I looked three years younger and less sleep deprived.

Countdown to 6 Months!

I really cannot believe it has been almost 6 months since my beautiful baby girl was born. It's amazing to me how fast babies grow and change. Here she is tummy timin' with big brother. I think she's about ready to take off any second!
The boys taught her to wave "bye bye". They get such a kick out of getting her to perform for them.
I love you Soooooooooo much I want to squish you to pieces!
Mommy do you mind? We're a little busy here.
Buds for life!
And the ancient high chair. I thought it was the fanciest highchair around when I bought it seven years ago at Target. Now after browsing the newer models this one seems like it's from the 80's. How fast things change. Makes want to have another baby... almost ;)

Caught Red Handed

One thing I have never been able to hide from this guy is CHOCOLATE. Ever since he was a tiny baby he could sniff it out a mile away. I distinctly remember him trying to pry my mouth open before he could even talk to extract a piece of CHOCOLATE! Here he sits with with evidence all over his sweet face :)
Ah, the boy loves eggs... real eggs. I've tried giving him the fake ones, but no, it has to be real, fresh from the fridge. Whenever I am tied up nursing he'll push a barstool to the fridge and sneak one out. He calls it his "baby" and if he has to set it down at all he'll say "Mama, could you watch this little guy for me?"
Here he is saying "Please can't I keep it Mama???"
Dylan and his best friend the remote. Sometimes he'll try to turn it off real fast if he hears me coming. Other times, like this one, I out-sneaked him ;)

And I SO wish I had a pic. of Miss Aviana the other day with hot pink PEN all over her face and inside of her mouth! Yes, bad mama, gave my baby a PEN to play with, I don't know why, but don't ever do it, those things leak like crazy. Took me two days to get her mouth washed out!

This isn't even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the mischief going on in this house lately. I think a nice long vacation is in order.

Randomness and Fuzziness

Aviana is 5 months old and on the move. She is doing a little bit of an inch worm/army crawl/roll to get around these days and she is so much HAPPIER. I think I now know why she was so fussy at 3 and 4 months... she was STUCK and this girl likes to GO GO GO :)
Dylan's self portrait. He's been photographing things all over the house and it's so interesting to see what he comes up with. Ah, the world through the eyes of a 6 year old.
Sory EATING... always worth taking a picture of that.
Swinging with Grandpa on the new playset they built.
And here is patio Michael and Grandpa Ran built. The yard is coming together. Goodbye dirt patches :)
Look what else I can do! I love my excersaucer and basically anything that let's me be upright and moving and able to see this wide world.
Dylan's first lose tooth!!!! He's waited so long for this moment. The funny thing is that his big tooth has already grown in behind the baby tooth. Our dentist friend says it's ok, but it completely freaked me out when he told me he had a hard thing in his mouth and it was TOOTH! It was WAY back there, but supposedly will move forward. I certainly hope so.
The Playset! The directions say this should take "two moderately skilled adults 24 hours"... try two highly skilled adults 48-72 hours. Randy was an architect for heavens sake! The kids do love it though and it's definitely worth a few weekends being eaten up building his monster.
I believe Dylan snapped this pic. as I was frantically trying to get everyone out the door in the morning.

And my pics. are still fuzzy. Getting desperate here. I may need a new camera :(

Preschool Rocks!

I just had to document this: Could it be true that my little sugar bug, Soren, is finally giving it up? Here sits a cupcake from a birthday party that has only one poke hole in the middle where a little taste of frosting was taken. The rest of the cupcake is intact! The old Soren would've never missed out on an opportunity to eat junk. Could it be he's cured? Or maybe he's sick.
First day of preschool! He was SO excited and did not cry or even hesitate. I was the one who didn't want to leave. He's been my snuggle bug, my baby, my Mama's boy and it was a little hard to let him go, but I'm so proud of him.
The signature smile. PRESCHOOL HERE I COME!!!
It was a success! Sory, you'll always be my snuggle bug even if preschool does ROCK :)

BTW, pics. still fuzzy, not happy, cleaned the lens, now what?

Conversations Part 1

So, I had the most wonderful conversation today with my six year old. He even told me I seemed like a sister to him. I told him sometimes I felt like a sister to him and wondered why God thought I was responsible enough to be a mother to three kids. I think he wondered the same thing ;) Then our conversation goes like this:

D- So, how did you marry Daddy?

Me- What do you mean?

D- Well I mean how did you get him to marry you?

Me- Well I thought daddy was very handsome and so I started talking to him and then I realized not only was Daddy extremely good-looking :) he was also hilarious, smart and one of the kindest people I ever met and we fell in love.

D- I know, EVERYONE loves Daddy. So, why did he pick you and not someone else?

Me- (laughing hysterically) Because I'M A CATCH! Why wouldn't he pick me?

D- (Looking confused) Oh.

I hope their honesty never fades away.

The other day Dylan asks "Mama, do we have allergies?"

I reply "No honey"

Dylan "Darn it!"

Me "What? Why darn it??"

Dylan "I really wanted 'em. Allergies are so special"

I'll have to remember some more. The last few days have been so funny! Maybe because my brain is like jello. Soren has said some really off the wall things too... I'm hoping they'll pop into my head soon. Call me crazy, but I even think Avi said mama!

Fuzziness :(

Why are my pics. so fuzzy looking lately? Is it my camera? Some weird setting?? I am so mad!

First Grade, First Day, First Time!

Dylan started first grade last week and had a good time getting to know the ropes of the 1st/2nd combined class. He was a little nervous at first, but quickly decided it's very cool when your mom can pick you up at the curb and not in your classroom :)
Little brother decided to help out and haul the pack. Soren's first day of preschool is right around the corner and he can't wait!
Our little chunka's first time in the pool... really just her toes took a dip, but I had to post those cute little thighs.

One More

LOVE this...

"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from."

 Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Life

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain"

Boy, could I use this one!  I saw this quote the other day and thought how fitting right now! Lately, I feel like I'm always looking to the future, when will my husbands job take off?  when will we have more money?  when will we not feel so stressed?  when will the baby grow out of this faze?  when will Dylan lose a tooth?  when will Soren sit down and eat?????  The list goes on and on...  until I saw this lovely quote, which reminded me of another lovely quote " life is what happens while you're busy making other plans".  THIS IS IT.  Life is now.  The bumps and bruises, the sunshine and joy.  Soon these days will be hazy to me just like Avi's newborn days, which were only a few months ago!  Thank you God for always putting just the right words out there just when I need them most.  It's a beautiful life.