who needs twins

As a kid I always thought it would be cool to have a twin or have twins and dress the same and be all matchy, matchy. Well, who needs twins when you have an easy-going husband and a little boy who wants to be just like him. I had promised Eli I would make him some bow ties. I got a pattern on-line and made it up. It said it was for a child but a little over sized. Well it was more than over sized, so Joe inherited it. Then I downsized the pattern for Eli. Of course Eli insisted that him and daddy wear them to church the next day.

The first picture is Eli and Joe to a T. Talking and being goofy and not wanted to give smiles. After about ten shots they finally gave in. Though, I actually like the first one best.

Snow Day

We finally got some snow this winter. I'm so glad the kids got a chance to play in it because next year all they may get is rain. Though Joe was glad there was so little snow this year, Eli would have loved to play in it everyday.

Number One

Emma is offically one years old. We were lucky enough to have grandma and grandpa Abel in town to help us celebrate. Emma's been, luckily, an easy going second child. Here are some things make Emma her...

-climbing up anything she can reach her little legs on

-making chomping sounds when she eats

-crossing her feet when she sits

-cuddling with anything soft but especially eyore and her blankie

-how excited she gets when her dad comes home

-lots of hugs
-how she likes to copy her big brother and play with him

-weaning herself before she was one

-sleeping through the night for now

-her laugh and smiles

-she's a vaccum, anything edible on the floor goes in her mouth

Thanks for being part of our family. We are so glad we followed the feeling to have another little one when we did.

We love you Emma!

unders

I e-mailed this to a couple of people and then thought it was too good not to share with many. Though the amount of people who actually look at our blog is probably less than the amount that I sent it to.

So there is a tiny art museum at the third floor of the albany airport. We checked it out the last time we went to pick up grandparents.
I thought these unders were perfect in celebration of Eli's completion of pooping on the potty for the last week or so. Then I read the caption and couldn't stop laughing, okay really just only smiling loudly on the inside.
I should I have taken a picture of just the underwear though, not that I don't love Eli.

my 10 favorite things about albany

Obviously I haven't posted anything for awhile. So not to skip out on the previous months we'll just go back in time to July 31st. On our seemingly longest car ride eve,r we got the chance to talk our heads off as we traveled from Logan, Utah to McCall Idaho. Eli was beyond tired and wanted nothing but to go to the beach, which was our destination. He refused to take a nap before going to the beach. We tried redirecting him onto other subjects asking him questions etc. but the only way to keep him from crying/whining was to talk about anything and everything nonstop so he didn't feel like the silent air needed to be filled with his own voice. Rambling away, I got onto the subject of favorites. This led to my 10 favorite things about Albany. Somehow Albany doesn't elicit great feeling around those with whom I associate. It is hard to like a place with negative stamped on it. Alas, we are on year five here and I have to say I do like Albany contrary to others and could see myself living here permanently (for the record, not in this apartment). I do have to say I can't remember everything I said on that last day in July but this will do. So here goes it...

1. Fall - you can't beat a northeast fall. The colors are amazing and I've never collected so many leaves in my life. They make the easiest, simplest cards when pressed. Though I have to say this year has been a bit drab. I think we got too much rain.

2. Blueberry picking, cherry picking - I ventured out on my own this year with the kids. Joe has school on Saturday mornings so I really wanted to beat the heat to pick berries. We went twice and wanted to go more but we were out of the state. We went home to make amazing jam. In fact so amazing I think twice about sharing it with guests.

3. Apple picking - I don't think you can be in a better state than this for apple picking. We love going and there are always animals to see and apple cider donuts to eat. We specifically bought a dehydrator a couple of years ago for the abundance of apples that we have.

4. Library - There are 5 library branches that I can think of in Albany. The Pine Hills branch is just down the street. We love going there for story time with Ms. Julia.

5. Location - Like I said we live just down the street from the library and a couple of stores are within walking distance. We have about three different parks about 1 mile away. If the weather is good we like walking to church too. It's lovely to walk when we can.

6. Location - The city (NY City), Boston, Palmyra, and many other great places to see are only 3 hours away. Too bad we don't have the time or mula to take advantage of a jaunt or two.

7. Green - It's always green here. It's beautiful. I love how beauty can take so many forms, because I feel the same way about southern Utah except it's red.

8. The Branch - It's a spiritual garden of everything with each it's own to offer in flavor.

9. Camping - With Joe's Saturday's occupied at school we have only chanced to do this twice. But both times were adventures of camping in wet weather yet we enjoyed it.

10. Family - My family's here why else would I want to live anywhere. Though it's kind of weird to think of my kids as New Yorkers. That's the only place they've lived and know as home. By the end of our 6 week stay out west, Eli wanted to go home, that is to Albany, New York.

The conclusion... Eli fared well with my endless chatter. We finally stopped along the river and I fed Emma while Eli had a Sunday swim in his church clothes. I've never seen a happier boy. After getting on the road again he was asleep within minutes... for our own sanity we probably should have stopped sooner, then again I wouldn't have had the chance to be a bit grateful and name some of my favorites.

top 5 ways we are like dogs

5. we love getting wet especially when it's hot

4. we love attention and being loved which involves fighting for dominant status

3. we love chasing birds and squirrels and have almost been successful in catching them

2. we love treats and do most anything to get them, including peeing in the appropriate places

1. we've had fleas

We're dog enough that we don't need one, unless the fleas come back.
I'd much rather have them biting the dog instead of me and in that case I'm sure any dog will be over joyed to join our family.

Dedicated to my Mom

Yes, my Mom deserves to have a capital M used at the beginning of mom when referring to her. It's amazing how your perspective changes about your own mother when you become one yourself. I'm awed by the fact that my Mom raised 9 children, always made delicious homemade food, and kept a clean house.

On occasion Shari would use the phrase "you're such a little Joyce" to someone in the family. I thought how I did not want to be called that. To resemble something as old fashioned as my Mom was embarrassing to me. I guess it came from partly growing up with everyone thinking my Mom was my grandma. However, now as I think of that comment, it would be quite the compliment.

It was always of fear of mine that my own children wouldn't have the opportunity to meet their Skabelund grandparents. Luckily, so far, that has not been the case. When my Mom came out here last, I was constantly learning from her. She took such good care of us, cleaning, cooking and playing with the kids. She had the ability to teach Eli little things when they were spending time together. For me it is something I have to consciously think about doing while she just does it naturally at every available moment. My Mom loves babies. She couldn't get enough of holding and rocking Emma even if she was fussy. Then she made bread I think a total of 5 times. My Mama makes the best homemade bread. It was a goal of mine to have her teach me while she was here. However, it seemed like I was either super tired or having labor pains on the days she made it.

Since coming home from my mission I feel like my Mom's sense of humor or sarcastic side has blossomed. She's even funny sometimes when she doesn't mean to be. Don't let that humor fool you though, she's still my Mom. Chastising me to be better, make my bed, keep myself better groomed and to be more lady like. But at least now I have the ability to quip back with topics that make her blush and drop the subjects like a kite with no wind.

For some reason Mary Poppins is on my mind. It could be due to the fact that we listen either to the soundtrack everyday or Eli singing the soundtrack. So on that note my Mom is practically perfect. I love you Mom! Thanks for all!

And Mom here's some pictures of my first wheat bread. I finally got around to making some bread last week. I baked it a bit too long, it was overly dark. Though I have to say that it tasted quite like yours. Thanks for all the tips Mom. Though with a nursing baby and a potty training boy, I'm not sure it's something I'll attempt again for awhile. Still can't grasp 9.