Let's pause a moment.

I took this picture the other day at the playground near our house. Max wants to do everything Callum can do and it is almost to the point where he actually can. He can climb pretty much anything now, eats as much as Callum (or more) and he is speaking more and more each day. He is very polite as he automatically says "Dank-oo, Mommy" all the time and "Doory, Mommy" when he is apologizing. Now if I could only convince him that he also wants to use the toilet like Callum, but he assures me he is quite uninterested.

Callum is quite the little swimmer now as he has lessons every Tuesday and Thursday. He can jump into the dive tank off the diving board and swims to his teacher, without a life jacket or anything! I actually cried when I watched him be so brave (it was a satisfying 'mother' moment). Max and I come swimming once a week too, but Max is surprisingly cautious in the water - at his age, Callum was already putting his head under without concern, but Max will have nothing to do with holding his breath. Jeff and I think maybe Max will be more of a team-sport player than the solo swimmer type. Callum also has soccer every Friday afternoon and Max is not impressed when he is not allowed to participate in the class, similar to how he feels every time I take Callum to Preschool and Max can't stay, or even at IKEA, where Callum is big enough for the PlayPlace but Max isn't. Poor guy, (though I admit to making little comments about how one of the reasons he can't stay is because he is wearing a diaper...).

I have been feeling our little creation moving around in my belly quite a lot and I am still convinced it will be a girl, despite the fact that the Ultrasound technician wouldn't give me any hints (apparently it is their policy to give the results to the doctor and the doctor can decide to tell you or not), so I may find out this Friday at my next appointment (though I'm not sure I really trust the results anyway if they do think it's a girl). I am mildly concerned about how big I am already (I have gained 10 pounds and I'm only 22 weeks), or at least I certainly feel big... unpleasant memories of previous pregnancies are becoming less memory and more reality very quickly... Sigh.

Well, it's 11:30pm and Jeff is still at the Blackburn house installing the tile in the laundry. I was there all day (installing the railing pieces and fixing the flooring where the counter top guys damaged it) while Callum and Max were at Kami's all day, but they fell asleep on the drive home, so we didn't get much time together. Tomorrow I take them to church in the morning but then I haul them off to Scott and Samantha's (so I can finish painting the front foyer and start installing our stair treads)... I know there is only 1 more week before we are moving into the house, but with so much left to do, I am finding it hard to get excited. We decided to hire a guy to install our wall tile and I am glad we did - he did the kids bathroom today and it looks so great that I did manage to feel a bit giddy! Yeeay.

Less journey, more destination, please....

I'd like to say, "Is it May 8th, already?", but I am very aware of the date, actually, and particularly of our impending move into the Blackburn house! I have given the landlord of our current accommodations notice for June 1st, so the renovations have been on 'go-go-go' mode!

So, Callum and Max have spent the past several weeks being carted off to various babysitting situations I have organized between friends and family so I can work at the house. I really only see them on Tuesdays and Thursdays (between swimming lessons and Preschool), but I guess that is still more than Jeff sees them. I miss hanging out with them over pancakes in the morning or just taking them to the park, and I grieve over the fact that so much of the little time I do have with them now is spent either convincing them to get dressed and get going or to get on their PJ's and get to bed. I suppose this is a little taste of what it is like for those full-time working Mothers out there. Hm. Sucky.

According to those closest to me, I have been exhibiting slightly higher-than-usual stress levels at times, leading to comments such as "you should enjoy the journey, Kelli" from my Dad, but between feeling guilty about passing off my kids to anyone who will take them and feeling guilty about lack of attention to healthy meals, piles of dirty dishes and laundry, or to my husband, all I'm shooting for is the destination! So... Tomorrow- baseboards and door trim, Wednesday- painting doors and trim, Friday- install stair treads and sliding door sills, Saturday- grout entry and bathroom tile........etc, etc.......

I would post some updated pictures of the house, but I haven't picked up the camera in a while. Luckily, my brother has been using his, so I thought these 2 pictures of my super-awesomely cute boys were well worth sharing on the blog:

No apologies

I think I'm going to stop feeling bad about not blogging as frequently as I would like to.

It's been a little tiring this month - With the Blackburn house, we had to cram in everything that had to get into the walls before we insulated and drywalled - At home, I've been particularly sleepy and nauseated due to my "condition": I'm pregnant (!) (due end of September, and I've decided that it WILL be a girl) - For the boys, we've been trying to get outside as much as possible with the little glimpses of Spring we've witnessed...

So, let's see, what have I documented in photographs...


During my moments of exhaustion or sickness, Callum and Max have spent a bit of time in the following position: Callum at the computer and Max at the TV:
As we have "employed" the services of my brother at the Blackburn house, my niece Lorelei has graced us with her presence a couple times. Callum likes being the big kid and pretends he can read them stories:


Back on the bikes, we've only made it to the park a few blocks away. I must say, though, I felt less-than kind feelings towards White Rock and it's lack of sidewalks as I am trying to train Callum and Max to "Stay on the side of the road!!"


Callum was proud of himself for finally getting down the park pole all by himself. I would also like to declare that Callum really is the best big brother I think there could be - he is so great at including Max and showing Max how to do things. I said to him the other day, "Thanks for helping Max, Callum" and he replied, "That's my job, Mom."



Here are the most up to date photos of the house. The front entry addition all done, with concrete front step, and the house siding almost complete (though it won't get painted until the summer, so now it is rather drab).





The interior at this point was drywall-ready. Here is the font entry addition from the top of the stairs.

Our master-bathroom shower is ready for tile.

This is downstairs, looking at the short wall where our TV will hang and the room behind with the window and door will be our office.

Callum and Max are excited about this big room, as it is all their Playroom.

As it is Spring Break now, we've spent a bit of extra time with Callum's cousins. Yesterday we ventured to Bear Creek Park, where they have a train, a mini-golf course and seriously decent playground.

Still Here...

Nah, we haven't dropped off the map, I just haven't managed to sit at this computer much to make a post... Getting up to retrieve any pictures I may have on my phone or camera sounds like too much effort at the moment ... Ok, fine. I'll do it since I can't remember what we've been up to anyway.

Since my last post, Skinner activities have included:
- Surprise birthday activities for my Mom's 65th
- Callum's Sportball class and Preschool continues
- Visit Vancouver for the Aquarium and visit friends
- Playdates at the church for Max and Callum
- Exterior siding and plumbing getting installed in the Blackburn house
- More sledding at Seymour with our friends, the Woods'
- Fun for Callum and Max at 'Go Bananas' indoor playground
- Kelli went blonde again
- Jeff was super sick with a flu/cold thing
- Kelli's brother has a new Daughter!! Elena Grace Davis, born just this Friday, 18th (see their blog for pics)


Here's a few half-decent pictures of a few of our activities, all of which I took with my iPhone (since I never seem to carry my big camera with me when I should).

Having snacks at Mt.Seymour with Julianne, Mackay and Banyan:

Getting balloons outside the aquarium - Callum requested a dolphin and Max chose a monkey:
Go Bananas!! (Their cousin, Lorelei, came too, but none of my pictures of her turned out):

Slow Month

It seems as though nothing much has happened this month. Especially when it comes to progress on the Blackburn house. Sigh. But we can't forget about Callum's 4th birthday! He and his cousin Lorelei shared a family Party (since her birthday is the day before Callum's).






On his actual birthday, we had an Ice Cream cake.

Callum's Preschool had a field trip to the Library, and Max joined the class (I took these pictures with my new iPhone - wohoo!!)

Most people use the phrase "the terrible 2's", but Jeff and I agree that this is about our favorite age - Max is just so darn cute! Although he has an English vocabulary of only about 4 words, which mainly consists of just vowel sounds ("Eee" for 'please', "Uh" for 'up', but he can also say "Burr" for 'bird' and "Mooaa" for 'more', though his only complete word seems to be 'Pop'), he communicates quite well in other ways. Jeff found him like this one rare night when he was watching the boys:

Yesterday, after getting annoyed and frustrated while dealing with a screwed-up plumbing order for the house, I decided to take the boys sledding at Mt.Seymour. Their cousin Jackson came too and they had a lot of fun. We needed some frolicking in the snow.




A couple Saturday's ago we made it up to Mt. Baker for a day of skiing with our friends who live in Bellingham. The snow was awesome and the idea was that the adults would take turns playing with the kids and going skiing. I'm super glad Jeff and Abram sent Shannon and I out skiing first since we ended up going out for 4 hours and the guys got less than an hour - I can't really felt sorry for them as those Dad's sometimes need some time with their kids forced on them!

:-)