Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE SKINNERS.....

PARTY OF FIVE!!!!

Brett and Kate are excited to announce that they are getting a new brother or sister for Christmas (although they will have to wait until June to meet him/her).

We thought it would be fun to announce our fun news on the blog- so please don't be offended if you do not know our news yet. I thought it would be so fun for this little one to be able to read the comments and see everyone's surprise.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Halloween (finally)

Well, since it is now December I thought it might be nice to put up some Halloween pictures. :) Our computer has been acting up and it is taking me hours to download pictures onto the blog- which is why the blog posts have been few and far between lately. I am going to try hard to catch up a little so I won't be so far behind for Christmas.

Traditional pictures by the pumpkins and scarecrow

Kate watching Daddy carve the pumpkin

Brett so proud of his pumpkin

This is the face I got when I asked him to reach in the pumpkin and clean out the insides

Brett, as you can see, got over his fear and dove right in with his sister

Brett saw this shirt at Target for Brian and insisted that we buy it for him. Brian, being the trouper that he is, wore it proudly.

Spiderman and Mulan

Heading out for the hayride in my parents neighborhood. We got two HUGE bags of candy.

Spiderman and Snow White heading out to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood

Even Georgia got dressed up this year

#7

My favorite number is 4- it has been my entire life. But not anymore- my new favorite number is #7. Why, you ask? Because the cutest little 3 year old boy in the entire world just played his first team sport- and on the back of his jersey was #7. So my favorite number has changed to #7- that is until soccer season rolls around and he gets a new jersey! :)

Brett's first practice. He walked out there and played like he had been doing it his entire life- and the smile never left his face!

Got it!

On the way to Brett's first practice he asked me, "Mommy- did you make a cheerleading shirt for Kate?" So, of course she sported this shirt for his first game.

All ready to go

A kiss for good luck (now how cute is that!)

Nana, Ma, and Daddy Bob were frequent cheerleaders at Brett's games.

So proud to have made it to first base

Giving "high-fives" after the game

Cousin Cara came to watch a game

The Tigers

The parents got to stand on the field with the kids so they could help out. I am not sure who enjoyed that more- Brian or Brett. Brett LOVED playing pitcher- he loved being a part of the action.

Running for the ball

Throwing to first base

Getting ready to hit

On first base after his "home run" - which means that the ball rolled to the back fence

Not sure what they are talking about here but they look so serious- and I love Brett's hand in his back pocket.

Kate with her buddy Brody

Little Slugger

Waiting for their trophy. The last game was on Halloween weekend so they could wear their costume if they wanted to. Brett, thankfully, choice to wear his uniform.

So proud

Brett- we are so proud of how well you did playing your first team sport. You loved every second of it (and we did too). We look forward to many, many, many more years of cheering you on!

Fun times at the beach

The kids both LOVED the beach and we had a wonderful time- despite the fact that they both got sick while we were there. We started off the trip in style with a snack of their choice - Brett choice a donut, Kate chose Cheetos. They were amazing on the car ride (thanks to the amazing DVD player!), and got to share a room for the first time at the condo. They had the best time being in the same room- they were so cute. We got donuts from the Donut Hole every other morning, spent every day at the beach or the pool, played t-ball at the park, and had a fabulous time being together for a whole week.

Mmmmm!

Kate's first glimpse of the beach. Brett was so proud to show her the beach. After we had been there a few minutes I said "Well baby- what do you think" She replied, "Mommy, I like this sandbox."

Getting their feet wet for the first time.

The first night we were there we had a picnic then watched the sun go down. The sky was beautiful- I don't think I have ever seen a prettier sunset. Too bad we had "play clothes" on.

Dancing in the sand

My boys

Even Georgia got to come!

Testing out the waters...

and not a big fan of the waves!

Going to fill their buckets with water

Cute girl

Blowing bubbles

Brett "surfing"

Brian dug a huge hole every day and Brett would spend all morning jumping into in. He LOVED it.

Not to be out-done by her brother- Kate joins in the action.

Kisses for Daddy

Where is Brett?

Covering Daddy with sand

I wrote Brett's name in the sand- and he wrote mine (it says mom)- sweet, sweet boy

Jumping the waves- Brett enjoyed this way more than his sister did

My very favorite boys

and my favorite little girl

More kisses for Daddy

Hanging out in the hole with Daddy

My sand-covered duo

Hanging out with Daddy Bob

Brett's other favorite thing to do at the beach- dig for treasures with Ma

My bathing beauty

Jumping again- this time Daddy filled the hole with water

Diving into the water- crazy kid

Loving every minute

Getting some snow cones

Hanging out in Seaside