Port Hope 2016

I'm finally getting around to sharing pictures from our week in Port Hope! Despite the long drive with kids, I love that our family (and extended family!) is carving out time to spend together in Michigan, where *usually* the cool weather is an added bonus to all the outside time, good food and great company. This year the temperatures were a little higher than I'd prefer but with no mosquitos and low humidity, we still spent plenty of time outside!

My favorite part of Port Hope is how natural it is for everyone to be outside for the majority of the day. The grass is perfect for bare feet, the yard is flat and perfect for bikes, and there is so much space for kids to run and play, plus plenty of seating for adults to relax and keep an eye on all those tiny, sweaty hoodlums. ;)

What I'll remember most about this year was how hard Jake played: as soon as he woke up each morning, we'd get him dressed and send him downstairs where Grandad was already awake and working on a project. By the time we came downstairs (around 9, bless it!), Jake and Cana had ridden probably a few miles on their tricycles. At the end of the day, he was red-faced, sticky and sweaty, but so happy. It's exactly how I think summer days should be spent.



Speaking of those two, they were instant buddies this year! Unfortunately we don't get to see Isaac and Cana very often throughout the year but they sure made up for it this week! They were constantly riding trikes together, playing in the bee house and holding "meetings". I think the meetings started as Cana's idea but Jake was willing to go along with it! Sometimes when I would check in with Jake to see what he was up to, he'd tell me so seriously that they had a meeting and go running off to the bee house. Too cute! I wonder what went on in those meetings? Towards the end of the week they started to play "school" in the bee house and one night, Uncle Marc had all the kids in there and apparently they drew a picture itinerary of their day. All we could hear was belly laughing, which is pretty common when Uncle Marc is around!

On the first afternoon, I took Jake and Cana with me to the gas station--a super fun excursion to take in the Mule--to get a Coke for myself. I had enough change to buy them both 25 cent Ring Pops and every afternoon for the rest of the week, those two asked to go get Ring Pops. We caved every afternoon but the last one because we actually depleted the stock of Ring Pops at the store, plus we were tired of sticky hands and faces for like hours on end every time they ate them. But to hear them laugh at the colors on their tongues was so funny!

Jake and I riding in the back of the Mule on a trip to Annie's store with Sarah, Courtney, Joel and Cana! Still has his Ring Pop...he became a pro eventually at making that thing last for.ev.er.

Jake found this bow and carried it everywhere for a few days. He never really bothered with the arrows, although I attempted to show him how to shoot them. I think he wanted it more to sling on his back and run around like a hunter or something. Who knows, but he looked so cute.

And of course, we ate our weight in ice cream! The first night, Jake ate his cone first and about lost his ice cream. We saved it with a cup and each night after, Jake requested his ice cream in a cup. Why even chance losing your ice cream, right??

Courtney is the queen of tie dye and she set up everything for the kids to tie dye t-shirts one afternoon. Jake chose the colors for himself and Reid and they turned out great! The next afternoon, Sarah Courtney and I took all the kiddos to Annie's store and they were all (including Sarah and Court!) wearing their tie dye. We probably looked like a little hippie gang. ;)

Cana was pretty intrigued by Reid and was so proud to be able to hold him a few times!

That matching tie dye--I just love it. Jake's not gonna be able to hold Reid much longer!

Lest we forget all about Reid, I'm not sure he even noticed we'd traveled. That kid really knows how to relax on vacation-- he basically took turns sleeping on different aunts and uncles and grandparents. Or wagons. He's not picky. Pretty much what Jake did on his first trip to Port Hope. (Two separate links there--two posts from that summer!)




Tim and Isaac took the rowboat that my Grandad built about thirty years ago for a ride around the bay. Grandad was pretty sure it had some leaks to be fixed, but it turned out to be in great shape! Jake surprised me and asked to ride on the boat with Tim and Isaac so he went with them for a few minutes. Grandad and Mom took a turn, then Dad and Mom went out as well. Tim and Isaac used it a few more times to go fishing, and I think that boat will get regular use in the years to come.






We took the paddle boards out on Friday afternoon to beat the heat. I talked Jake into sitting on the board with me and when we turned around to head back to the dock, he wanted to get in the water. Unfortunately he wasn't used to the life jacket and quickly asked to get out of the water, but even after that he was willing to stand up on the board with me and help "paddle". He did so well and I was so proud of him for being brave! After paddle boarding, the kids went to play in the water with Deric and Courtney. Jake kept the life jacket on long after it was necessary. ;)

And to wrap up a very long post, we can't forget about our ten hour drive with seven people in one van! We were totally packed but it really wasn't as bad as I expected it would be. We thankfully didn't run into any traffic or accidents and just kept handing out snacks and toys to pass the time. This photo totally cracks me up-- we were on our way home and stopped at Panera for lunch. I was letting the boys run around to get out the wiggles before we had to get back in the car and was showing them how to do some stretches. This is Joel's attempt at a lunge. He's pretty proud of himself, and I couldn't stop laughing.

Sarah and I are talking already about next summer and the possibility of us staying a week or so longer than we usually do. I'm looking forward to next year so much because Reid will be one and newly on the move, so he'll be up for all kinds of exploring!

Reid @ 2 months

Reid is just the sweetest baby. He's so okay with being on the go as we chase Jake around and he's rarely upset. If he is crying, its the cutest sound and all it takes is a pacifier and being rocked to sleep to get him back to his sweet self. He's starting to interact with us and smile as we make silly faces or sounds at him. He's mesmerized by the fan--aren't they all?--and chews on his fists when he can't find his pacifier. Occasionally he still wakes up at night to nurse but more often than not, he'll sleep from 10:30ish to 7:00, when Jake wakes up and the day begins whether we're ready or not. I'm so looking forward to watching his little personality unfolding in the coming months!

Jake's 3rd birthday interview

Long overdue, but I've finally edited Jake's birthday interview that we filmed back in May. We shot this right after breakfast and he was pretty antsy to get done with all of our questions and get to the main event of the day--"pwaying" [playing]--but he humored us and let us fire questions at him. I so wish we'd thought to interview Jake on his first and second birthdays as well, but that's alright! We'll be sure to start the tradition earlier with Reid, and it'll be fun to see how they change and grow each year. Jake is such a goofball already and I hope that's one thing that won't change over the years. He sure keeps life fun.

Jake's 3rd birthday interview from Ashley Skinner on Vimeo.

these boys of mine

First, I have to say that it is SO weird to hear myself say "the boys" or "the kids" in conversation! Its this of all things that has been the weirdest adjustment since Reid came along and I'm still getting used to it.

This morning I caught glimpses of Reid's smile! Technically this is the second time he's smiled but the first time was July 5th--I bookmarked it in my mind for the baby book, but he hasn't smiled since then so I wondered if it was a fluke. Regardless, his little attempts at a smile today made my morning. I feel so impatient waiting for his smiles and more interactions to really get started!

This afternoon Jake was supposed to be napping but he wasn't showing signs of falling asleep so I let him play with his toy gears in his room. I could hear him playing over the monitor for an hour or so and then I noticed it was suddenly quiet. Since the video monitor only shows Jake's bed right now--we have yet to mount it on the wall--I crept down the hall to check on him. I laughed when I saw a bunch of his books out in the hallway and could imagine him sliding each book one by one out under the door.

And sure enough, he was asleep on the floor right next to his bed, with his blanket on him and everything! Learning to cover himself with his blanket has been a source of frustration for him at night--and a delay tactic to get us to come in his room--so it was funny to see that apparently he'd finally figured it out. Then later tonight as we were talking and getting ready for bed I mentioned that he'd taken a really late nap today and he told me he actually took two naps. I corrected him and he said "No, Mommy I took two! One in my room and one in the hallway!" I'm pretty sure he did, now that I think about it. I had woken him up via the monitor around 5pm from his little nap on the floor and I heard him wake up but he didn't come into the living room. So I called him again and asked what he was doing, and he replied "I'm just 'waying' down!" I bet he made it as far as the hallway before falling back asleep for a minute, what a tired kid!

The photo below is from the other day and another 5pm nap. Jake must be growing because he has taken some long and late naps for a few days now! On this particular day, I could not wake him up short of just picking him up out of bed. I opened his curtains and his door and went about my day as usual, making plenty of noise as I went. I changed Reid's diaper on the changing table, talked to Reid, put clothes away, etc. and Jake barely moved. I'm picturing a scene similar to this in about 13 years but without the cute frog pillow and his beloved penguin. ;) Probably the same amount of grumpy once he finally wakes up though!

a weekend getaway to Chattanooga!

Over the weekend of the Fourth, Jake spent a few days with Deric's parents and his cousins in Indiana so Deric, Reid and I also decided to skip town and have some fun! Chattanooga is only about an hour and a half from us and yet in the five years we've lived here, we've never visited the city. We figured this last weekend was the perfect opportunity to explore and we loved it so much that we're already planning another trip with Jake this fall. Chattanooga is incredibly family friendly and there are plenty of attractions that we want to experience with Jake, especially the Children's Discovery Museum and the Aquarium.

Deric and I didn't actually visit any of the attractions in the city this weekend, we mostly ate at a bunch of local restaurants and walked around the city to scout out fun things to do when we come back with Jake. Clumpies Ice Cream came highly recommended online and then by locals so we were sure to try it out on Friday night. We ordered probably the best fish tacos I've ever had at Big River Grille: they were wrapped in both a blue corn tortilla and a taco shell! I may have to try that at home to spiff up our next taco night.

The air conditioning in our van went out on Friday night so unfortunately, Deric spent Saturday morning at the mechanic in hopes that it would be a quick fix and we'd be back playing tourist by noon. At 6:00pm that night, we finally got our van--and its new air compressor--back. Whomp whomp. But of all the trips for car troubles to happen, the one without a toddler was the best timing. We didn't have any set plans for Saturday so while we waited for the van to be fixed, we explored more of the city, tried out a local burger place and spent a few hours reading (and napping, in Deric's case!) at Starbucks. It was nice to sit back and relax without worrying about keeping Jake entertained while we waited.

Instead of snapping pictures all weekend, I thought I'd try out a video to remember the trip. It was fun to put it all together so I think more videos will happen in the future!


Chattanooga from Ashley Skinner on Vimeo.