The Sky's the Limit

Monday, August 1, 2011

Girls + 1 Boy Weekend

Last weekend, the boys went camping in the beautiful mountains of Colorado which meant girls weekend at home! Poor Michael was stuck in Amarillo with the girls. He was a little to young to head off with the boys just yet. So, while the guys were looking at this...

The girls were looking at this...

We decided to have a yard sale and I can't say that it was a success in monetary terms, but it was fun to hang out with some of my favorite gals. My neighbor and good friend Megan hosted the event, and Sarah spent the night at our house all weekend, so we would mosey on over in the morning help with the sale. The 3 of us plus Megan's 2 girls, and Michael spent the whole weekend together and named ourselves the "sister wives." We ran errands, helped with the kids, made fruity drinks, ate pizza, gave each other facial masks and foot rubs, and we laughed a lot! It felt like I was back in the college dorms again except add kids, more comfortable beds, and better overall living conditions, so maybe it wasn't really like the dorms at all, but it was fun!

The Sister Wives!

Poor Michael was a victim of girls weekend. While I was in the shower, this is what happened to him...

It was a fun weekend and we were actually a little sad when the guys said they were coming home a day early. Maybe our next move will be to a bigger house so we can really live together as sister wives. That wouldn't be too weird, would it?

Gotta go do manly stuff with Michael so he won't be too scarred from girls weekend :-)...

Saturday, July 16, 2011

2 Month Check Up

We went to Michael's 2 month check up on July 7th and my fears were confirmed, he is growing way too fast! He weighed 14 lbs. 8 oz. and was 25.5 inches long! He is off the charts in height and 95th percentile in weight! Even though he is growing so fast, he is healthy and the doctor is very pleased with how well he is doing. I happened to look at my baby book where my mom used to record my growth and I weighed 14 lbs. 8 oz. at my 6 month check up! I think he is taking after his dad in size.

He is a whole 11 weeks old today!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Florida!

Michael's first big trip was to Florida where we stayed for 2 whole weeks. He was 5 1/2 weeks old when we left and 7 1/2 weeks when we returned home. He was a great traveler and did so great of the airplane both ways. The sounds and motions of the airplane lulled him to sleep. When he got fussy I fed him, and then all was well with the world again. We went to Florida for Gabe's sister, Beth's, wedding where she married Chip Castle. It just so happened that they got married just a few miles from where Gabe and I got married (in Seaside) 6 years ago. In fact, we celebrated our 6 year anniversary on the trip. Beth and Chip make a great couple and I am very happy for them! After all the wedding festivities were over, Gabe and I stayed and waited for my parents, bother (Kevin), and sister-in-law (Kristen) to meet us in Florida. We were supposed to go on this trip last year, but the oil spills delayed our plans so it ended up working perfectly this year for us to go on an extended vacation in the gulf. Here are some pics from the fabulous beach vacation.

The Bridesmaids with Beth before the wedding

The wedding party with Mr. and Mrs. Castle!

The Skypala's and the newly married Castle's!

Auntie Beth!

Family pic after the wedding

Michael smiling (7weeks)

Uncle Kev and Aunt Kris

Out to dinner on our last night in Florida

Gabe teaching Michael to fly

We had a great time with everyone and we miss the beach! I can't wait to go back when Michael is a older and can enjoy the sand and waves a little more!

Gotta go take a bath and turn on the wave sound machine and pretend I am at the beach...

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! We enjoyed celebrating with our sweet little firecracker! We attended our neighborhood parade and then headed out to the Palo Duro Club (PDC) for another parade with our friends Canyon, Kaki, and their beautiful, little Claire Bear (pictured below). Claire is 6 months old, but I have a feeling that Michael is going to pass her up in size pretty soon! We had a great day celebrating being an American! I am grateful that we live in a country where Michael can be free to not only dream big, but also have the means, resources, and freedoms to achieve his dreams. Here are some pics from the day:

At our neighborhood parade

Claire and Michael in their patriotic strollers

Our sweet neighbors and their adorable kiddos

Hugo got hot, so he hitched a ride in the Barbie Jeep

"LET FREEDOM RING!"

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Incredible Growing Boy!

I can't believe Michael is already 2 months old and he is getting so big!

I guess we should have expected him to be a big baby, but it seems like he is growing way too fast! He was supposed to be at his birth weight (8 lbs., 3 oz.) by his 2 week appointment, but when he got on the scale he weighed in at 10 lbs. 4 oz.! Then for his month appointment he weighed in at 12 lbs. 3 oz.! I almost cried. This growing boy is averaging a pound a week! His 2 month appointment is in a couple weeks and I'm kind of scared to see what the scale will reveal! I am thankful though that he is a healthy boy and that he likes his milk!

Here are some pics of the growing boy:

About to go home from the hospital.

Future Basketball Star!

Swinging Away (1.5 weeks)

Swingin' at 8 weeks

Looking cute in his daddy's arms.

Reading the Kindle before bed (2 weeks)

"Zero Emissions" -yeah right! (4 weeks)

Getting ready for hunting (8wks)

Sittin' tall in his bumbo (8wks)

I improved my signage a little bit. :-)

Gotta go... gotta watch a baby grow!

It's Been A While!

It has been a while since I've posted and a few things have happened since the last entry. One being, we had a baby! This is the main reason I am starting to blog again. After getting several weekly requests for pictures of our little (but quickly growing) little guy, I figured it would be easier to post pics here so if you want to stay updated you can. I am not promising cool graphics and designs because I am not so knowledgable in that area. I am only hoping to get in a few updates between naps and such. So feel free to drop in and see what is happening in the world of Skypala whenever you feel like it. We aren't too exciting, but we sure do have a cute baby :-) So welcome to the world our sweet bundle of joy:

Mr. Michael Justus Skypala

Born April 30th, 2011 9:37am

8 pounds, 3 ounces

21 1/2 inches

(Photo taken by our sweet friend Lezlie Andrew. She's awesome. Check out her blog: http://www.lezlieandrewblog.com/)

It has been quite a journey for us in waiting for Mr. Michael to get here. I had an ectopic pregnancy back in 2007 (when we were not trying to get pregnant) and this took out one of my fallopian tubes making only one functional. This made it a little more difficult to get pregnant so after 2 years of praying, hoping, crying, and trying we were surprised by a positive pregnancy test! Nine months later we were blessed with this little boy and I couldn't love him any more.

Here are some highlights of the journey so far...

In October we went to Arizona for my Grandad's 90th birthday, but we had a surprise to reveal as well. Gabe took a family photo and after a few, "say cheese" photos, he threw in "say Brooke is pregnant" You can see the reaction in these pics.

"Everyone say cheese"

"Everyone say Brooke is pregnant!"

(It took a second for the news to set in)

(Now we are getting a reaction)

Then in December the sex of the baby was revealed by cutting into a cake. Gabe and I didn't even know because we had the doctor put the sex in an envelope that we sealed (without peeking) and sent to my mom's friend Deanna who baked the cake. Blue for boy, pink for girl... what kind of cake will it be??

It's a Boy!!!

The Happy Family

We had 2 fabulous showers, one in Plano and one in Amarillo that helped us prepare for our little guys arrival. We were showered with so many gifts and much kindness! We are blessed with so much love and support and I am so grateful for all our sweet friends and family!

Plano Shower