Benjamin, Brittany,
Jessica & Katrina
Family Update
click on the photos to see larger image
May 16, 2007
Sorry that there has not been any updates for a while from us. Very very
busy. I don't think that we have ever been so happy with life as we are
right now. Ben just graduated with great grades and is now home a little bit
more. The girls love to see him and maul him all they can. He is busy at
work and getting very tan while he is at it.
I am just recovering from having Sabrina. I feel great. I have a lot more
energy than I thought I would. I am trying to get everything sorted threw
before we move. Not a fun job.
Jessica is doing great. She loves having a baby around and is very curious
about breast feeding. She is a great help when I need a diaper but she will
not through the dirty ones away for me. She says that the have germs. I am
so proud of her. She is getting close to turning 3. I cant believe how fast
they grow. She love to be out side all day and going on walks.
Katrina is just great. She is so funny with her little spit fire attitude.
She gets really mad if you take anything from her and she can now take on
her big sister. She has the sweetest smile and she has to hug everyone that
comes in the door. She loves to fallow her big sister around and is talking
up a storm.
My little Sabrina is so sweet. She is a good eater and she sleeps great. She
will open her eyes a little bit more each day. She has the greatest smile
that comes with a dimple. She is a very easy baby. She does not mind being
put on the ground and she will fall asleep with out being held. She has my
eyes but the rest of her is her dad. Everyone says that she looks just like
Jessie.
Well I will give a better update later,
Love,
Family #4
Dec 29, 2006
Merry Christmas! We have had the best Christmas this year. At the Skousen
Christmas party we were getting ready to pray when the door bell rang. I ran
to the door and peeked threw the glass. There was a big basket of food and I
thought WOW this ward is so great. Once I opened the door a heard singing
and looked around the corner. There was Joe, Heidi, Kayla and Isaiah. I was
so excited I screamed to the family that Joe and Heidi were here. I don't
think they took me serious for a minute but once they saw for themselves
everyone went crazy. It was such a fun Christmas present.
On Christmas Eve we went to my families house and had a huge dinner of
steak, shrimp, rice and a chocolate fountain for dessert. It was so fun and
we got so stuffed. We came back home and I worked on sewing while Ben rapped
presents. We went to bed about 2:00. The next day the girls woke us up at
8:00 and we started in on all of our presents. Ben got the Garden cd,
Superman movie and a popcorn bowl that the girl made for him. I got a new
skirt, a new pair of shoes, a new ring from Ben that he made and some hair
things. Jessie and Trina got a bunch of books, candy, clothes and toys. It
was so fun to see how excited Jessie got to open her presents. After that we
went up stairs and had a brunch with the family with fresh fruit, muffins,
pancakes and hash browns. Santa came by and brought the kids some stuffed
animals. Jessie liked Santa a lot but Trina wanted nothing to do with him.
Once that was over we went to my families house to open presents. The girls
got some great stuff and I got some new shirts. Ben got a really great book
on Wonders Of The World. we ate turkey and lots of goodies. We decided to go
home after that and rest. We were so tired and ready to crash. It was such a
fun Christmas and we loved everything we got from everyone. We were very sad
to not have Family #1 here but we hope that hade a good Christmas together.
Love,
Family #4
Dec 20, 2006
Well so much has happened this month. On the 13th we found out that we were
having another GIRL. We are so excited to have a very healthy baby girl coming
to us. She is due May 14th. I am starting to get nice and big and I love it. Her
profile looks a lot like Jessie's does.
Jessica is just great. She is so beautiful. He hair is getting so long and her
smile is the best. She is a sassy little thing. She is always telling me what to
do. She can sing anything you teach her. If we sing it to her 3 times she knows
it. She is so smart and fun. She loves having Trina around and is always mauling
her. She will talk to my baby in my stomach and tell her to come out and play.
She will kiss her and sing songs to her. I love that Jessie is already my little
mother. The other night we went in and found Jessie cuddling Trina in her bed
while Trina was sleeping. It is so good to see how close they are getting. We
are working on SHARING with Jessie and it is going pretty well.
Katrina is so fun. She is starting to really talk and I love it. She is picking
up words really well and she is so sweet. She will just walk up to anyone and
give them a hug and a kiss. She is always smiling and is so fun to be around.
She will not go to bed at night if Jessie is not in the room with her. She is so
beautiful. Her big blue eyes will suck you right in. She has a pretty good
temper that she will show you if you don't feed her fast enough. Katrina loves
to drive her sister crazy by grabbing what Jessie has and running with it. She
laughs so hard when she does it. I think that I have a tease on my hands.
Ben is doing so well. He can't wait to be out of work and he is working really
hard on the apartment. He got his grades back and he did a really good job.
We are so excited to have a fun Christmas and we miss all of you that are not
here.
Love,
Skousen family #4
Nov 28, 2006
Ok so a lot has happened in
the passed couple of weeks. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Skousen
family the Sunday before. The food was great as usual (thanks Kathy) and
everyone had a good time. Then Ben the girls and I got are things together
to leave that night to New York. We got there really early Monday morning
and we were greeted by Jake and Jen. We slept a little and then got up and
went out into the big city. Threw out the week we saw the Statue of Liberty,
the Empire State building and everything in between. We went to the big
Toys-R-Us. There was a life size dinosaur that Jessica could not get enough
of. Katrina did not know what to think about it. We had such a great time
but the best was seeing Jake and Jen. We had a great Thanksgiving together
and we got to kiss Jackson and Sydney all we wanted. All of the kids got
along really well and it was so hard to leave them.
When we got back we had a full day Saturday of moving as much as we could to
the Alpine house. We still have a little to do but for the most part we are
out of there. Things in Alpine are really good. The girls love all of the
attention that they getting from everyone and we have had so much help
getting settled.
Ben is trying to finish up this semester and get started on the apartment.
He works so hard and we are so proud of his grades this semester.
The girls are healthy and strong. They are into everything and want to play
with all of the family they can. I am feeling really good and cant wait to
go to the doctor this week. We are now at 16 weeks and counting. Life is
good here and we are luck to have a great family to help us out in our time
of need.
Love,
Skousen Family
#4
Ben's
Birthday Family Celebration
November 2, 2006
HE SAID...
Okay, here it is. Stop asking. NOW.
Deciding to keep our pregnancy a secret was one of the most difficult things
Brittany and I have ever had to endure. Between the recurring tantrums and
epileptic fits Brittany was ready to have a meltdown; it was really hard to
ignore her. Keeping this secret was a doozy, but thanks to 4 ˝ gallons of
Nyquil Brittany made it. Finally the day arrived and we couldn’t wait to
tell the family. Everyone showed up to Mom and Dads house by about 7:00 pm
on October 28th, 2006. Most of us had costumes ranging from a very meaty and
busty Amazon warrior princess meets linebacker type chick (Ben) to an
elderly Amazon warrior princess meets grocery store clerk, with bad hair
(Dad). The house was decorated with black and orange streamers, Balloons,
pumpkins, and Grandkids. We decided to tell Mom and Dad right after family
prayer. We all kneeled down and I gave a quick blessing on the food and at
the exact moment I said ‘amen” Lizzy was already half way done with her 2nd
helping (just kidding Liz). While everyone gathered around the Halloween
banquet and filled their plates with all kinds of ghoulish food. I pulled
Snow White (Jessica) aside and told her if she told Grandpa that mommy is
going to have a baby that I would give her a big piece of candy, she took
the bait. Jessica ran over to Dad while I watched from across the Kitchen.
She walked right up next to him and said “Gwandpa, Momis Gunna have a
babeee” she immediately looked at me and said “Dad, can I have a Candeee?”
I stared at dad expecting a loud joyful reaction, the expectation quickly
melted into a small hope then finally it turned into nothing. A millisecond
had passed since Jessica had delivered her message and I felt like I was
witnessing the biggest anticlimactic moment of my life. My thoughts were
confirmed with three simple words muttered by Dad “That nice Jessie” as he
placed his hand on her head. At this moment I realized that I was staring
intensely at Dad. He looked at me as if he were going ask what I was looking
at. I looked back at him with a dumbfounded gaze that could have won me gold
at the Special Olympics. Jessica broke my concentration as she tugged on my
dress and asked me for candy. I asked Dad if he heard what Jessica said, he
responded excitedly “No! What did she say?” I asked Jessica to repeat what
she had told Grandpa, but she wouldn’t. I forgot that she will only perform
if you give her something she wants. I promised her more candy, she complied
and said “Mommieis gunna have a BAYBeee”. Now it was Dads turn to have
stupid dumfounded look on his face, he did a good job. I broke the silence
and said “Yup, were gonna have a baby!” Finally the loud joyful reaction I
was hoping for erupted and the kitchen was full of questions and praise.
Jokes were made about Triston being the father, and every other person said
“I knew it!” The rest of the night was full of fun, games, candy, and plain
old Skousen family fun. We all slept well that night.
Any way Brittany and I are expecting our Third kid on May 13th 2007, for us
that will be 3 kids under 3 in 3 years. Beat that!
Ben
(written Novemer 4th 2006)
SHE SAID...
Ok so a lot has
happened this passed week. On Friday night we told the Wallick family that
we are going to give them the 16th grandchild. On Saturday at the Skousen
Halloween party we told Paul and Kathy we are going to give them the 10th
grandchild. Jessica was the one that told. After everyone had there plates
of food Ben went and told Jessie to come and tell Grandpa that mommy is
going to have a baby. Paul did not take her serious and said" That's nice
Jessie." Ben and I were trying not to laugh our heads off. Ben told her to
tell Grandpa again. This time she said "Mommy has a baby in her tummy." He
got it that time and asked us if she was serious. We said yes and everyone
freaked out. It was so exciting to finally tell everyone. We told Family
number 1 and 3 earlier cause they were not going to be there. We cant wait
to have a new baby in May.
I am a little sick here and there but I am out of the woods now. We went on
the 25th to hear the heart beat. It was so exciting. We are now 12 weeks. We
go back in 5 weeks to have an ultrasound. The doctor wants to make sure that
the baby is as far along as we think. I can feel my pants already getting
tighter. Jessie is really sweet to me when I feel sick. She will go and get
me a blanket and a doll. and sing me a song. She says that she wants a
little brother but I told her we are not sure yet what it is.
The Skousen Halloween party was a blast. There was so much food that there
was actually leftovers. We played the rat game and a new game Michelle made
up. It was a treasure hunt game. Kathy had some fun games for the kids to
play and then we sat down in front of a movie to carve pumpkins. Jessica was
Snow White. She was so pretty. On Friday night we colored her hair black. It
was so weird to see her like that. It took forever to wash it out so we wont
do that again. Katrina was Tinkerbelle. She was so dang cute. I think what
really sets it off is the fat rolls. Both the girls had way to much candy
and would not go to bed till late. It was worth seeing how much fun they
had. Ben and Paul dressed up as ladies. It was the scariest thing I have
every seen.
On Halloween night we went up to the Skousens house and took the girls
Trick-or-Treating. Then we watched a movie with the family and just relaxed.
Jessica has never had so much candy in all of her life.
Skousen family #4
Oct 21, 2006
So what is new. I will tell you. Jessica is completely potty trained. She does
so well now and we only have a accident once in a while. She is so amazing. She
is saying everything you tell her and more. The other day my sister was breast
feeding her baby and Jessie asked what she was doing. We told her that she was
feeding the baby milk from her chest. Jessie came up to me and said "mom can I
have milk off of your chest." She is not great at personal space but she keeps
us laughing. Jessie's hair is getting so long and she is so beautiful. She looks
like a little girl now. Katrina is getting more and more tuff from the beatings
Jessie gives her. I will hear them laughing from the kitchen and I will check on
them. Jessie is usually on top of Katrina blowing on her tummy or tickling her
feet. They get along so well.
Katrina is feeling better. I feel so bad that every week something is wrong with
her. She is so beautiful. She has the greatest smile and you cant help but kiss
her. She gives great kisses now. They are open mouth kisses and you never know
when they are coming. She is picking up new words but nothing solid this week.
She loves to chase the other kids around and she is not half as fast as they
are. She loves to carry her baby around and give it kisses now. I cant believe
how much fun these two are. They keep me extra busy.
Things are great with Ben. He started his new job. It is going really well. We
cant wait to see a difference in his paycheck. He is going to the Byu game
today. Paul is his date and I can't wait to hear how fun it is.
I am just working on Christmas presents all ready and I can't wait for the
Holidays. Trying to keep the house clean and all of us sane. Only 4 more weeks
till we hit New York to see Jake, Jen, Joe and Heidi for Thanksgiving.
We will give a great update next week after Halloween.
Skousen family #4
Oct 16, 2006
Things are going great here. This passed week I started to potty train Jessie.
It has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do but I can't wait till it is
all done. She is doing ok. She will go on the potty half of the time and the
other half she gets there to late. We got her Dora underwear so that she would
really love it and try not to mess in it. Not working so far. Her favorite show
this week is Little Einstein. She could watch it all day if I let her. The
weather is getting cold so we are trying to find things to do for free that are
inside. We found the pet store is tons of fun. The girls love to see the fish
and Birds and there are cats and dogs getting cut that they can't get enough of.
This week Jessie set off my car alarm with my keys. I had to go outside and
start the car to get it to stop. When I got back she had locked the door on me.
After 5 min of ringing the door bell and telling her to go get Dad she did and
he let me in. She is way to smart for her own good.
Katrina is not as well. She has a ear infection right now and the medicine makes
her have a awful diaper rash. She cries every time I change her. She is also
getting in some teeth so that does not help any. She loves to read books and the
only movie I can get her to watch is Monsters Inc. I don't know why but she
loves it. She walks great now and she is learning a little bit in sign language.
She will pick up the phone and say "hi dada" and walk around the room repeating
it.
Ben is great. Still working hard to get good grades and work. I don't know how
he does it but he does. We don't see him much but when we do the girls won't
leave him alone. When he goes into his office Katrina will sit at the door and
cry for dada.
We saw Joe for a couple of hours this week. That was so fun. He gave us a great
picture of his boy and we got a great update of what is going on in their world.
We are fixing the house up to get some new people in downstairs. The family came
over and we painted and did the outside. It looks really good.
Family #4
Oct 2, 2006
Well a lot happened in September. Ben had his 25th birthday. We had a potato bar
up at Alpine. He got BYU tickets, some new cloths, and some money. It was really
nice. Jessie helped blow out the candles on his cake.
Jessie is doing great. She is just as active as ever. She loves to read books
still and now she says she wants to maul and bite your our faces. I taught her
so well. She has learned a lot of new songs this month. She sings Fallow the
Prophet, I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home, and I'm A Little Teapot. The other
day she was holding her baby really close to her and I asked if the baby was
crying. She said " No I am feeding the baby off of my chest mom." She can always
make Ben and I laugh and she never gets boring.
Katrina is a whole new person this month. She is no longer crawling but walks
everywhere. She has lost 1 1/2 lb this month and we are very sad about that. She
is still quite chubby though. She will eat anything that we put in front of her.
She loves to be with her sister and gets mauled by Jessie on a daily basis. She
will now point to her nose and mouth. We are working on patty cake and she does
it pretty well. She is always happy but very clingy to her mom still.
I am doing great. Just keeping busy. We are having the Skousen Halloween party
on the 28th of October. We will give a great update of all the stuff that goes
on and we are sad to not have two of the families here for it.
Skousen family #4
Back
to Skousen Home Page
September 2, 2006
My little Katrina had her first birthday.
Well Sunday the 27th we had a birthday party for her here at Farmstead. The
Wallicks and Skousens came out for a little barbeque. Trina had no idea what was
going on but I think the party made it easier on us. I cried earlier that day to
get it out of my system. Trina got a new jacket, some great books and toys. I
think that Jessie thought it was her birthday again. Trina loved the food and
cake. She got a stuffed puppy dog that plays songs and she loves it. She kisses
it and keeps saying "Hi hi hi hi hi" to it.
Then today the 30th I took her to her 1 year check up. She is 22 lb which is the
75% in weight, she is 90% in height and 50% in head size. The doctor thought
that we were starving her. Her ears look great and she is getting her one year
molars.
Jessica is doing really well. She is still into everything and she loves to boss
me around. Her favorite story is the Three Little Pigs and she loves to be sung
to. She is embarrassed that her little sister is 2 pounds away from her weight.
She loves to be outside all day and she is scared of nothing. She still loves to
read like crazy and today we bought her first big girls bed at a garage sale for
$20.00. I can't believe that she is already in a big bed.
Ben is doing really well. We hardly see him between homework and school but he
is happy. We are getting ready for Ben to turn 25 this next week and we will
have a little dinner for him at moms and dads house. I am great just keeping
busy.
Skousens Family #4
P.S. hoping the news of a new baby Joe is here this week.
Aug 14, 2005
Well a lot has happened the passed couple of weeks. Katrina took her first steps
this week. She stands up great but she just does not want to walk quite yet. She
has started to say mama, dada, baa for ball, and she will wave goodbye.
Katrina's doing great after her tubes were put into her ears. We are going in
for a check-up on her ears this next week. I can't believe what a difference it
has made in how happy she is.
Jessica is doing great. She loves to have a little sister and I have to keep a
eye on her at all times so that she does not maul Trina to death. She loves to
blow on Trina's stomach and bite her face. I don't know where she got that from.
Benjamin starts school next week so we are excited for that. He is still working
at Backyard Adventures and will keep doing so throughout the school year. We are
trying to get back to normal after a week at Bear Lake. It was the best weather
I have ever had up there. The water was perfect. It only rained the last day we
were there. We had a boat that we went on all week. It was such a blast. Katrina
and I went on the tube and she feel asleep while we were going. That kid kills
me. Jessica would not get out of the water and was so excited to find a frog to
play with. There was not much beach to play on but Ben quickly fixed that.
I am great. Just keeping busy at home and NO I am not pregnant yet.
Hope to here from all of you guys soon.
Skousen family #4
