Three Schneiders: Jul 8, 2008

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

More from the holiday weekend...

As promised, here is the rest of the report on the holiday weekend in addition to the actual 4th of July stuff in the post below.
So, we spent Friday & Saturday at Grandma & Granddaddy's house - not just for the sparklers performance and general quality time with the fam, but also for a quick trip to see Aunt Manda & Uncle Mike up the road. Since the weather was nasty, we got to hang out all day in our pajamas and teach Josephine some new tricks. And - after only a couple of days practice - here is Josie with her latest crowdpleaser - "SOOOOO BIG!"

And here she is showing Bella that she is "SOOOO BIG!"

And here she is showing us her "SOOO BIG AND SCARY" face....

I promise to get a "SO BIG" video uploaded soon. If I'm lucky she'll also do her patented trifecta that she invented herself which starts with a clap, moves into "SO BIG", and ends with her hands waving "BYE-BYE" from the "SO BIG" pose. Too funny!

I thought I'd include these next photos for two reasons. First, in case an older version of Josephine ever tries to tell us she doesn't like peas, I want to have pictoral evidence that she used to eat them like candy. Secondly, I think this series of photos is funny because it clearly shows a beginning, middle, and end.
Beginning: Grandma hands Josie her own plate of peas -

Middle - Josie happily eats the peas from her plate -

End - Josie sits in a puddle of peas & prefers eating the ones straight off the floor in favor of the ones on the towel or the plate. (Yummy.)

And while we're dining with Josie - I thought you might enjoy these two photos of Josie sharing her watermelon with a furry friend...

She's been feeding me for awhile now & apparently that translated to feeding Bella. They totally had a little plan worked out where Josie dropped scraps of chicken breast and potatoes on the floor or right into Bella's mouth. (And the next day when we were home she tried to feed a very uninterested Venus a handful of Cheerios.)

Here are a couple of photos from my mom's camera that I had to share. First is Josie in the Bengal's hat (Who Dey!) and just look at all those teeth!

And the funniest thing - my mom & dad brought up a photo of me when I was about Josephine's age. Here she is posing next to "me"...

And checking "me" out.

There really is quite a resemblance. We'll have to find a photo of "Baby Louie" to introduce her to soon.

Okay - that's all for now. I hope you all had a Happy Fourth! :)

Josephine's First Fourth

Ahh - the Fourth of July - sunshine, parades, backyard bbqs, fireworks - you know the drill. While forces of nature necessitated that we skip a couple of these things this year, I think we definitely still delivered a memorable "first Fourth" to Baby Josie. Let me clarify one thing there. When I said "forces of nature" I didn't just mean the rain, I also meant Josie's sleep schedule. Because while we were perfectly poised to get the best view of Madiera's fireworks that money can buy, we had to bail just before the first big "boom!" That's okay though, because Granddaddy kicked off quite a sparkler show the next day in their backyard (although I look slightly more impressed than Josie).

Truth be told, she wasn't sure what to think of the sparklers. I think she was equal parts amazed by the whole thing, angry that she couldn't hold them herself, and confused as to why we didn't wait until dark. (The answer there is that no amount of sparkler-induced fun is worth a "missed bedtime" meltdown.)

But - back to the parade. Josie loves parades! Thank goodness we live in the city & can catch several each year. Check her out sitting like a big girl on the corner waiting for the action. And let me point out that on the left is Brian & Susan's son Griffin, on the right is Tad & Nancy's son Owen & new baby Piper and behind them is Jason & Jamie's new addition Bella. It was SO strange for Josie not to be the little one anymore. Piper & Bella are just 8 weeks old & Louie and I could not believe how tiny they were. I'll be honest, this definitely made me want another little one. (Ha - Thank goodness Manda is helping out with that pursuit.) Oh & check out how sweet Owen is holding on to his tiny baby sister.

And - just in case you didn't believe me when I said Josie loves parades - check out this video of her having the time of her life with her new buddy Owen. He is SO cute. Listen to him say "That's a baby" and point at Josie. Adorable!

More photos & videos from the holiday weekend coming soon...Gotta run, Josie just awoke!

Things I've Learned So Far

When on bedrest, cravings are satisfied in bulk. A chai tea latte is not out of reach. It will arrive as a case of six 32-oz cartons courtesy of Amazon prime in two business days.
Fall/Winter maternity clothes are infinitely more expensive, uncomfortable, and ugly than Spring/Summer maternity clothes! (And I miss my flip-flops already!)
BELIEVE in miracles!
If your two-year old tells you that you need to be more patient, she's probably right.
Moving is hard. Moving with a toddler is even harder.
There are no guarantees.
Don't let your two-year old pick out the kind of Valentine's Day cards she wants to make. There's a good chance she's overly-ambitious.
Take nothing for granted.
If you pay close enough attention, your little one will totally show you the right path in most situations. They're wise little souls. We should give them more credit. And we should follow their lead.
If your child is doing some well/good/desirable/etc, people attritbute that to chance. But, if your child is doing something wrong/incorrect/undesirable/etc, that gets chalked-up to your parenting.
There is no sense in trying to make children grow up any faster than they already do.
There is no better compliment than someone whose opinion you value saying that you are good parents - and meaning it.
Parenting is deeply personal.
Use the words "I promise" sparingly. There are very few things you can actually guarantee your child and broken promises really hurt.
As a parent, there are some things you do because you think you're supposed to...And then there are the things you do because you know you have to.
There's nothing quite like a conversation with a two-year old.
The development of language is mind-boggling! And so much fun to watch develop!
Everything happens for a reason. Everything. Even though it's sometimes hard to figure out why.
Traveling with a toddler might be a trip, but it definitely is not a vacation.
"Wean" doesn't have to be a four-letter word.
It is true what the say - the days are long, but the years are short. Happy first birthday Josephine!
The baby's needs always come first. (Case in point: her dinner was a well-balanced, all-organic meal of turkey, cheddar cheese cubes, vegetable hummus & raisins for dessert. Mine was a bowl of Coco Crispies.)
I thought that first smile was a good as it got...until the day she first reached out for me. I knew that was the best feeling in the world...Until she looked at me and said "Mama!" :)
There are two kinds of people in the world - those who wave back to a baby in stroller & those who don't.
Mother's Day & Father's Day are definitely more than "Hallmark Holidays."
The people who designed the Sesame Street characters knew what they were doing!
Babies do not understand time zones!
There is no shame in buying a one-piece bathing suit. ;)
Time spent just sitting and staring at Josephine is time well spent! The fact that we created her and the fact that she is ours still amazes me every single day. We are totally in awe of our beautiful daugther!
Pureed beets and babies don't mix.
One of "those nights" is usually followed by one of "those days."
Blowing bubbles is fun for the whole family.
Seven month olds definitely know how to dance!
Baby monitors are also useful for identifying when you've accidentally locked a cat in the baby's room.
With a little practice, it is possible to update the blog, talk on the phone, eat lunch, and pump breastmilk all at the same time. (Now that's what I call multi-tasking.)
A five month old baby does not know how to "pet" a cat. However, a five month baby is very good at making a cat really angry!
Diaper rash cream has lots of different uses!
There's no doubt in my mind that you would find a nasal aspirator / nose suction bulb in a museum of torture devices.
A cat's meow and a baby's cry sound oddly similar at 4am.
The hospital should keep all the samples of free formula and pass out white noise and Elizabeth Mitchell CDs instead!
The day Josie no longer wants to hold my hand will definitely be a sad day. In the meantime, I'm content to stay in her room a couple extra minutes in the middle of the night with her little hand wrapped tightly around my finger.
The holidays really are more special once you've started your own family.
When all else fails - just breathe & remain grateful! Even the worst days are the best days of our lives.
It's okay to do at least half of the things you swore you would never do as a parent.
Parenting means you must always be up for a change of plans - even if that means giving up dinner at your favorite restaurant for White Castle in the back seat while nursing your baby.
Never take an over-tired baby to the mall in a bassinet!
Those damn baby nail clippers are lethal weapons - I hope Josie won't miss the top half of her pointer finger!
Two sets of sheets are not enough.
It's okay to cry when you put away baby clothes that no longer fit anymore.
Strangers almost always hold the door open for a pregnant woman, but almost never do so for a woman with a stroller.
There is nothing like that first toothless smile!
You haven't lived until you've had to handle a diaper blowout SO BIG that the only way out of it is to cut your baby's clothes off of her to avoid covering her head with poo.
There is absolutely, positively nothing worse in the entire world that seeing your child in pain and not being able to help her.
Never leave home without an extra set of clothes for yourself & at least two extra sets of clothes for the baby.
Baby pee dries quickly and doesn't require a change of clothes (no one will ever know...)
Picking little baby boogers is more fun than it should be.
If Josie is totally relaxed and smiling, she probably just pooped.
Thank goodness the baby doesn't realize I usually don't know what the heck I'm doing.
Lou has missed his calling as a performer of children's songs & should definitely look into recording his smash hit "Mama's Milk".
Nipples stretch like rubberbands.

Three Schneiders

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

More from the holiday weekend...

Josephine's First Fourth

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Our Birth Story

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