Three Schneiders: Dec 23, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Feliz Navidad

I hope you all enjoy Josie's favorite Christmas song of 2010! :)

Tonight is "Christmas Eve" at the Schneider House. Santa will be here tonight to drop off Josie's first round of presents that we'll open in the morning before heading to Xenia for another round of Christmas Eve and Christmas with Grandma, DD, Tia, Tio, Lyla & Jack.

Here are some of the festivities from our Christmas Eve!

This is the letter Josie had me write to Santa. Verbatim. I giggled the whole way through it.

Here is Josie making a picture "for Santa to hang on the wall of his North Pole bedroom."

The finished product - complete with traced "Santa" at the bottom. She was worried that he wouldn't be able to read it if she wrote it herself. (I think she was trying to impress him, which is adorable.)

Making this year's batch of "Glitter Oats" for the reindeer. We almost forgot to make them and when Josie reminded us, she ran a loop around the house declaring "Josie Saved Christmas!!!"

Sprinkling & spreading the oats around the yard...

And now, my favorite thing! Of course Josie wanted to leave cookies and milk for Santa. She has been collecting bits of left over cookies and treats all week and leaving them out on a plate overnight "because Santa likes his cookies crunchy like toast." So tonight, we talked about setting the cookies & milk on the kitchen table. We set out one plate and one cup. Then, Josie took over. About ten minutes later, she had set up a plate and cup for Santa & Mrs. Claus and 9 other cups set up for the reindeer. Each cup was filled with chocolate milk (we did help with that) & she broke the cookies in pieces so each guest would have a piece.

Josie truly has the sweetest and most generous heart. Don't get me wrong - she's *thrilled* about getting presents for Christmas, but I *adore* the moments when she demonstrates to us that it's not all about her.

Christmas around the Casa

Here are a few photos of our favorite things around the house this holiday season.

Love our tree - it feels like a "family tree" with its crazy assortment of beautiful old ornaments from Lou's family, ornaments Lou & I have collected over the years to mark occasions and vacations, homemade ornaments from Josie & ornaments that were ours as kids. It just makes me smile, and I wish we could keep it up all year! (Not to mention the smell of a real tree in the house. Mmmm....)

Our stockings hung by the chimney with care...all four of them...above our main fireplace which roars from sunrise to bedtime every day. (Oh & one very happy cat who can be found sprawled out in front of one of them at any part of the day.)

The wreath Josie & I made together...

The "winter branch" Josie & I made out of foil and tissue paper out of one of her craft books...

Josie's collection of holiday pictures hanging on our side door...

Three of those homemade ornaments that make our tree so special - the bread ornament, a glittering gingerbread boy from school & a "lucky tiger ornament" Josie made one morning.

A "happy coincidence" - Josie's ornament from school hanging next to the nest with three eggs we bought to represent the "three little birds" we've lost that will always be a part of our family.

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

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Feliz Navidad

Christmas Eve Eve

Christmas around the Casa

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Our Birth Story

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