Three Schneiders: Josie the Explorer

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Josie the Explorer

Who needs "Dora the Explorer" when we've got Josie? Anyone who has spent any time with Josie knows just how curious she is. She is always studying things in great detail and trying to figure out how things work. This past weekend, we put her curious nature to the test.

The "exploration weekend" started accidentally when Louie came home from work early on Friday. We decided to walk over to Newport on the Levee for dinner and ended up making an impromptu trip to the Aquarium. We practically had the whole place to ourselves. Josie's favorite spots were of course the tunnels & Louie's favorite spot was the big interactive "Frogger" game in the new "Frog Bog" exhibit.

On Saturday, we decided to head out to Grandma & Grandpa Schneider's house for some quality outdoor time in their yard. We pulled the lawnchairs into the grass, spread out Josie's big blanket, and took a deep breath of non-city summer air. Ahhhh....

Until we heard the unmistakable "chirp,chirp,chirp" of CICADAS!!! Oh NO! I'd heard from the ladies in my mama group that the cicadas were coming, but since we live downtown, I didn't worry too much about them. But, they were EVERYWHERE at Bob & Phyllis' house. So, it wasn't long until we decided to test Josie's curiosity....Louie handed her a stick with a great big cicada hanging from it! She just sat there calmly checking it out:

Then it fell on her leg. And she just let it crawl around on her for about five minutes! Check out this look on her face - hilarious!!!

As it turns out, I was way more grossed out by the cicadas than Josie, so we decided to move indoors for a feast courtesy of LaRosa's. After pizza, Phyllis suggested we head down to "The Schoolhouse Restaurant" to pet the goats. And...leave it to Josie..even when that big 'ole goat came up over the fence, she laughed out loud instead of freaking out.

I'm SOOO glad Josie loves animals!

After the exciting day on Saturday, Josie spent all day Sunday with her Daddy while I went to a yoga workshop with my friend Alicia in Dayton (which was awesome by the way). She & Louie walked over to Covington to have lunch at JeanRo's Greenup Street Cafe and hung out all afternoon together. Apparently, she spent a lot of time crawling because her little knees were bright red when I got home:

So, we just keep exposing Josie to more and more, and she just keeps soaking it all in. One of the best things about being a mom is definitely sharing these explorations with her (although I could definitely do without the cicadas)!

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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, June 3, 2008

Josie the Explorer

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