Butterflies flutter by...

Please indulge me in what I know to be another series of photos of a mini-Cincinnatian at the Krohn Conservatory's annual Butterfly Show.  We've all got 'em. The pics of our little ones not-so-patiently waiting for one of the butterflies to *please* land on their hand, or shoulder, or head, or anywhere long enough to capture it on film.  Silly Schneiders - we went on opening weekend. Maybe the butterflies weren't quite ready for the droves of families just yet, because none of them got too close. Even still, we managed to have a really special time watching them and begging for them to come closer - all the while enjoying some really beautiful flowers.

Props to the CFEC

So, I've been posting about the Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center for awhile now (remember the hypno-hottie reunion party when our babes all turned ONE all those moons ago) and we continue to still love it there. Sadly, we've now entered what is likely our fourth and final phase at the CFEC. It started with us taking the infant Musikgarten class with Miss Liz & Miss Megan when Josie was just barely sitting up. Then, when she outgrew that class, we signed up for the Art Class with Miss Marianne. There we created some fabulous masterpieces and Josie got in touch with her inner-Picasso.  Josie also started taking weekly Spanish classes with Carissa where they learned all kinds of fun (and funny) things. This session (and our last session at the CFEC since Josie is starting school in the fall) we decided to sign-up for the PeaWee Gardening Class. Truth told, it couldn't have been better timing since we're finally going to have that yard we've wanted so badly since Josie was born.  And, since my green thumb has started to brown, I'm going to count on Josie to keep the gardens thriving at the new house.  I just can't say enough for the value of these experiences. It's the little things like Josie singing "Itsy, Bitsy Arana" instead of "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" or pointing out to me today that our bamboo plants are getting new roots, and enjoying time together creating things without rules. Big thanks to the CFEC for being such a big part of shaping our sweet Josephine.
Here's a photo of Josie practicing some of her new gardening skills on one of our houseplants. The mess was worth it.

Quick Quotes

Josie to me yesterday as she was opening a new skirt that came in the mail: "We're going to have a fight...I do not like this skirt! It's not awful. It's just not pretty."

The other night we were in Josie's bed talking about paint colors for her new room. She said she wanted something beautiful like my (recently painted) belly cast. (More on that later.) 
Me: "The belly cast is beautiful, isn't it?"
Josie: "Yea, but not as beautiful as me."
Me: "You are beautiful. And so are the flowers and the trees and..."
Josie (cutting me off): "They are, but not as beautiful as THIS (pointing to her face)!"

Let's Go Fly A Kite...

A couple of weekends ago, we headed out to West Chester for the annual Kite Fest. We can't remember why we missed it last year, but we knew we regretted it. It was almost more family-fun that we could handle.  Here are some of our favorite photos from our afternoon flying kites with the masses.

First "the bounce house" where Josie seriously said "Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!" at least 100 times!

Proud daddy. She's really flying her own kite!

A sea of kites and people...

Because we couldn't resist, we spend the $3 to build our own homemade kite.

 And it works - beautifully!

Time to go explore the big kites -

(That's a scuba diver, octopus and lizard by the way.)

Our favorite kite of the day. I think we counted 60 altogether and it stretched for as high as you could see!

The runner-up is in the background - giant soccer ball & legs.

Hours later, little Josie had finally ran out of steam (and so had we!)

This Just In...

We have a closing/moving date set for our new house! 

Thursday, June 3rd

Can I get a collective woo-hoo?!

(In other news, we close on our condo this Thursday. 

Starting on Saturday, we will officially be renting this place from its new owner.)

Love Letters to the Universe

"Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe"

I heard "Across the Universe" today at Starbucks & was reminded of our afternoon on Good Friday.  Dear friend Carrie and her lovely family invited Josie & I to join them on a really beautiful adventure. On Good Friday, we hit Ludlow Ave armed with dozens of little "love letters" to leave in secret places for strangers to find while going about their daily routine - in ATMs, parking meters, water fountains, flower boxes, window sills, park benches, blooming flowers, and just about anything else we could find. The letters were hand-written by the kids and contained positive and inspirational messages sure to brighten even the darkest of days.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from our afternoon spreading a little love, doing a project that was made even more special by Carrie saying it was dedicated to our little Camille.

Everything but the bagels

Way back at the end of March (I told you I was behind), we had a visit from our friends Cat & Brandon and there little lovelies Ronan (J's age) and Isla (almost one).  Cat, Brandon, Louie & I were all roommates in college BEFORE we were even dating.  Suffice it to say, if the cameras would've been rolling, it would've been the best season of "The Real World" in MTV history.  Also living with us that insanely-wonderful year was best friend and total soulmate Carrie (aka "Schmittee") who later acted as the doula at Josie's birth who will also be showing up again in the next blogpost and good ole' Danny whats-his-name who we're pretty sure went on to join the CIA.  The six of us all lived in this rat-hole apartment "Above Bagel & Deli" and I'll leave it at that for now.  When the Runyans came to visit from Madison, Carrie graciously offered to host one heckuva reunion (sans Danny) at her house.  It was the perfect way to relax with friends after a glorious sunny day at the zoo. Here are some photos from our reunion weekend.

Sharing a little Graeters with a little friend...

(I love how you can see both dad's hands holding their little legs.)

The "hitching a ride" series...

*

Fountain Farewells

I'm sure this is the first of what will be several farewells to a favorite parts of the city. And while we will be really close to downtown still, it won't quite be the same when it isn't right outside of our door. For example, we've referred to Fountain Square as our backyard since we moved in. (Josie's surely going to wonder why parades and concerts don't happen in her backyard in the new house.) We have loads of pictures of Josie hanging out on Fountain Square since she was just a wee little thing.  Here are some of the more recent ones from a couple of weekends ago.  Enjoy.  (And get your buns down to Fountain Square if it's been awhile.)

Notice the bare feet. She is truly her mother's daughter...

 Not sure if the uber-wet tush comes across in the picture, but you're just gonna have to trust me. 

She was soaked!

 Daddy lends a hand with those tricky jelly-shoe clasps...

 Quite a backyard, isn't it?!

The Dream Home

We have a new house! We have a new house! We have a new house!  (At least we're pretty sure we do.)
As I told Lou, I'm about 88% ecstatic about our new house. I'll get 100% there when I get the keys.  The inspections are this week, so I'm hoping to be about 95% there by the end of the week.  I'll be sure to share the details as my level of excitement rises, but in the meantime here's a picture of our fully-restored Victorian beauty. We love her - pink door and all! :)

(Thanks to all of you for the well-wishes during this crazy process. It was a short sale, so it's been quite a roller coaster ride. Keep sending those good vibes our way as we get through the next few weeks of packing, moving, etc.)

Quick Quotes

Josie in the bathtub, playing with her tub alphabet: "Well, well, well...a 7 is an upside L...who knew?!"

Josie, pointing to the CD player: "Will you put on 'Rock Me Mama Like A Wagon Wheel'? I'm wanna rock out to that."