Oh yea, I now round up!

Last week I had a big birthday. The big 3-5.  Good stuff.  Birthdays are just plain fun and this one was no exception.

Special thanks to The Austins who supplied this years's special birthday cake (when Lyla said there was a cake for Kiwi I didn't know she meant a real double-layer, fresh-fruit-filled, Kiwi cake with candles and all!!)

Back in Cincinnati, my actual birthday on 2/2 was great. Lou & the girls got me a new Sony Tablet - that is just exactly what I needed (and wanted)!  And Josie picked out the sweetest butterfly photo holder, which is too cute.  (Sidebar - it is obvious I am working too much when Josie says of my two birthday presents - now you have a little computer that you can carry around so you can work even more and now you have a new picture holder so you can have pictures of us on your desk. BOOO.)  

In other news, Wednesday 2/1 was (okay, I'll say it) probably the highlight of my career in education policy to date.  Just as soon as I figure out how best to tell why, I will do so here.  So, yea, my birthday was great. Super duper great.

Back to Chicago, For Music and More!

Not that we needed an excuse to take a trip to Chicago last weekend, but Elizabeth Mitchell making another stop at the Old Town School of Folk Music sealed the deal.  Perhaps you remember our first Elizabeth Mitchell concert in October 2010 - when Lyla was turning three two, when Jack was just a few weeks old, when Josie was really getting used to the idea of becoming a big sister and before I was put on bedrest with Bea. Perhaps you remember just how important Elizabeth Mitchell has been in our family and perhaps you remember why Three Little Birds represents so much.  So, Elizabeth Mitchell and her sweet little family came back to Chicago and we couldn't pass it up. I didn't take my camera (luckily Tia did) and you can click here to see all her photos. I did snap a few on my phone and took some videos there as well and hope to put them together into another montage one of these days. For now though, suffice it to say that we had another beautiful time at the concert. It was a really amazing thing to have Beatrice there with us this year and a really heart-tugging thing to see how much Jack, Lyla & Josie have all grown up and changed since last year.  (When did our little Josie become one of the biggest kids in the room?!) 
Here we are pre-show.  Keep an eye out for the some EM videos here eventually.

The rest of the weekend was the typical good ole' fashioned family "slow-time" at the Austin condo with all the sweetness and silliness you could expect from our four little ones.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend.

First a special treat -

 And lots of playtime -

And sweet Jackpot -

And a game they invented with "Twilight Sparkle" and "Uni" -

And general silly, sweetness -

And Josie dresses up like a, um, pirate -

And Bea becomes more and more part of the crew -

Always exploring (and in this case trying to get under the table to the cat) -

A quiet moment with Josie and Bea playing together -

A little time to just veg -

Oh - and the two photos that compelled me to buy the new portrait lens that is in route as we speak.

And then - back to reality - the last of the weekend's Doritos on the drive home -

You're are right sweet sister, it's never long enough.  Each trip is just as perfect as the last one - from all this to the great moments not captured - (yummy, super delicious Popeye's feast and our perfect sister time chatting with the babies while the boys and big girls went on a train ride).  Good stuff. Thanks for everything (especially letting us take over your whole room - oh and for the endless coffee!) XO

Quick Catch-up

Just a little look at what's going on these days.

Josie continues to dazzle us... with her ability to put together outfits each morning that clearly demonstrate her uncanny ability to channel Punky Brewster and Rainbow Brite...

Anyone remember the photo of infant Josie wearing these rainbow legwarmers?!

...and her love for dressing up as a rockstar and making up hilarious songs

Bea's march to toddlerhood continues. Her biggest problems these days are... forgetting that she can't actually stand up unsupported and learning first-hand what gravity means to a 10 month old...

...and the fact that she is getting four teeth at a time.

Josie's also got this new thing where she calls herself a "GaGa" and runs up into your face and screams -  a phase that will make for a better memory than happy reality.  Bea's also got this new thing where she wants to sleep in between Louie and I instead of in her crib. We are pretty sure this has something to do with the fact that it is about 60 degrees in her crib and 100 degrees sandwiched between us.  Who can blame her? Cuddling is a Schneider family tradition.  Speaking of that, fellow co-sleepers, have fun with this: http://www.howtobeadad.com/tag/baby-sleep-positions

Ice storm

But still no real snow (sigh)

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Clacky Bea

Life is well...complicated at the moment, but I expect for things to slow down in a couple of weeks. It all shakes out to really amazing work opportunities that equate to the exact reason why I busted my buns as  much as I did to become Dr. Schneider, but whew am I stressed. Anyway, life is great overall around here.

Here is our sweet Bea pushing around her "Clacky Gators".  Those of you who have been around since the early days of "Three Schneiders" might remember Josie pushing these guys around at her 1st birthday party. The clack, clack, clack of this toy is easily one of the top three joyful iconic sounds of parenting in the Schneider house.

Look at dear sweet mobile Beatrice go!

Helpful Josie...

...added "papertowels" to our to do list

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Frosty window fun

Josie's not the only one captivated by the snowy day. Bea is having a blast playing with the frosty window. Love her little fingerprints on the glass.

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First snow...

...and someone is very excited!

Doe a deer...

As soon as I have the energy to stay up past 9pm, I will return to the regularly scheduled programming (and finally get the rest of the holiday photos posted). But for now, I will share this little gem of Josie rocking out one of our family sing-along favorites (that totally, completely reminds me of my Mimi).

Baby Bea, 10 months

Stair-climbin, Cabinet-openin, Crazy-hair-havin, Clacky-alligator-pushin, Finger-food-eatin, Furniture-cruisin 10 month old happy, mellow, adorable Baby Beatrice!

Grandma's Sink