The countdown to February

So the Christmas lights in our front yard are still burning brightly, and I repeatedly write "2012" instead of "2013," but the truth is that it's nearly February.  We're knocking on the the coldest part of Winter here in Cincinnati - made brighter and cheery by a certain blogging-mama's birthday and the half-birthday of a certain kindergartner who can't wait to call herself 5 and 1/2.

But, it's still January and for all the single digit temperatures, stomach viruses and general post-holiday funkiness, we've managed to have a pretty awesome (oddly busy for winter) month so far.

With that, here are some of the top moments (courtesy of my iphone) from the past few weeks.  Enjoy! (And please excuse the fact that this post is all over the place!)

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Let's see, so Bea's super adorable. And looking more and more like Josie every day (and like her mama so I hear):

One of our daily routines involves 4:30 tea as our transition from my work day to family time. (Anyone interested in what the typical day looks like for us?)

Like I said, Bea's adorable:

I started taking Wednesday morning classes with Beatrice back at the CFEC. Josie grew up in this place, so it really feels good to be back (especially when I never ever ever thought I'd be blessed with that opportunity):

Speaking of blessings:

Grandma had a birthday. Josie made this card and wrote the following on the front - cracking us all up!
"Hope and Joy to All. With Love and Happiness."

A lazy Friday night:

Hosting some friends and their littles over for dinner:

Celebrating Katrina's birthday and the pure fun of older cousins!

One of my top ten faves. Because they're hilarious in this "throne" we found at the Mariemont Inn.

Bea, Did you eat the yellow crayon?

In the words of instagram: #hideandseek #allthelivelongday  (A new favorite):

Josie and Bea are so unbelievably cuddly and loving (except when they're not, which is almost never):

And then we got the stomach bug.  All but Josie! We were pitiful.

And Josie shines on!

Then we caved and got flu shots. And then I caved and made up for it with giant donuts before school that morning.

And we had still moments.

And playdates!

And a second pass through the 300-page "Where The Mountain Meets the Moon" (which is a lovely read aloud and beautiful story of celebrating gratitude):

Oh, I should mention that this is seriously how the mornings start. The sun rises right into our bedroom window. It's a gorgeous way to greet the day as the kiddos stumble in.

And we played dress-up (always, lots of dressing-up):

Anyone recognize this? It was Josie's 1 year Halloween costume!

Bea is obsessed with all things bathing (a total 180 from her sister).  It's hard to get dinner in her before she starts stripping down and runing upstairs to pour oatmeal in the tub, yelling "bath - tiiiime!"

January mother/daughter book club. February we will be hosting. EEP!

The trend toward overall wellness continues and is picking up speed.  Here the girls are making vegetable soup - over two separate occasions.

Josie continues to enjoy piano lessons. Bea continues to want to be just like Josie.

Some random silly fun:

A wound-up Josie who announced before bathtime one night that she needed some time to do some yoga and meditation. She did not want to be disturbed, but I did get a few pictures of what was a really lovely thing to watch.

Josie asked me to photograph her here in front of the greenhouse because she felt like a fairy in the sunshine. Yeah, I can see why!

Back to the CFEC. Another week, another crazy maze class:

Baby, it's cold outside! (Looking down 4th street near the block where we used to live.)

Watching Romeo & Juliet rehearsals at the Cincinnati Ballet Academy after class:

Daily cuddle time:

Quick Quotes

Just a couple little quick quotes, and things I need to log here so I don't ever forget them:

A few weeks ago, Beatrice had this HUGE burst in language development. It was right after Christmas and loads of extra time together and with cousins, so we're thinking that had something to do with it. All the sudden, she went from these broken little syllables (that we totally understood but others couldn't) to these very deliberate attempts to communicate in full thoughts.  One particular day, I was working away in my office and she pushes open my door and then just stands there (as if to take a deep breath and concentrate), makes eye contact and says (slowly and with clear intention): "Hi Mommmmmeeeeee."  It's a hard moment to capture here on the blog, but it was a really magical little developmental leap to witness.

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If you've spent much time with the girls, you know Bea runs around calling Josie "JoJo" all the time.  It was the little moniker she chose for her big sister and it totally stuck.  One recent evening, Bea was running around the kitchen saying "Cho-Chooey" over and over, then giggling like crazy. She was cracking herself up, so we were all laughing too,  but we could not figure out what on earth she was saying.  Finally, she points at Josie and goes: "Chooey."  And with that, Josie just about exploded with joy and now demands that Bea show her new "trick" to everyone she meets. (Which reminds me, I need to get those little darlings on video for you all soon.)

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So I realize these are both Beatrice quotes, but nothing is springing to mind as recent direct quotes for Miss Josephine, which is odd because she frequently cracks us up with her precocious comments, deep insights and well-beyond-her-years vocabulary.  (I'll be on a personal mission to capture a Josie gem soon.)

School shots

A couple of photos from Josie's school that her teacher forwarded me that I couldn't resist sharing.


Josie's Kindergarten Class (all 6 of them) gathered around "The Kindergarten Tree" -

Josie sharing a discovery with friends:

Josie's experiences at school fill us with so much joy and gratitude!!

It's Dance-y Dance Time!

Last week we went to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live at the Aronoff downtown.  You might remember our first time seeing the show last year.  We're suckers for live music, so it's hard for us to pass up a chance to share this passion with our kids. Apparently this is a genetic predisposition.  If you don't believe me, ask my Dad how many concerts he took us to as kids - even those that weren't necessarily his favorite acts, that he knew we'd enjoy (Ahem - we still talk about that Ready for the World and Jodeci concert. And the MC Hammer show was, well 2 Legit 2 Quit.)

Anyway, Yo Gabba Gabba is just plain fun. And even though there were signs of a shrinking show budget compared to last year, we definitely shook our sillies out.

Here are some favorite snaps!

Pre-Show:

Intros:

Overwhelm:

 Dancey-Dance Time:

Party in my Tummy:

I like Bugs:

Biz's Beat of the Day:

Bubbles! 

Almost Time to Go:

Bye-Bye:

Confetti!

And, some videos of the wee ones getting their little grooves on.


I should probably mention that be flipped out in the beginning. Our seats were very close and the exploding confetti cannon and gigantic versions of the characters she's used to seeing only about 6 inches tall on the TV screen was just a little too much to bare. But, as you can see, that quickly transformed into pure baby bouncing joy soon enough! (And caught the closing confetti instead of crying.)

Here we go:



Our family favorite, Hold Still (check Josie out):



And, here's little Bea bouncing until our arms hurt:



Biz Markie gives the grown-ups something to cheer about:

Tickling the ivories

First lesson

Our big girl has started taking piano lessons. There are lots of reasons for this: her teacher explaining how the magical musical window shuts at age six, the fact that I took piano lessons, her growing interest in learning an instrument, signs of a natural gift in playing by ear, a friend who just started with a teacher right in our neighborhood and well, why not?  She's wanted to take piano lessons for a long time, but we just recently started feeling like she had the patience and persistence to really take it seriously (and to take on a second thing on top of ballet).

So, we signed her up. We met the teacher. We loved the teacher. We made the call to Grandma and DD. My childhood piano showed up days later. She sat down, learned her first song and played her first duet with DD in a matter of minutes. We headed to her first class. She took to it like a fish to water.  We smiled and said, "Yes. This is good."

And here is all of that for you:

  

New Year's Redux

Yes we had a very eventful family New Year's Eve, but we had a very uneventful grown-up celebration.  Lou and I have been smooching at midnight dating back to 1997, so missing a midnight together was kinda a big deal. Don't get me wrong, having midnight come and go sans fanfare while we were sleeping in a home we love with the little family we always wanted was pretty amazing in and of itself, but there was definitely something missing.

So, Lou had the idea to bring back New Year's Eve...just for us...one week later!

Mariah agreed to babysit and we were off!  Boy did we pack in the activities.

Dinner at Bakersfield with ahhh-maz-ing short rib tacos. (We tried several; trust us - those are the best!)

Then we saw Life of Pi, which was equally amazing and delicious (for obviously different reasons). Please do your soul a favor and see that movie. We are still digesting it and talking about it several days later.

Next we headed to the ultra-hip new Metropole Hotel & Museum for a big ole glass of wine (and a very dorky but passionate conversation about the pros and cons of eliminating the U.S. Postal Service).

Finally, we returned home to drink champagne and have our midnight!

Here are a couple of little snaps from my phone. 

The girls cuddled while we got gussied up

Drinks? YES!

All that was left of the amazing tacos!

See it. Period.

Happy (grainy) wine-drinking grown-ups

A recent (diaper-free) development

There's big news on the Schneider homefront. Miss Beatrice (who is not even two for anyone who is counting) has decided she is giving up diapers. Clearly, this was her New Year's Resolution, and clearly she is sticking with it.

Truth is, she's been experimenting with the potty for some time now. (An experiment transitioned into a plan thanks to quality time with a potty proficient older cousin.) The first time, several months ago, we definitely didn't do anything to encourage real potty-learning progress, because a baby in diapers has its perks!  But this time, the girl is for real.  Like, "I'm wearing panties and I just dare you to try to get a diaper on me" real.  Because she already spends a significant portion of each day naked, it's been a pretty smooth (albeit messy at times) transition.  Honestly, Bea is going to go down as one of those mythical creatures that "potty-trained" herself.  And in our traditional "follow the kid" fashion (even when it's inconvenient), we're going with it, too.

So last night when she kept us up from 1:30-5:30 AM because she had some potty issues that needed worked out (...on the potty...in the dark...with very sleepy parents), we went with it.  Not for failure in trying otherwise! She literally kicked me in the face at 4 AM as I was pleading with her to just.poop.in.your.diaper.puh-lease!

But, Alas! It was another potty success story about 5am and she was back asleep from 5:30 to nearly 9.

So yes, my friends, those are little baby buns sporting tiny little panties! And we can hardly believe it either.

Josie has been INSTRUMENTAL in Bea's potty practices! And she is SO proud of her little sister!

4:30 AM. Last night. Diaper Refusal.

Nearly 9 this morning. Exhausted. (But Potty-Successful!)