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!
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!)
Don't they look like sisters more in this picture than they ever have??
This year, quite by accident, we ended up having pretty much the most Cincinnati-style New Year's Eve that a family can have.
We started off with a trip to the Aquarium in the morning - in the event that it was too cold and snowy to make it to the Zoo that evening. Then we had Skyline for dinner, headed to the zoo after a family pep-talk and bundle-up game plan, and then finished off with Graeters for dessert before heading home for a movie - where we all fell asleep on the couch. Josie and I called it a night at about 9pm and then Lou followed at 11. So, no big midnight countdown, no Auld Lang Syne - just snuggling and sleeping after quite an exciting day!
Here are some phone pics.
NEWPORT AQUARIUM:
SKYLINE TIME:
CINCINNATI "HAPPY ZOO YEAR'S EVE:
Translation for this next one: this is a pic of both girls kissing a goat. I had my camera set to video for the whole goat thing and ended up with several 1 second videos of the goats and one very blurry photo. But the whole goat thing was hysterical so I have to get this one on the record books - especially this moment when we told the girls to tell the goats good-bye. Josie grabbed one end to kiss good-bye, and, well, Bea grabbed and kissed the other. (Altogether now.... "Ewwwwww!")
We got several "Christmas Story" giggles about Bea. But I gotta say, we were all snug as bugs!
Well December, you were pretty awesome. I think the past several blog posts tell that story. Here's a few random photos from this month before we move into a new month...and a new year!
Having a green house that we can heat is a pretty awesome development. We still have lots to learn to really use it to its full potential, but for now it's just really fun to still get out to play in the dirt when the ground outside is too frozen to do so! Bea loves it in there!
We have stinkbugs all over the house since they're coming in to find warmth. They're totally harmless and for some reason they don't bother any of us. Josie and Bea totally think they're pets. Here's one exchange with a "Stinky" before it went in the stinkbug jar with the rest of its captured family members.
This is a video from one of Josie's last days of school before break with one of the four girls in her Kindergarten class. We could call it "why we love Josie's school & its natural playscape" or we could call it "the reason why Josie's boots only last two weeks tops." They asked me to make a Climbing Movie of them. Here it is:
This month we spent a lot of time making special surprises for people we love. Lots of time in our pajamas in the middle of the day getting messy. So in the spirit preserving these memories for the wee ones as they look back on all this one day (and not in the name of sending no-shower, no make-up Mama across the interwebs), I give you these two gems:
These are just too sweet not to share. Glad I snapped them because these little hands and these carefully written letters on Daddy's gift are just too too too lovely.
Also in the somehow-didn't-make-it-onto-a-holiday-blog-post category, here are two videos of fun little moments from early in the month when we were just beginning to decorate.
Josie loves this little Rudolph SO much and her reaction to seeing that I had the decorations out was just too sweet.
Both girls were really wowed by the lights:
Here are some pics from the Nutcracker that didn't make it into that first post:
Oh no! I forget to mention the Christmas Eve story! On the night before our Christmas at home, we read The Night Before Christmas as we have every year since Josie was just 4 months old on her first Christmas. Then, we put Josie to bed. Then, wouldn't you know? She woke up at about 11:30 PM and walked her little sleepy self down the stairs and saw that Santa had ALREADY put presents under the tree and already eaten the cookies. Then she couldn't sleep. Then she woke up again about 3 AM and couldn't sleep again. Poor thing.
Then, she woke up again at 5am and there was no going back to sleep at that point. Finally, at 6:16 AM, I let her go wake up Bea and Christmas morning at our house began!
This is a picture of the little paper mache snowman that Josie made at school. We think he is super special.
In other exciting news. We got a new dishwasher. It broke right before Christmas, so our kitchen looked like this for a week:
Then we got a new one and Lou & a wrench-wielding Josie installed it on New Year's Day.
And now everything is right with the world again.
Goodbye my holly jolly friends. Until we meet again...
