Some recent faves

a quiet morning.

a quiet cuddle.

a quiet realization.

this is the mirror i used to photograph my pregnant bellies. the bellies preserved in the belly casts over my shoulder. the bellies that i hoped every day would keep those babies safe and strong.  the other day after bea's bath i caught my reflection, with the belly casts and a big bea where that belly used to be, and and it all just came together. a big moment of gratitude. and a big realization. that i have everything i ever wanted. 

Recent days

Josie is now dressing herself and her sister - down to the accessories

It's been pretty weird around here. The weather has fluctuated from the 70s to single digits in the span of a day or two. When things start feeling strange, more strange things seem to happen - like a gazillion birds flocking in strange patterns along the side of the highway.

And a string of epicly gorgeous but oddly beach-like sunrises and sunsets.

But for all the weirdness with the unpredictable weather and scenery, things are pretty normal inside Casa De Schneider.  Good times, good times.

On this particular morning, Josie and Bea both got dressed in black yoga pants and then proudly announced that they were dressed like their mama. (Guilty as charged. Ya know, working full-time from home definitely has its perks!)

Josie is more and more interested in posing for the camera.  On this morning, she wanted me to take a photo of how green her eyes looked in her new, beloved hand-me-down dress. I love how in the first picture she's clearly trying to show me her eyes, which quickly gave way to a classic Josie smile.

Here's the post-bath, TV tune-out. I've started to include essential oils in the girls' bath and they're getting out of the bath very relaxed and ready for bed. (And it's hilarious how much effort goes into choosing the "smell good" of their choice.)

Bea (who is officially in the month before the month when she'll turn TWO) is hilarious in every way. Like, I kid you not, she pulled her tights off and stuck them on her head. Then looks up at me and goes "baby leg hat," then giggles, then goes about her business. All told, she rocked this look for about a half hour.

Waiting for me to be finished drying my hair

Really excited to show Papa her pockets

Josie also continues to amaze us with the (so close to) 5 1/2 year old that she is. She's so creative, and curious, full of joy, and fun to be around.  Here are a couple of recent masterpieces that she brought home from art class at school.

Paper Lantern:

Recycled Paper Mask:

Our nightly routine these days involves Lou reading books to Beatrice and putting her to bed, while I read books with Josie then we turn off the lights and talk until she falls asleep in our bed. Then we move her over to her room when we go to bed.  Lou's been putting Bea to bed since she weaned a couple of months ago, and bedtime is such special time that we each get individually with the girls. Soon we'll work on getting them to actually fall asleep in the same room, but for now that's not realistic (or desired by any party to be honest).

 99.9% of the time, these girls play very well together. The biggest problem continues to be when the fight over the one thing they both prize most...us. This particular issue tonight was generated by a fight over Louie's lap. Sweet Bea dropped a "my papa lap" to Josie and then went and hid behind the playroom door and literally pouted (in the cutest, sweetest little way).

They have increasingly been conspiring more as sisters. Tonight they worked together to fill Bea's crib with books, with Bea saying "Yeah, More" to Josie then turning to me and going "Uh Oh, Book." Silly girls.

Here are a few more shots of recent, favorite meals. The girls really are adventurous eaters. If Josie had her way, she'd eat Indian food every day. However, there's a good chance that these Japanese noodles we made might have bumped Saag Paneer down to second place in her book. She even asked us to pack the leftovers in her lunch the next day for school. 

 Four Schneiders faves:

 A sushi lunch this week with Lou:

And, because they make me smile due to the memories they evoke:

How agro does that giraffe look? 

Some pics from the brunch we hosted for our buddies - 

All told, life is good. Busy, crazy, amazing, and good.

Wishing for snow

I hope you enjoy this little gem from yesterday afternoon when it was 70 degrees in January. Tomorrow we're supposed to get 2 inches of snow, so this little lady's wish just might be coming true very soon!

Bonus shots from our oddly warm (and super muddy) evening:

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!)

***

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: