Sunday, December 28, 2008

growing girls



i just cant get over how quickly these little ones change! bianca is cooing up a storm; when shes awake, shes always got something to say! russ says shes chatty b/c she has to learn to keep up with skylar (and im sure me too... im not really the quiet type). she's started this smile accompanied by a few gasps and coos - her little version of a laugh. its awesome.
skylar kills me sometimes! her growing personality is fascinating to me. she is so creative already! for example, a few days ago, we went to the YMCA and then to the library. she insisted that we walk forward into the buildings, and backward on the way out. literally backward, all the way from the door, through the parking lot, to our car. here's me, holding B in the pumpkin seat, the diaper bag, library books, and skylar's hand while we walk backwards in the rain to the car. my children have tought me to be patient and enjoy the moment. who cares if we got wet? it was so cute. she loved being in charge! she also loves to scream "ECHO, ECHO, ECHO!" in every new place we go. did you know that almost all public bathrooms echo? she is loud as all get-out (wonder where she got that?!) and it drives me crazy sometimes, but i love seeing the world through her explorations. the holiday post will come soon! i was too busy to take pictures! russ and i spent most of christmas eve trying to keep skylar from going absolutely ape when her cousin got a new toy and wanted a second to look at it before she ripped it out of his hands! im waiting for my sister to post hers so i can steal them. ;-)))

Friday, December 12, 2008

Bianca in the bumbo










Bumbos are awesome! We didnt have one with Skylar, but my sister recommended we get one for Bianca. Courtesy of Russ' aunt and grandmother, we bought her one! Technically, you aren't supposed to use it until the baby is 3 months old, but shes holding her head up so we went for it! She seemed shocked and pleased to be sitting up. We plan to use this during meals so the baby can be included asap. Right now, its perched in the hallway in front of the bathroom so Bianca can watch Skylar use the potty!!! Yep, thats right, our big girl is all over the potty training! Shes doing a wonderful job. She is very into playing pretend right now and is also loving her legos! She loves to build towers ad the cat HAS TO be on top... unless of course, someone else suggests it, then she must disagree. This has had Russ and I in hysterics a few times. Her new nickname is Little Miss Disagree. I know its just because she's reaized she can have an opinion thats different from yours but dang, it can be frustrating! Skylar helps me give Bianca her baths. She is so cute about it. Here are a few pics of our bedtime routine.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Misc Updates

Wow, its been a long time since I've blogged! Here is a recap of what we've been up to!

I went out to a party with my sister while Russ stayed home with the girls. The 1st thing Skylar wanted to do was "play make-up" and give Daddy a pedicure. Beware... hairy toes below. She did a pretty good job for a 2 year old!
I really enjoyed a night out! My sister's friend had a fondue party. As a bonus, the lovely hostess passed down some dress-up clothes from her daughter to Skylar! The princess obsession is well under way. I'm afraid she is going to want some of those light up shoes soon. (Gag me with a spoon!!) We decided to have her cousin, Oliver, play dress up with her one day. The photo will show you how much he loved this idea! We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving at my mother's house. Of course, Bianca ruined her Thanksgiving outfit long before we even left the house. ;-) At least I was able to take a photo of her in her special shirt before she... well, you know... My high school reunion was this weekend. It was a total blast! I am thilled that I was able to go! Of course, I forgot my camera. However, I was able to steal the one and only photo I am in, from my friend Stephani. Thanks girl! Im glad you had your camera! We bought and decorated our christmas tree today! It was the perfect day for this activity. When we woke up, there was snow on the ground. I love it! Skylar wondered if it was Christmas today because of the snow. She also thought it was really funny that we were going to put a tree IN our house. I know the photo below is blurry, but can you guess who hung all the candy canes (candy corn, as she calls them) on the tree?? Hehe.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Time For Dress-Up

In the spirit of Fall, I've decided to get creative for Skylar's sake (and my sanity), and come up with a few different inside activities in place of playing outside. I have a whole new vision for our unfinished basement! (Russ, dont panic.) We wanted a place for little miss to ride her tricycle and other mobile toys so we aren't confined to our living room all winter long. In addition to that, I decided to dig through some of my old clothes, purses, etc. and make a dress-up collection for Skylar. Not very far into the process, we had to have a dress-up party. Here are a few pics of "Fancy Skylar," as she called herself. The clip-on earrings just cracked me up! She chose this top, and now I realize that its exactly what I was wearing when I found out I was pregnant with her! How cool is that?!




Now about Bianca. Well, the little lady is a gem! She has started smiling, and it just melts your heart! She has also found her voice and is starting to ooooh and aaaah. She DID NOT like taking a bottle last night. Hopefully she will like it better tonight because Momma is going out! Yay! Baby B is sleeping very well too. She goes to bed at 10.30 and typically sleeps until 3.30. After I feed her, she goes right back to sleep, usually for 2 0r 3 more hours. Is it strange that I am a mother of 2 and I feel well rested?!? Yep! I am so grateful.
This mohawk is all natural, just in case you were wondering! ;-) Russ and I think that she is going to be a brunette. I love that both my girls have bright blue eyes, yet they are 2 totally different colors. Skylar's look like her Daddy's and Bianca's look like her Grandpa's.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Be sure to tune in and watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition on Sunday 11/09/08! It airs at 7pm CST. Why, you ask??? You may catch a glimpse of Russ working away! This episode is all about a St. Louis family that was desperately in need of a new home. Watch as the company Russ works for helps create this wonderful home makeover! Russ volenteered on the site with a number of his co-workers, and a million regular old locals that wanted to help. The project also included the renovation of small coffee house that many in the West County area are familiar.

We will be attending a viewing party with some of the other voulenteers... can't wait to see the results!








Ok. so it cant be "All About The Girls" all the time... ;-) But for good measure, here's a pic of Skylar watching her Daddy hard at work. Somehow she spotted him out of this huge crowd of people who were all wearing the exact same thing!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween!


Skylar has been so anxious for this day! She's been telling everyone "I be Poe for Halloween!" She loves the Teletubbies so much. Her Grancy made her costume, which makes it extra speical. One of Russ' co-workers was nice enough to loan us Bianca's costume - which Skylar called her "B in a Pod..." how cute!! Bianca did not like being in her costume much, but she got over it. Skylar bolted from door to door and got the hang of it pretty quickly. It was a beautiful night, above 70 degrees today! She ate a few too many pieces of candy before bedtime and was all jacked up. She promptly passed out! Happy Halloween everyone!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I LOVE FALL!










We decided to head out to our cabin for the weekend and enjoy the fall foliage. It was beautiful in the woods! And so relaxing! Russ let me sleep in on sunday morning, which was awesome. We went on one of the little hiking trails. I carried B in the bjorn. Russ had Skylar on his shoulders the majority of the time. ;-) She did pretty well but wanted to be carried a lot too. Both girls took GREAT naps AT THE SAME TIME!!! (totally unheard of around here). I actually got to read my entire People magazine, which most of you know I am completely obsessed with. I've been missing out! Russ headed out to go fishing but ended up with a dead car battery! Completely dead... Thankfully my sister was available - she came to the rescue, bought a new battery and drove it out to us. Thanks sis!!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Family Thursday








Today was a great low-key day at the Scheider house. Miss B only woke up to eat once in the night, and went right back to bed. She was up for good at 6.30 and Skylar was up immediately after. We decided to creep downstairs and let Daddy sleep in on his day off. The three of us Scheider Girls, as Skylar calls us, made bacon and pancakes. (Side note: toddlers in footie pajamas are the cutest things on earth!) We all snuggled on the couch together after breakfast and watch a cartoon.
Later in the afternoon, Russ decided to take Sky to the grocery store and give me a break. She was so excited to wear her raincoat from her Uncle Shawn. We think its hilarious! Russ said she wore it with the hood up the entire time they were in the grocery, and every time someone commented on it, she hopped around for them. What a silly girl!! After her nap, we busted out her new little toy box. I put together a small collection of things she can play with while I feed the baby so she is entertaining herself and not bothering me while Im trying to nurse. This idea worked really well! She used her new box 3 times today and was happy as a clam to put it away when Bianca was finished eating. In the box were some hairclips that she insisted on sharing with her sister! HeHe! Dad made us chili for supper, which hit the spot on this rainy, fall day.

Skylar's Photo Shoot







Grancy decided to spoil Skylar (shocking, I know!) and treat her to some cute as ever clothes from Gymboree. This is just one of the darling outfits that Grancy got for her. Skylar loved it, and loved having a little photo shoot. She got really into it!






Monday, October 20, 2008

Terrific & Terrible Twos!



Yep, Skylar is both terrific and terrible these days. See, the problem is, she's too smart! The little lady can be so sweet one minute, and then BAM! its like a switch flips and she's awful! During Bianca's "breakfast" Skylar snuggled in bed next to us and was being so sweet. She was stroking B's hair, saying "oh, she's so tiny! she's so cute! etc..." Then we read a book together and she was more than happy to turn the pages since I had my hands full. When I finished nursing, she wanted her turn. I set her up with the Boppy pillow (which she calls her nest) and put B on her lap. She held her, and pretended to nurse her for about 10 minutes while I got dressed. She was very sweet.



At B's next feeding, Skylar proceeded to jump on the sofa, smack the baby with her baby doll, and scream as loud as she possibly could. Putting her in time out while nursing was challenging, but it had to be done!



I've realized that she just wants attention, good or bad. Wow, 2 is challenging!!! Keep in mind, this was all before 9am.



My dear friend, Whitney, took little miss terror off of my hands and out to the park with her daughter, Mackenzie. Mackenzie and Skylar are Best Friends, which they repeat over and over, even if they just finished fighting over the same toy. Today was Mackenzie's birthday so we had her over after the outing for presents and cupcakes. I let the girls ice their own cupcakes and eat them standing on chairs. They thought that was awesome!



Thats all for now! ;-)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Big Girl Skylar & Baby Bianca



Here are the girls! Miss B is 1 week old and Skylar is 2. Bianca is happy to eat, sleep and poop day in and day out. Skylar loves her baby sister but is having a bit of a hard time coping with sharing her mommy. ;-( Today we braved an outing for the 1st time. I took the girls on a few errands where they were able to stay in the car... ATM, library drop, etc. It was nice to be out of the house. On the way home we spotted an Octoberfest at the top of our neighborhood. Of course, Skylar spotted the BOUNCE HOUSE!!! (yes, you must SCREAM this) from a mile away. After a brief talking to about staying with Mommy, being a good girl, and holding my hand, we headed over. Thank goodness for the baby bjorn. Miss B kicked it while Skylar ran around and played. She got to go in a fire truck, had free snacks, jumped in the BOUNCE HOUSE and got 2 free pumpkins, one for her and one for B. She hated to leave so she did "no bones" in the parking lot. It was challenging to have B in the bjorn, holding 2 pumpkins, and attempting to hustle Skylar across the parking lot to our car. Dag! Overall, it was fun! However, I am in pain now! eeeks! Maybe we will give it a few more weeks before another outing. ;-)

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