All About The Girls

sister love

2011-03-27T08:39:00.002-05:00

Making bracelets and necklaces. Skylar made a necklace for Bia and herself to share. She described it to Bianca like this... "I made this necklace for us to share Bia! See, there are S's for Skylar and B's for Bianca. And do you see this heart? Its there because I love you. And do you see this other heart? That's there because you love me." Be still MY heart.

Favorite Things, Etc.

2010-11-27T20:29:00.013-06:00

BIANCA:

Favorite Color: Yellow

Favorite Shoes: A Tie Beween Her Yellow Converse &
Her New Bearpaw Boots

Cartoon: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Toy: Little People Town

Food: Breakfast: Granola & Yogert with Blueberries

Lunch: Pizza

Dinner: Chicken and Green Beans

Person to Talk To: Uncle Charlie

Song: Me & Julio - Paul Simon (she knows all the words &

can sing it for you!)

Book: Barnyard Dance - Sandra Boynton

Activity: The Little Gym with Momma & her friend Caroline &

Caroline's Mommy.

At 25 Months, Bia can...

*Count to 10

*Sing her ABC's

*Copy each and every move her sister makes

*Put her own shoes on

*Undress Herself

*Help put her toys away

*Climb up into her carseat

*Talk like a 4 year old

SKYLAR:

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Shoes: Gold Slip-ons or her new Bearpaw Boots

Cartoon: Dinosaur Train

Toy: Play-Doh or any prop she can use to make
up a story. Or anything to make crafts.

Food: Breakfast: Cinnamon Life
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Enchiladas

Person to Talk To: Grancy

Song: California Gurls - Katy Perry

Book: Cinderella

Activity: School! She loves all her little friends.

At 4 years old, Skylar can:

*Unload the dishwasher & set the table

*Climb up into the car and buckle herself in

*Dress and Undress herself

*Get ready for bed

*Talk on the phone for 15 minutes

*Snap her fingers

*Get the mail

*Sing along to numerous songs

*Back talk like a teenager

*Write most of her letters and numbers

*Boss her sister like no tomorrow

*Do hand-claps with Momma

new bike. new persepective

2010-10-13T13:25:00.002-05:00

i spent so much time training for this last race by riding the country roads out by our house. we live on the outskirts of town, just on the border of the country, and i can literally go out and ride for 25 miles, and see maybe 5 cars. however, i do see other cyclists, horse farms, old schoolhouses converted into homes, tons of animals and butterflys, corn fields, beautiful flowers, etc.

i learned something new about myself while on these excursions. i've always thought of myself as the city dweller type, but on these rides, i cought myself envying the people that live in the old homes with the big lots, tons of space to play outside, and quiet. it was so peaceful, i've been longing to get out out of this neighborhood with the cars rolling by with loud music 24/7, and the goshdarn barking dogs next door. i am so sick of the noise!!! yes, im converting to a country girl. can you believe it?

by the end of the day, i am so overstimulated from all the noise coming out of my children, neighborhood, dogs, neighbors, music, aaahhhhhhhh! my ears literally hurt and im irritable.

wouldn't it be lovely to be able to build a house where you want with the materials you want, without having to ask approval of your neighborhood commitee? im ready to start building exactly what russ and i want!

slackers!

2010-09-23T14:10:00.003-05:00

all my friends have been slacking on their blogs!!! instead of sitting around waiting for someone to post something new, i thought, hey, i will update my blog, that has been severely lacking as well.

even though fall weather still hasn't graced us with its presence, we are in full fall effect, with our schedules running our lives. skylar has school 2 days a week...

and has started playing soccer for our local YMCA.

and bia has started gymnastics...

(OMG!!! i have a super cute pic of her to insert here, but its just not working. grrr)

she has one of her little baby friends in her class, and its just too cute for words.

we've attended numerous kid birthday parties, play dates, etc. bia and sky now have friends that are siblings, and that makes for one happy momma when playdate day arrives. now i get to drop them both off and be by myself for 1.5 hours!!! wooot wooot!

swell foop is doing really well, and we are preparing to release some new fall items. check the site soon! i've also picked up some design work. i'd almost forgotten how fun it is to do kitchen and bath design. im really excited about this current project.

i'm still working out on average of 2 hours/day in training for my next triathlon, which will be taking place this sunday.

in addition to my wonderful husband and kids being there to cheer me on, my awesome mom is coming in for the event, and is going to take me to get a massage the day after. aaahhhhhhhh. moms are the best.

russ is staying busy at work, and has also started training for a 6k that we will run in together the day before halloween. who wants to watch him run a 6k in his ballerina costume? i do!

baby no more

2010-04-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

there is absolutely nothing babyish about skylar

anymore. no more chubby fingers, no more chubby

cheeks. she actually has 6 pack abs! the little lady

can now pump on the swing, a major accomplishment,

and she can snap her fingers. there is no more baby talk,

and i miss it!! i miss her calling school "stool." and

when she got a kick out of her friend caroline

"taroline" for calling her "skylo." no more "t's" in place

of "c's"... no more "baby bianta." and she's even

starting to wipe my kisses off. where did the time go??

i was so anxious for her to be a bit more independent,

but now i want my baby back, just a little bit.

2 years!

2010-04-23T00:16:00.006-05:00

russ and i celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary

on 4/20! my parents watched the kids so we could

have a nice dinner out. it was a fantastic night!

a visit to skylar's school

2010-04-21T17:12:00.007-05:00

part one:

i had my very 1st parent/teacher conference

were i learned a lot of new things about my

3 1/2 year old! generally, i knew she was a natural

born leader, (russ and i joke about the fact that

she'll probably be the leader of a small country

when she grows up) but i didn't know how influential she is!

apparently there is 1 of these kids in every class,

and she's the one this year. a little ring leader.

little miss skylar, is... well, motivational!! (bossy isn't

the best way to describe it) her teacher tells me that

she is very enthuseastic and loves to lead the other kids

to get involved in all types of activities. i laughed through

a lot of this meeting, because it brought me back to

my kindergarten class, where my teacher mrs. lantz,

hated me because i was a "leader." what an awful

thing to be, right?! skylar apparently gets it from me. ;-)

a quick example of her influential nature: every day,

at the end of school, they sing a special clean up song

while they put the toys away. (i remember singing the

exact same song when i was a student at this pre-school

26 years ago!) "clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere..."

well, sweet sky decided she wanted to sing jingle bells instead.

she also convinced all the other kids to sing jingle bells,

and guess what?? ... its now the new clean up song.

how funny is that?! haha! regardless, her teachers

say she gets along well with all the kids, listens well,

and is always happy to participate. i'm so glad they aren't threatened

by my little 3 year old, the way my bitchy kindergarten teacher

was. ;-) they love her spirit & they are happy to have her. yay!

part two:

skylar had show and tell this week! she had some very

good options from home, but decided the one thing

she really wanted to show to her class was her baby

sister, bianca. this melted my heart. i'm so glad i was

able to sit in and see skylar show her baby sister off

to her class. she told them all about how bia follows

her around at home, how she gives her baby sister

under dogs in her swing, how they play dress up together,

and do ring around the rosie (which they performed

for the class while wearing princess dresses). my favorite

part was when skylar took b by the hand and lead her

around the circle of children, introducing her to her classmates,

one by one. what good little manners she has! it was just

precious. such a fun day at the pre-school.

slackin on photos!

2010-04-02T21:38:00.004-05:00

i know my blog has been lacking photos of the girls its

supposed to be all about; so here are a few of my

favorites from the past few months!

skylar and her giant sucker from her dad!

bianca helping mommy make cookies

bia enjoying her very 1st sundress of spring

skylar & her daddy working on their garden

skylar and the flowers she picked specifically for nana

the girls having movie night with their buddy, bailey

sky and her bff, mackenzie

sisterly love

bianca, aka, poe telletubby!

birthday party!!!

2010-03-30T22:02:00.004-05:00

skylar and bia were invited to a birthday

party that had a reptile theme! we made it a

family event, and i'm glad russ was there to help!

the "reptile man" was there... he waltzed in with

his rubbermaid containers full of, you guessed

it, reptiles. (and a few other things.)

skylar held a tarantula

a scorpion (which also crawled all over me!)

a baby aligator

an anaconda

and a lizard! she was afraid at 1st, but she wanted to join

in and hold everything IF her daddy was holding it with

her. i was shocked she even agreed to that! she takes

after me, and doesn't even like dogs. haha!

on the way home, she asked for a pet tarantula and then

told us about how fragile he is, and all his air pockets that

would pop and kill him if he was dropped. she was taking

it all in! she basically reiterated the reptile man's facts

about all the creatures. it was pretty cute, and a nice

change from the princess party! ;-)

spring is in the air

2010-03-15T21:28:00.006-05:00

i've got a lot to report and i know, i know, i've been so

behind on my blog. the weather has become significantly warmer and we have

been playing outside A TON! the 1st thing on baby b's mind in the morning

is "outside! outside!" so out we go, footie pj's and all, to run in the yard,

have coffee on the back deck and get full of chalk. what can i say, a lot of

the rules get thrown out the window when you're trapped indoors for 4 months.

(here's an example: russ "skylar, we dont throw balls in the house!" sky gives

me a wide eyed look of confusion... me: "um, yes, we do. its been a long

winter, dad." oops. ;-) russ and skylie have been working hard together to get

our garden going. she is such a good little helper! they've planted seeds

in the basement, plotted out the garden design, and even planted some seeds

outside this weekend. she loves helping her daddy in the garden. yay spring!

speaking of weather, it was a perfect day on march 6th for my 1st

triathlon of the season. this one was extra special because it was a team

adventure race, and russ was my partner! we had such a good time!

another married couple who we are friends with invited us to join

in with them, and we went for it. we went all out and hired a sitter

to watch the girls so we could spend the night out at the cabin

before the big race (the event was held at our resort). together,

russ and i ran 4 miles, mountain biked 7, canoed 3, moutain

biked 7 more, then we finished off with a ropes course with

40 lb sandbags! we completed just shy of 4.5 hours. it was quite the

race, and i felt so accomplished. having my husband as a

team mate was awesome!

russ seemed to fall back in love with mountain biking, so he went

out a few days after the race and bought himself a sweet new bike!

immediately following, i went out and got us a burley so we can pull the

girls behind us. we did our 1st ride to a restaurant nearby. both girls had a

blast and were yelling "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" the whole way there!

needless to say, we've been spending a lot of time outside running,

and riding our bikes. i am on a new green kick where try not to use my

car at least 1 day a week. it keeps me in good shape, and its good for

both the environment and our pocket book. last week, i ran to

skylar's ballet class, the grocery store, and to walgreens while the

girls enjoyed the ride in the jogger. it felt SO good to get out into

the world on foot! we live in a great spot for ditching the car, and

doing errands on foot or by bike. russ has decided that he will ride

his new bike to work every friday. i hope the weather is

supportive of his decision. ;-)

today was a great day! i tought skylar how to play "war"

(yes the good old card game that goes on for hours), swam laps @ the gym,

took the girls to pick up GRANNNNNNNCCCCYYYYYYYY! at the airport,

went to lunch, and then back to grancy's where she, of course,

offered to keep the girls so i could have some time to myself. my mom's the best.

i went home and took a nice long nap, and later biked over to her house.

russ and my brother met up with us for a great family dinner at the

cheesecake factory. YUM! uncle charlie, being the sucker that he is,

took skylar down to the carousel @ the mall. she's so spoiled by grancy and

charlie. then we all went to those big trampolines in the mall, where

i was gulited into jumping in sync with skylar. she loved watching

me fly up to the sky, and do backflips for her. im glad i did it, it was

a ton of fun! even though everyone stopped to see the adult on the

trampolines. baby bia was having a bird because she wanted to jump too!

when we learned that age didn't matter, and you just had to be

20 pounds, we decided to let her go! bianca is a wild woman!!

she jumped so high and even wanted to do a flip! haha! she freaked

out and melted down when her turn was over... she cried and said

"jump... jump..." for about 10 minutes, all the way out to the car.

poor bia. all good things must come to an end...

unfortunately ive got no pictures to post of the petites!

Wide awake past midnight... again!

2009-12-13T00:13:00.008-06:00

well, there is a thunderstorm in december. wth? it woke me
up about 20 minutes after i fell asleep, my body thought i'd
napped, so here i am, messing with my blog at 12:15am. i
tried to make it cute but somehow managed to really mess
it up! somebody, please tell me how i get my text to fit inside
the designated area that shabby blogs created for my cute
new christmas background!!! im frustrated!

anyway, i hope you can read this ghetto, poorly aligned
post. the girls and i had a such a fun afternoon. we made
our 1st batch of gingerbread cookies. i cheated a bit and
im so glad i did. i bought the ready made dough so we just
got to cut out and decorate. the 1st year we lived in this house,
i made russ gingerbread cookies and they were SO nasty.
not only did they burn, but after i was finished decorating, i
noticed that they resembled little black sambo, so i ditched the
whole batch. i digress... skylar had so much fun helping me.
she took her decorating very seriously, and baby b decided to
suck the icing right out of one of the decorating tubes, and skip
the gingerbread. silly girl.

at christmas, i insist on listening to john denver and the muppets

christmas cd on repeat for pretty much the whole season. why

decorate the tree to anything else? '-) anyway, i searched

high and low this year, and could not find that darn cd anywhere!

wouldn't you know, when i went to pick up the girls from

their sleepover with grancy and grandpa, my mom had purchased

me the cd... and she didn't even know i'd lost my copy. yay! i got

my favorite xmas music back! thanks mom!

1st haircut

2009-12-01T21:16:00.008-06:00

baby bianca - who now answers to the following...

b'ster

bia

biatrice

b-bop

b-bop-a-loo-la

b-nut

b-nut butter

b-nut butter and jelly

paloma

got her 1st haircut today! it was getting a bit mullet-ish so i decided to take my little sweetie to the hairy elephant (hair salon for kids). she got a nice little swing bob, stacked in the back of course. my baby is getting big!

miss pig tails/miss mcdonalds/butterfly house

2009-11-15T13:58:00.009-06:00

this really should be 3 different posts, but i just don't have it in me to get organized for that today. plus, sky isnt napping, so i've got a lot to do during her 1 episode of dora (including this posting).

bianca wanted to be just like skylar and wear pigtails. here's her new signature look. how cute is she?

skylar's aunt mimi sent her the coolest gift... a mcdonalds drive though set! let's just say its been a non-stop drive through around here! she is hilarious bc she takes her job as a mcdonalds employee SO seriously. let's hope that doesn't become her goal career. she's got it down to the pickles, and is sure to ask her customers if they need katsup with their order. she even suggests desserts. ;-)

today was a perfect day for the butterfly house. that place is so cool. i love it because; the video is short enough for the kids yet informative, all the tarantulas and scorpions are behind thick glass, its free for kids 3 and under, there is a stellar park nearby, and of course you get to walk among a million butterflies!

bianca absolutely loved the butterfly greenhouse. she literally ooohed and ahhhhed as we walked though. skylar loves it until a butterfly gets too close. she's silly about bugs (and yes, even butterflies) these days. it is so humid in there and my camera lens kept fogging up!

after the butterfly house, we headed over to the park where the girls played hard.

we followed it up by a trip to the bread company, which was suggested by skylar. a stellar idea, if you ask me! we had a nice lunch together. its a bit of a cold and dreary sunday, so now we are all snuggled up in the house and im sitting by the fire. love it!!

Swell Foop!

2009-11-07T13:06:00.002-06:00

I have some exciting news to share! My sister and I purchased an organic clothing company! We are thrilled to be working together and promoting a truely "green" product line. Our shirts and totes are 100% organic and are made, printed, and finished right here in the USA. Please take a look at our site www.swellfoop.com to find a shirt or bag that is right for you! They are great for gifts too. We donate 10% of our profits to groups that keep the world healthy.

We appreciate your support!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2009-10-31T21:13:00.005-05:00

we had a great halloween! skylar helped me make little pumpkins out of cheese, & monster eyeballs & i carved a watermelon to look like a brain. we made a big batch of soup and invited family & a few friends over. thank goodness, it FINALLY stopped raining in st louis! we were blessed with a beautiful fall day. it was what i would describe as "perfect." a cool 55-60 degrees, full sun, and the peak of fall colors on the trees. we were so glad that the chicken and the rooster were able to head out and go trick or treating! skylar and her little buddy sayde lead the way, but bianca was not far behind. she got the hang of it pretty quickly! she took the candy and put it in her bag just like a little pro. ;-) great night!

i cant sleep!

2009-10-16T23:33:00.004-05:00

why you ask? i have no freakin idea!! maybe its because my husband is in dire need of those breathe right strips. however, he only snores when he has gained some weight and let me tell you im not complaining! russ has been a workout machine! he's beefed up to 210 lbs! huge arms, back, chest, and he's even getting a badunkadunk! i wish i had a picture to post. thats right, my husband is lookin good!

maybe i cant sleep because both girls are running fevers. skylar has a cough and a mild fever. she seems to be doing ok, except for the fact that cough wakes her up at night. its not draining her too badly because she is still skipping her nap on occasional days like today. bianca's fever came on fast, but didn't slow her down either! she ate 2 pieces of pizza, about 10 grapes, and dessert with her milk before going to bed. this swine flu (no, my kids dont have it, that i know of anyway) scares the crap out of me. i saw on the news tonight that 86 children have died from it. isn't that awful?

everyone is sleeping soundly but me! since i am working on gratitude, let me just say that i am glad to have a little time to myself. i watched my tivoed episode of project runway (i should've been a fashion designer) and got a lot accomplished work wise.

GRATITUDE: it is the essence of good mental health and spirituality! I try to focus on the things I am grateful for. I suggest you try this! Before you go to bed, make a list (for me, written is better but mental will work) of all the things you are grateful for, while reflecting on your day. Tonight, mine looked like this.

I am grateful for Skylar's clothes that I saved and organized for Bianca. I don't have to fret over her wardrobe each season or size change. I am also grateful for the money this saves.

I am grateful for my husband, and all the hard work he does outside of the home. I am grateful that he is happy to stop and grab something if I just dont feel like cooking!

I am grateful for my internal love for our planet. I find such joy in keeping things green! recycling, reusing clothes, getting creative with toys, cooking with fresh vegtables, etc.

I am grateful for the heat in our house! The motor broke a week or so ago, and we were able to have it fixed before the cold really set in.

I am grateful for my working body! I have no ailments, or alergies, and I am able to stay in good shape by working it, and keeping up with my exercize plan. I have a new found love for running and I am grateful that my children dont mind a 30 minute stroller ride every morning.

I am grateful for russ, and the fact that he sets up the coffee pot at night, so all I have to do is press the button in the morning!

I am grateful for my family of origin. I love that we have stayed close knit and connected as we've grown and developed our own families.

THATS IT FOR TONIGHT! And tomorrow, I will wake up feeling great, ready to tackle whatever those 2 little ladies throw my way! Hopefully we will be able to get out of the house!

WAIT! I simply cant post a blog without a picture or 2. Here are a few from bianca's 1st birthay celebration. we kept it really simple... just family and 2 friends. I learned from Skylar's 1st party that kids get pretty overwhelmed when 30 people are singing and staring at them. ha!

here's the B's! B for Bailey and B for Bianca!

the B-Nut and her Uncle Charlie. He brought her an awesome toy and a super cute dress!

me, and my 2 best girls and their girls. guess who was being a stinker and wouldn't get in the picture. 3 is the new 2, let me tell you!

mmmmmm.... chocolate cupcake!

outdoor play

bianca loved this monkey that my cousin, justin brought for skylar. she got a frog and she loves him too.

and our best attempt at a family photo...

bianca turned 1

2009-10-08T13:43:00.004-05:00

can you believe it? time has flown by with my second child! it seems like yesterday she was just born...

to celebrate her birthday, we went to our favorite cafe and had lunch. bianca had her 1st cupcake! you'd never know the petite little thing that she is eats like a horse! she honestly ate the entire thing! and aside from her face, she didn't make much of a mess. we followed lunch with a trip to the park where she went down the slide and swang next to skylar. last night for dinner, i made her her favorite lasagna and skylar baked her a chocolate cake.

today we went to the toy store and i let her pick out her own present. it was such a nice treat to be able to spend some 1 on 1 time with her while skylar was at school. b and i played at the store for about 45 minutes. the thing she liked the most was a pull along barking puppy. (go figure) and a glockenspiel. ;-)

sweet skylar

2009-09-19T15:06:00.002-05:00

skylar is such a good little lady! shes just easy. for example, i needed to mow our lawn so i decided to do it while baby b was napping this morning. i blocked off the driveway and gave skylar a box of sidewalk chalk. she played happily and entertained herself outside for 1 whole hour. not many 3 year olds would do that. she only interrupted me 3 times. once to show me what she'd drawn. (7 circles, but according to her, they were 1. the letter O, 2. a zero, 3. a circle, 4. a pillow, 5. a cloud, 6. a ring, 7. a lady.) the second time was to ask me why i tipped up the lawn mower when i turned around. and third, to give me a boquet of dandelions she'd picked for me. what a sweet girl. i love that she can enterain herself by playing with rocks, sticks, in her sandbox, coloring, etc. its awesome. love you skylie girl!!

carnival

2009-09-12T09:16:00.002-05:00

i took the girls to a carnival down the street. it was hosted by a daycare so it was perfect for these little ones! everything was catered to the children, sans the lines. skylar was such a patient girl. she waited for 3 rounds to get onto the swings.

she also got a butterfly painted on her arm.

jumped in a bounce house with a bunch of other kids.

and played a ton of games for silly little toys. remember those lips with the whistle built in? i remember them making me light-headed. her daddy said "be careful, you may pass out!" a valid concern.

both girls got balloon art. skylar got a princess wand and baby b got a rattle.

our friends stephani, matt and bailey were there but unfortunately we didnt get a pic with sky and bailey. next time!

2009-09-08T14:52:00.002-05:00

who is 3 years old and starting pre-school? not my baby!! can't be!! well it sure is. skylar is officially BIG (she pronounces it beeeg and we love that). here she is heading off to her 1st day of school. she will attend the pre-school where i went and also where my mom tought for a really long time! its fun that we have that history with the school. big girl skylar has 2 friends in her class already and im sure she will know everyone's name pretty soon. she's super excited to go to school! she will do tuesdays and thursdays... just for 2.5 hours each day. hmmm. what will momma do?!?!

15 reasons i love our cabin

2009-09-01T09:11:00.004-05:00

1. occasionally i get to sleep in.

2. instead of watching tv at night, i read or just visit with my husband.

3. we can have a fire in our wood-burning stove that heats the whole place.

4. i let my kids stay in their pjs all day bc no one sees them except russ and me.

5. we can go out on the boat and fish in a flash.

6. there are tons of nature trails of varying lenths and levels.

7. the lending library has new free options all the time.

8. outdoor concerts and movies with popcorn are so fun for the entire family.

9. buzzing around in our golf cart is an adventure in itself.

10. seeing all the deer, owls, turkeys, turtles, etc.

11. the outlet mall is close if i feel like shopping.

12. i only feel it neccessary to dust/vaccum about every 4th trip. its a cabin, who cares?

13. playing on the beach is fun even when it isnt hot outside.

14. during naptime, i usually just sit on the deck, or take a nap myself. at home, im cleaning or doing laundry.

15. its only 45 minutes, door to door.

we have so much fun at our cabin! here's the highlight from this weekend. russ and i were laughing so hard! im so glad i brought the video camera and was able to capture this.

days of summer

2009-08-15T09:00:00.003-05:00

the girls and i went wide open yesterday! we were non-stop from 6am to 10pm. well, i was anyway! ;-) we started the day with a visit to the church. i had a meeting to attend and the girls went to the daycare. they always have so much fun there! skylar got to play play-doh and go out side on the playground since it was such a nice day. after that, we headed to the bank for some business stuff. skylar pushed b around in the stroller while i met with a banker. it was awesome! she's getting so big! i love that she can entertain b for me. since she was such a good girl, she got a blue sucker. we took a short walk down to a local restaurant for a nice patio lunch. unfortunately the service was poor, but oh well, i enjoyed the time with my girls. we headed home for naps and thankfully, both girls passed out for about 1.5 hours. when they woke up, we decided to head to the local pool for an evening swim. it was so nice to be there without the crowd and to not have to worry about sunscreen! they have a fantastic baby/toddler area where skylar plays independantly. after about 2 hours of play, we headed home to see daddy and to make dinner. after dinner, sky and i ran out the door to go see kung fu panda! our local town center shows an outdoor movie now and then. i decided to spoil her and go to coldstone creamery first. she picked out chocolate ice cream and had m&m's folded in. (she gets that from me, for sure!) she sat on my lap throughout the entire movie, eating her ice cream and having blast. we didnt get home until 10.00 and she swore she STILL wasnt tired. (YEAH RIGHT!) it was a fun day! unfortunately i didnt take any pictures all day long, but i cant leave a blog photoless, so here are a few just for good measure.

bianca, the glass eating machine

2009-07-09T08:21:00.006-05:00

babies put everything in their mouths, everything! i thought my floors were pretty clean until bianca started crawling. now she finds all the little things that i've missed and insists on eating them. a shelf in our tv room broke, and a piece of artwork went crashing down. there was glass everywhere! i picked up all the pieces i could see, and vacuumed twice, of course thinking i got it all up. the next day, i left the girls downstairs and ran up to get miss b's swimsuit so we could go meet some friends at the local pool. when i came back down, she had that look on her face that said, "ive got something in my mouth, and I'm going to swallow it!" of course i ran over to her and did the mouth sweep. her mouth was bleeding from a gash way back on her gums but there was nothing to be found. i assumed she swallowed a piece of glass, and i was right. i took her right to the hospital, where they did a series of x-rays. the 2mm x 6mm pointy piece of glass was in my baby's stomach. ;-( they decided it was best to go in and retrieve it before it got into her intestines. we were sent off to GI. bianca was the star of the GI unit! all the nurses, drs and anesthesia team had to stop in our room and see the cute little glass swallowing baby. she got a ton of attention, and everyone was so nice and helpful. dr. udderson was the best. after another series of x-rays they went in after it. unfortunately between the x-rays and the endoscopy, the glass moved to her intestine. dr. udderson suggested that we switch hospitals, to be where a pediatric surgeon is on staff, just in case the glass would injure her internally and they'd have to do surgery. i packed my little hospital gown wearing baby into the car and drove 5 miles down the road to a new hospital. her little hospital crib was so sad, but the functions were pretty cool... i just hated that she was in it. luckily, the next 12 hours of observation were pretty uneventful. in the morning, we went home. of course, after being home no more than 20 minutes, she decided to pass the piece of glass. digging for that was tons of fun!! (ewwwwww.) we are just relieved that its out of our baby and seemed to pass without any internal injuries. oh the joys of parenthood. ;-)

later that day, i remembered that russ told me we had very little coffee, so i HAD to go to the store. do you think kids are a bit resilient? look at that grin!

thought process

2009-07-07T07:39:00.002-05:00

skylar baffled me at dinner the other night. i love how you can almost see the little wheels turning in her head as shes figuring something out. the conversation went something like this...

S: "mom, do roosters fly?"
M: "no."
S: "do chickens fly?"
M: "yes, chickens can fly."
S: "so, chickens fly with wings?"
M: "yep."
S: "did we eat those chicken wings for lunch yesterday?"
M: "yes!! skylar you are so smart!"
S: "mom, did we put them back for the chicken or did we eat the wings all gone?"
M: "you ate them all gone."

isn't that funny? she is such a little smartie!

side note: i know i haven't blogged in a long time! my stepchildren have been here and ive been way too busy to be bloggin! unfortunately, i was too busy to take many pictures either. booo. we had a ton of fun, i just dont have many photos to prove it. i will see what i can come up with later today.

mall day

2009-06-25T06:13:00.006-05:00

yesterday i took all 4 kids to the mall. we had a ton of sun at the pool the day before & decided to make it an inside day. zach & kat were very excited about our huge mall. kathryns quote of the day... "wow, this mall has everything!!!" they especially liked the 2 story carousel, and eating a million samples in the food court. i went with the intention of shopping for zach & kat, but we did a lot of futzing around. most importantly, we went into claire's so kathryn could buy 9 silly key chains for her 1 house key, and while we were in there, skylar got her ears pierced! i asked her if she wanted to do it, the lady walker her through the entire process, she picked out her earrings, and bam, it was done!! she did cry a bit, but was over it in about a minute. zachary bought her some cupcake earrings & kathryn bought her a toy for being so brave. how sweet is that? then we had lunch in the food court, from 3 different places (note to self, bring cash to the mall... scurrying around the food court with a bags, a double stroller and a debit card is not the most efficient way to go.) after lunch,we got some actual shopping done! the big kids loved pac sun and old navy. kathryn got tons of cute clothes! it was so much fun shopping with her. after the mall, i was pooped, so we popped in Wizard of Oz to chill for a bit. um, i mean the kids chilled while i folded a ridiculous amount of laundry, did the dishes, etc. then we bolted to the grocery store (yes, everyone wanted to come!) quickly came home, unloaded and threw together some fajitas. we headed out 1 last time because i had a meeting, and russ had to work late, so we did a quick switch-a-roo so he could come home with the kids. it was a busy/crazy/fun day! baby bianca was such a good sport. she was up 1.5 hours past her regular naptime. what a little sweetie.

date night

2009-06-13T21:02:00.006-05:00

skylar and i had a special date night. it was so much fun! we got all dressed up, did manis & pedis with the color she chose from target. i actually love it! skylar will probably be a fashionista just like her dad. seriously, russ has great style. anyway... we went to her best friend's dance recital and then out to dinner. before the recital, we went backstage to chat with mackenzie, where she very politely introduced skylar to her dance class buddies. whitney are i were both so pleased with their little manners! it was darling! when we sat down, the 1st act started, which is when skylar started her favorite question of the night, "is THIS mackenzie?" she asked and asked and asked until the 4th act, when her friend came on stage. when she spotted her, she shouted "HI MACKENZIE!" from about 2/3 back in the seats. haha! she sat on my lap the whole time, and i loved it. its rare that i get to give skylar undevided attention. actually, i dont think we've been out of the house, just the 2 of us, since disney on ice in january. i told her we could leave whenever she was ready, and she was a few minutes after mackenzies performance. kenzie did really well! skylar decided she wanted pizza for dinner, so we went to our local pizza joint, deweys. we had to wait a few minutes, but while doing so, we watched the staff make pizza. skylar was totally entertained. she picked all the grapes and walnuts out of my salad for her appetizer, and then proceeded to eat 1/2 a caprice pizza... 4 slices! then we had a huge piece of chocolate cake. she wanted to feed me my cake, so i let her. i also let her jump in the booth, put salt and pepper on whatever she wanted, run around a bit, etc. i told her that we should have a mommy and me date night more often and she said, "sure! but next time we should bring dad and b!" ;-) unfortunately, i did not bring my camera into the dance recital or to dinner. duh!! the pictures on my phone are no good either!

I DID IT!!

2009-06-08T20:32:00.005-05:00

yep, thats right, i completed my 1st triathalon. im completely addicted and already searching for future races. if you want to see my stats click here. i wasn't pushing myself because i just wanted to be sure i could complete it. i will be racing in my next one for sure! this was an amazing venue. it was so well organized. the night before the race, they hosted a pratice swim for those of us beginners, or for anyone who wasnt completely comfortable swimming in open water. i am so glad i was able to participate in that. they coached us on sighting (remember i was concerned about the lack of direction, like the line on the bottom of the pool?!) breathing, and did a few pratice starts. it took away a lot of my anxiety. they also let those of us who were competing in our 1st tri, swim in the last wave without time penalty. that was stellar! (and also explains why i finished faster than what the clock at the finish line says.) ultramax did a wonderful job with the organization and all the staff and volunteers were so friendly and encouraging throughout the race. crossing the finish line was amazing. i broke into tears! joy, accomplishment, fatigue... all of the above! once the adrenaline wore off, i crashed. hard. took a really long nap and then went to bed early that night. lets not forget that the baby still wakes up frequently in the night. and on the occasions that she doesn't, she rises a bit before 6. this was not an easy task for a mother of 2 little ones, especially since one of them nurses! baby b was patient while i completed the tri, but she wanted me immediately after the race. its a good thing im still young! i was a bit sore the day after but today i feel fine! a little pain in my knees but thats it. ;-)

the best part of all was having my family there to support me. russ, skylar, bianca, my mom, my dad, my nana, and my brother were all there. it was awesome to see them along my journey cheering me on!! my brother's girlfriend, megan, also completed the triathalon. she and i were pretty close to each other throughout the whole event. she and i enjoyed talking about the training, and preparing together even though she lives in minnesota. it was so cool to have someone to cheer for, look out for each other, and give a big congratulatory hug to afterward!

play date

2009-06-03T20:54:00.004-05:00

skylar has had such a busy schedule this week! she is juggling time between friends, home, and sleepovers at grancy and grandpas house. and now we have a stellar babysitter and will be taking advantage of her more often! skylar spent the night last night with grancy and grandpa. i had to pick her up promptly in the morning because we were hosting a play date with some of her best buddies! here they are...

mackenzie kelley... 3 1/2, madelyn kelley... 5 weeks, skylar, 2 1/2... bailey biermann, 20 months... bianca, 7 months.

can you believe we got them all to sit still for that long? bailey was out in about 2.5 seconds but we got the picture! mackenzie wins bc she is sitting pretty and smiling perfectly in every photo i have. she has been trained well. ;-)

the girls had a ton of fun playing together and wore this momma out! i cannot speak for the other mommas, but it was nice to be able to visit with my friends stephani and whitney for a couple of hours. of course, skylar did not nap. last week, when she got out of bed, she said to me "mom, welcome to my NO nap!!!" groan!

anyway, after her NO NAP, grandpa picked her up to take her to see a movie with uncle charlie and megan. she apparently told grandpa that she was observant, and then defined the word for him. she is such a smartie pants! little lady does listen to books well, thats for sure. after the movie, she came back home and played in the backyard with grancy until dinner was ready for her immediate family, grancy, grandpa, and nana. after hosting dinner, she was off to get tucked in early by her daddy. what a long day!

tomorrow she will have a babysitter because my cousins band is playing at busch stadium before the cardinals game! go justin!!! russ and i will be there to partake in the event and figured it would be a ton more fun sans children. ;-)

oh, and look at these pictures!! who loves her sister???? bianca does!!!

cabin fun!

2009-06-02T14:38:00.006-05:00

summer is FINALLY here! we have been spending every weekend at the cabin. because russ is an awesome salesman, he scored mondays off work, so now we have a true weekend! we usually head to the cabin on saturday afternoons and now we are able to stay until monday night. its fantastic! last weekend, i took the girls out early so we could attend innsbrook's 30th anniversary memorial party. skylar got to jump in a BOUNCE HOUSE!! she also went down a gigantic blow up slide. both rides she tried to ride on were broken, but she had a lot of fun anyway. we bought a golf cart to run around in out there, and she thinks thats an amusement park ride in itself. here she is, finishing up her snow cone after the party. of course, all bianca wanted to do was chew on my keys. ;-)

in the spirit of summer, aunt mimi bought the girls these custom (of course) coordinated beach towels. i love them! and so do they, as you can see! i think i am going to be ultra cheesy and order one for myself too. i think they are darling! maybe i could even get russ one with a fish on it or something... hmmmm....

by the way, check out skylars long, lanky, legs. she gets that from me, for sure. hahahaha!

we only have a shower at our cabin, and skylie girl is way too big for a sink bath, so ive been giving the girls a "hoosier bath," as i call it, in this pink storage tub. they think its a ton of fun to be crammed in with each other. there isnt even any room for a rubber duckie. hey, ive got improvise! its either that or sandy sheets. ewwww.

we had some serious time in the sun this weekend. of course the girls were coated in sunscreen, and to be ultra safe, we have a little baby cabana for bianca. she was ok with sitting in there, but she mostly wanted to eat the sand! what is it with kids and eating random stuff? sand? seriously?! skylar did the same thing, so i should have known she would too. skylar built a sandcastle, and swam out to the raft with russ. she is pretty brave for being 2.5!

of course, i was behind the camera and not in any of the pics. there will be pics of me next weekend though!!! t-6 days until my triathalon! check back in to see if i make it through!

photo shoot

2009-05-26T14:45:00.004-05:00

an old friend of mine recently started a photography company, so we had her come out to the cabin for a few hours this weekend. we did some staged shots, but most of them were casual shots. i was nervous about the result because skylar was a little turd most of the day. she didnt want to smile, and she said "cheese" in the grumpiest tone ever - with a frown. you know how you want a kid to say "cheeeeese!" ...well she said "chaze." in order to keep from smiling. she wouldnt sit with bianca, even when i bribed her with a cookie! anyway, annette did an awesome job! ive only seen 5 photos so far, but they are great! here is a sneek peek. once they are all up and ready, in a few weeks, i will post a link to her site.

swim.bike.run

2009-05-19T22:01:00.004-05:00

i feel like i am ready to take on this triathalon! however, the one thing i havent been able to do is go for an open water swim. ive been practicing in the pool at our ymca but everyone tells me "its so different without that wall right there." thanks to my husband and my girls, i got a wetsuit for mothers day! the wetsuit regulations are so silly, but regardless, i am required to wear one if the water is below 78 degrees on the day of the race. i will be suiting up in this bad boy and going for a swim across the lake this next weekend when we are out at the cabin. wish me luck! im wondering how im going to swim in a straight line without that little line at the bottom of the pool to guide me? seriously...

b's sink bath

2009-05-04T20:16:00.002-05:00

bianca has been bathing in the bumbo. my sister gave me this great little tip to put the bumbo in the bath to keep baby b from bailing out! (say that 3 times fast!!) here's a shot of her taking a quick sink bath. i managed to squeeze this in while skylar was out in her sandbox. thank goodness for the sandbox!!! we will be doing a lot more sink baths now that bianca is eating real food. my kitchen gets nasty! little miss grabby is always trying to gank the spoon or steal the bowl from me. its amazing how much i dont remember about skylar at this stage. you'd think i'd be prepared for the cereal bowl to get flung onto my new computer... nope! dang, i know this pic is sideways but i dont feel like fixing it right now!

skylar and grancy

2009-05-04T20:03:00.003-05:00

nobody loves their "grandmaher" (shes having a bit of a problem with the "th" combination) the way this little lady loves her grancy... and im pretty sure the feeling is mutual! grancy came to pick skylar up for her very 1st convertible ride on the 1st nice day we've had in a long time. skylar was so perplexed about about a car with NO TOP! "Where IS the top?!?" she must have asked me a dozen times before grancy showed up. of course, she was all geared up to go with braids in place and her sunglasses on. apparently about 2 blocks away from our house she "made" grancy pull over and put the top up because the wind was messing up her hair. hahaha! she's definately not my child when it comes to that!

as i said, sky's crazy about grancy. she always wants to go over and play. i love how a morning of play turns into a call from my mother saying, "she can just nap here." ... then 2 hours later "oh, i can just feed her supper, you dont need to come get her" ... then to "can she just S-L-E-E-P O-V-E-R?" im so glad my mom enjoys her little granddaughter so much! they have special picnics in grancys car at mcdonalds, trips to the horse park, smores over the fire pit, etc. i need some more pics of this cute little duo!

splish splash

2009-04-14T21:02:00.005-05:00

here are the girls sharing their very 1st bath! skylar thought it was hilarious when i came in with bianca to quickly dip her in the tub. i know there will be much more shared bath time to come... but ive been looking forward to consolidating their baths, not to mention how much fun it will be when they can play in the tub together!

the not so fun part came when bianca slipped and swallowed a gallon of bath water. especially afterward when she barfed blue. what?!? was that too much information?

bored in bed

2009-04-10T17:53:00.002-05:00

this the 4th, yes 4th time i have had rotavirus. wth?! wish i knew. anyway, this is the 3rd day so i am a bit better. well enough to browse the net in bed, but not well enough to go downstairs and play with my family. '=( i miss them! i just spent 20 minutes doing the makeover-o-matic on ivillage. ladies beware... its addictive!! especially if you do what i did and upload a pic of yourself. just incase any of you wondered, i look best with heidi clum's hair. now if i could only get her legs. seriously, try it out. heres the link... http://beauty.ivillage.com/0,,9jlxfdd5,00.html. you wont regret it!
well baby bianca had her 6 month check-up while momma was under the weather, so daddy took the day off work and brought both girls to the dr. bianca is tall and skinny. we all know she got this from me. (insert laugh here!). she is 26.5" tall (79%), and 15.6 lbs. (39%) she does have a tiny head, which she does get from me! lucky her!
between russ and my mom, i have been able to get some good rest. i did drag myself out of bed today to get to the doctor. i was so grateful he could squeeze me in before the long easter weekend, despite the icky news.
i am bummed to be missing out on easter! i just cried thinking about missing skylar on an easter egg hunt. ;-( all family should take photos &/or video for her momma, please.)
isnt it amazing that i can still nurse baby b when i am so sick?! mother nature is amazing. i cannot believe that i only have 6 more months to nurse her. well, i will love it one day at a time! ;-) and live in the moment with her.
i know im babbling, but people, im bored!!! i know this is a good sign of getting well. sick of being in bed means im on the mend, im sure.
i wish i had some pics to post but i dont have the energy to go downstairs and get the camera to upload them. we have a few good ones to come to keep coming back!

Snow in April?!?

2009-03-29T13:02:00.004-05:00

ok, so its not quite april yet... but dude, its march 29th. we woke up this morning to about 3 inches of snow! of course, skylar couldn't wait to get outside. here's how the conversation went over breakfast...

"mom, can we go out and play in the snow?"

"yes, skylar, as soon as b goes down for her nap, we can go out in the snow."

"ok." 3 second delay... "mom, now can we go out in the snow?!"

"skylar, b cant play in the snow, so we need to wait until she is asleep, then we can go out."

"ok." 3 second delay... "mom, now can we go out in the snow??!?"

"skylar, what did mommy say?"

"mom, can I go out in the snow?"

"YES! you can go all by yourself!"

"ok!!!!"

so i bundled her up and sent her out in the backyard. have i mentioned how grateful i am for our fenced in backyard? she played independently for about a 1/2 hour. i joined her when b went down for her nap. i LOVE the snow! we built 2 snowmen, went sledding, played ball, and even played on the swingset. good thing we went out 1st thing this morning because its 1pm now, and the snow has completely melted.

after the snow fun, skylar helped me with some laundry, we played blocks, watched a cartoon, made cookies, more laundry, had lunch, and now she is in her bed NOT napping. shocking, i know. little turkey!

poor daddy didnt get to participate in any of this because hes sick. boooo! this is day 3 of the ickies. hope he feels better soon!

Budding Artist

2009-03-27T20:58:00.003-05:00

Skylar has been an art lover from the day she held her 1st crayon! She loves to paint, draw, color, play with chalk, mod podge, play-doh... you name it! Anything thats crafty! I have started taking pictures of her artwork so I can make her an art book instead of trying to keep each and every finger painting in tact. This will save a ton of storage space. Heck, my Mom still has misc. artwork of mine in her basement cabinet! (thanks mom, for not throwing it out!) Anyway, I am going to use blurb or something to make her an art book of her work. She takes it very seriously too. Its too darn cute. I love getting creative with Skylar, and its something she and I can do together when Bianca is down for one of her 20 minute power naps. Here she is painting on the deck at our cabin. Lately she has been into mixing colors to see what new color it makes! I think that is so smart! However, she is going through a gothic phase and wants everything black! WTH? Black play-doh, black clothes, and she even wants a black bath! Silly little miss! I cant figure that one out. Here's a photo of my all time favorite play-doh creation, Grancy and Grandpa. This was 2 weeks ago people, and I am still laughing at the picture of it! Ha!!! Grancy is the blue person and Grandpa is the Orange.

Beautiful Bianca

2009-03-27T20:43:00.004-05:00

This little lady is such a sweetie. Come on, just look at her and you will agree. (i know, i know...) Baby B decided to start sitting up! She's so ambitious; the little silly isn't even 6 months old yet. Apparently she just wants to see the world from a new light. ;-) Aside from sitting up, and demanding to do so all of the time, Bianca has learned to SCREECH at the top of her lungs. I will give you one guess where she learned this neat little deafening trick! The 2 of them are going to pop the roof off the house. They get involved in this lovely game that I like to call a screech war. I have numerous videos of this and will be happy to post them if you are the type of person that likes nails on a chalkboard, or the sound of Styrofoam being pulled out of a box. The noise drives me insane, but I will admit, it is so fun seeing the two of my daughters engaged with each other. They are starting to interact more and more & I love it. Bianca lights up when Skylar walks in the room. She even smiles when Sky is loving her just a little too much. Sisterly love is the best!

Spring is arriving!

2009-03-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

or so we hope! i busted out the patio furniture and the wife beaters at the first glimpse of warm weather. these last few days have been beautiful. we started out with a 70 degree thursday at the zoo with uncle charlie for his birthday. friday was 78! we had some family in town and spent the day with them. it was awesome to play outside, eat outside, lounge outside... you get the point! skylar spent the morning playing in the backyard ALL BY HERSELF. let me tell you folks, this is such a treat for me. she was in the garden, playing with mud and water, making mudpies. she was filthy but i didnt care! i was able to pick up the house and get dressed ALL BY MYSELF. looking out the window every 30 seconds or so. ;-) uncle char came over and they spent time drawing with chalk on the driveway.

the weekend was spent at our cabin. russ enjoyed fishing in his new kayak. i enjoyed sleeping in and playing with the girls! i cant wait for the summer activities to start out there; crafts for the kids, concerts, art shows, farmers markets, etc.

and of course, miss b got her 1st pedicure. gotta love those little painted toes.

i know the pics are not rotated appropriately. picasa and i are having some issues. its too smart for me.

help!

2009-02-18T13:48:00.003-06:00

one of my favorite things about blogging is the cute backgrounds. (i know, total dork) but mine wont change!!! ive changed it a bunch of times and it still shows the AUTUMN background. who out there can tell me what to do? calling all blogging moms...

so... ive been entertaining the idea of doing a triathalon. i really want to do it but dont want to do it alone. whos with me? seriously, i need a partner! or 2! anyone... anyone... bueller? its at innsbrook on june 6th. a 500 yd swim, 3 mile run, and 18 mile bike ride. come on - you know you want to join me!

behind on bloggin'

2009-02-18T13:40:00.004-06:00

a month has passed! wow! we have had so much going on! this past month we drove down to SC to visit Russ' family and have a vacation. It was so nice! Unfortunately, the photos from the trip are on my old computer! Russ and I decided to go out and splurge on new computers b/c our old ones were slower than death. Its amazing how miuch more productive I am with a computer that works. Imagine that?!

valentines day was awesome. skylar and i made bacon & pink heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. russ and bianca were awake as well. it was nice to start out the day of love with each other! russ and i decided to keep it low key. we opted to just buy each other cards and keep it simple. we waited until the kids went to bed and had a late dinner and a movie together at home.

aunt krista sent the girls some darling valentine outfits. heres a photo!

Disney On Ice

2009-01-14T11:15:00.005-06:00

Skylar had the joy of dressing up as Snow White and going with Momma to Disney On Ice. She and about 1000 other little girls were all dressed to the 9's in their princess outfits. Skylar and her friend Mackenzie (aka Tinker Bell) were so excited, that they hopped and hollered all the way from the entrance down to the pre-show princess viewing. We eneded up with front row seats!! This was great for Skylar and Mackenzie. Both girls stood in shock and awe for the entire 2 1/2 hour performance. Afterward, the parking garage was jamb-packed with cars, so we let the girls chase each other around in a circle for about 30 minutes. Skylar passed out in her carseat before we even pulled out of our spot. ;-) When we got home, she was so exhausted but refused to take her costume off and insisted that Bianca be one of her dwarfs. As usual, B was such a good sport!

Baby Bianca

2009-01-10T22:15:00.003-06:00

Bianca got a few little toys for christmas and she is so entertained by them. Here she is playing with her baby elephant, and a few more recent pics of her. This little turkey only likes to take little cat naps during the day - like 30 or 40 minutes at a time. She is sleeping from 10-5 at night though and for this I am very grateful! She really likes her mom and dad and has already started crying at other people. This cracks me up! She seems to cry when she sees her Grancy and her Uncle Charlie - 2 of the kindest souls on earth. Thats why its funny... because its downright ridiculous!

Playing Pretend

2009-01-06T15:30:00.003-06:00

Skylar: "Momma, should we pretend to go bye-bye?"

Mom: "No, Skylar, lets actually get in the car and go to the YMCA."

Skylar: "But... I want to PRETEND to go the YMCA."

Oh the world of a 2 year old and her imagination is incredible. Skylar got a kitchen for christmas and has been pretending to make meals in it day in and day out. Its been well worth the money already! If you come over for a visit, plan on having a meal of a hotdog sandwich with fries, a vat of soup, and coffee thats really hot. Yum.

My aunt Janelle sent Skylar a snow white costume, which she loves. She immediately had to put it on and dig out 7 baby dolls to be her dwarfs. They were lined up on our couch for 3 days! Shes never seen the movie (damn those disney people and their silly special releases... grrr.) but I've told her the story so shes invented a game of pretend. Thanks, Janelle, for the costume. She will also be wearing it to Disney on Ice this weekend. Woo Hoo!

My favorite game of pretend is "going to the beach!" We were out at the cabin for new years, and she was playing with her beach stuff inside. She knew she couldn't actually go down to the lake and go swimming, so she was sitting in her blow up boat, pretending to be down at the beach. Of course, she had to bring Bianca with her. B was a good sport to sit inside a blow up boat! This photo just cracked me up!

growing girls

2008-12-28T13:41:00.003-06:00

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. ;-)))

Bianca in the bumbo

2008-12-12T08:21:00.004-06:00

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.

Misc Updates

2008-11-30T20:39:00.003-06:00

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.

Time For Dress-Up

2008-11-15T13:46:00.003-06:00

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.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

2008-11-08T14:45:00.003-06:00

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!

Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:17:00.000-05:00

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!

I LOVE FALL!

2008-10-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

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!!

Family Thursday

2008-10-23T21:33:00.000-05:00

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

2008-10-23T21:27:00.000-05:00

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!

Terrific & Terrible Twos!

2008-10-20T21:29:00.000-05:00

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! ;-)

Big Girl Skylar & Baby Bianca

2008-10-18T15:33:00.001-05:00

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. ;-)