The Not-So-Terrible Two's

Dearest Jonah,

Today you turn 2 1/2 years old. You are not a baby anymore. You have become a little boy in the blink of an eye.

I watch everyday in amazement as you explore this world and your environment and learn new words, new feelings, and new discoveries. You are fascinated with understanding and learning how things work, how they feel, and how they function. You learned in a matter of minutes how to use an iPhone while I'm still trying to figure out how to answer a call. You have mastered playing DVD's on Daddy's Playstation 3 while I'm still trying to figure out how to get to the main menu. You have a brilliant ability to figure things out on your own without our help.

You are loving, caring and sensitive to others feelings. On more than one occasion when I'm upset you have asked "Mommy, are you okay?", "Mommy, are you sad?" and followed up those words with a hug and kiss to make me feel better and it always does. My favorite times with you are in the morning when you first wake up because you always wake up with the biggest smile on your face (unless I have to wake you up very early which I really try to avoid at all costs!) and tell me "Mommy, I wake up!" I also love it at night when we crawl into your bed, read, pray and talk about our day. You are the classic definition of a snugglebug and I love that you always play with my hair as you are falling asleep.

You are funny, entertaining, and for the most part always happy. The only time you are not happy is when I tell you that you can't wear your Wiggles shirt to school two days in a row or we run out of Fruit Loops. We finally compromised and now I wash your Wiggle shirt everyday so that you can sleep in it at night and I've learned to keep two boxes of Fruit Loops in the pantry at all times. You love to sing, dance, watch your DVD's, and read your books outloud to us.

You love trying new things, something I think you inherited from both of us. At one point you were hesitant about trying new foods but you have come around and now enjoy trying new tastes, textures and flavors. Sometimes you like it and sometimes you end up giving it to Riley under the table. The main victory is you try it now. Now if I can just get you to try sushi!

Sometimes you can be stubborn but I think that comes with being 2 1/2 years old. Then again it is probably more genetic than age-related. When you are in your stubborn state and not listening to us all I have to do is start counting which you hate and very rarely do I ever get to number three! I hope this lasts until you are 18 or better yet until you are married with your own children.

Being away from you during the day while you are at pre-school and I'm sitting on boring conference calls aches my heart! I daydream about all the things we could be doing together and I hope you know that I miss you every moment I am not with you.

Happy 2 1/2 year birthday! I'll admit I was always nervous about the so-called terrible two's but I can honestly say - I wish I could keep you this age forever.

Love,
Mommy

The Big Debut

Here is Baby Schneider's first debut on the Daily Stroll!

Due to make his or her first public appearance around April 21, 2009!

The Sweet Escape

Where do you escape when a hurricane has swept through your state and left you with limited Saturday night plans due to all the rain??? To your kitchen of course! And what's a good treat to whip up that will satifsy a hungry hubby, a two year old and a pregnant mom that is craving something gooey and sweet? Cupcakes!!

Step 1) Grab cake mix from pantry



Step 2) Find mixer for mommy



Step 3) After mixing, lick spoon



Step 4) While cupcakes are baking squeeze in quick game of Hide and Seek



Step 5) Time for Sprinkles!



Step 6) Carefully decorate each cupcake with appropriate amount of sprinkles. This will take some concentration and coordination but can be accomplished



Step 7) Voila! Time to ENJOY!

Our Family Photo Session

Remember when family picture time came around and your mom would make you put on your blue velvet frilly lace dress, white hose, black patent dress shoes and a bow in your hair to match and then drive you 45 minutes to the nearest photographer's studio?

The photographer would make you sit in a white wicker chair with a blue sky backdrop and then make you pose while saying "look at the camera and smile"? Well, thankfully those days are over and photography has taken on a much more laid back, casual approach.

Our first photos with Jonah were taken in our house when Jonah was 6 weeks old and the photographer never asked us to pose. She wanted us to interact with Jonah while she worked her magic and the pictures, to my surprise, turned out great. Well, unfortunately she moved to Tenesseee.

Luckily I found another photographer in McKinney that I absolutely love. She has a similar style and even though I'm always nervous that she isn't going to capture any cute photos of a determined little boy that is running around with his own agenda she always amazes me with the outcome! Here are some of my favorite pictures of our last session with Andrea over at Andrea B Photography









After we were walking back to our car at the end of our session, Jonah found a construction site and got so excited about seeing a backhoe and bulldozer that Andrea snapped a few pictures of him enjoying his new discovery. I love the mischevious look on his little face as he throws a rock! Something he knows is a no-no! These are the expressions and the memories you can't capture in a boring stuffy studio picture!

Couples Watch

It was a date last week for Jonah and Isabelle. The cute couple stirred things up at Peter Piper pizza with food and games while their entourage (aka parents) chatted at a nearby table. Sources say the two lovebirds munched on pizza and then played games. The two were laughing and smiling the whole time and were seen getting very close on the motorcycle ride and racecar ride.







Credit: Some pictures provided by Life of a Wink

Labor Day Laziness

Hope everyone had a fabulous Labor Day weekend! Our weekend was pretty uneventful but exactly what we needed. For all the time and labor we put into our jobs it was nice to have a weekend to spend with our family and friends and Do. Absolutely. Nothing.

Saturday Jerod came over and we grilled out and watched movies. Sunday we went over to our friends Johnny and Sarah's house for a little get together and a yummy dinner with ribs, chicken and some great side dishes that I have to get the recipes for! Since I couldn't drink what everyone else was drinking, I had the "Special Drink" which is made of OJ, Sprite and a little lime! So tasty and so addicting! Jonah had a lot of fun playing with the kids and even managed to get a few kisses from his girlfriend Reese!

After dinner they brought out the game Rock Band! If you've never played it I highy recommend it! It was a lot of fun watching the adults live out their fantasy as a rock star but I really loved watching the kids especially my little Jonah who took the mic and wouldn't give it back. He also got a big kick out of playing the drums and he and Reese had their own drum solo. I think we might have a little musical talent on our hands!

Sunday was by far our laziest day! We stayed in our PJ's all day long! Jonah and I watched a Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood marathon and Josh watched the US Open all afternoon! While I love tennis I couldn't tear myself away from Tori and Dean. I'll catch all the really good matches this week and next weekend! After our eyes were glazed over from all the TV and our bellies were full from snacking all day, Josh made fajitas and then we watched the Spiderwick Chronicles. Then we bid farewell to our lazy labor day and it was time to get ready for the work week! So depressing. At least it's a short work week. So, how long until Thanksgiving break???

The men watch over the grill


Bring it on Bobby Flay!


Jonah's "Rock Band" Performance (Sorry the quality of the video isn't so great. I was recording it on my point and shoot camera)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com