back at home!

Well, we're all back together at home now. Sylvi has had her eyes closed so far (after leaving the hospital), so she hasn't really taken in her new surroundings yet, but she'll have plenty of time to do that later. For now we're all trying to get some rest. As soon as nap time is over, we'll get our first taste of having a two year old and a two day old living under our roof.

day 2 for Sylvi

Sylvi and Blair are doing great today. Sylvi is napping and is picking up on nursing pretty well for being a day and a half old. If the recovery continues to go well, baby and mom may be coming home as early as tomorrow. Stay tuned, and thanks for all your well-wishes and comments.

welcome Sylvia Harper!

Well, here she is! A couple quick shots for everybody to check out. She weighs 6 pounds, 15.7 ounces and is 19 inches long. She has a good amount of dark-brown hair on her head, and it is looking kinda curly so far. Baby has been very healthy her first couple hours in the world, and momma is recovering well. She has already been breaking in her beautiful blue-green eyes. We are going to call her Sylvi, which has a Finnish connection to her great-grandmother, Kirsti. Daddy is taking Isa up to meet her new sister shortly, many thanks to Grandpa Bubba for hanging out with her today. Stay tuned for more cute pics and updates from the now four-sized Schneider family!

Phil

little turkey

thankful thursday flashback

given that tomorrow will be rather hectic, we thought it fitting to do a special Thanksgiving edition of flashback Thursday. here is the Goose, at about this time last year-- getting the coffee fixins' ready for mommy. how thoughtful!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

bets, anyone?

i thought it might be fun to guess this baby's size. anybody up for it? maybe they'll be a little giveaway to whomever gets the closest!

here's my vote:
6lbs 14oz
19.5 inches

anyone? leave your guess in the comments section!

hot date!

looks like we have ourselves a hot date with the new baby on friday morning at 7:30am! let's hope the little booger is a morning person, and the anesthesiologist, and OB, and pediatrician too for that matter. stay tuned friday afternoon for the little one to make his/her debut on the ole blog!

counting down?

yep. we had another visit with the doctor yesterday. at this point we are in wait and see mode, particularly after thursday (which marks 37 weeks). after that? who knows, but assuming nothing major happens in the meantime, this baby will be born in the few days following thanksgiving. hows that for more vagueness?

hot wheels

as promised, some pictures of isa and the new Chariot... also known as "goosey's airplane" or "hot wheels" or the "dream stroller." isa LOVES the new bike trailer/stroller and for the first time ever, she is content to take long bike rides and walks. we are quite pleased about that! what we like most about it at the moment is the snuggle factor. since it can be totally closed up, it's easy to keep kiddos nice and warm, even when it's quite cold out. isa and charlotte went on a late evening ride a few days back and with snacks, drinks, books and a down throw, they were snug as could be. charlotte was even nodding off! there is an infant "sling" that allows for small infants to ride comfortably and safely before they are strong enough to sit up. rest assured, we have one of those on the way ;-)

many, many thanks to gramma and pop pop for making it happen... it's already getting lots of use!

first pigtails!

isa got her first pair of pigtails this morning! as you can see, she is quite proud of them.

almost forgot

it's friday. so flashback. goose at 12 months.

twiddle, twiddle, twiddle...

we finally got a call back from the OB *gasp* which i suppose is a relief. still no definitive date, which is fine, though we do feel better that our concerns have been expressed. unfortunately i think we have a fundamental disagreement on the course of treatment and when to make the call to deliver. granted, he is the doctor and all, but something tells me he is just not used to patients who take an active role in their treatment, or pursue concerns, and (god forbid!) question him. oh what would we give to have options in this town? my wonderful midwife, on the other hand, is just about as good as they get. seriously. she still calls once or twice a week to check in, to ask if things are ok, to make sure our needs are being met... all of this despite the fact that i am no longer her patient anymore. ever since the craziness that was isa's birth, she has been a very dear person to us. and even more so now. god bless that woman, she's a good one!

all of that doctor business aside, it appears that we may be having this baby a few days after thanksgiving... perhaps on monday or tuesday (december 1st or 2nd). but being that things are unpredictable, who knows if they may change. but rest assured, fabulous blog readers, that we will keep you posted.

in the meantime, isa is very excited about the fact that "her bubba" is coming to visit all of the sudden! every time i remind her that he will be here in a few days, she starts squealing and clapping! and then nanny and then gramma and pop pop... i think we are going to have one very happy and spoiled toddler on our hands come spring! so be it.

twiddling our thumbs...

and waiting for doctors to return phonecalls. seems like the story of our lives these days. *long dramatic sigh* but all that aside, there is a very good chance that the new baby will be making his/her debut sometime next week! maybe friday? maybe not? we don't know at this point, but i'd say the likelihood is very high. dying with excitement and anticipation yet? we sure are :-)

the big girl room

here's the big girl's room. complete with sheepskin rug, bookshelf, toys, and no crib! isa loves it and has a hard time staying in bed with all the fun stuff to get into. but we're glad she likes it and is enjoying the space alot already. there are some details that will be changed (like the wall colors, we'll be repainting it with something more nuetral this winter) and a few prints will be added to the wall. but for now, here it is!

don't forget!

there are still 'ready to ship' items in the shop for sale during maternity leave! selection is limited, but there are still lots of dresses (like the christmas dress pictured) available!

weekend update...

it was a good one! and no one was sick! miracle of miracles. we actually got alot of stuff, both fun and work, done in the last few days. phil finished painting the kitchen walls and ceiling (it looks SO good), i got alot of work done in prep for Art in the Afternoon on December 7th, and isa got in several trips to the park and lots of good storytime. not too shabby, i tell ya. now if we could keep this little streak up for a the next three weeks we'd be good as gold. the kitchen tile is on the docket for next weekend, which will be a big one to check off the list. and i've got a ton of things to get done in the sweatshop before this baby arrives. wish us luck, would ya?

skills...

isa is very interested in getting herself dresses these days. well, that's when she wants to get dressed at all. but lately she is extra excited to take off her jammies by herself (then run around like a naked banshee for as long as she can) before trying to get herself dressed for the day. this morning she wanted to show daddy that she could do it herself! it went something like this, "mommy! take off my jammies? the zipper! put on cubbers! (as in diaper cover) cubbers! i put on self!" then she proceeded to put on the minkey diaper covers all by herself and run around screaming, "show daddy! show daddddddddddy!" as you can tell, she's also had a jump in her speech skills lately too. she's saying more correct and longer sentences on a regular basis.

flashback friday!

ah yes, it's friday. and this makes us very, very happy! this morning we bring you a 6 month old isa. have a great weekend!

kitchen progress

lots of folks are asking for pictures of the kitchen, and while i never like to reveal projects until they're totally done, who knows when that might be! our goal is to be almost completely done (minus some trim painting, maybe) by thanksgiving. as with the bathroom, the goal was to keep things simple and to update in keeping with the rest of the house. we definately could have spent more money here and there but realistically, for a house this size, there was no need to go over the top and outprice ourselves when we try to sell it.

so here is a little progress slideshow. there are a few pictures from when we bought the house (we painted it red shortly thereafter) just to give some perspective. then some destruction photos to show how much had to be ripped out! like the bathroom, parts of the kitchen were taken all the way down to the plaster lathe walls. and then finally some pictures as it is now. of course there is still alot of work to be done... lots of trim, lots of paint, and the new saltillo tile. this weekend, assuming no one gets sick, the ceiling will be finished and painted and maybe the red walls as well! so, there you have it...

trudging along...

that's the best way to describe this household lately! after a four day hospital stay, i am back at home and feeling somewhat better. isa is glad to have me back, so that counts for something! mr. mom did a fabulous job while i was there but i am sure he's glad to be back to work too ;-)

not much else to report, just trying to get well, stay well, and get everything done that needs to be done before the newbie arrives. need less to say, the list is very long and growing by the day. sheesh.

on another note, the big girl bed transition has gone rather seamlessly! isa hasn't woken up during the night any more than she might have in her crib. naps are just as hit or miss as ever, but really they are still just fine. sometimes she sleeps like a log for 3hrs, sometimes she lays in her big girl bed and looks at books and talks to herself for a while. overall though, it's been way easier than we thought it might be! what a relief! we hope to move the crib out of her room this weekend, to make space for a nice little reading and play space for the goose. since the baby will be sleeping in our room for a while, we didn't see any need to have the crib in isa's room for now. hopefully this will help her get used to the idea of having to share it eventually as well. we'll have big girl room pictures as soon as it's all ready!

in the meantime, that's the scoop from here.

friday playdate

we had a nice playdate this morning with charlotte at the new children's museum. i say new because it recently moved and switched out alot of it older "activities" for new ones. as you can see from the pictures, they both thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

flashback friday!

good morning! it's flashback friday time! a goose, and her goose, at 8 months. hope everyone had a nice week. we should be back this afternoon with some pictures from the children's museum!

big girl bed: day one

while i am aware that posting this will inevitably jinx us, i decided to post anyway! so how is it going, this big girl bed transition? well, pretty well actually. granted, we have some work to do for a nice transition, but so far it's not so bad. that being said, bedtime last night was a long one. about an hour. this is pretty unusual for this house, as isa has been able to put herself to sleep easily and quickly for a long time. but the big girl bed threw her for a loop and it took one of us being in the room before she could fall asleep. but... and here is the good part... once she fell asleep, she slept all night long in her bed with no wake ups until 7:30am this morning! woooooohooooooo! a fluke? maybe. probably. but i'll take it.

as for naptime, it was yet another pleasant surprise! she came home from the babysitter, asked to sleep in the crib (the answer was "No." but she accepted it), we read a book, rocked for five minutes, and then that was it. she was promised a "special treat" if she stayed in bed and took a good nap. and it worked! or atleast she humored me! i did not hear a peep for two hours. when she woke up she walked to her door, called out "Mama!" and that was that. and she slept too, as she had blanket creases on her face and is in a really good mood now (this is NOT the case when she plays in there for hours).

so there you have it. day one was a success. let's hope it continues this way!

movin' on up?

well, it seems that we dodged the bullet for a while, but now it has become clear that isa's time in a crib is coming to an end. the latest growth spurt has meant that she can get out with ease, quiet as a mouse. and while she is really proud of herself for this new feat, we are less than thrilled!

so here we are, trying to figure out what to do with the inopportune timing and the very strong-willed toddler. mostly likely we will skip the toddler bed step and move her straight into the twin bed with a bed rail and a step stool (to help her get back into bed when she inevitably gets out of it!). this would mean that she could also get used to the idea that her crib will soon be a shared crib with the newbie, something that i am guessing she is not going to like one bit! maybe if she's got a big girl bed all her own she will care less about the crib in the months to come? doubtful but maybe. here's hoping.

maternity leave!

know what today is? it's the LAST day to place custom orders in the shop! that means anything that doesn't say 'ready to ship' so don't miss out! i know, i know... who closes a retail shop in the months before christmas? well, me i suppose. maternity leave starts tomorrow! and while i am sad to miss out on all the etsy holiday goodness, i am very much looking forward to scaling back for a while and taking a break. so if there's something you're looking for, go place your order now... tomorrow you might be out of luck!

chicken redux

as promised... the chicken pictures! thanks to scuba steve for the great photos. isa was more than happy to be the willing subject as steve played with his shiney new camera. the chickens? not so much. apparently a running, screaming toddler is scary to them. not that i blame them or anything. eventually they warmed up to her though and she practiced her wicked overhand by chucking bread at them! there are lots of good action shots in the slideshow of isa showing off her arm. the chicken adventure also included rounding up lots of eggs, which eventually made their way on to our plates and into our bellies. kathleen and steve were quite impressed with how many eggs the little goose can put away-- the girl may be small, but she can eat!

many thanks for kathleen and steve for the visit... which was a sanity saver for mommy and alot of fun for isa!

**NOTE: the slideshow seems to be getting stuck on the fourth picture. if this happens to you, double click on the photo and go through the rest of them that way. seems to be a bug somewhere!