Still....here!!!!

This is a boring post b/c I have elevendy billion things I must do while the girls are at daycare for the next several hours, but long story short, we had an AMAZING time in WI with family and friends - so much so that we stayed an extra day. We all "survived" late (fun) nights, generous/thoughtful/perfect gifts given and received, and then a fall down the stairs for Hadley when we got home. More on all this fun later but for now, I'm going to be a fiend about cleaning the house before meeting Adam for a lunch "date" since we couldn't find a sitter for tonight. Happy New Year if I don't get back for a bit!

Snow Day!

And the Blizzard of 2012 is upon us. We went 290 days here without snow and then BAM, blizzard. Fine by me! I'm using the entire day to get ready for WI so tonight I won't be sweating bullets trying to get an entire family ready for an 8-day trip in 3 hours - I'll just be putting final touches on everything and maybe *gasp* sitting down?! Unheard of the night before a trip to WI! Yippee! Last load of laundry in the washer, girls 90% packed, I'm 83% packed, and Adam can do his own. :) Most gifts are already in WI, the roads should be good by tomorrow late afternoon (as far as I can figure), and I think we're ready to go for Hadley's birthday party Saturday evening.

Adam thought I was nuts when I went to bed with my phone last night, but at 4:30am when I got a phone call saying that Muscatine was closed, it was pure bliss when I told him to turn off my alarm before I rolled over and went back to sleep. Morgan was up by 6:30am, Hadley around 7, and we took our time having breakfast and getting dressed. I sent the girls to Mary's around 8:30 so I could get things done/pack and then go sign refinancing paperwork at the bank without really hauling them out in this weather.

It finally turned from rain to snow around 9:45 and within an hour and a half, we had 3" of snow. It's still snowing and the screens are so full of snow, you can't see out the windows. I don't think this is going to be the biggest snowfall ever, but the blowing is bad and it's hard to see anywhere. Either way, I'm thankful for the snow day and am having good time alternating between getting things done and playing with the girls (who I picked up at noon).

Speaking of playing, last night I let the dogs out the basement door and saw the plastic sports ladder/slide toy that Morgan LOVED her second winter that we kept in the house. We'd forgotten to bring it in when it was dry, so we laid down blankets and brought it in. After I picked up the girls, we went downstairs, Morgan found it immediately (hard to miss, it's sort of huge) and after cleaning it up, it had a new obsessor - Hadley. Oh my goodness, the look of glee on her face after climbing the steps alone (supervised) and then going down the slide was priceless. I'm exhausted from keeping her from falling off/down and she' exhausted from going all over. Want to see her instantly become behavioral and instantly tantrum? Tell her she has to use the steps instead of going up the slide when she doesn't want to.

I'm not so sure how much (if any) I'll be able to blog while I'm in WI but if I don't get to it, Merry Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Blessings from our home to yours, and have a happy holiday.

Hold them tight

Last night, I hardly let my girls out of my sight. I cried the whole way home from work and hugged them with a ferocity that I typically reserve for those I haven't seen in ages (think brother coming home from a deployment and being thankful he's there in one piece to hug). I kissed them 100 times and then 100 times more. The unspeakable events that happened in Connecticut yesterday left me shaken and beside myself. Babies. They were all babies and even the "big ones" were somebody's babies, and now heroes. School is a safe place. Especially an elementary school. I don't know the people who were hurt or affected. I don't know anyone that lives in the state or region, really. But to think of the pain those parents, family members, and community went through yesterday and are still dealing with today shatters my heart. I saw a quote from Savannah Guthrie on the Today Show and she said, "If you are lucky enough to love a child, you cannot shield your heart from how much this hurts." It rings so true as I still found myself crying in bits and pieces today thinking about it. If that happened to us...our community. It's unspeakable. There aren't words. You're not supposed to lay babies to rest.

We haven't watched TV really at all today. It hurts too much to turn it on and Morgan is too intuitive for us to have it on around her. If we can shield her from that sort of pain for just a little longer...we'll do it. She's too little to really understand and her life right now doesn't lend her to just hearing about it on the fly somewhere, really.

Hug your kids tight. Morgan sort of got away with a little murder last night because I was so thankful that I had her there with me to be a little sassy around the edges. Pray for those affected. Unspeakable tragedy. There are no words. :'-(

A post from my Speech Room

I guess I don't often talk about work on here unless I'm struggling with something or annoyed with someone or paperwork or what have you...but work is going well lately so I have to say a few praises about my job b/c truthfully, at the end of the day and all the junk that keeps getting added to our plates as SLPs in Iowa, I love my job and the work I do with my students. Be careful - you are in this for a long haul if you make it to the bottom. :)

Why don't we get the subject of paperwork out of the way? I hate it. What?! you say? You thought this was a positive post?! Well, it is, which is why I'm going to END on positive things and begin with the super crappy ones. See? I have good logic, no? Well, you can always move on to the next blog on your list if you disagree. So anyway, paperwork. What a huge pain the @$$ designed to make us see kids less and do more work frantically outside of the school day. And meetings. And the like. So paperwork, you can suck it. I know it's there to keep us in check, keep things legal, all that jazz, and really, I don't mind some. However, we seem to keep getting more/new/revised-to-be-much-more-difficult-to-write paperwork and I'm just about tired of it. So instead, I will whine about it to my fellow SLPs who get it and complete it all anyway b/c it's part of a deadline and I rarely miss one of those. :) You can call me "Super SLP" anytime now.

Articulation kids. You know, the ones who don't "sound right" as so many of my teachers come up to me and say? "What sounds are they missing," I ask. "IDK, they just talk funny" or "IDK, shouldn't they have /r/ by now (about their Kindergarten student - NONONO btw)"...that sort of thing. I get it that my ear is SUPER trained to a fault and I can diagnose someone with an artic disorder from about 2.4 miles away if the wind is just right. All that said, I love my artic kids. Many SLPs don't care for this part of our job, but I love it (95% of the time) b/c I can SEE/HEAR progress, it's easy to measure, and typically, these kids graduate from speech and it's obvious when this is to happen. Plus, I love the looks on their faces when they can say something correctly they've never said and sound just like their friends. Or their own name correctly. Priceless.

Language kids. These kids often hide under the radar unless they're super obvious and are frequently missed by teachers for referrals b/c they don't realize I work on expressive (talking) and receptive (understanding) language. No problem. They surface eventually. I don't often drum up business, guys. I have plenty. That all said, this group of kids (which make up a fair amount of my caseload) is my Everest. Wait - my thisclosetofirst Everest. I have a different one. Or two. Oh boy. I digress. Language. Yes. Last week I went to this conference by Laura Justice (who wouldn't have even COME to our agency this year if I hadn't strongly suggested we TRY to get her in even though our supervisor was sure we wouldn't be able to get her until 2 years from now) about vocabulary and how to help these kids with low language skills improve. You guys, I was doing some of the things she said already - but it was nice to have confirmation that I'm not the suckiest SLP out there (which I know isn't true, but some days it sure feels like it). However, I feel like I took a TON away from that conference and have been having the BEST time trying these new techniques with my language kiddos. I feel like they're grasping their vocabulary words better and I'm doing a much better job helping to develop their lexicons (brain maps) so this stuff sticks with them. I've been having tons of fun with this group now and am eager to keep trying more things that I haven't even touched on yet b/c my brain was too full for the time being.

Fluency...geez.You guys, fluency/stuttering can be the hardest to treat ever. And sometimes the most fun....at times. It depends on the kiddo and the one I have right now is great when we're working together...and then it's gone after that. I wish I was more of an expert on that but since this takes up such a small amount of my caseload typically, it's hard to get really good at it. Dear Speech Fairies - that does not mean I would like 5 more fluency cases to pop up at my schools, please. Love, Melissa

Nonverbal/Level 3 kids. Here's my other Everest. These kids can be SO hard from an SLP's perspective. I love mine dearly. They have been making nice gains, love those who work with them (typically...), and I just want to help them as much as I can but again, this is where I feel my expertise is a bit low and I feel like I don't get it right a lot of the time. These students make me SO VERY THANKFUL for my fellow SLPs who I network with every day (truly. every. single. day.) who know so much and help me be more effective with my tough kiddos. We've all got tough kids we work with in education. I only wish I could do more.

There are other kids who don't fit in these categories. I have just really been enjoying my students lately (between all the awful paperwork) and felt the need to just say how much they make my worker-bee life totally worth it.

Something I must say is this if you're still with me - TALK TO YOUR KIDS. As soon as they're born, flood their little ears FULL of words. I don't care if you're talking about the fact that your baby's socks are green and red striped and they're constantly falling off and why can't your toes stay in and where is the other one now? Talk to your kids. They don't have to be babies. Talk about what you see out the car window. Ask what color plate they want. Talk talk talk. I won't bore you with research but ::stands higher on soapbox:: there is SO MUCH research out there to state that you're going to give your kid a leg up on LIFE, essentially, by flooding their brains full of words...they don't even have to be big words. Really. So talk to your kids - best gift you could give them ever.*

And I will end (I heard you sigh relief, those of you silly ones who've stuck with me) with these great stories from Preschool this week. Again - I love my job this week. LOVE my job. :)

Story #1: I was at the private preK re-screening a kiddo yesterday and as I was leaving a different kid all but grabbed my arm from his chair and said this –

Kid: “Hey! Hey!!!”

Me: “Yes?”

Kid with the straightest face I’ve ever seen: “I love you.”

Me: laughs, “You do?”

Kid: “YES. I love you.”

Which of course brings ‘I love yous’ from almost every kid in earshot

Kid, loudly: “BUT I LOVE YOU THE BESTEST!!!”

 

Story #2 – Today, walk-in PreK student who just turned 4, smart little guy but with pretty messed up articulation…

We decided at the end of his session to practice the word TOYS since he says KOYS and it’s going to be Christmas in 2 minutes and KOYS makes no sense unless you're a SLP which still doesn't mean anything b/c his mom had to tell me what he said. So I’m drilling him and drilling him and breaking the word, different vowels, imitate imitate imitate and it’s toys toys COYs toys toys COYS all over the place and finally I said, “t- t- TOYS” and he stopped, looked at me, and said…“HOLA.” Hola!?!?!? A non-spanish-speaking little guy. I took that as “I’m done, crazy lady” and we laughed like mad (mom and I) and he was done for the day. Hola. What?!!? Sometimes I love preschoolers.

*Disclaimer - by talk, I don't mean yelling at them for being little sassipants kids (like I do on a regular basis in my perfect household ha ha ha...) - there's a whole other body of research on that but since I've filled your brains full of GOO already, we'll leave that for another day.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, HADLEY!

Say WHAT?! Our baby is ONE?! Oh Hadley, what a great year it has been and how complete you makes our family. We had a great night and went out to Applebee's so I didn't have to cook to celebrate. Highlights and pictures (oh no! no pictures yet - apparently I'm over my picture quota and need to figure it out before I can post anymore. DANG) to commence. You're such a joy to our family and we love you to pieces and pieces!

• She's a walker. She's maybe even a week or two ahead of where Morgan was at 1 year. Either way, it's a FAVORITE thing of hers to do and if there are two adults in the room, she wants to walk from one to the other 10,000x.
• Hadley is a hot/cold eater. Some weeks she eats like a champ. Others, it's a battle for a week. She's struggling to figure out that it's OK to drink milk from a sippy and she's almost 100% switched over to whole milk. We're just finishing up whatever open formula we have left with 2oz mixed with whatever sized bottle she needs for that bottle. 
• Speaking of bottle, again, we're ready to transition her and she's going to work on it at daycare, but hopefully she'll be done with bottles by the time we leave for WI next Friday. I am SO OVER washing bottles and just dealing with them in general. That said, what a huge step away from being my baby if she's not taking bottles... :-/
• Her 1 year well check is tomorrow afternoon so I'll be sure to post her stats then. I'm guessing she's around 22-23lbs, and no idea on height - shorter than Morgan at 1 year - for sure. Head circumference? Huge, I'm sure. 
• Hadley. LOVES. Babies. She is almost constantly playing with and hugging on one and is just very lovey in general. She's perfected a GREAT hug for a kid her age and I never pass one up if she's dishing them out. 
• She's so pretty!! Everyone's baby is perfect/pretty/etc...but Hadley is so pretty. I just love her face.
• She doesn't say too many words reliably yet but I'm pretty sure she can say hi and dada, but definitely signs the following: go, waves hi/bye, more, please, all done, ball. And babbles like a crazy person. And has been enjoying making /sh/ and /s/ noises imitatively all over the place. And yelling and talking....whenever her sister isn't getting a word in edgewise. 
• Speaking of balls, Hadley LOVES balls as well. Good thing her daddy found her some for her birthday...in case there weren't enough around here already. ;-D
• Her birthday party with family will be next Saturday when we're back in WI for the holidays. We're having it right away before Christmas so hopefully there's a little separation...
• Hadley's done really well with new sitters lately. Woo! Either we're in a lull between stranger danger phases or she's done! I'm going to guess lull...but this time it really helps having Morgan around - she's always got a friend!

I'll think on it and see if I have more and if I can get more storage for pictures without paying. I'm exhausted (which stinks b/c we slept AWESOME last night) so who knows. We're just so thankful for these girls and our baby one who I am not ready to admit is now.......a toddler. Happy 1st birthday, sweet pea!

Lily Anna

I have to tell the long story about this doll that Morgan will be receiving for Christmas this year. A few months ago after Morgan's birthday, I was trying to drum up ideas for her Christmas list b/c I knew people would be asking and I didn't want to be clueless when those questions came. I asked her if she would want a doll that looked just like her. She said yeah. I thought "American girl doll!"b/c you can customize them and whatnot so they actually look like your kid. This part of the story short, I was just about to let her grandma purchase it for her (first we were, then they were, then we were, finally they were) but I could NOT click "buy" b/c it was an obscene amount of money to spend on a doll for a 3 year old, I don't care how great she is (she being interchangeable b/w the kid and the doll).

So the search began - I'd already told a whole bunch of people that 18" doll accessories/clothes would make a great gift b/c Morgan would be getting this doll...so we had to find another not scary there are so many scary dolls out there doll. Then, I found it. Our Generation Doll. Specifically Lily Anna. See? Isn't she pretty? Straight blonde hair, blue eyes, no bangs. Looks just like Morgan except her hair's a little long.

So my search to actually acquire the doll began. I quickly realized she was only available at Target, was cheap ($32ish with two outfits and some book about how she rides horses), and was out of stock online. I started calling around (as did Sherri up in WI) to any Target I'd be willing to drive to should this doll actually exist in the store like the website said it did. Between Sherri and I, I think we had 6 Targets to cover. We started calling daily b/c they got trucks daily. I figured out that one of mine got a truck at 4am so I could call at 8am when they opened. Another one had trucks at another time, you get the idea.

So nothing. For days. For a week. Then two weeks. Still not available online unless you bought it on Amazon for MORE THAN TWICE what it cost on/at Target.

Fast-forward to yesterday, Saturday. Adam was hunting and we got a sitter so I could still go on my super fun I'm so glad I went shopping trip with some of my work friends in Iowa City. On my way I got bored, so I called the Target there to see if they had it. Shocker, they didn't but the girl in toys said that she'd seen, specifically, Lily Anna about 2 weeks ago at the store. I was shocked but she took my name/number and said she'd try but since there were so many workers who rotated in/out of the dept in a given day/week, it was doubtful that anyone would call. I was grateful she took my info - they don't usually do that at Target. Woo!

So drive drive drive...wait. If she saw one 2 weeks ago, what are the odds that it's back in stock online? I preface this next part with full realization/admission that I'm a moron and should have pulled over but I was running barely on time and maybe a few minutes late so I made sure to work on straight-aways and proceeded to immediately order the doll on my phone. I couldn't believe it! I got the confirmation email and did a happy squeal dance in my car. I got to my friend's house and could hardly contain myself. I called Sherri and we were both so excited!! It seriously felt like I won the three year old's lottery. :) Mostly I just can't wait to see the look on her face when she gets it b/c she's been stopping at all big (18") dolls lately in stores and just loving on them big time. And Cinderella. Which reminds me I need to get that movie for her yet (even though she won't watch it til she's 5).

Fast-forward to today. My sister-in-law texted me to say that she wanted to get a similar doll for my niece and actually found them much cheaper/on sale at Target today when she went. I checked online and sure enough - 25% off! What!? So I got right on the 800 line and so, to top it all off, I got the doll yesterday, it's being mailed to my in-laws so I don't have to deal with hiding/not breaking it on the way home in two weeks, and I got it for $8 less than I had planned. I am so excited. If she hates it, I'm keeping it and putting it out for display. ;-) But I know that won't be the case and I know she's going to love it. Woo!

PS. One year ago at this time, I was breathing through contractions and wandering all over my house while waiting for my dad to come visit. And in 4 hours, we were headed to the hospital to welcome our second baby girl into our family. Awww....that was a fast year. More on that tomorrow. :)

Bad poster. BAD poster!

Can you tell it's the holidays? That I'm swamped at work, home, and life in all aspects of it? Hence the lack of posts lately telling you the oh-so-important things about what's going on in the choas Schmidt household. Lucky you. I get to bore you with more details. :) A fairy tale, SchmidtFamilyStyle.

Once upon a time, two little girls ruled the House of Schmidt. The mommy did everything she could to make their happy little lives wonderful and the daddy did everything HE could do keep that mommy sane and in check right before she lost it (yet again).

On Dec. 6th, Princess Hadley had 7 teeth. As of the past weekend, PH's mouth decided to try to push through THREE MORE stupid TEETH and turned PH into a raging mess of "I don't WANT to eat" and "I don't WANT to drink, especially since you're mixing my formula with whole milk - I CAN TELL" and general "Don't put me down or I'll scream in your FACE after I climb up your leg in a dangerous fashion." When Princess Hadley wasn't doing those things, she was really motoring along with her walking and getting better every day. When not fussing, she was laughing and giggling at her sister while they created choas/havoc fun together. She had a few nighttime parties and then decided it wasn't fair to mommy and daddy (HA HA HA we can't call them queen/king b/c really - the princesses ruled the house. C'mon, Captain Obvious.) So on Princess Hadley went, being adorable, loving her family and babies, and being a general cutie-pah-tootie. Who sometimes fussed too much for her mommy's liking. And could eat a little better so her mommy didn't worry she'd be a tiny little picky eater.

Not to be forgotten, Princess Morgan also had fun things to share. This morning, St. Nick came and brought her way too many goodies/toys. She was especially fond of the Jake and the Neverland Pirate toothpaste he brought her and turned into a hormonal mess when she was not allowed to open it - NOTE: she had the EXACT SAME TUBE (kind) of toothpaste open already and it was still half full. Princess Morgan is also learning to use her attitude a little less but we can quickly tell what her models at daycare were like on any given day as she tends to channel some of that sassiness energy and use it at home if she's seen it all day. When not channeling energy, PM is enjoying her toys, writing letters like a champ (she can easily write her name, but when I told her how to spell 'Santa' on the front of her Christmas list/letter to him, she shocked me when she wrote the letters all by herself! This is how she learned!) She also is playing with Hadley and teaching her naughty new things. Princess Morgan loved to help out and cook anything with mommy when she wasn't too interested in something else. She's been playing more and watching TV less which makes TV that much more interesting when mommy needs a break they have a chance to watch it. She continued growing into a lovely big girl.

The mommy and daddy of this story decided that since PH and PM were doing fairly well, they needed to get back into the swing of things and do more "just us stuff." Last night, the M&D decided to play Scrabble (real life kind! where you touched real wood pieces and spun a real plastic board to take turns! not back and forth on iDevices! what!?) and in the entire history of the world, it was the first time that the D beat the M. The poor mommy couldn't believe it but secretly had let him win. And that's her story she's sticking with.

The D was sad but he had to travel next week right between hunting weeks. Thankfully, the D will be home on Monday for Princess Hadley's 1st birthday before flying out on Tuesday. The mommy let go of her new babysitter issues (she's a little nervous to leave the girls with people she doesn't know) and will be enjoying some much-needed friend time and shopping on Saturday while the D is hunting deer. Woo! PS. Sorry, Morgan, for you will be missing yet another swimming lesson grandparentspleasemovehereandlivenextdoor b/c I'm a lazy mom who wants to have fun.

Princess Hadley, Princess Morgan, the mommy, and the daddy all continued to live the life they dreamed. Sometimes the mommy needed more breaks than others and the daddy needed more golf time than others, but they lived happily ever after watching their girls get big and more awesome each day. The end.

Better late than never, right?

Woops, that two weeks went by fast. SO MANY NEW THINGS.

First off, we had a LOVELY holiday in Wisconsin as usual. We left Tuesday right after work and didn't get home until Sunday mid-afternoon. We saw everyone at least a little bit, some more than others, and just had overall wonderfulness. I got some much needed time away on Black Friday which of course was made even more stellar b/c I was shopping my socks off and getting good deals to boot. We're always sad to leave but thankful for our own beds, house, toys (girls' input) and routine.

The new things!
Morgan - not much new here, continues to be her sassy, smart, silly, wonderful self. She has been testing patience lately with this mad whining/fist pumping up/down nonsense when she's mad, but we're working on it and I hope it's a phase (b/c if it's not, I might lose it a little on her like I did this morning when she wanted to watch her show OVER THERE instead of over HERE where I could do her hair while Mickey was still in plain (better, really) view). Whatever. On a funny note, she says the best things and has the greatest giggle when she gets Hadley laughing. It's a sight to see when those two feed off of each other with giggles. We can't get enough of it and we just sit back and giggle, too.

Hadley! Many new things! List time!

• Sheeeeeeeee's walkin! She's been taking a few steps here and there and really took her first step about a month ago (you know, the kind you call a first step even though it's more of a reaction to her falling? Yeah, that one). However, (see video on facebook) she's a walker now and will walk between things. I caught her taking 4 real steps at one point but I know for sure that she can take more as evidenced by the video in which I couldn't move b/c I had to catch her but she clearly could have gone further had I chosen to catch the baby rather than move my big dairy air. Anyway, a whole new world awaits this kid...
• Seven. That would be how many teeth she has as of this morning when I could feel it. She won't let me see it, but there surely is one there.
• Two. That's how many black eyes this kid has had in her life. Yesterday's black eye brought to you by forgetting to put my hands out when I'm bending down to sit/pick up a toy. 
• If your name is Hadley, you are too cool for baby food. I give her baby food, she takes a few spoonfuls, and it's SHAKE-A head everywhere until I get big girl food. That said, I need to meal plan a little better b/c I only give her baby food to get her fruits/veggies in for sure. I need to make sure I have soft big girl food so she doesn't think I'm trying to pull a fast one on her - which I am. Can make for some very frustrating meal times!
• Milk. We're moving to it! Last night I gave her formula in a sippy to show her that more than just water can come out of there. Go figure - you'd have thought I tried to give her ketchup or something and that she'd never tasted formula in her life. Sorry, kid. Bottles are for babies and when you turn one, you're not a baby anymore and we're sick of washing bottles by hand. The end. Get with it, sista...

 That's all for now. I am SO EXCITED about putting up Christmas decorations all over the house that I must go do more before time runs out and it's New Year's. I'll work on uploading the walking video but forgot how I do that...

Hadley's 1st Walk

SAHM for a day

So today I'm a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM). Morgan's 3 year well check was moved to today from last Friday and when I didn't have a sitter (knew about this a few weeks ago), Adam would be traveling, and I just didn't feel like bothering anyone else to watch my girls, I decided that since I don't have to worry about a maternity leave (i.e. losing time off anywhere), that I'd just take the day and spend it with the girls. It's been lovely. If they were all like this, I might consider it. However, I am no fool and know we'd all get sick of each other eventually. Alas, I'm enjoying my day with them today.

Morgan's appt went well and lucky duck - she got the flu mist instead of the flu shot and did 1 bajillion times better than I would have. I'd vote for the shot/sore arm every day over someone misting junk up my nose. I thought she was getting a shot so I brought along a tiny candy bar she picked out from her halloween stash (reserved only for desserts) but she had to have it anyway even though there was no shot involved. Stinker knows how to drive a bargain.

Morgan is currently 39.25" tall (92nd percentile) and 33.75lbs (73rd percentile). All seemed well and no worries for now. May nap time continue to be nice and long, as mommy's been procrastinating something fun with other fun things. For real. They're all fun today. :)

Hadley - 11 Months

I'm so annoying. I know KNOW I just blogged about Hadley being 10 months old two posts ago. Right? No? You're wrong. This is going too fast but at the same time I'm so excited for each new month of Hadley and I'm ridiculous. It's cool. And yes, I know I'm a day late again. That's how I roll. HADLEY HIGHLIGHTS COMMENCE (along with a few pics)

• Hadley stands on her own by letting go of furniture sometimes, but can stand alone when set down for quite a few seconds.
• She LOVELOVELOVES walking around with ANYone who will hold both of her hands. One hand to work on balance? As of today, gets pissed, cries/yells, and gets down on all 4s. Stinker.
• She's eating lots of table food but always starts out a meal with some baby food. She's routinely the last one at the table and is currently making up for lost time while sick a week or two ago and eating her weight in anything near her. I am not sure she's growing, however, as she's still totally comfy in her 12 month clothes with no real sign of busting out of them any time soon. SO not like Morgan. I think. I'll have to go back and check. 
• Hadley is a talker. Today it was more like a screamer but upon further investigation, it was mosly b/c she was starving.baby.why.don't.you.feed.me. She says "hi, dada" but not necessarily on demand. 
• She LOVES her daddy and gets visibly excited when Morgan or I announce that he's home. She now crawls to the breezeway door to wait for him to come in. It's freaking adorable. 
• She continues to be a great sleeper when she's feeling fine. Not feeling well? Bye bye sleep. I think that's typical and to be expected though. Speaking of sleep, she now has ALL of her bumpers in her crib (oh no worst mother ever) b/c we are SO tired (quite literally) of going up in the middle of the night b/c she flung her paci out of her bed in her sleep or b/c she's being sassy. It worked and now we're not going up nearly as much for that. 
• Hadley loves to play and is enjoying putting things in and out of containers, loving on any baby that makes noise, reading any touchy/feely books, playing on the iPad/Pod, and the play kitchen (freaking LOVES the play kitchen). She also loves this new butterfly bath toy (that is played with at any waking moment by both girls) that Morgan was lucky enough to receive in the mail for her birthday. She fights over shares it nicely with Morgan, though, since it is technically hers. 
• Stairs. Hadley has a golden love of scaling stairs (going up, not even close to going down). She stands at the gate on the single step that she can go up and looks around to see if anyone notices that she is in danger yet wants to go upstairs NOW. And then feel free to take her down and go up again. She had a blast with our sitter, Molly, going up the stairs 6x while I had Morgan at basketball today b/c Molly's cool like that and let her. BFFs for sure.
• Hadley got plowed over by Jessie yesterday. She was standing at her kitchen playing nicely when I came around the corner from the basement steps just in time to see Jessie excited about something and run THROUGH her. Aww, Hadley's first (tiny) black eye. Jessie is SO lucky I knew she was too excited to realize she did something terribly wrong (Hadley went from standing to flat on her side in 0.0001 seconds. I saw. It sucked) or I might have murdered her a little. That dog...
• Ask Hadley if she wants puffs. She will get a wide eyed look of "Iloveyougivethemtomenow" and point to the top of the China cabinet where they are stored (we are classy. we don't store all things out of reach in the pantry, oh no. they are out for the world to see) while putting on her best sad puppy eyes. If you give them to her, BFF. If you deny her and make her eat such things as fruits, veggies, chicken, or the like, prepare for wrath. But then compliance, and asking again within two more bites. Or less.
• She's super pleasant, guys. (when she's not sick. she's not really the best sick kid ever) She's almost always happy, easy to please, and wants to try new things all the time. She loves to be super baby (flying through the house) and "going to the rescue" which involves a parent holding Hadley and running after Morgan all yelling "to the rescue!" (thank you, Diego, for that workout). We love her to pieces and can't believe how much faster she's getting older than it feels like Morgan did. PS. We're SO THRILLED we have less than a month of formula left. I just sent a big tub to Mary's last week. I just opened our last big tub today. We have a small tub left. When that's all gone, it's milk, baby! WOO! Happy 11 months, Hadley Elizabeth. We love you!

That polar bear is now tiny.

And funny, apparently. No wait. That's

my mom being ridiculous behind daddy with 

the camera to get me to smile. 

BAH HA HA HA HA I'm 11 months old!!

Still hilarious!

This is how thrilled they were for pictures. Seriously.

But we managed to get a relatively decent one. 

With some Morgan toes to boot. 

Snuggles for my little sis

11 months. Toes. Baby Love.

The Shenanigans of our Daughters

Our daughters have been full of it this week and it makes me giggle but also roll my eyes a little. Each one had a good one last night...

Hadley 
(scenario - I went upstairs to get clothes for the girls for the morning, Adam was initially playing with Hadley and then was helping Morgan eat yogurt in the recliner b/c why on EARTH would you eat something like that at a table??)

• I took the baby gate down b/c when I took my first step up the stairs, Adam was touching her and playing and I was sure he had her under control (HA). (PS. If Hadley sees anyone head for the stairs, she's gone baby gone and trying her best to follow.)
• I heard Adam get Morgan her snack. I heard them talking. I thought I heard Hadley head for the stairs (sometimes she crawls loudly - slap slap hand slap) but I figured hey, he was playing with her and I'm sure they're playing more.
• I got ready to go to Hadley's room to get her clothes and voila. She is RIGHTTHERE. Little Miss Hadley scaled the entire flight of stairs silently, on her own, without dying. I'm not sure how this happened but we'll just thank God that he was the one who stood behind her while she was doing so. Adam didn't realize I took down the gate. I didn't realize he stopped watching her. GEEZ. 
• PS. She thought she was the COOLEST baby ever for having scaled the steps with God. 

Morgan
(scenario - it's 3am and all is right with the world b/c we are all sleeping)

• (over the monitor, loudly, of course) "DAAAAAADDDYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! I need to FLOOOSSSSSSSS!" 
• Me: "What did she say she needs?!" 
• Adam: "Floss. OMG."
• Me back in the monitor b/c Morgan's is a two-way: "Morgan, sweetheart, it's the middle of the night and we don't need to floss now. You can floss when you brush your teeth in the morning. Go back  to sleep, OK?"
• Morgan, sadly: "Okay....." ::63 seconds later:: "Mommy! I have to go to the bathroooooom!" 
• Me: "Ok, go ahead, we're going to see if you can do it all by yourself this time, ok? You don't even have to tell us when you're done - you can just go back to bed." 
• Morgan: "Ok." gets out of bed and goes all by herself! Triumph! 
• Me after she gets back in bed: "Way to go! You did it all by yourself! Goodnight, see you in the morning!"
• Morgan: "Thanks, Mommy, goodnight." 

It's an interesting life we lead. Good thing we pray a lot, right? ;-)
PS. Morgan's Grandma Sherri received a call this morning to let her know that her flossing influence has certainly left a lasting impression on her oldest grandchild. Super. ;-)

Morganisms

Morgan made us giggle multiple times tonight. Here are two gems I thought we should remember in the future sometime...

1. Adam at bedtime: "Morgan, go potty so we can get you to bed." Morgan apparently heard, "Go dance around the kitchen in your undies," as that's what I turned around from doing the dishes to see her doing. 
2. Adam forced Morgan and I to make him brownie mix after dinner tonight. While Morgan was doing some initial mixing, she sprayed some powder on the stove top. I then did the same thing on a smaller scale 3 seconds later. The conversation went a little something like this...

Me: "See? Everyone makes mistakes, even mommies...and daddies..."
Morgan: "And Morgans..."
Me: "And Marys too, right?"
Morgan, with a look of shock and hilarity: "NOOOOOOO THEY DOOOOOON'T! Marys don't make mistakes!"
Me: "They don't???"
Morgan: "Nope, Marys don't make mistakes." That will be a gem to tell Mary tomorrow afternoon when I pick the girls up. :)

And then some pictures of the last few days. I feel like I could filter the 9,000 pictures I routinely post on Facebook of my kids but I feel it's a good way for those back home in WI to see what they/we're up to. Either way, enjoy. Maybe I'll put a few on anyway. Or all of them. Geez.

Before leaving for her first basketball practice! So awesome!

This baby LOVESLOVESLOVES getting itches.

(gentle fingernails running over her back)

Cutest.Big.Girl.Ever.

Yup. That's Hadley. Sliding all over and missin' a sock.

Just looking at the ball, no barfing baby hangover.

Using her Jake sword/handle/magnifying glass to check out the map

11/06/12 - first time she really wrote her name on her own.

She will now be called Moorgan. :)

"I did it! I ate the biggest baby dinner EVAH!"

Hey, Hadley. There was a time change. FYI.

Morgan + time change + put her to bed late 2 nights in a row = done. She's got it, even if she's up earlier a bit the past few mornings.

Hadley + time change + put her to bed late 2 nights in a row = epic fail. She's been up at 5:45 or so all mornings even when we put her to bed so late she could turn inside out to sleep. Learn, baby. Learn.

1st Annual Schmidt Family Pumpkin Carving

To say pumpkin carving with a 10 month old and 3 year old is fun is putting it mildly. I can't tell you how many times Adam and I dissolved into fits of giggles b/c of something funny one or the other did and/or said. Enjoy the pictures and a few highlights of how awesome it was.

Morgan's pumpkin carving story in our words:
Morgan doesn't like to get dirty much. Ok, I'm lying. Morgan hates getting really dirty. She will touch weird things with her finger tips (ie. shaving cream, paint, various consistencies, etc.) but to dive in and make a huge mess? Nope. She has always been that way (ie. reference somewhat boring 1st birthday cake pictures and requiring a fork before she'd get really "into" her cakes). She was all about cutting open the pumpkin until she saw the inside. FREAKED. "I don't WANT to put my hand in there!!!" We encouraged her anyway but then let her do whatever she wanted while encouraging her to at least try scooping with the orange scoopers or a giant spoon. She finally did so by holding the very TIP of the spoon and then being extremely proud of herself when she scooped out two seeds. As in elated, thus hilarious (how to hide the fact that we found it so funny...ok, we didn't, we laughed). Our absolute favorite, however, was when Hadley was enjoying her baby antics (read below) and Morgan yelled, "NO MOUTH!" and batted her hand away from her mouth. We didn't care what Hadley did and told Morgan that Hadley was fine to explore the pumpkins, inside and out. She took in that bit of info and then cringed every time she saw Hadley stick her hand in a pumpkin. She winced every time I pulled out goo with my bare hands. I told Morgan that we could clean the seeds, roast, and then eat them if we wanted and I thought she was going to die. We heard an instant, "I DON'T LIKE THOSE," in a very matter-of-fact tone (from a girlie who's never tasted them). Once the pumpkins were cleaned out, she was a CHAMP at helping Adam carve them and took her role of hole-poking (for the tiny saw to get in) very seriously (reference picture below). She loved it and enjoyed looking at them outside with candles lighting them up. Nice work for your first time, kiddo. :)

Morgan's pumpkin carving story in HER words (ok, what I think her words might have actually been and actually were in some cases):
So we got these pumpkins and we were going to carve them! I was SO EXCITED!! ::jumps up and down:: Daddy cut open the top and when I looked inside, it was FULL OF GROSS GOO!! What!? What was God thinking when he created pumpkins?? I wasn't so sure I wanted in on this anymore. I sort of tried to touch the inside at the very top but that was yucky that I said NO and I didn't like it. I tried using a scooper but the handle was too short and I was too close to actually touching the goo. Daddy got me a big, long spoon and that helped a little, but let's be real - this was a lost cause. I then decided to use my long handled spoon to clean up the goo that got on the sheet and helped that way so as to avoid my hand accidentally touching the inside of the pumpkin. I just couldn't BELIEVE they let Hadley touch and LICK the pumpkin goo. I almost freaked out every time I saw her do it. I tried to help her see the reality of how gross it was, but alas, the parent folk made me leave her alone and she was a disastermesschild. Whatever. I know gross when I see it and it's not MY fault that she's a baby and has no clue. Hopefully she'll grow up and realize someday that I'm (always) right. Then Daddy said we could carve the pumpkins (which involved poking and cutting! Woo!) and I was an expert poker so Daddy could cut holes in the pumpkins with the tiny saws mom got out of the pumpkin carving kits. Even though there was so much grossness involved and I almost fainted three times from it, carving pumpkins is REALLY fun and I can't wait to do it again next year!!

Hadley's pumpkin carving story in our words:
Oh Hadley. You make us smile so much each day and today was no exception. So as soon as the three of us older people in the family were busy setting up for the great pumpkin carving, Hadley took off for the (up)stairs b/c theoretically, no one should be watching and she'd have free reign for at least 23 seconds to scale as many as she could. I convinced her to see what we were up to and once she actually saw the pumpkins, she came a crawlin'. Fast. Adam cut open the first one (reference Morgan's reaction above), put it on the floor for us to start cleaning out, and Hadley had NO problem DIVING in and seeing what was all up in there. Of course, she grabbed the pumpkin stem/lid and tried to eat it. My brother, Travis, said his girls really enjoyed eating pumpkin and hey! Why not! We use it to cook! So I let her taste it all she wanted and wowzers, does that kid love pumpkin. Finally, she saw that stuff was coming OUT of the pumpkin and immediately wanted in on the action. (PS. dressing kid in feetsie jammies was the best idea ever - SO easy to clean up - face, hands, done.) She pulled out goo, ate some, threw the seeds down, licked some, got more goo, and enjoyed watching her sister freak out. She touched her sister with it once and we all had a good laugh as I'm sure you can imagine by now how that went down. Hadley could have stayed there forever playing with the pumpkins but soon it was past her bedtime and since she's boycotting naps at Mary's house this week (say what!?! we think it has something to do with the meds she's on??) she needed to get to bed. Minimal naps + pumpkin carving = baby who slept straight through the night. Lovely. Best pumpkin carving ever.

Hadley's pumpkin carving story, as told in her words:
Stairs!!
Orange things!!
Pumpkin lids taste good!!
Leave me alone, Morgan!!
I love pumpkin goo!!
::make funny face::
It's really squishy!!
I throw you, pumpkin goo!!
HA HA HA got you, Morgan!!
::make funny face::
Why can't I have a big bite, Mom?!
I love the scoop!!
I put goo back in the pumpkin from the bowl!!
::make funny face::
Here, Jessie, pumpkin tastes good!!
Why no puppy sharing, Mom!?
::rub eyes, get dangerously close to pumpkin goo insertion::
::protest getting clean::
::protest new jammies/diaper::
::take medicine like a champ::
::kisses goodnight::
::drink 1/2 of bottle::
::take last medicine::
::splat-out-cold baby for the night::

Hey, yo, whatcha doin' in there, Morgan?

EW GROSS I GOT DIRTY 

::wipes hand on shirt::

I thought this spoon was for eating the goo?

Uh....goo. 

Ya know, not too bad! I think I'll have some more.

What are these white things?

Ok, Morgan's onto something. This is GOOEY. 

::splat::

Working on mommy's white pumpkin

Eating mommy's white pumpkin

Putting goo back into the pumpkin from the bowl

Holding her sleeve WAYYYYY back so as to avoid any goo LOL

LOOK!! I got two seeeeeeeeds!

This is how you poke the holes...

Morgan took her hole-poking very seriously.

Pumpkin #1 is done!

And Hadley successfully looks like a deer in headlights.

Pumpkin outside and prayers said that the dogs don't eat it.

Turns out they LOVE pumpkin.

White pumpkin done!

Best pumpkin carving evening ever and we're excited for this to be an annual tradition!! 

Hadley's first word

So yesterday, in all her sick ick illness goo, Hadley said her first "this $hit is real" word! Adam was upstairs brushing teeth with Morgan and Hadley and I were near the stairs looking in the mirror at how cute she is even if she had her sick face on all over the place (which is significantly reduced, thankyouverymuch) and she started waving incessantly and then said, "HAH!" (translation - as I am a baby translator, you know - HI!!). Our baby SAID her first word! She's said other words by signing them, but today she VERBALIZED it. So exciting. I'm pretty sure she might say dad (aDAH!) too, but we aren't 100% sure on that. She's attempting more imitation and gets just as excited as we do when she "says" something. We are just smitten with her. She and Morgan are the apples of our eyes and we're so lucky to have them. xo

Sick baby - for real

Poor Hadley. She was home with me yesterday, home with Adam this morning, to the doctor, and home with me the rest of the afternoon. Diagnosis? Double ear infection with the right side being pretty bad and the start of thrush (only on her lips and front of her tongue, but since antibiotics make it worse, she's being treated for that, too). No wonder she's fighting so hard and getting nowhere. She can't go to daycare again tomorrow so Adam and I are working out the logistics of that. Three days not going to daycare. That's a lot of vacation! I really don't want to miss another day at my Thursday building and for sure I'm missing the afternoon (which is fine - it's conferences/early out anyway) but we'll have to see about tomorrow morning. It's that time of year for Adam to run low on days while I have plenty...we'll see. Poor baby. :(

Happy 3rd Birthday, Morgan!

Morgan is officially a three year old kid. Kid - I can't say baby (that one's long gone), no longer a toddler (but I haven't been able to call her that for a while), so now she's a kid. A big kid. Enjoy the pictures from her birthday weekend in WI and some in Iowa as she opens gifts and celebrates. That kid knows how to celebrate a birthday! Sunday night at dinner, she asked if she could have another pirate party - two is plenty, sweetheart! Mommy and Daddy are going to go insane/broke if we have another! Here's what's going on with our big kids nowadays...

• She wears size 4T/4 (although 4 is a little big) clothes and size 9 or 10 shoes, depending on the brand. (I'll update height/weight after her well-check appointment Nov. 9th either in this post and/or a new one). 
• Well check stats update: Morgan is 39.25" tall (92nd percentile) and 33.75lbs (73rd percentile). Growing and healthy!
• She has been potty trained for a long long time now and gets up to go at night, however, she still calls for us even though she could do it on her own. We just need to let go and practice but when it happens once every two weeks, what's a few minutes outta bed? (Wait, it's a lot. We'll be practicing more!)
• She LOVES to play. Her imagination is growing and we're finding that we don't have enough "older girl" toys in the house. This problem was quickly remedied by her birthday. Thank you, friends and family, for the wonderful gifts!
• Morgan rides a two-wheel bike with training wheels as well as a trike. 
• She can pump on the swing and once pushed, can go on her own for a while. That said, she still loves to be pushed super high.
• Morgan loves her little sister unless she tries to play with her pirate ship. Then it's all MINE! :)
• Morgan has some sass to her but she's a delightfully pleasant young girl. She wants to please and she doesn't want to get in trouble or yelled at (yes, she's sassy enough for yelling although lots of times it's a safety issue with her sister - "Morgan, don't close the door when your sister's only halfway through it," "Morgan, please don't lift both your sister's hands off the couch when she's hanging onto it - she'll fall." That sort of thing). 
• She is learning how to write her letters and LOVES tracing letters over dots made for her. 
• She is in love love love with Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Diego, and also enjoys Dora, Mickey Mouse, Doc McStuffins, Wild Krats, and a few other shows that teach her various things. 
• Morgan loves to be outside and working with grandparents. If she can help, she'll stay out until she's frozen (seeing as how it's getting cold outside except for this random week?). 
• We have 3 year old pictures on Thursday...looking forward to that one for sure! 
• Morgan really enjoys painting and will do so every day if we let her. 
• She still likes to be an animal rescuer and will race around the house, fist held high, and sing the Diego theme song that goes with it. It's adorable and now Hadley will stick her fist in the air and expect you to run her all over the house after Morgan, too. 
• We are so very proud of our big girl. She knows so many things, does new things each day, and makes our hearts burst with pride and love. What a great 3 years it's been so far...can't wait to see what waits in the next one! oxxo Enjoy the pictures from her birthday weekend!

Making cupcakes to take to Mary's the next morning

Balloons to greet Morgan on her birthday morning

It's my birthday! Silverlicious!

My very own treasure chest to decorate/paint!!

In WI 10/20/12, opening gifts from Grandma Sherri & Grandpa Al

Off to Pumpkin Fest in Mishicot! Hadley rockin' the baby bunny hat

Hadley spent lots of time on Adam's shoulders - babies don't like strollers anyway, right?

Awesome decorations for Morgan's pirate family party! 

Way to go, Grandma Sherri & Grandpa Al!

Playing fruit ninja before the party...don't they look 5 again?

This is the epitome of Hadley right now. This kid is in LOVE with her shoes and will do almost anything to get and eat them. :)

Izzy the pirate!! 

(reference Jake and the Neverland Pirates)

Sprinkling pixie dust on herself

Others got festive for the party as well! 

Pirate grandparents

Pirate parents

Taking a whack at the Jake piñata

Pirate Grandma Susie!

I could NOT leave this picture of Gracie out. 

OMGoodness she's so stinkin' cute and funny!!

(and only 14 months old)

Blowing out her three candles; she's so big.

Happy 3rd birthday, Morgan! We love you so much!