Happy 2nd Birthday Christian!

Dear Christian,

Another year has come and gone and you have gone through even more changes. So much so that when I look back at pictures from the day you were born I can barely recognize you as that little baby I used to be able to cradle in my arms.

Over the past year you’ve mastered walking, or more precisely, sprinting. You have also started talking and are uttering your first sentences. Each day we build new things with blocks and read an endless number of books that seem to have stirred your imagination.

Almost on a daily basis you surprise your daddy and me with the things you’ve discovered in your world. Whether it is how to jump off the couch or as simple as a letter, color, or number, there is always something new for you to observe and dutifully report to us.

Even as you exert your independence with the simple words “I do it!”, you have shown us great things in how considerate you can be. Whether making sure everyone (Mommy, Daddy, Kayla, Aspen, Bo and anyone else in the room) gets a kiss good night or sharing your toys with your sister and your friends, we are very proud of you.

You are a true joy to be around. You have such a cheerful disposition. You love to smile and make others smile. Your laugh melts my heart every time. You are definitely ALL boy. You love playing chase, you love playing sports related games and you love to tackle. However, you do have a very sensitive side. Your feelings get hurt when someone yells at you (especially your sister) and you love to cuddle. You will come up to me in the middle of the day, give me a kiss, hug me and say “I wuv you!” Love It!!!

Right now the concept of birthdays and things wrapped up in shiny paper may not mean a whole lot to you, but to me they are all part of this journey, your journey. I am honored to be part of it and excited for all the things your future holds.

As you celebrate your second birthday you are fortunate to be surrounded by family that loves you more than mere words can express.

Love always,

Mommy

May 26, 2008

May 26, 2009

May 26, 2010

Annual Bluebonnets

This years bluebonnet pictures were not the best.  I kept putting off packing the kids up, driving to a nice patch of flowers, bribing the kids to smile for Mommy until it was almost to late.  So, the flowers were not as abundant as I would like.  But we did get our annual bluebonnet pictures (and fire ant bites).

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One more month…

31 more days and my little boy will be two years old.   I love every minute with him and cherish every hug and kiss.  This month he has grown by leaps and bounds.  He is talking more and more.  He has started to tell me, “I love you!”  (Melt my heart.)  The other night, Christian came down with a fever.  I held him and patted his pack.  Later that night, he rolled over and started patting my chest and hugged me.  (Melt my heart.)  Even though he is very loving, Christian is still ALL boy.  Christian loves to play ball, loves to hit, loves to tackle, loves to eat.

Easter Day 2010

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Easter with eggs.  Well, the other day I came across a little girls explanation as to why…”it must be because eggs are a symbol for life. We hide the eggs like Jesus was hidden from us in the tomb by death. When we find him, we receive a wonderful gift of grace when we find the egg (life) we get a present. It's supposes to help the kids understand.”  I hope that one day my kids are explaining this wonderful explanation to their kids.

Easter Day 2010 at the Schneider home was a wonderful day.  The kids and I woke up, got dressed and headed to church.  Kayla sat with me in “big” church since all Sunday school classes were canceled.  I loved having her there with me.  It reminded me of my childhood.  Sitting there next to my Memaw, drawing on offering envelops and trying to sing the songs with the choir.

After church, we headed home to see if the Easter bunny had arrived.  WOW! 50+ eggs were in are front yard and two large baskets were waiting for the kids.  You should have seen Christian and Kayla’s faces.  They could not get out of the car fast enough.  Jon and the kids ran around searching for the eggs.  Kayla picked up as many eggs as she could and waited to open them until she got inside.  Christian did not care about waiting.  I think he finally made it inside with a little less then half the chocolate that he found.  Thank goodness  the Easter Bunny hid money in half the eggs and candy in the rest.  Otherwise, Christian would have had a chocolate overload.  Kayla on the other hand got so excited at how much money she got and could care less about the candy. 

After counting the money and putting it in the piggy banks, Jon made us  lunch and then it was nap time.  After naps, I decided to take the little ones to San Gabriel Creative Playscape.  They had a blast.  We played hide-n-seek and ran around until we were ALL exhausted.

Overall, we had a great Easter Day.  I hope everyone had a blessed Easter Day.

      

Up to My Neck in Easter Eggs

I think five Easter Egg Hunts in a 4 day span is way to many (and that is NOT counting Easter day hunt).  What am I going to do with 100 plastic Easter eggs?  I hate throwing them all away.  I always keep them and tell myself…next year I am going to use these rather then buying new ones.  However, it never fails, I go out and buy a couple dozen more eggs.  I guess in a couple of years, I can host my own community Easter Egg Hunt.

This years, hunts started out like the previous years.  Kayla only wanted to pick up the PINK ones and Christian did not care about finding the eggs as much as opening them up and seeing what was inside (and then proceeded to eat it).  Kayla soon realized that if she just picked up all the ones that she could, she would fill her basket and have more treats.  So, by the end of the Easter fun, I was thankfully not stuck with ALL pink eggs (only 2/3 were pink).

Enjoy the pictures from three of the five hunts…

Easter Egg Hunt #1

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Easter Egg Hunt #2

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Easter Egg Hunt #3..Christian would not get near the Easter Bunny.  He just stared at him (which I really don’t blame him, he kind of scared me).

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A weekend of fun!

The past weekend was filled with tons of actions.  The cousins came down for a visit.  Not if that was enough, Kayla also had her last soccer game and soccer party.  The kids had a blast.  I love watching Jonah and Kayla interact.  The two have so much fun together.  Christian and Meredith are starting to bond (and it is adorable).  The weekend started out with some fun in the jeep. Poor Monda…the kids decided to try and run her down.  I think she finally had to hide between the cars to get away.  They had a blast!

 

      

Next, was the soccer game and end of the season party.  I think my kids won the award for the messiest cupcake eaters.  Go Christian and Kayla! I think it took several days for the green to finally come off her hands.

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After the soccer game, Monda and I took the kids to Jump n’ Climb. They all had a blast. Actually, we all had a really good time.  The kids talked Monda into climbing up one of the play areas and going down the slide.  Yah! All I have to say is after I heard her scream while coming down, I decided it was in my best interest to stay in the ball pit with Meredith.  This slide was no normal slide.  Two stories tall (maybe even taller) and straight down.  Christian, Kayla and Jonah LOVED it!  I think they went down the thing at least 100 times.

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Overall, it was a great weekend.  Kayla and Christian were TOTALLY exhausted the next week.  I think it took them several days to catch up on the much needed rest and relaxation.

Texas Weather…

Sunday February 21st, it was beautiful.  High 78 degrees.  So, how does it snow ALL day two days later.  Crazy weather.  Well, the kids sure enjoyed it.  I had to wake Kayla up Tuesday morning for school.  Normally, she lays there complaining that she is still tired.  Not, this morning.  Instead, I asked her to look out the window.  She gazed out the window, rubbed her eyes, looked out the window again, and then jumped out of bed doing a crazy snow dance.  “Lets go Mommy! lets go play in the snow!”  I could not get her dressed fast enough. She had a great time playing in the snow before school. After school, she played in it more.  Attacking me with snowballs.  I tried to get her to make a snowman.  However, she just wanted to run around and throw snowballs.  Christian was not sure about the snow at first.  He wanted to stay in side were it was warm.  However, after watching Kayla for a few minutes, he started running around trying to pick up snowballs and throw them at me.  His snowballs consisted of getting snow on his hands and rubbing it off on my legs. 

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