Guess what Hannah decided to start doing yesterday on her 8 month birthday??!! She starting crawling! Yesterday it was more of a shuffle of the knees, but today it is a full out crawl. There is no stopping this girl now.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Kittycat's House
Thursday morning we received a call from Dale reporting that Deb was in the hospital again with diverticulitis (a swelling of the abdomen due to consumption of certain types of foods). Deb had surgery years ago to fix the problem, but for some reason it has come back. The first few days she was in pain, but the antibiotics and pain medicine has made her feel much better. She will check in with the Dr. again in a few weeks to see what the next steps are.
Sunday she was still in the hospital, but feeling much better, so we made the drive over for a visit. Henry was very excited to go and see Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt and their kittycat Fred. We got to St. Anthony's in time to visit with Deb right before she was discharged. When we got to Deb's hospital room Henry told her 'your room is very nice'. It was so funny!
Deb was discharged before noon so we got to go to 'the kittycat's house', as Henry calls it. Fred is Deb and Dale's cat who, over years of tourture from her three grandson's, has learned to hide the second he hears any little children's voices. Fred made an appearance for about five minutes when we got to the house, then went and hid never to be seen again. Henry got his kittycat fix though.
Bennett and Camron came over to play with Henry yesterday afternoon at the kittycat's house. They played basketball in the basement. It was so fun watching Henry try and keep up with his cousins. Henry still calls them both Bennett, which Camron just shakes his head at and smiles. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep one minute into the drive home. He didn't even finish the granola bar in his hand before passing out!
It was a nice, quiet drive back to Des Moines for us last night. I even got a nap in! Thank you Andy for driving us back safe and sound.
Sunday she was still in the hospital, but feeling much better, so we made the drive over for a visit. Henry was very excited to go and see Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt and their kittycat Fred. We got to St. Anthony's in time to visit with Deb right before she was discharged. When we got to Deb's hospital room Henry told her 'your room is very nice'. It was so funny!
Deb was discharged before noon so we got to go to 'the kittycat's house', as Henry calls it. Fred is Deb and Dale's cat who, over years of tourture from her three grandson's, has learned to hide the second he hears any little children's voices. Fred made an appearance for about five minutes when we got to the house, then went and hid never to be seen again. Henry got his kittycat fix though.
Bennett and Camron came over to play with Henry yesterday afternoon at the kittycat's house. They played basketball in the basement. It was so fun watching Henry try and keep up with his cousins. Henry still calls them both Bennett, which Camron just shakes his head at and smiles. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep one minute into the drive home. He didn't even finish the granola bar in his hand before passing out!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Formula Poop - How I have {not} missed you
Now that Hannah is almost 8 months old her vision is as clear as it will get. She can now see as far as we can, where as compared to the first few months of her life her vision span started at only 8". What does this mean for us?? She pays attention to everything!! It has become nearly impossible for me to get in a full feeding with her lately. Actually, it has been impossible. So a few weeks ago I decided to start the weaning process.
Hannah still wakes up twice at night (I know...crazy), so I feed her one side each time she wakes up to put her back to sleep. This has kept my milk supply up enough during the day that I still have to pump once at work. So Hannah has been taking her bottles with half formula and half breast milk.
There are great things with bottle feeding. It makes getting ready in the morning much easier (Andy gets to feed her so I can spend more time getting ready), we know how many ounces she is eating, and she can watch everything she wants and still eat at the same time. But one of the downsides to feeding her formula is the stinky diapers! No more throwing away Hannah's poopy diapers in the kitchen garbage - these stinkers will be going in the diaper genie from now on.
So the bitter sweet process of weaning has begun. I know Hannah is ready...but am I?? I am very ready to have my freedom back. No more pumping at work, remembering everything that goes with the pump, figuring out how to keep the milk cold, no more nursing tanks, no more breast pads, and no more exploding breasts when I am in meetings all day. But that also means Hannah is growing up. She doesn't need me as much as she used to. It is all part of life I know...but are we really already to this point?? I remember this happened with Henry as well. I was sad at first...but give me a few weeks and it will be a distant memory once that pump gets packed far far away, and my body returns to (some sort) of normalacy...
Hannah still wakes up twice at night (I know...crazy), so I feed her one side each time she wakes up to put her back to sleep. This has kept my milk supply up enough during the day that I still have to pump once at work. So Hannah has been taking her bottles with half formula and half breast milk.
There are great things with bottle feeding. It makes getting ready in the morning much easier (Andy gets to feed her so I can spend more time getting ready), we know how many ounces she is eating, and she can watch everything she wants and still eat at the same time. But one of the downsides to feeding her formula is the stinky diapers! No more throwing away Hannah's poopy diapers in the kitchen garbage - these stinkers will be going in the diaper genie from now on.
So the bitter sweet process of weaning has begun. I know Hannah is ready...but am I?? I am very ready to have my freedom back. No more pumping at work, remembering everything that goes with the pump, figuring out how to keep the milk cold, no more nursing tanks, no more breast pads, and no more exploding breasts when I am in meetings all day. But that also means Hannah is growing up. She doesn't need me as much as she used to. It is all part of life I know...but are we really already to this point?? I remember this happened with Henry as well. I was sad at first...but give me a few weeks and it will be a distant memory once that pump gets packed far far away, and my body returns to (some sort) of normalacy...
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tractors
Henry loves any and all tractors. He currently owns more tractors than I can count. Yesterday my mom came to watch the kids and she brought a new tractor for Henry with her that my dad bought for him. Just what Henry needed - one more tractor! I guess I have to give my dad a break...he has spent the past 28 years buying dolls and all things girly.
Here is Henry showing off his new tractor that Papa got for him. He slept with it last night and took it to the sitter with him today. Hopefully my sisters have boys...because we have enough tractors to go around for everyone!
Count to Ten
We caught Henry on tape counting to ten last night. Every day he amazes me more and more with everything he is learning. Love this boy!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sharing
Henry is learning to share his toys with Hannah. He knows that if he takes a toy away from her, he needs to give her one in return. It was so fun to watch Hannah crawl over top of Henry this morning to try and get the toy he was playing with. Of course, his toys are the only thing she wants to play with. Hannah is becoming more and more mobile every day. She can crawl backwards now, so I know any day away she will go!!
I have quickly learned that toys are not the only thing these kids share. On Friday Hannah woke up covered in poop. She unfortunately has come down with the same thing Henry had last week. So all weekend Hannah was fussy, pooping every 2 hours, and not sleeping well. It continued yesterday, so I called my mom and asked her to come over today to stay home with the kids. So she is at home with both kids today. We are so lucky to have our family so close.
I have a call into the pediatrician since when kids have diarrhea you are supposed to take them off milk. But what do you do when all your baby drinks is milk?? My mom tried a few ounces of Pedialyte this morning which she took down fine. She is on day four of this GI bug, so hopefully on the mends. Poor little girl.
Henry is completely better and treated mommy and daddy to sleeping in until 7:15 this morning! Only if that would continue!!
And P.S. - Mommy has a sinus infection...nothing more fun that a sick mommy and sick kids! Luckily my Dr. called in a script for me that I am headed to pick up over noon. There is no time for this mom to be sick!
Happy Monday everyone!
I have quickly learned that toys are not the only thing these kids share. On Friday Hannah woke up covered in poop. She unfortunately has come down with the same thing Henry had last week. So all weekend Hannah was fussy, pooping every 2 hours, and not sleeping well. It continued yesterday, so I called my mom and asked her to come over today to stay home with the kids. So she is at home with both kids today. We are so lucky to have our family so close.
I have a call into the pediatrician since when kids have diarrhea you are supposed to take them off milk. But what do you do when all your baby drinks is milk?? My mom tried a few ounces of Pedialyte this morning which she took down fine. She is on day four of this GI bug, so hopefully on the mends. Poor little girl.
Henry is completely better and treated mommy and daddy to sleeping in until 7:15 this morning! Only if that would continue!!
And P.S. - Mommy has a sinus infection...nothing more fun that a sick mommy and sick kids! Luckily my Dr. called in a script for me that I am headed to pick up over noon. There is no time for this mom to be sick!
Happy Monday everyone!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Cheerios
Our sitter called in sick today, so I am at home this morning with the kids. Henry was eating his normal 4 bowls of cereal, which is the only meal of the day we can get him to eat well for us. Hannah was being a little fussy, so I decided to entertain her with some Cheerios. Her first time gumming any type of finger food and she did great!! Pretty hilarious watching her try this new adventure of eating Cheerios.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Kids Company
Our search began for a new babysitter. The question is - do we switch to a center now that Henry is older? What do we do with Hannah? Do we bring her to an in-home provider and Henry to the center and deal with two drop offs for a year? Or do we bring Hannah to the center as well? Those questions and more have been on my mind over the past few months.
Now that Henry is almost half way to his third birthday, structure in his day is becoming more and more important. Free play is still a very important piece of his day, but a few short lessons here and there are good for him. And playing in groups of children his own age wouldn't hurt either.
Andy and I interviewed with three centers and three in-home providers. My coworker highly referred the center she brings her children to called Kids Company. Of the three centers I toured I liked this one the best by far. It is much smaller than the other centers, and is family run. The only problem is, like with most centers around here, the wait list! Emily (the director) thought she could get Henry enrolled in June, and Hannah in August, so a little bit of a wait. So we had been dealing with what to do with the kids until they had an opening. Then last week Emily called and said an opening came available and she can get Henry in starting March 21st! That is the first day we will be in the new house - so perfect timing.
She still doesn't have a date for when Hannah can start. Once Henry starts we get priority over any other families that aren't currently enrolled, so she is hopeful for a June start. We interviewed with an in-home provider a few weeks ago that we really liked and are working through details with her now. She may be ok with us bringing Hannah for a few months until they can get her in the center. Or we may decide to keep Hannah with her for awhile until she is ready for a center, as long as the two drop offs isn't a huge inconvenience.
I dropped by our deposit check for Henry on Tuesday and peeked in his room again. One of the things I love about Kids Company is that they split out their two year olds into 'Little 2's' and 'Big 2's'. There is such a difference in development between a 24 month old compared to a 36 month old. So I really like that they split them up. Henry will have 11 other little playmates in his class. I also like that during educational time they break out into two small groups of 6 each. They also go outside at least once a day. He is going to love it so much!
So we have one of the kids taken care of, which is a relief! Still trying to figure out what to do with Hannah. Luckily we still have five weeks. And if I don't find anything that is better than where she is at now I can always leave her with Teri.
Hard to believe that Henry will be starting at more of a 'preschool' now. He is growing too fast!!
Now that Henry is almost half way to his third birthday, structure in his day is becoming more and more important. Free play is still a very important piece of his day, but a few short lessons here and there are good for him. And playing in groups of children his own age wouldn't hurt either.
Andy and I interviewed with three centers and three in-home providers. My coworker highly referred the center she brings her children to called Kids Company. Of the three centers I toured I liked this one the best by far. It is much smaller than the other centers, and is family run. The only problem is, like with most centers around here, the wait list! Emily (the director) thought she could get Henry enrolled in June, and Hannah in August, so a little bit of a wait. So we had been dealing with what to do with the kids until they had an opening. Then last week Emily called and said an opening came available and she can get Henry in starting March 21st! That is the first day we will be in the new house - so perfect timing.
She still doesn't have a date for when Hannah can start. Once Henry starts we get priority over any other families that aren't currently enrolled, so she is hopeful for a June start. We interviewed with an in-home provider a few weeks ago that we really liked and are working through details with her now. She may be ok with us bringing Hannah for a few months until they can get her in the center. Or we may decide to keep Hannah with her for awhile until she is ready for a center, as long as the two drop offs isn't a huge inconvenience.
I dropped by our deposit check for Henry on Tuesday and peeked in his room again. One of the things I love about Kids Company is that they split out their two year olds into 'Little 2's' and 'Big 2's'. There is such a difference in development between a 24 month old compared to a 36 month old. So I really like that they split them up. Henry will have 11 other little playmates in his class. I also like that during educational time they break out into two small groups of 6 each. They also go outside at least once a day. He is going to love it so much!
So we have one of the kids taken care of, which is a relief! Still trying to figure out what to do with Hannah. Luckily we still have five weeks. And if I don't find anything that is better than where she is at now I can always leave her with Teri.
Hard to believe that Henry will be starting at more of a 'preschool' now. He is growing too fast!!
Monday, February 14, 2011
My Valentine's
Last night Henry was feeling a little better and helped me make his Valentine's. He helped me write each of the daycare kids names on each Valentine, and put the stickers on. We then attached a piece of candy to each one.
When is the last time you made Valentine's? Well, it had been quite awhile for Andy and me. We couldn't remember how they worked. Does Henry give everyone Spiderman Valentines since he is a boy? Or does he give the girls the Princess ones and the boys the Spiderman ones? There were no directions on the box to help us out!
Henry helping with the heart stickers.
Spiderman and Princesses. We decided to give the girls the Princess Valentine's and the boys the Spiderman Valentine's. That makes the most sense - right??
This Valentine's Day I find myself the luckiest girl around. I have the most wonderful husband, and two beautiful babies. I am lucky to be so loved.
Happy Valentine's Day!!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Not Feeling so Well
Henry is constantly on the move. Literally. He never sits still for even a second. So I knew this morning right after he woke up when he wanted to cuddle on the couch that he wasn't feeling well. We have been super lucky with such healthy children. Henry didn't get his first ear infection until he was 2 years old. Sure, he has had the normal colds here and there, but hardly is he sick enough that it slows him down. Well today is a different story.
Poor little guy. This was after he laid in bed with us until 7:30am, and took a 2 hour morning nap.
Don't worry, he didn't forget about his Spider Man swim trunks (two sizes too big). He has not taken these off since we accidentally stumbled upon them while packing yesterday.
He is down for his second nap of the day now. Hopefully he wakes up feeling much better. Valentines Day is tomorrow and we have a list of his daycare buddies to make Valentines Day cards for!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Schmidt - Schweers Family Night Out
Last Saturday the Schweers came to visit. Henry loves playing with his cousins, and Andy and I really enjoy hanging out with Adam and Jill, so we were excited to have them over for the night. When Adam suggested going out to eat Andy and I thought he was crazy. Bringing 3 boys and an infant out in public?? How were we going to manage that? To our surprise the boys did great. They all stayed in the booth the entire time, and we managed to have an enjoyable night out!
Here is Camron, Bennett and Henry having fun at Old Chicago.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Another Trip to the Dr.
My cell phone rang this morning around 10am and it was Teri, our daycare provider. I always know it isn't good news when her name shows up on my phone. She said Henry was not himself, lying on the floor all morning. He didn't have a fever, but I figured since there were three other kids this week that had confirmed cases of strep, I should probably bring him to the Dr.
The Dr. checked him over and the strep culture came back negative. He had no fever, just the usual cold symptoms. So the Dr. called it a viral infection and said to give it a few days and sent us on our way. All good news.
I brought Hannah along to have her weight checked. At her 6 month check they were concerned with her weight. Since then we have upped her ounces and fed her more baby food, which seems to have taken care of the problem. Her weight is up to 16lbs 3oz. 38th percentile.
For now we just wait and hope that Henry doesn't get worse. I stayed home with him the rest of the day and all three of us napped together, a nice long nap from 12:30 - 3:30. My kind of nap.
Tonight Henry is playing like normal and seems to be doing just fine. Let's hope it continues.
The Dr. checked him over and the strep culture came back negative. He had no fever, just the usual cold symptoms. So the Dr. called it a viral infection and said to give it a few days and sent us on our way. All good news.
I brought Hannah along to have her weight checked. At her 6 month check they were concerned with her weight. Since then we have upped her ounces and fed her more baby food, which seems to have taken care of the problem. Her weight is up to 16lbs 3oz. 38th percentile.
For now we just wait and hope that Henry doesn't get worse. I stayed home with him the rest of the day and all three of us napped together, a nice long nap from 12:30 - 3:30. My kind of nap.
Tonight Henry is playing like normal and seems to be doing just fine. Let's hope it continues.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Skywalk Golf 2011
This morning was our 4th annual Skywalk Golf. The first year I was pregnant with Henry, so technically he has attended each one.
Our tee time was 8:03am, so one of the first teams to go. KCCI Channel 8 was broadcasting live from our 'Blue' course and interviewed Henry. She called him a little golf pro. It was very cute.
Henry love watching the Duck.
Here he is taking his turn. He would not let the putter go the entire day.
Schmidt family.
Henry loves riding escalators.
Henry only threw a few fits when he got mad when we had to move him from the course. Other than that we kept him pretty busy and he had a good time!
Friday, February 4, 2011
More Space
Andy and I have been throwing around the idea of moving for the past year. Last year at this time we still owned our townhouse in Atlanta, which is a whole different story, but having that mortgage payment, with rent on top of it made for no extra cash. Last year at this time I was pregnant with Hannah, so we knew we would need more space, but the thought of moving all of our stuff, and increasing our rent payment outweighed the idea of moving. So we decided to extend our current lease.
Our current townhome that we rent has a great layout. But, it only has two bedrooms, which has been challenging. I don't think Hannah has slept in her crib more than a few times, since she shares a room with Henry (and Lord knows, we would not want to ever wake up Henry). Her 'make shift' bedroom is in our master bedroom closet where we have her pack n play set up. I know that sounds terrible, but it is a huge closet, and it has actually worked out well having her so close.
So this March our lease expires again. There are two major things that made us consider not moving. The actual move...we have SO much stuff. And having to switch babysitters. I hate sitter searching, and it makes it hard since we like Teri so much. There is the option of staying with Teri, but that would mean adding 20 minutes onto the commute.
We have decided to hire movers (Yes - all of our immediate family can start cheering now). And we have started the sitter hunt. If we don't find a sitter we like just as much as Teri, then we will make the extra drive and continue to bring the kids there until we do find another arrangement. Our kids are the most important thing to us, and we won't settle for anything but the best for them. The good thing is that we have time.
We found a great home out west in Urbandale off of Hickman Rd. It is about five minutes away from our good friends who have little girls the same age as Hannah, and is closer to my sisters. It has four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a back yard, and 2200 square feet!! I am not looking forward to the additional time that will be spent on cleaning, but more space will be so nice.
Why rent vs own?? We had to short sell our townhouse, which stays on our credit history for 3 years. So two years from now we will be able to be approved for a loan, have a better feel for the area we want to buy, have more money saved for a down payment, and ready to take on the title of home ownership again.
Yeah to more space!!
Our current townhome that we rent has a great layout. But, it only has two bedrooms, which has been challenging. I don't think Hannah has slept in her crib more than a few times, since she shares a room with Henry (and Lord knows, we would not want to ever wake up Henry). Her 'make shift' bedroom is in our master bedroom closet where we have her pack n play set up. I know that sounds terrible, but it is a huge closet, and it has actually worked out well having her so close.
So this March our lease expires again. There are two major things that made us consider not moving. The actual move...we have SO much stuff. And having to switch babysitters. I hate sitter searching, and it makes it hard since we like Teri so much. There is the option of staying with Teri, but that would mean adding 20 minutes onto the commute.
We have decided to hire movers (Yes - all of our immediate family can start cheering now). And we have started the sitter hunt. If we don't find a sitter we like just as much as Teri, then we will make the extra drive and continue to bring the kids there until we do find another arrangement. Our kids are the most important thing to us, and we won't settle for anything but the best for them. The good thing is that we have time.
We found a great home out west in Urbandale off of Hickman Rd. It is about five minutes away from our good friends who have little girls the same age as Hannah, and is closer to my sisters. It has four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a back yard, and 2200 square feet!! I am not looking forward to the additional time that will be spent on cleaning, but more space will be so nice.
Why rent vs own?? We had to short sell our townhouse, which stays on our credit history for 3 years. So two years from now we will be able to be approved for a loan, have a better feel for the area we want to buy, have more money saved for a down payment, and ready to take on the title of home ownership again.
Yeah to more space!!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Chatter Box
Last night while picking Henry up from Ms. Teri's house she mentioned what a chatter box he has become. That really got me thinking about it. Henry has gone from saying two word sentences just 5 months ago, to saying at least 6 word sentences more recently. This morning he said 'Hannah turned off the movie Mom'. (Hannah was gumming the remote and paused the TV).
It has been so much fun watching him go from learning one word every few days, to several words each day. He is also getting very good at talking back. 'NO MOM' and 'NO HANNAH' is getting to be some of his favorite phrases. I can already tell that Henry will be telling on Hannah any chance he gets.
It has been so much fun watching him go from learning one word every few days, to several words each day. He is also getting very good at talking back. 'NO MOM' and 'NO HANNAH' is getting to be some of his favorite phrases. I can already tell that Henry will be telling on Hannah any chance he gets.
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