It took 2 whole years, but Cole’s hair finally got to the point where he needed to get a cut so this morning we took him to the Pigtails and Crewcuts in Cedar Park where Linda gave him a spiffy new cut. P & C has a lot of fun toys for the kids to play with (which Cole took complete advantage of) and they have cool taxi, firetruck, and airplane chairs for the kids to sit in while they get their hair cut. Cole did awesome and didn’t cry at all (he was a little unsure at first, but with Mommy near by blowing bubbles he was a perfect gentleman). Mommy did well too . We have a lock of his curls for scrapbooking and a photo from P & C.

You can check out more photos on my Facebook page.

Watch out now… we have a 2 year old! It’s pretty amazing to think back over the past 2 years and realize how quickly they passed by. We’ve loved every second of the journey and get tremendous happiness from seeing how Cole is growing up. By this time next year we’ll be celebrating Cole’s 3rd birthday and he’ll have a 9 month old little brother. Crazy! Until then we’ll just love up on our little man. Happy Birthday Cole! We love you! (that was a lot of exclamation points from me)

Boy!

The flood of emotions was pretty strong when we found out today. Both happy and sad, but mostly happy. Cole is going to love having a little brother to play with and we’re fortunate that we already have a ton of boys clothes and toys so turkey will be all set when he arrives, but there is definitely a little part of us that wanted that all-American dream family (one boy and one girl). We’re pretty sure that this will be our last child (we ain’t no spring chickens), but who knows what the future will hold. For now we are in love with our two boys and are trying to grasp the fact that we are going to have two boys running around the house by the end of next year. Send well wishes and any extra energy you have… we’ll need it

PS. Turkey is completely healthy… 10 little fingers, ten little toes, button nose, and lots of energy (he was moving all around during the ultrasound)

PPS. Final tally for the poll was 15 votes girl, and 5 boy… most of us are bad guessers

There’s nothing like it…motherhood. Nevermind the workday and whatever happened during it and nevermind meeting hubby for lunch, though that was very nice. The most memorable parts of my day inevitably revolve around my role as a mommy. It is what it is. Some people find that dull or just not their cup of tea. I get it. I am sometimes surprised or amused myself when I think of my brand of exciting these days. Nevertheless, it is my life and life is good.

So, what was the most memorable part of my day? Hmm. Maybe it was Cole waking up chipper and making sure we all got “dowstairs” for “breffest”…”go Bella.” Or maybe it was him putting on his own shoes, saying “daddy bathroom” and running over to knock on the bathroom door to tell daddy “all done.” Could it have been the sweet morning kiss goodbye or his enjoyment tonight of some purple slushie or his sudden announcement that he wanted to see his penguins followed by his dash to the stairs to go upstairs for his bath? Or the minute when he ran into his room in the buff, turned on his twilight turtle and marveled at the stars that were decorating his little legs? Perhaps it was when he had us laughing till there were tears when his repeated request for a frog sounded more like he had some bad potty mouth. But then again, there was the time soon after when he hugged and kissed some of his toys and requested we do the same…ah, the nightly routine. It may or may not be the part where he woke up a bit scared from a nightmare and called out for mommy and daddy in a heartbreaking way or the part where we had a nice, reassuring family hug. All said though, I think it was the part where I rocked little man for a little bit longer, soothing him whilst his tiny brother or sister tried diligently to kick him from within. Yep, there’s nothing like it and I feel blessed.

Yeah, so I’m not starting off the year so well with New Year’s goal #4…

Here are a few photos of Cole playing on his new picnic table. We wanted to get him a small table that he can sit at and do crafts and eat snacks and so far he really likes it.

Oh, and Cole turned 17 months old yesterday (on my birthday). He’s getting to be such a big boy. Tonight we took him to a jungle gym at our community center and he had a blast climbing, crawling, and sliding.

Resolutions/goals, call them what you will. Here are a few that I have for 2011…

1. Save more… big plans require big money so we need to save as much as we can.
2. P90X… I bought it months ago… I will actually do it this year.
3. Keep making good health choices… a healthy body and healthy mind are keys to all goals.
4. Blog more… yeah, I’ve been slacking.
5. Ride more… I’d love to take a weekend trip on my motorcycle.
6. Spend less time working on nights and weekends… it doesn’t make me happy.

Additions
7. Learn Italian (I bought Rosetta Stone Italian a few weeks ago so I’m moving on this one)
8. Come up with my own recipe for home made chili

What resolutions do you have for this year?

Happy New Year!

Hi there. Remember me? I’m the long lost blogger. It seems that I only have time lately to blog one post a month (sad, I know). Lots going on at work so I’m spending a lot of time working and the rest of the time with my family. I’ll try to be better, but I don’t know how successful I’ll be so just rejoice when I do get around to posting

Here’s a couple of photos from a Segway tour of downtown Austin that I took with Angie and Brandon when they were visiting a couple of weeks ago.

We’re living in our own house, enjoying life… blink…
Melanie’s pregnant, we’re ecstatic… blink…
Our little bundle of joy, Cole, is born… blink…
He’s sitting up on his own… blink…
He’s crawling… blink…
He’s eating solid foods… blink…
He’s walking… blink…
I don’t want to blink any more… I’m afraid I’ll miss something.

Here we are…another month has passed. Well, Cole walks all over the place now. He power walks. He’s working toward his run. He also climbs…stairs, ottomans, couches, highchairs… He wears big boy pajamas. He eats table foods — potatoes, peas, green beans, diced fruits, bread, crackers, etc. He loves throwing and bouncing balls. In fact, he loves throwing anything. He jabbers, he squeals, he giggles. There’s the nutshell description of Cole at this point. He keeps us busy. He continues to give us joy.

Look for some new photos from Troy soon!

Several of you have asked us for ideas for birthday presents for the little man. So, Cole has kindly set up an Amazon.com wish list to give us all a variety of ideas. Just go to www.amazon.com and click on “Gifts & Wish Lists.” Then, enter “Cole Schneider” under “Find Wish Lists and Registries” and click “Go.” Click on the first Cole Schneider listing (the one that uses appropriate upper and lowercase lettering). On the left-hand side, you should see the birthday of August 28 and a “ship to” showing Austin, TX. And, you should also know it’s his list because all of the stuff should seem appropriate for a one-year old (Cole is not currently reading any Stephen King…lol).

Alternatively, use the following link and we think (fingers crossed) it will work:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/359VR3JO5OX27

And, here’s some general info that might help too:

Clothing size: Currently in 12 mths, but if you want him to get more wear out of something, probably better to go with 18mths+

Temperature Guide: In Texas, it will likely be 90s in Sept, 80s in Oct, 70s to 60s in Nov and then will go down to 50s/40s by Dec…maybe to 30s by Jan, then back up to 40s/50s for Feb and up to 60 by March and 70s by April, then 80s – 100s from May through next Aug.

Shoe size: Currently size 3, but again, probably better to think of the future and bigger sizes.

Likes: motion, noise, music, dancing, balls and throwing, reading, baths, time at the pool, Elmo, Cookie Monster, finger foods

Hope this helps — if you have any questions we didn’t cover, just give us a holler and, as Cole’s personal assistants (heh), we’ll be glad to help you.