Troy and Melanie (dot com)

On July 5, 2000, we loaded up our rented U-Haul truck, took our last looks (for a while anyway) around our parents’ houses, our old neighborhoods, and the city in which we’d both grown up, met each other, and fallen in love (Lancaster, PA) and drove into the sunset (literally…we didn’t head out of town until around 5pm) on our way to a new adventure, a new life in a big, hot state called Texas.

We left town, driving the U-Haul and my Ford Escort station wagon and towing Troy’s GTI behind the truck.  Our parents and Kevin were with us and we made a whole family road trip of it, taking turns driving each of the vehicles.  We stopped in Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and finally Texas.  We moved into our brand new apartment, visited with our families some more before seeing them off at the airport, and then sat back and wondered what in the world we had ahead of us now that we’d actually seen our plan through.

And then we met you oh blog friends or we stayed in touch with you dear “tenured” friends…and life was good.  And it still is.  And, we’re feeling sentimental today, so to commemorate the occasion, here’s a fun little list…

Some things we’ve learned since moving to TX:

• Staying hydrated will help prevent passing out.
• Austin is weird and folks here would like to keep it that way.
• Going to “the lake” means going to one of various sections of the Colorado River…and is always fun.
• Jalapeno Ranch is fabulous! (and no that’s not a place)
• The “worst barbecue in TX” is actually the best.  :-)
• Manor is pronounced “may-ner,” Guadalupe does not have a “pay” sound at the end of it, and Salazar is pronounced “sa-laser.”
• Things really are “bigger” here.
• Burnt orange is a beautiful color.
• Texans tell it like it is — you can drive down the highway and see business signs for “Guns,” “Flowers,” “Tacos,” and “Convenience Store”…hey, you’re not misled.
• It’s okay to traipse young’uns right along the highway if you’re doing it in a quest for great bluebonnet photos.
• You can get cupcakes from airstream trailers, have homemade soups delivered to your doorstep, and enjoy eating your dinner off of waxpaper here.
• 100 degrees and 112 degrees feel about the same.
• Allergy season is every season.
• “God blessed Texas with his own hands…”

But the number one thing we’ve learned is that this is a great place to start a new life, to have fun and enjoy life, to make great friends, to find fulfilling work, and to start a family. We love you, Texas! Thanks for 10 great years (so far)!

Well, technically, he took his first step(s) on June 23, 2010…9 mths and 26 days.  :-)  But, now, 11 days later, he is getting really good at it.  He’s a bit less wobbly and can walk across half the room.  He can also catch himself getting ready to fall and stop it and steady himself and keep walking.  His learning curve (babies’ learning curves, in general) is amazing to us — it’s SO much fun to see.

Well, aside from the walking, Cole cut his third tooth on June 21st.  He seems to be on his way to cutting another too…a lot of drooling and gnawing on stuff…we’ll see.  He has also learned how to climb, making us both proud and nervous.  He can climb the steps lickety split (note: we do use a gate but we let him climb the steps when we are right behind him).  He has also figured out how to pull a pillow off the couch and use it as a stepstool to climb up onto the couch or ottoman.

He’s still such a peanut by size standards (about 18+ lbs), but he is still growing out of those clothes pretty quickly.  He’s pretty much in 12 mth clothing now, though some 9 mths stuff still fits.  He eats like a Hoover though, so it’s really just the way he’s burning calories like a madman.  He is eating more 3rd foods and also some real foods (Cheerios, peas, which are gross at the other end, potatoes, and mashed bananas, which he’s still not sure about).  Puffs remain his favorite thing…that and juice.

As to playing, he loves walking around his activity table and playing the piano on it.  He loves his ball (the cheap plastic type you buy at the supermarket) and he’s good at bouncing it and throwing it to you.  He can give you five and wave bye-bye too.  He also loves the toys that light up and play music and his talking cookie monster.

For the most part, he sleeps well and through the night.  There are just some nights that go wonky.  He laughs, giggles, and squeals with delight.  He also likes to sit and read/play with his tongue pressed between his lips, like he’s really contemplating something.  Oh, he has also been enjoying our weekend trips down to the pool.  He has a floating ring/canopy thing and some water toys.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now.  It’s a fun age (aside from the fighting him to change his diaper and put on clothes) and we’re all enjoying it.  We’re contemplating his birthday now…crazy that it’s less than two months away.

P.S. Troy will likely post photos/videos later.

This past week was pretty normal… both Mel and I had busy days at work, Cole did great at school, and we hung out with him in the evening before he conked out for the night. This weekend, however, was a different story. Let’s see if I can recall these events in the order they happened..

Yesterday morning Melanie was entertaining Cole in bed with her normally silly antics and he was squealing with delight when all of the sudden he started to giggle. Not screech, nor scream, but actually giggle. It is so adorable. We captured it using the iPhone (seriously, where would we be without our iPhones? funny note about the poker game you will read about in a few seconds… there were probably 20 iPhones there… crazy). Check out the audio:

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Last night we went over to a friend’s place to play some poker (they try to have a monthly tournament, but this was the first month since July that they were able to get everyone together) and after 6 hours of playing I won the whole thing! My prize was $240… not bad for a $20 buy-in. Melanie didn’t play since we brought Cole along, but they hung out and cheered me on. He did great for being out so long and he fell asleep on Mommy somewhere around 10:30.

Over the past couple of weeks we have been increasing the size of Cole’s bottles to see if he’s ready to begin trying solid food. This past week he was eating 6 ounce bottles consistently at school so we decided to introduce him to rice cereal. We’re pretty sure his response was typical of infants making the transition… kind of a mix between fascination with the spoon and disgust of the new taste. We’re letting him dictate the pace at which we make the transition, but if tonight is any indication it’s not going to be too hard for him to get the hang of eating from a spoon. After about 15 minutes of laughing at him spitting out the cereal he started to keep more in his mouth and actually was accepting the food from the spoon. It was fun to watch him learn… blowing bubbles on the spoon, spitting out the food immediately, grabbing the spoon and guiding it to his mouth, breaking into smiles, and eating his bib. It’s fun being a parent

Video:

Cole’s first taste of solid food from Troy Schneider on Vimeo.

Photos:

(after eating we gave Cole a bath where he made a mess kicking the water around and his feet got all wrinkled up)

Yes, I know we’re midway through January…given that mommy work is never done, I’m thinking that’s not too bad.  Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree with Troy’s wrap-up and love his 2010 goals.  I just wanted to add a few thoughts regarding my experience of 2009.  So, here goes…

2009 was the year I:

>  Gained a whole new respect for my knockers *heh heh*

>  Adjusted my definition of a good night’s sleep *read: SOME continuous sleep*

>  Felt most like a pin cushion

>  Met Zac Efron

>  Missed the most days of work ever  :)

>  Traveled the Pacific Coast Highway with my boys

>  Hated poultry for the first time and then miraculously loved it again

>  Perfected my rendition of “Itsy Bitsy Spider”

>  Fell in love with my husband all over again

>  Experienced the miracle of life firsthand…and it was awesome!

>  Embarked on my best adventure/undertaking yet…motherhood

There’s so much from 2009 that I’ll never forget and at the top of that list is holding my son in my arms for the first time…and then the second…and then the third…  :-)  Family defined my year.  Troy, Cole, and Bella…our parents (now known as grandma, opa, nonni, and pappi)…uncle Kev and Kelsey…friends near and far, extended family near and far.  2009 was unforgettable and 2010 looks to be a year full of Cole firsts and other Cole happiness.  :-)  Thank you to everyone in our lives in 2009 and here’s to a great year ahead!