"Schneider, party of 4..."

We are so excited to welcome the newest member of our family...

GAVIN MATTHEW SCHNEIDER

Born this morning at 7:23am, weighing 7 lbs. 11 oz. and measuring 21 inches long.

Thanks to a free WiFi connection at Akron General we are able to update you all while in the recovery room. Shawna was amazing and once again made this having-a-baby thing look way too easy. (There was a nursing student who observed the birth... the head nurse in the room had to explain to the student that the birth she had just witnessed was not normal. She said "it is not supposed to be that easy and normally the mother is in pain.") That's my girl!

Gavin and Shawna are both doing great! We are all hoping to get some sleep tonight since we did not get any last night. Here is a little run down of our evening:

9:30pm - headed into the hospital to get checked (after having contractions for a week)

11:30pm - told nothing has progressed in the past week

12:30am - sent back home :(

1:30am - Matt falls fast asleep, Shawna still uncomfortable

3:30am - Shawna wakes Matt up... "My water broke!"

3:30:01am - Matt almost has a heart attack as he trips out of bed

4:00am - arrive at hospital (again) and get back to the room ASAP asking for epidural

5:30am - epidural... or as Shawna calls it, "Heaven on Earth"

7:15am - time to start pushing

7:23am - after the third contraction of pushing, Gavin is born!!

7:25am - Matt cuts the umbilical cord like an experienced, world-renowned, surgeon and the birth is complete!

Kylie is enjoying her time at home entertaining a couple sets of grandparents. 

From what we have been told, she does not even know we are gone! haha. 

Thanks for the help Moms and Dads! We miss you Kylie and will see you soon! Your little brother can not wait to meet his BIG SISTER!!!

Here are a couple pics of our brand new baby boy!

PS - this was Matt blogging (my first one ever!)

Happy Birthday Daddy

Kylie has been super excited for daddy's birthday since I first mentioned it over a week ago. All she knows is that it involves cake, presents and balloons and she's all about it!

This morning we went to the store and got daddy a white cake with raspberry filling (his request) and some balloons (which are "watching" Go Diego Go with Kylie right now- she hasn't let them go; not sure they are gonna live long enough for daddy to see them when he gets home tonight)!

She's been practicing the Happy Birthday song all day... I think it's a pretty cute rendition!

We love you Daddy! Hope you have a great birthday!!!

2 going on 16.

Hopefully, this isn't a sign that our second half of year 2 is going to be drastically different than the first... but little miss 2 1/2 year old has been little miss sassy pants the last week or so.

The majority of our day is filled with these two sentences...

"Me do dit!" and "That's mines!"

Today, she sneezed and I said, "Bless you, Kylie"... rather than a nice "tank you mommy" that her old 2 year old self would have offered, I received a disgruntled, "NO mommy, me say bless you!"  Niiiiice.

Let's hope it's a phase... a really quick phase. Like 2 weeks.

It's a good thing she's so stinkin' cute. Here are a few pics of her finger painting tonight. Thanks to grandma Pat for the fun finger paint- she always comes bearing gifts/entertainment tools!

30 months.

Is it really possible that this little girl:

Is already 2 1/2 years old?!?!?

Even though it's hard to imagine that our little baby is this old, at the same time, it's even harder to remember life without her. She has filled our home, the last 2 1/2 years, with more joy, happiness, laughter and love than we could have ever dreamed possible.

We are so proud of the little girl that she has become and can't wait to see her take on her new role of big sister!

At 2 1/2 years:

She is SO happy, plain and simple, we say it all the time but she really she is such a pleasant little thing * She's Hilarious! She has such a goofy personality * She loves to have a good time & has a killer belly laugh! * Has such good manners- always says please and thank you and has started saying "you welcome"... and "bess you" when you sneeze or cough * Is very lovey-dovey... always game for giving kisses and big hugs... always says "I la you too" * Becoming so independent- loves her big girl bed- loves walking into stores by herself now (no more holding) * A smart little cookie - can count to 10 (and to 20 with only a few little mistakes) - can count to 10 in Spanish (this was a surprise to us until the other day... we have to thank Dora for this lesson) - knows all her colors (and I could listen to her say "pu-pal" (purple) over & over!)- sings her ABC's - sings Twinkle Twinkle and You Are My Sunshine (as well as many of "her songs" on her CD/ iPod playlist * Loves music & is obsessed with the iPod, asks the name of every song ("what's this song?") * Still loves books and can recite a few by herself. (The Foot Book, The Going to Bed Book) * Loves stuffed animals- has a little posse of animals that she carries everywhere * Carmen is still her best, best buddy * Is obsessed with colors- she tells us what color everything is, and then proceeds to tell you something else that is also that color * Loves the color blue right now and prefers when daddy wears a blue shirt * Speaking of clothes preferences for daddy... she "helps" him get dressed into casual clothes when he gets home from work everyday by telling him what color shirt he must wear that day! * Loves to help mommy in the kitchen- everytime I'm in there, she says "mommy, what you makin'?" and starts dragging the chair over to help. * Has a crazy good memory and is extremely observant- doesn't miss a thing (just like daddy) * Loves her morning shows- Little Bear, Dora The Explorer (and now Go Diego Go) and The Wiggles. Also a big fan of Shrek the movie* Still has a bashful side with strangers, it takes her a few minutes to warm up * Still a great eater - Panera is her favorite place to eat (she LOVES broccoli cheddar soup). Loves making and eating smoothies. She's also on a frozen fruit ( esp. raspberry) kick. Loves her milk and "appie juice" * Still very much attached to her blankie and unfortunately binkie (although that is bound to the house) * Loves to play outside and go to the park. * In general, she just loves being a 2.5 year old and is pretty darn good at it!

Flashback Friday.

In honor of the 1st day of Spring (YAY!)... a fun little flashback.

Kylie one year ago, at 18 months old!

 (Kylie thinks) "Hmmm, wonder what I will be up to at this time next year??"

You will be making us laugh and fall more and more in love with you every day, sweet pea!

Heat wave.

It has been SO incredibly wonderful to be able to get outside the last week or two (without bundling up for 10 minutes first).

Yesterday we spent almost all of our awake time playing outside, and it was glorious!

Here are some quick snaps of Kylie getting re-acclimated with the great outdoors, while I got re-acclimated with my 3rd appendage (my camera!). This winter my camera was quite neglected; the cold weather combined with no sunlight left me a little uninspired. 

However, I'm ready to jump back in full force... I have a little polishing up to do before victim #2 arrives!

Gym Class.