Mamaw Karla is so good about sending me emails updating me on what Luke is up to while she's babysitting him... Here's an email from Friday:

So funny...he told me Barney and wanted the controller too. Now the little multi-tasker is working at his Barbie Doll computer at the same time! He also sang with me on the way home. It's going to be another good day.

Yes, he knows all about Barney, says his name, and has requested him for about three weeks. We sing and dance during the program. (Mostly the "I love you" song.)

I got him to say "work" this morning too. He's really on today! He also notices and says "goggie" if there is a dog on TV. We have dogs all around us here. He shows interest in them being around us.

Casey and I had no idea that he knew who Barney was, so we tested him last night. I asked him if he wanted to watch Barney and he replied "Baw-ney" and brought over the controller. Then he climbed up on the couch and waited patiently while we put the show on. Once the intro song came on, he started bouncing up and down on the couch. Hilarious! It's painful to see/hear Barney, but its darn cute to watch him dance to the music!

Cute Emma story: last night, I told her that she could crawl into bed with me and cuddle before I tucked her in. So, she grabs her blanket, curls in next to me, and puts her head on my chest. After a few minutes, she looks up at me and says, "I can hear your heart beeping, Momma!"

Dr. No

Here’s an actual "conversation" that took place between Luke and me this morning:

Stacy: Luke, is Emma up yet?
Luke: Nooo
Stacy: Is Daddy waking her up?
Luke: Nooo
Stacy: So, is Daddy in her room?
Luke: Nooo
Stacy: Did Daddy go back to bed?
Luke: Nooo
Stacy: Is Daddy downstairs?
Luke: Nooo

I stopped asking questions about that. I figured that he wasn’t that reliable!

Luke and I have been spending some quality time together this morning. Emma is at Mawaw and Papaw's for a sleep-over. Lukey woke up around 6:45 so I decided to let Casey sleep in for a bit. We've folded clothes, played trucks and had our breakfast (and coffee). Lately, Luke has actually been playing with toys instead of stealing things away from Emma. He likes his trucks and especially likes Emma's doll-baby stroller. A little bit ago, he was playing on the floor by the back door with his truck and it got stuck in the small space between the step and cabinet. Several times, I had to walk over and retrieve his truck, only to find that two seconds later, he did the same, yelling "Guck, guck!" (at this point, I am unsure if he was yelling "stuck" or "truck" or "truck stuck?"). So, I moved the plant next to the cabinet and attempted to show him how to get his truck by himself. I told him, "Lay on the floor, Lukey, so you can get your truck." He looks at me with this confused look on his face. So, I repeat, "lay on the floor." He conceeds and lays down on his tummy and puts his head on the hardwood floor! After giggling, I showed him how to lay on his tummy and reach for his guck guck (stuck truck). It was too cute.

Now's he walking around with the step-stool trying to grab everything he can on the tables and counters. Oh my...

Luke Stories

Lately, Luke has been especially fiesty. Not sure if its just a phase, but its certainly a change from his even-tempered demeanor that he has had since a baby. Here are a few stories that have had me laughing lately:

Normally, Luke is a sleeper. During the winter, I would wake up around 6:30, ensuring enough time to get my shower and get ready while he was still asleep. And most mornings, I would actually end up waking him around 8 so that I could take him to Jen's. It was a great morning routine. My, how times have changed! This morning, I woke up at 6:40 to the sound of Luke yelling, "Maaa-ma" from his crib. So I jumped out of bed and got in the shower quickly. As soon as I got out of the shower, I heard him in his room making noise. Then I heard him yell "Guck! Guck" which means "stuck." So I walk in his room and he has his foot stuck in his crib. He was just sitting there, staring at his foot and yelling for me. Too cute!

Yesterday morning, I intercepted a full box of tissues that he had stolen from the counter when I wasn't looking. He was hiding behind Casey's chair "blowing his nose." He had gone through about 5 tissues by the time I had figured out what was going on. I take the box of tissues and put them back on the counter and ask Luke to put the tissues in the trash can. Listening like the good boy he is, he walks over to the trashcan, opens the lid and deposits the used tissues. Then he stands there for a moment, looks at me, and pretends to spit in the trashcan. So I stop him and tell him "no-ne-no, Lukey" and he continues to spit again. I can only assume that he's watched Casey do that recently since he's had such a horrible spring allergy season!

When I picked up Luke from Jen's on Monday, she says all serious, "um, I think I taught Lukey a bad habit - not on purpose though." The kids were playing Duck Duck Goose and Jen taught the little ones to play, too. Apparently, Luke didn't get the memo saying that you could only tap on the head during the game and spent the rest of the afternoon smacking his playmates on the head, all the while yelling, "GUCK!" (also used when saying "duck"). He also didn't understand the different between a tap on the head and a full-out smack.

Luke has officially mastered the word "no" and its so adorable that when he says it, I have to turn my head so that he doesn't see me snicker. And the funniest is when he tells Emma "no" for absolutely no reason at all.

And my favorite story of all... last Sunday, I bought donuts for breakfast. We had a few leftover so we kept them for breakfast the next day. On Monday morning, Lukey woke up on the wrong side of the crib and was in a horrible mood. I'm trying to figure out what he wanted for breakfast and he was screaming at the top of his lungs for no reason. So, I offer him a donut and he absolutely goes nuts. I put it in the microwave to heat up for a few seconds and he loses it - he thinks that I got rid of it. He starts throwing a huge fit on the floor. In the meantime, Emma asks me if she can have some donut, too. I tell her to take the one that I heated up for Luke (since I was trying to pick him up off the floor, mid-fit) and that I would heat up the other half for him. Emma starts walking towards the donut on the counter and Luke realizes what is about to happen. He takes off running towards her and attempts to wedge himself between the cabinet and Emma so that she can't take his donut. He also has his arm out and tries to stiff-arm her multiple times. Since Emma is almost a half-body length taller than him, she lightly pushes him out of the way and starts chomping on her donut. It was HILARIOUS! He falls to the floor in a puddle of defeat. It was just so cute that Luke thought he would be able to manhandle her. I'm sure this will change in years to come!

Wow, I can hardly believe it's been over 3 months since I've blogged. What a slacker! Since today is a lazy day, I'm spending it sitting in my lay-z-boy chair, organizing my music and pictures and now finally, updating my blog. So here goes... three months worth of catching up!

November 2009 ~

As always, November flew by! Scrapbook Mountain was the first full week in November and Jami, Alisa and I had a blast! No pictures to post but it was productive, as always. This is the second SBM that I've been to since Fort passed last December. I can say that this round was much better than last February.

The following weekend we had Thanksgiving/Christmas at Mamaw and Papaw's house. We enjoyed a quiet weekend at the farm with good food and good company. We **attempted** to get a family picture with the kids but it was incredibly unsuccessful! The pictures were so horrible that I didn't even save them (I think either Sandy or mom have copies). Both babies were in a terrible mood and Emma and Megan were just a tad feisty. As always, the three older kids were great. Anyhoo, here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Christmas 2009 ~

We had a great Christmas season that was full of family, food and fun (and presents). On Christmas Eve, we went to Aunt Kathy's house for dinner. It was chaos, as always, but we had a great time! There are about 13 kids under the age of 10 that spend the evening running around. And when its time to open presents, it gets stressful! When we were kids, we went to my Mamaw and Papaw's house for Christmas dinner. After dinner, we'd all sit around the fireplace in the living room and my Papaw would be in charge of handing out the presents to each person. Only one present could be opened up at time. So, it was truly a test in patience. Later we found out that my Papaw (who is/was quite ornery) thought it was amusing to make us sit and wait to open up our presents... one at a time). Anyway, picture that calm scenario and the scene at Aunt Kathy's is the EXACT opposite. Presents are literally just dropped off in your lap. You have no idea who they are from or where they came from. It was even worse the first year we had Emma because we had to keep track of our presents and hers. So anyway, it was another great Christmas Eve!

On Christmas morning, Mamaw & Papa Schnieber, Mamaw & Papaw Henry, Mike, Erin & the girls, and Papaw-Great came over for brunch. To keep in line with Henry tradition, the kids weren't allowed to open up their gifts until after breakfast was finished. We had a very relaxing morning which led to an excellent afternoon naps!

So, Emma and I get up around 7:30 on Christmas morning and she's dying to open up presents. I give her stocking, which has socks, gloves, a few hair accessories and a tiny flashlight. She dumps it all out on the floor and exclaims, "Wow, everything I could have wanted for Christmas!" She's easy to shop for!


On Christmas night, we went to Uncle Bob & Aunt Kathy's house for dinner on the Schnieber side. We arrived home last on Christmas night around 10 pm and got right into bed, exhausted from our holiday travels.


January 2010 ~


We celebrated 106 Years of Greatness again at Bangkok Bistro and Haps.

Luckily, its been a lazy winter so far. That's all for now!

Here's a big "Schnieber Stories" WELCOME to my newest follower - Kat! It's official... I now have two followers of the blog! That's enough motivation for me to finally get a new post up since I haven't posted in a few weeks.

This fall has been crazy busy with OSU games, weddings, benefits, and family fun. Here are but a few pictures from our fall thus far:

I love this picture. We went to Pittsburgh the 2nd weekend of September to visit the Campbell's and their new home and to also celebrate Anna's 1st birthday. Mom, Sandy and I took the kids to lunch and on the way home, Emma and Megan were in front of us holding hands. It was absolutely precious!

A few moments after the first picture was taken, Emma takes off running to the nearest tree, throws her arms around it and exclaims to Megan, "Let's hug a tree and be free!" Here's a picture of the two of them "being free." Before my readers get all impressed with how "green" the Schniebers are, I'd like to share that after the above picture was taken, Emma takes off running down the street again, but this time, stops to a "hug" a utility pole. So apparently, paying homage to Duke Energy ALSO makes one "free."

Here's a picture of Luke & Anna enjoying their stroller ride. These two small ones seem to get along better than Emma and Megan did at this age. For the sake of our family, we're hoping this trend continues.

Happy Birthday, little Anna!

You have no idea the amount of blood, sweat and tears that goes into a picture of all 7 of the cousins. It's painful but worth it when you finally get one shot that looks great!

It's official - my little man is growing up! He had his first haircut on September 30th - right before Emma's birthday party. Mamaw Karla cut off some baby curls and got him all evened out. Prior to the haircut, he had a bit of a baby-mullet and at times, looked like a mad scientist. He was a stellar man throughout the ordeal and especially enjoyed the sucker he got at the end. Thanks, Mamaw Karla!

Happy Birthday, Emma, Papaw & Papa! Emma shared her birthday with Papaw Henry and is only 5 days away from Papa Roger's birthday. We're lucky enough to celebrate all three birthdays together! HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, EMMA!

Here's Emma enjoying our singing...

CONGRATS MR. AND MRS. WATTS, JR! Kristen & "Aaron" were married on Saturday, October 3rd, which turned out to be a beautiful fall day. We had a great time!

Catching up with Pam & Donny Fortener!

Representin' OU Women's Rugby.

Good times... good times... After the reception, we went to a downtown bar called Ned Peppers. Casey ended up making friends with a Daytonian while playing pool. He spent all night telling Casey that if he ever is in Dayton again, to give him a call. As we're leaving the bar, Casey's new friend was shouting, "Call me, Casey. Okay? Call me!" For the life of me, we can't remember his name... but for a brief moment in time, he and Casey were best friends.

The Campbell's stopped back in town for a visit mid-October (isn't it lovely that they live so close!) Dad was able to get OSU tickets so we packed up Will and headed to Columbus. This was Will's first OSU game - GO BUCKS!

What a good man! Will was awesome throughout the entire game. Here he is watching with Papaw and enjoying his Cracker Jacks. Sandy and I commented often how different the scenario would be if we had taken the two girls...

Luke and Anna were in desparate need of a bath so we throw them in mom & dad's utility sink. They were both fascinated by the water and only minimally annoyed that there was little to no leg room.

The first annual Firebirds for Fort Fundraiser was held on Saturday, October 17th, in Dayton. It was a HUGE success and raised close to $20,000 for the scholarship fund. It was amazing! Angie & Pam did a great job at organizing this huge event. Good times were had by all!

I'll close with a little story from Emma: for the last few days, Emma has been complaining about how her ear hurt. Of course, Casey and I are worried that with flu/cold season right around the corner, Emma has picked up an ear infection. So we're asking questions about where does it hurt, how it hurts, etc.

Yesterday, Casey comes home from work and says "I've determined what has been causing Emma's ears to hurt." So, I immediately am worried that she's taken a trip to the school nurse or that she has a fever. Instead, Casey tells me that on the car ride home, they are talking about her ear again. Somehow he determined that the reason for her ear pain was because when Emma put on her hat to play outside, her ear was folded down. She continued to play outside the entire time... with the top part of her ear folded down. So, it wasn't an ear infection. It was user-error on Emma's part. Not much to say on that one.

The Car Seat

For months now, Emma has been dying to get into a "big girl carseat - like Megan and Will's" (i.e. booster seat). We keep telling her that she needs to wait until her 4th birthday and then she can officially get out of the baby carseat. However, we couldn't wait until the end of the month and Casey and I caved early to make things more convenient for drop-offs & pick-ups. So, on Monday, Luke, Emma and I are driving home and Emma and I were chatting about her school pictures, which were being taken that following day. We were talking about what she should wear and how she should smile, etc., and Emma says, "I have a great idea... why don't I get my picture taken in my new carseat!" Hmmm... I'm not sure Country Day wants to celebrate her new carseat as much as she does!