8-22-10 *Sigh* Kids and dogs...

Things have been looking up at the Schmidt house. After a bumpy week of crying at the drop of a hat, and extreme clingy-ness and whiny-ness, Ted has finally gotten his act together... lol :) Just kidding, of course, Ted has been a dream to have home this week! Madeleine has had a bit of an adjustment period, but she's doing MUCH better now. We've been trying hard to be patient and give her attention, and I think she's settling into her big sister role nicely. Julia has been very sweet - and sleeping like a baby. By the way, whoever decided to equate the term "sleeping like a baby" with a good night's sleep did not have children. Julia is up every couple of hours, but it's expected, and will pass soon enough. We do happen to spend a lot of time just getting up from a nap, or just laying down for one, though :)

Madeleine's absolutely loving dressing up Julia and picking out her clothes. Her favorite outfit, by FAR, is this Pooh Bear outfit that Jim and Sarah's Brianna is sharing with us. Madeleine thinks it's hysterical to dress up baby Pooh Bear, and we had to take pictures of her!

Yesterday, we had a low key BBQ to welcome Julia. We bought brats/hot dogs, coleslaw and chips and made cupcakes that our local friends enjoyed with Ted's "Papa Squared Patersbier" and assorted sodas. It was very casual and lovely!

Today Josh and Jasmine came over with Noel to meet Julia and play with Madeleine. They got a glimpse of what's ahead for them, but unfortunately, it's too late for them to turn back! Jasmine is going to have her little girl the day I go back to work :) Looks like I'm passing the torch on October 18th! After they left, had a "what a crazy life" moment... Kids and dogs are a bad chain reaction just waiting to happen! Madeleine got up from dinner after finishing her pasta and took her sippy with her to the couch. The sippy opened, and spilled all over the sofa! Ugh! So while Ted whisked her off to the bath, and I was cleaning up the mess (thank God we have leather!), I looked over and saw that Lucy-the-opportunist decided to help Ted finish his dinner. She's been a really bold collie lately. It's just been in the last month or so that she's gotten so ballsy about eating off of the table. We can't leave her alone with anything remotely food-like for a SECOND! From now on, we'll have to start locking her in the bedroom or downstairs whenever there's food around. What a pain!

Anyway - that's what we signed up for when we decided to have kids and dogs. It's a crazy life, but we're loving it. Enjoy the pictures... I'm off for a nap :)