Madeline's lost her first tooth!

Madeline lost her first tooth on Monday night.  Her smile is forever changed.  Funny thing about it... so we've been reading this chapter book series with the lead character Junie B. Jones a Kindergartener.  when Junie B. lost her first tooth, she was freaking out about giving it to the Tooth Fairy because she didn't know what the tooth Fairy did with the teeth she collected?  After consulting her friends and getting nowhere, Junie B. finally had a Eureka moment when she saw that her baby brother cut a new tooth.  So she finally was able to give her tooth up when she realized that the Tooth Fairy RECYCLED the teeth.  


Now Madeline thinks Sam is getting her tooth and that he is constantly teething now that he has her tooth ready to pop up.

Sibling love

Madeline and Henry still love their baby brother and they give him hugs whenever they can.  Madeline is even getting ambitious and likes to pick up Sam.   Fun times when they get to the point when they are crying over who gets to sit closest to Sam.  Crazy times, but love the craziness of 3 kids!

Mall of America trip

We have not been to the Mall of America in years, so we decided to take the kids to the mall for a fun morning.  Have to find something to do during this cold Minnesota winters.  Madeline bought a dog in the American Girl store.  And Henry bought a Toy Story 3 Lego set in the giant Lego store.  We also spend some time in the amusement park at the mall called Nickelodeon Universe.  And lunch was, of course, at McDonalds because it doesn't seem like there is any other place that we go when we are with the kids.  Fun times.

Our sweet Sam

 

Sam is 6 months old now.  His latest trick is sitting up all by himself.  It's actually really surprising how far he leans over to go for a toy out of reach - an ambitious little dude as far as I can tell.  He's babbling up a storm and has a full vocabulary of baby talk, which is hilarious because it seems like he is trying so hard to tell us something.  He continues to be our easy-going baby - easy to laugh and smile.  These days, I am doing everything I can to enjoy his chubby, chubby thighs before they succumb to toddlerhood.  

He's also our biggest baby among the three so far.  At his 6 month appointment, he weighed 22 lb, 5 oz and was 29" long.

Since he's changing so much, just thought I'd post some cute pictures of him....

Eating solids!

   

So, Sam didn't do so well with just cereal and we quickly went straight to the good stuff.  He enjoyed the fruits and vegetables much more than the cereal. And who can blame him, really?  It didn't take him more than a few days to figure it all out and get over that tongue thrust reflex.  We already have him on 3 meals a day, and it's been a great transition to solids!

Christmas 2010

Sam's first Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday - full of great time with our families!  This year will always be very special because not only was it Sam's first Christmas, but our two nephews Acen and Max also celebrated their first Christmas this year.  We had kids everywhere!

6 Santa cousins from 3 Schwartz girls 

With the kids being so young, I wanted to come up with an idea to reinforce the message that Christmas is about JESUS' BIRTHDAY - not Santa, not Frosty, not Rudolph, not presents.  So, we baked and decorated a birthday cake for Jesus and read the story of Jesus' birth.  I *think* it was a well-received message, but of course they were still super-excited for Santa.

Decorating birthday cake for Jesus

Other fun moments from Christmas.

Henry sporting new Christmas shirt and Cars toy

Cousin Max's first Christmas

Cousin Acen's first Christmas

Henry and Landon continue to be a source of entertainment, hilarity, and frustration - depending on how well they are playing together... or not.  Super-Aunt Katie managed to pack some Toy Store costumes for them to enjoy.  How hilarious are these two?

Starting Sam on cereal - 4 months old!

Sam hit 4 months old in mid-December.  He had a clean bill of health at his 4 month check-up.  And he came in at a whopping 19 lbs, 4oz and 28".  Our big boy.  Right when he hit 4 months old, things changed for Sam...  We moved his feedings from every 3 hours to every 4 hours, which seemed to end up making him hungrier at night = more times awake in middle of night.  We have slowly started introducing solids, which is always a sad moment for me.  It's like the end of an era - the "Mommy is the only one I need" era - and I've always loved the responsibility and privilege that comes with being a nursing momma.  But, then again, all good things must come to an end, and I suppose that I am excited with the prospect of this next stage.

So, Sam's first taste of oatmeal cereal was HILARIOUS.  He made more ridiculous faces in his first 4 bites than the other two kids did put together.  And after 4 spoonful attempts, he started crying.  Not really what I expected for my ~20 lb-er. We'll keep trying though.