The Rest of February

February was quite a busy month! In addition to boys' birthdays and sweet little Piper arriving, Noah was baptized. We are so proud of him! He proclaimed to everyone that was no longer his own, but he belongs to Jesus!

Noah with Mrs. Ruchte at affirmations

Noah, Daddy, and Mr. Matt in the baptistery

He is a new creation!

We had a very cold and snowy winter. The boys LOVED the snow. I could have done without quite so much... But I am so glad they enjoyed it so much!

Cute little Hunter

Playing in the snow with a cast is not easy...I taped a plastic grocery bag around his cast to keep it dry and then put one of my big mittens on him to keep his sweet little fingers warm. He was a good sport.

John's Valentine's Day party at school

Craft time!

Noah's Valentine's Day party

All three have their noses in the phones... Sad or funny??

Noah was chosen as one of the Kindergartners to represent Living Water Academy in the Word and Speech Competition. He memorized and recited a monologue about having a new baby sister. It was too cute! He won first place! I got there just in time to miss him recite it. But, his sweet teacher videoed it for me. I did get to see him accept his ribbon! We are so proud of sweet little Noah.

The Arrival of the Princess

Piper's due date came and went. We were not surprised as that was normal for us. Four days after the due date, I took Hunter and we went on Noah's field trip to the zoo. I was kind of having contractions the whole day, but they were very irregular and not painful. So we just enjoyed the day. Other moms and teachers kept trying to push my stroller for me, but I was determined to have a baby! On the way home, they were about 10 minutes apart. I was in no big hurry at that point to get ready to go. With the boys, I had all sorts of time when my contractions were 10 minutes apart. We finally decided we'd better get to the hospital. Trusty Auntie Di came to stay with the boys until MiMi and Poppy got there. We left the house at 6:00p. On the way to the hospital, the thought crossed my mind: what if we don't make it in time? I quickly dismissed that thought and decided I would be in early labor when we got there, just like always. 

When we arrived, they checked me in and I was 4 centimeters dilated. I was really excited. They then moved me up to labor and delivery and checked me again (about 10-15 minutes later). I was an 8. Needless to say, Piper was born quickly. She was born at 8:14p. She weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces. 

Just before Piper was born.

Her first picture!

Under the warmer

With mommy and daddy

Checking the vitals.

The next day, MiMi and Poppy brought the boys to meet their new sister. They were so excited.

Piper brought presents

I have a sister!

Kiss Kiss

Poppy and Piper

Auntie Di

Getting dressed to go home

Daddy thinks she's pretty great!

Birthday Extravaganza

February is a busy but fun month in the Schuster house! It's a birthday extravaganza! Hunter turned 2, Noah turned 6, John turned 4...and there was some extra excitement in the mix this year... Stay tuned for that! We had one party for all the boys. This year, we did it small and it was such a sweet time. 

Someone may have broken their arm, but it was not stopping him from getting that ice cream.

Someone else did not understand that the candle was not part of the cake.

Sweet little 2 year old!

Hunter got a baby for his birthday to take care of while mommy takes care of the new baby. He walked around hugging him. It was very cute.

2 year old picture

Playing with his baby.

Seven days after Hunter turned 2, Noah turned 6.

Noah requested pancakes for his birthday breakfast.

And "6" cookies for dessert at dinner.

And then, seven days after Noah turned 6, John turned 4.

John requested toast.

Uncle Brad, Auntie Di, and Remi came for lunch to celebrate! Cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate milk! What more could a guy ask for!?!?!

Birthday kisses!

Peaking through the "4" cookie.

You Never Know What He'll Say (or Do)

Noah and John moved in together to make way for the new baby. The first few nights, we didn't have a mattress for John's bed. He just slept in his "camping bag" (aka sleeping bag) on the floor, which he thought was great. Once we finally got the new mattress, he didn't want to read a book before bed, he just wanted to lay in his new bed. (He always wants to read books!)

My friend, Shelly, brought a bag of clothes for the new baby. There were a few pairs of pants on top for John and Hunter. I was telling John the pants were for him and Hunter. He said, "and for the new baby when she turns into a boy." 

Everyone is still adjusting the idea of having a baby girl in the house... I was doing a load of laundry. Greg looked at the basket of pink laundry and said, "this doesn't look right."

John said to me the other day, "Can you get me a tissue? I'm very busy coloring."

Hunter and I were running errands. He had his finger in his nose and then said here mommy and handed me is "treasure."

Last week, the day I had my now weekly check up, Noah had a snow day. So we all loaded up and went. We were in the exam room. The boys were coloring and eating snacks while we were waiting. Noah looked at the diagram of the reproductive system, having no idea what it was. He said," Let's just turn this around. I don't like it."

Noah is working on memorizing a piece for the Word and Speech Competition at school. Greg was reciting it to Noah as they were working on it one morning during breakfast. Greg said the wrong thing. John corrected him. (Perhaps John could compete too??)