Father/Daughter Dance 2011

Last night was the father/daughter dance at church! Kaylee was so excited to have a special date with her daddy!She even picked out her special dress for the dance at the store. She was super excited about the rose that daddy gave her before they left for the night. She insisted on taking the rose with her and only put it down when she was dancing. They had a great night dancing and rode on a special carriage ride! Dads have been taking there daughters to the dance since they were Kaylee's age and now some of them are in high school! Such a great memory and tradition for Dads and Daughters!

Happy New Year...just 9 days late!

I hope all of you had fun celebrating the new year! 2010 was a roller coaster of a year in the Schwartz house. We were excited to find out in February that we would be blessed with another child! We had great family vacations with both sides of our families. In May we found out that we would be having another GIRL! We said goodbye to my sweet Grandmother in June. We celebrated Kaylee's 2nd birthday in July. Kaylee started going to Mother's Day out in September. We welcomed Kenzie in October just a day short of Nana's birthday! Two weeks later we said goodbye to my Dad. I miss him so much! Some days are harder then others, but by prayer and faith I am getting through it. We had a good Thanksgiving and Christmas, and now I am ready to start the new year. We have already started it with some great family outings.....

Thanksgiving/Christmas 2010

We made it through the holidays. It was really hard with my Dad not being here, but we made the most of it. We celebrated Thanksgiving at my sister's house. The kids had a blast playing with each other, and we ate lots! The month of December seems like it flew by! Kaylee had her first music program. She was so cute! She was the child that walked up on stage and yelled, "Hi Mommy! Hi Mommmy!". I was so proud! We did lots of light seeing! We went to two different tree lighting's. Drove around and looked at lights and went on two hayrides. We also attended lots of birthday parties! Having 3 nephews, a niece, myself, and Dan's dad all having birthdays in December calls for lots of partying! Christmas Eve we celebrated with Dan's family and had a great time. We had a special treat this year because Grandpa Bos was here! Christmas day was spent with my family, and I have to say the highlight of the day was playing minute to win it! So fun!
Kaylee is officially pacifier free!!! YAHOO!!! It went a lot smoother then I expected!! Kenzie has been growing like a weed! She is really starting to "talk" and smile! Hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season!

Daddy

It's hard to believe that it has almost been three weeks since my Dad went to heaven. He passed away on November 1st. I can not explain the sadness in my heart. My dad was one of my biggest heros. There was not one time that my Dad let me down, he was always there to help me in whatever case it may have been. He taught me so much about life and how to do things for myself. I truly was a Daddy's little girl! I remember trips to breakfast on Saturday mornings and then shopping afterwards. Of course I always got things that I didn't need, but my dad would always say yes! He was there for every recital, school function, graduations, and most importantly he was there to walk me down the aisle. Around the time of my wedding is when my Dad's sickness really started to get worse. I remember my fear of him not actually being able to walk me down the aisle, but there again he did not let me down and walked me down that aisle proudly. I was also able to have that father/daughter dance with him. I remember holding on to him and thanking God that I was able to have that dance with him. Yes I know that my Dad is not in anymore pain and that he is in heaven, but it still hurts like crazy. Yes I have lost people that I love dearly, but it is a totally different feeling when it is your parent. The one who raised me and wanted everything for me. Although I know he is not here and I can not see him I know he is watching over me and my family. I also knew I had faith, but I really didn't know how much I had until the day that I lost my Dad. God showed me that day and in the week to follow how strong it really was. In all the sadness and heart break I knew that last time I saw him or even talked to him wouldn't really be the last time. Yes he is not here but I believe that I will see and talk to him again. God was just ready to take my Dad home. God does have a plan and a time for everyone. I can not wait to share all the stories and tell my girls about their Papa. I am so thankful for all the trips we made down to the valley with Kaylee to see my parents. I am glad that my Dad was able to see Kaylee grow, and then of course tell me that she was just like me when I was little. Kaylee made my Dad smile and laugh so much in the last two years. Yes it bothers me that my Dad was never able to hold Kenzie and I don't have a picture of them together, but he knew she was here. He was able to see her over the computer and see pictures of her. I hope that I continue to make my Dad proud, and that I teach my children all the things that he taught me. Thank you God for blessing me with the greatest Dad!

Loving Two

I found this beautiful poem awhile back on one of the blogs I read. It really touched my heart and of course made me cry! Thank you Kathryn for sharing this, and now I will share it with my readers....






Loving Two


I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?


Then she is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you’ve never shared me before.


I hear you telling me in your own way, “Please love only me”. And I hear myself telling you in mine, “I can’t”, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.


You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I’m afraid to let you see me enjoying her—as though I am betraying you.


But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.


More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.


But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times – only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.


I watch how she adores you — as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you, I’ve given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.


I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you—only differently.


And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you’ll never share my love. There’s enough of that for both of you – you each have your own supply.


I love you—-both. And I thank you both for blessing my life. —Author Unknown

Kenzie Jo

Kenzie is here! What a wonderful blessing! God is SO good! All is well with our family of four. Big Sister is doing such an amazing job with her!

Born: October 15th
Weight: 8 pounds 7 ounces
Length: 20 inches

Well Hello There!

Has it really been almost two months since my last post???!!!! Well things have been pretty busy around here! I will start with Kaylee. She has definitely hit the two stage! It is a very fun stage, BUT there are some very frustrating times as well! Kaylee has started Mother's Day out and loves going. She has awesome teachers! I get so excited when I pick her up so she can tell me what she has done and learned that day. I first ask her what she did and her reply is always, "played". I then ask her what letter she learned. The first week it was letter A, and this week was letter B. We have gotten great reports from her teachers everyday! The past two times the teacher has written that she has been very chatty! I am glad she is using that voice of hers! You go girl! While at home we have been playing outside with the water table. We are finally starting to see some fall weather. Woohooo! This is heat has been horrible! We have also been painting, playing with playdoh, reading books (Kaylee's favorite!), and playing in her room. We of course have to watch her show, Barney. Why the kid loves that purple dinosaur, I will never know! We also have been doing some educational stuff....letters...numbers...and colors. Although that doesn't last long with me, I think she does better for her teachers with that! Her newest thing that she loves to do is act like a baby. She will tell me that she is a baby and I have to hold her and give her her sippy cup like a baby. I wonder where all this is coming from??? hehehehe!!! She also likes to play doctor. She will put her socks on her hands and get out her doctor kit and come to me to check on the baby. It is to cute! We can totally tell that she senses the baby will be here soon, but who could blame her! Her whole world is about to change! She is going to be a great big sister, but at first I think she might not like her that much. =)

Kenzie is GROWING GROWING GROWING! Before we know it she will be here! We are so ready, and the house is actually ready for her as well. With Kaylee I went into early labor, so this time I was determined to be prepared! You never know when she will make her appearance! Kaylee and I are even going to stay at Dan's parents this month on the nights that he has to work. This way I won't be alone in case I go into labor during the night, and Kaylee can continue to sleep and not be bothered. They also live about three minutes away from the hospital! Extra bonus there! I am at the uncomfortable point now and am so ready for her to be here! When the swelling starts that's when I know it is time!!!! If she does not come early will be having a scheduled C-section on October 15th!

It is officially hunting season, so you know where Dan is spending his mornings off! I told him he better get it all in now because later in the season we will have a newborn!! He is definitely listening to that. He has hunted every day this week and plans on hunting this weekend as well. Very serious when it comes to this hunting business!

I am in the nesting period of the pregnancy so you can find me doing things around the house. I never got to that nesting point with Kaylee, so this is all new to me! My MOMS groups has also started back this month, so I go every other Friday to that. Love sharing that time with other Moms! I still have tons of pictures that I need to post. I will get to that one day! Just consider yourself lucky that you got an updated post from me now!