Preparing for a BIG change!

In a little over a month to a month and a half, our lives will change....again.

Our world will once again revolve around feeding schedules, diaper changes, sleeping patterns (or lack there of) and so many other things that come with the "newborn" territory. This time will be different though. Not only will we be welcoming a son, but our little girl will be welcoming a brother!

Are we excited? ...Yes!

Are we nervous?...A Little...after all each new addition means change and there is always the learning curve!

Are we ready? Getting there...it's amazing how relaxed I am about things this time. I'm a planner. I like to have things done a month before they need to be. And so the fact that I am not stressed that we have yet to have a baby bed set up or clothes/sheets/blankets washed is somewhat strange. I'm sure that will change in a couple of weeks!

I often find myself thinking about the miracle that is busy growing inside of me. I think about the fact that this 'could be' my final pregnancy and how thankful I am that it has been such a great one so far!

At the end of the day, we feel EXTREMELY blessed. We know how much of a miracle babies are and we know that we have a wonderful support network that will be there to help us!

With that said, bring on this next month. We will be very busy washing, sanitizing, cleaning, constructing, decorating, and most of all praying for a safe delivery and healthy baby to begin our 2012!

Happy 30th Birthday, Kris!

Today we pause the Christmas celebration to celebrate the birthday

of a very special man in our lives.

He is an awesome husband to me and a wonderful daddy to Sophia.

She absolutely adores her daddy :-) !

Happy 30th Birthday, Kris!

Mema Bartels

Sophia has this routine when we visit Mema's house. It usually starts with a hug and then within minutes she either gets into the cabinet where the crackers/snacks are to see what Mema's latest purchases have been! After that if Mema is making something, she climbs on the little step stool/chair in the kitchen to watch her.


It's special to me because I remember doing some of the same things when I was a little girl. I know how special my grandparents were to me so it makes me smile to see Sophia having some of the same experiences.

Making cinnanmon rolls with Mema!

Bartels Christmas...

It is great to have Kris's entire family (parents and sibblings) in town to celebrate Christmas!

Uncle Jason (aka Trunky Monkey) with his niece and nephew!

Mema with two of her great grandchildren!

"Uncle Jason...I'm not distracting you am I?"

Aunt Lara with Wyatt and Sophia

Our little family

Our Sweet little girl (most days :-)

Sophia and Baby Wyatt (her cousin who is growing up fast)!

Her own special touch...

Last night Sophia and I had a full schedule! At the top of her list was to make sure she was able to wrap the homemade Christmas gifts she had made for family this weekend. Needless to say, it was quite time consuming and required lots of patience on my part.

My first instinct was to correct her when the first gift ended up having tape wrapped all around it! However, when I saw how proud she was as she shouted "I did it!" there was no way I was stopping her. Tape is not that expensive after all and she had so much fun. The gifts are pretty small creations, but the amount of "love and heart" in each of them is what counts!

Baby Update...30 weeks

Today marked our 30 week appointment! It is hard to believe three fourths of my pregnancy is over! The baby sounded great and the measurements were good.

So far this pregnancy has been so different than my one with Sophia. At this point with Sophia, we really did not know what to expect next. I was mostly kept on weekly visits after 30 weeks because our doctor was concerned that I may deliver early. This time around things have been much more relaxed and for that I am very thankful.

My doctor will be gone for the holidays in two weeks and so my option was to see another doctor in their practice or wait three weeks. Since things are going so well, I decided to wait.

Sophia loves giving her baby kisses on my tummy and has even started telling him, "I Love You Brother!" And we have a name (or we are pretty sure we have a name)! Sophia helped Kris finish painting the room blue. Uncle Jason and Kris are planning to put crown molding up this weekend. After that, we will be busy switching and converting beds!

Things are beginning to come together!

Some Christmas Happenings...

The Christmas excitement continues around our house....

A very special "Santa" has been mailing Sophia some cool things. Here she is making homemade snowmen ornaments for the tree!

She has really become a Daddy's Girl lately. She wants to be in the middle of anything her daddy is working on or constructing. This Lowe's Build a Sleigh was a hit for both Kris and Sophia! Sophia liked helping and daddy liked that she wanted to help!

This past Saturday we went to the Lights of Tejas right outside of Giddings. It was a lot of fun and Sophia loved the lights!

School Party

We wanted to make sure Sophia was able to celebrate her birthday with all of her friends at school. Per her request, we had pizza, grapes and cupcakes! She was so excited to share her day with the other 3 year olds!

Three years ago and it feels like yesterday...

Our Dear Sophia,

I remember it like it was yesterday. Daddy and I were so ready to meet you. We wanted to see the little baby girl we were already so madly in love with. We wanted to hold you, kiss you, hug you and protect you for the rest of your life. And on December 2, 2008, at 9:35 am our greatest dream came true.

It is so hard to believe that was three years ago! Time has passed quickly, and our love for you has only grown. Every month has brought new joys, new smiles, new accomplishments. We can hardly believe that we are helping you with "schoolwork" and setting the groundwork for years of education. It's hard to believe that we are having conversations with you, learning numbers and letters, participating in gymnastics. Even though we strive to teach you more everyday, you have taught us just as much. We have grown as parents just as you have grown into your own individual personality and person.


Today we celebrate you and the awesome kiddo you are. We thank God for giving us such an awesome miracle three years ago and cannot wait to see you blossom even more this next year.

Happy 3rd Birthday to our energetic, full of life, pretty, smart and totally awesome little princess! We love you so much!

A Special Appointment: 28 weeks

Today was my 28 week ultrasound and Doctor's appointment. It was also the first time Sophia was able to see her brother through an ultrasound. She did not say much during the ultrasound, but she could probably tell you more than I could now. You could see her intently listening to every word and the "wheels" churning in her head. The only concern she had was prior to the ultrasound she was worried they would have to cut her mommy's tummy to be able to see the baby and get a picture. Later, she held the pictures of her brother and wanted mommy to take a picture of her and her brother (as she held up an ultrasound picture). It was pretty cool.

As for the appointment, everything looks good. I will now be going to the doctor every two weeks so that my progress can be monitored. Our baby boy weighs over 2.5 pounds and is already a few ounces heavier than his sister. The goal is to make it into the first week of February if not longer. My braxton hicks contractions are making their daily appearances, but I have become pretty good at controlling them.

Days like today make us realize how close we are to another life changing event...the birth of our son and Sophia's brother. We are excited and feel so blessed. Life is good.

Simply magical...

I have always loved Christmas. It's such a special time of year. So many of my favorite memories revolve around the Christmas season and everything it brings. So far this year has not disappointed. In fact, having a three year old to share it with has only increased the Christmas magic around our house and we are loving it!

Those of you that know me know that I love to let Sophia help me and be "hands on" with many of our daily projects. At times it means lots of patience and things may not always turn out the way I would have expected, but the joy and pride she has in our creations makes it completely worth it! This year Christmas decorating took on a whole new meaning. I wish I could have captured her face each time she opened a box that Kris brought from the attic. We heard things such as "Oh cute...I really like this...Baby Jesus, daddy...Mommy, look at this snowman, can I put him on my bed?...Ooooo, I better be careful...Santa Claus and he sings pretty songs!...etc." The facial expressions on their own were magical!

Her face lights up when we plug in the lights to the tree and her "Elf On The Shelf" has been moving all around the living room/kitchen watching her so that it can report to Santa if she has been good or bad each day. There are the expressions of Joy when she sees Santa (the inflatable ones) when we are out somewhere. She frantically waves to hollar to him "Hey Santa, I've been good, please bring me some presents."

The most amazing part is how pure her excitement is for this time of the year. While so many of us run around looking for gifts, or trying to determine menus, she is running around simply capturing the beauty. She loves the Baby Jesus sitting on our entertainment center, she sees the beauty in five ornaments being placed on one branch because they are the same kind and she thinks singing the first words to Jingle Bells over and over are just fine.

We are blessed to have her to remind us of so many of the things Christmas is all about! Sometimes looking at the world from a three year olds viewpoint is pretty magical in itself! ;-)

We are thankful...

Thankful for:

~ A family that loves us.~
~ Friends that will always be there for us.~
~ Our great health that should never be taken for granted.~
~ Work which allows us to provide and live.~
~ A home when so many do not have one.~
~ A growing and kicking baby that will soon be a huge part of our lives.~
~ Hugs and kisses from a little girl who makes us laugh each day.~
~ Our military family who serve to protect us so that we can live freely.~
~ Our faith in God.~
~ Each day God gives us on this Earth.~

May God Bless each of you during this season of thanks. May we never take a single day for granted and cherish the blessings that we have been given!

Sophia-Kris Birthday Gift.wmv

Uncle Jason did an awesome job on this video he made for Sophia and Kris. It has so many of our favorite memories. It's hard to believe one will be 3 and the other 30! Thank you for a job well done, Jason. (make sure your volume is turned up)

Our Fun Little Girl

Thanks Uncle Jason (aka Trunk Monkey) for capturing these cute shots of our fun little girl! She puts so many smiles on our faces each day!

24 week update

Time is flying by and today was my 24 week appointment already! At this appointment, I also had my 1 hour gestational diabetes screen. Thankfully, I passed my diabetes screen and the baby sounded great. I am measuring a little ahead of where I should be, but my doctor is happy with the progress thus far. Our next appointment will be at the end of November and after that I will be going every two weeks!

Practice makes perfect...

Each day that passes, I try to do a little bit to help us prepare for our new baby in February. I think Sophia has caught on to my preparation. In the corner of the "baby's room," I have a pile of Sophia's unisex baby stuff that I have separated out, along with a few new things and hand me downs. One of Sophia's latest activities is to sift through the pile and pull out what "her baby" needs for that particular evening.

She loves to dress her baby doll, change its diaper, and give it a pacifier. Even though the room looks like a disaster when she finishes her baby duties and reassembles the entire stack of stuff, it still makes us smile. Her interest in her baby brother seems to be growing daily.

Lately, she loves to lay beside me at night and read a story before bed. Our storytime ends with a hug and kiss for us and then she rolls over to give her baby brother a kiss on my tummy. It really is one of the cutest and sweetest things!

Kitchen time with BonBon

Sophia's new favorite snack to make (courtesy of a little one on one time with BonBon)

Broomstick Treats (string cheese, life saver and pretzels)

It reminds me so much of the old days with my grandmothers in the kitchen. Fun times!

Tough Mudder

There is no doubt I could not have done it, but there was also no doubt that Kris could. The Tough Mudder is a 12 mile trek through mud, water, cliffs, walls, stacks of hay, electrical currents, and so on. Most would laugh at the thought of completing such a feat, but when you are married to someone who loves physically challenging himself, you expect him to compete.


And that he did. I knew he would be excited to a part of it and Sophia and I were thrilled to be spectators. Well, I was thrilled to be a spectator. Sophia would have rather been in the thing herself. She kept asking me if she could run through the muddy waters, climb on the obstacles, etc. Let's just hope she gets her athletic abilities from her daddy :-)


We are very proud of Kris. Even after 12 miles he was still doing push ups! It was at that point that even Sophia said "Daddy's crazy!"

Kris is swimming through the muddy waters at the Finish Line.

In the distance, you can see one of the many big cliffs to jump from and then you must swim through a muddy pond!

Push ups (just for fun)...The announcer at the end challenged these three to see what they still had left in them. Kris started with a white shirt and in this picture you can see there is nothing white about the shirt at the Finish Line!

Half Way There!

Not only was this week our big ultrasound of the baby, but it also marked the half way point of my pregnancy! Our baby boy now weighs over half a pound and is kicking away! I have felt him move and kick for several weeks, but this week the activity has definitely picked up. Although, I still think Sophia moved even more at this point.

At our doctor's appointment, he was measuring almost a week ahead of where my original due date (2-22-11) puts him and my doctor (who we absolutely love) has already said the chances of making it until the end of February are getting slimmer. Since I was only a little over 37 weeks along when Sophia was born, there is a higher probability that I will have this baby earlier as well. The guess right now is that we are looking at closer to the beginning of February to welcome him!

I am sure by then I will be ready. We have a TON of things to do before then. We will soon begin turning Sophia's playroom into a nursery. We have started moving some things over to her room to make the process a gradual one. As much as we want to jump right in on the conversions, I know that slow is better for her. We want her to feel like there is a special reason for all of the changes and we are not just taking over "her space."

Sophia's excited about having a little brother. She is really starting to understand that mommy's tummy is getting bigger and at night she normally gives the baby a "goodnight kiss" before bed. I know it will be a HUGE adjustment, but with time she will be a GREAT big sister. Exciting times for us and her :-)

It's a .......

BOY! And we are ecstatic!


I was so convinced we would be having another girl that when the technician asked if we could tell (as she pointed to the screen), I immediately said "Girl!" She laughed, Kris shook his head and they both looked at me and it was at that point I realized we were expecting a BOY.

As I have told everyone, either sex had it's advantages, but it will be a wonderful journey to raise our daughter with our son!

I think the reality that we are no longer a family of three really hit us today! When you watch your little boy move for several minutes as the measurements of all of his vital organs are taken, there is no doubt you fall in love. Everything was perfect, he was VERY active and we are so blessed.

I can guarantee that this little boy will have a well thought out name. His daddy and I are both very opinionated when it comes to names...this could take a while :-)

Washington County Fair Pet Show

Sophia could not wait. For two weeks, we promised her that she was going to be able to take dad's little dog, Wrangler, down to the Fair Pet Show. She was so excited that nearly every morning when she would get up, she would ask me, "Is the pet show today? Is it Saturday already?" We practiced a little but I was not sure that once we got down there amongst all of the people and pets, she would still have the same interest.

Checking out Dawson and Hailey's Chickens and Rabbit!

Sophia and Wrangler checking out the competition!

Wrangler and Sophia had matching cow outfits :-)

Thanks BonBon and Mrs. Terry Boeker for making Wranglers!

In the "Show Arena" trying to get Wrangler to follow!
Well, Saturday finally came and she has never gotten dressed in the morning so easily. She wanted her boots on from the moment she got out of bed. It was our little cowgirls first competition at the Fair and she did great! She was a little hesitant when she saw the crowd, but quickly became very protective of Wrangler when she realized other dogs were getting close!

We entered her in the Smallest Dog Category and she WON 1ST PLACE! To top it off, she even won the Showmanship in her class and so it was another round for the showmanship championship after all of the class winners were chosen! Sophia and Wrangler went home with a trophy, a couple of ribbons and some other great prizes. What a fun time!

She was so excited to have so many people there watching her and cheering her on! Thanks to all of you that came out to support her! All in all, it was a great experience and we left with one happy little girl! And that's all that mattered....

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

It's true what they say, "The greatest thing about having you as a dad, is that my children get to have you as a Grandpa!"

Thanks for everything you do for our little princess!

She LOVES you!

Happy Birthday to an awesome dad and an even better Grandpa!

September 11...then and now.

Ten years ago, we all remember where we were. Sitting in my College Station apartment preparing for class, I had turned on my little television to see what was going on just in time to see the news break in that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. I wanted to stay and watch, but I knew I needed to get to campus and so I hurried out the door to my car and headed to class. It was when I pulled into my parking spot that I heard the news break in again, the second tower had been hit. Tears started coming down my cheeks and I realized that our country would NEVER be the same...we were under attack.

The day went on and I made my way to several classes (most of which were let out as quick as they started or even cancelled completely). However, I remember staying on campus with so many of my Aggie Family. We watched, we hugged, we shed tears. We knew that our world would never be the same. Days would pass by and huge efforts were made by the student body to help in any way possible. Red, White and Blue Out became a nationally broadcasted event at the A&M football game a little over a week later. It was amazing. The entire country seemed to be doing whatever they could to ease the pain of those around us.

And here we are....ten years later. I am married, I have a daughter and another baby on the way. My husband is on AGR orders with the Air National Guard doing his part to help this country maintain freedom and safety in whatever way he may be led to do so. Life has changed for me and so has the country we live in. Perhaps, we are safer today because of the lessons we learned on that terrible day, and we hope and pray that we never see another day like that fateful one ten years ago. We have moved on, but may we never forget. September 11 will always be remembered...

I'm a Big Girl Now!

I dreaded the first day I was going to be forced to drop our baby girl off in the car line at school. I could only imagine the tears, and sad face I would drive off to. For this reason, I was so happy when the teacher told us the first day that we could continue to walk in with the kiddos for a while.

And then came this morning...We drive up to our usual parking spot...I unbuckle her seat belt so we could get out...and she looks at me and says, "Momma, I am a big girl now. Big girls go to the car line. You don't need to walk in with me. I can do it by myself!"

She was so happy with her self acclaimed "Big Girl Status," but this pregnant momma was not ready to let go of that hand so quickly. However, I knew that this was a much better way to begin our "drop offs" then the tearful alternatives and so she got back in the carseat and we proceeded to the carline! She quickly jumped out and waved goodbye.

Don't get me wrong, I was proud...a little sad, but proud. She has had a huge week (including mailing her nightime pacifier to the mailman for other babies :) )! It's just crazy how fast she is growing up, but I am stil enjoying EVERY minute!

Our God Child, Wyatt!

This weekend we loaded the car up and headed for Kansas to witness the Baptism of our nephew, Wyatt Anders. Kris and I feel so blessed and honored to be his God Parents and Sophia absolutely adores her cousin! He is such a great baby and has grown so much every time we see him. We really enjoyed our time in Kansas with the Bartels family!

Jenn, Wyatt and Jeff...such an awesome family!

Brothers, Jason and Kris!


Wyatt learning "tricks" from his Big Cousin! Oh the things he can learn from Sophia! :-)
Wyatt with his grandparents :-)

Sophia and Mema - Love the fact that Sophia was able to get some quality time this weekend with her great grandmother!

A First for Sophia and Mommy

Sophia made her first trip to the doctor to check on the baby in mommy's tummy! She had her own appointment first to check on her ears and since my appointment was in the same building an hour later, I decided the two of us could make the trip together!

Her appointment went well. Her ears looked great (fingers crossed)! And well...it wasn't until we hit my doctor that the million questions began. For an hour and a half, I softly answered questions about "Why do they weigh you?" or "Why did they do that to you arm (blood pressure)? and so on. Needless to say, I was pretty tired by the time I actually saw the doctor.

However, I am so glad that this opportunity presented itself. I really wish I would have taken a picture of her face when she watched the doctor check the heartbeat. She looked up at me with a huge smile and said "Mommy that's our baby's heart!" I told her it was our baby's heart beat and it completely made my day! :-)

Fun weekend

I probably had a thousand things I could have done this weekend! From cleaning, washing, sorting, packing for our Kansas trip etc., there were countless things that could have made our "To Do" list while daddy was out of town. Instead Sophia and I dropped everything and just had FUN! Here's a brief rundown of the "cool things" that kept us busy!

Hobby Horse rides Friday night at Fireman's Park in Brenham!

Silly face with mommy.

Drinking out of her new "Soccer" cup at Denny's!

Fun in Houston shopping with Mommy!

Hailey and Sophia at Wyatt's 3rd Birthday! We then celebrated Hailey's bday on Sunday at the Aquatic Center. I can't believe how fast they are growing!

Love those kiddos! :-)

We have been blessed....TWICE!

Sophia will not only become a Big Sister in the coming months, but she was also have another cousin to play with! This week when my brother, Brandon and sister in law, Emily returned home from St. Kitts, they shared the news with us that they are expecting. And not only are they expecting, but we are due within a week of each other!

We are thrilled for them and know that they will be great parents! It is a very exciting time in the Schulte family.

We will begin our Big Sister practice with...

We will begin our Big Sister practice with...A DOG. A couple of weeks ago, we volunteered to let Sophia watch Wrangler for my parents for a week while they were gone to St. Kitts.. Wrangler is the minature chiuaua that my dad proudly calls his "cow dog!" Apparently, Sophia has taken her commitment to grandpa very seriously. The first thing I hear in the morning is "Hurry mom we need to let Wrangler out" or in the evening "Mom, Wrangler needs to eat dinner and get his treat if he cleans his plate!"

She literally does not want to let go of Wrangler if she is awake. It drives me CRAZY. However, I know how fond of the little pint sized dog she is and can only hope this will carry over to her baby sister or brother. I am sure Sophia will be sad to see Wrangler go back home, but Wrangler will probably welcome the freedom!

Until then here is a picture of our house guest after Sophia went to bed the other night.