Christmas 2009

Well, I thought I would do a Christmas recap. We had a wonderful Christmas with our families (haven't done christmas with Nathan's parents yet, since they've been in Florida. But hopefully I will be able to post pictures of that later). Anyway, here they are:

Here is Halle, making a typical ornery "Halle" face. She is constantly making us laugh--such a fun little girl!

Here is my grandma holding Layla. She just loves holding our babies!

This is Halle and Quinn (Corey and Erika's little boy). They are the same age, so I had to get their picture together.

Kaine got 2 guns with this little holster thing. He loves playing with it!

Jill with Halle and Layla

Halle and Quinn in a big gift bag:)

Halle just loves her little sister!

My dad playing with our kids, as usual:)

Mom and Halle looked so cute sitting there with their matching shirts!

Kaine and Halle opened their stocking stuffers with Layla in the middle:)

Kaine's favorite gift--a new guitar!!

Halle got some cute underwear in her stocking and wanted to wear them on her head for some reason! She looked so cute! (and no, she is not potty trained yet!)

Our annual Jim Schwartz family picure

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas! I know we did:)

Eight Years!

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe we have been married for 8 years! I know it sounds very cliche, but each year seriously keeps getting better. I could not ask God for a better husband and daddy! Nathan is an amazing husband, and such a good leader for our family. Not to mention, he is my best friend! Happy Anniversary, Natie--I love you!!!

pictures:)

Here are some more recent pictures of our 3 sweeties. Layla is doing really well--she is a great baby! And Kaine and Halle continue to love her!

Little Layla:)

Kaine and Halle like to entertain me by "dancing" on this coffee table. Kaine loves to make really silly faces to make me laugh:)

Kaine has been my "babysitter" lately. He just sits on the bed and talks to Layla--it is sooo cute! He likes to place pillows all around Layla so that she is "safe." I paid him a quarter the other day and he was really excited about that!

Kaine and Halle "playing" with Layla

After Layla's bathtime--she really doesn't like baths too much, but afterward she is so sweet and cuddly!

Halle playing in her "boat" with her animals

I was so excited the other day to see Layle sucking her thumb! When Halle was a little baby she would put herself to sleep so well because she sucked her thumb! So I am hoping Layla picks up this skill.

This might be the first "awake" picture of Layla that I have posted! She is more alert each day!

Halle was being cute with these sunglasses:)

Have a great week, everyone!!

Layla Raine

We are so thankful that God has blessed us with another sweet baby! Last Monday, November 23, Layla Raine was born at 10:13 am. She was 6 lb 5 oz (our smallest baby!) and 20 inches long. I would have to say it was my easiest, most painless delivery yet (gotta love those epidurals!!) But seriously, not to be too graphic, but one halfhearted push and she slid right out! So that was a blessing, too!! Anyway, she is doing great--a little sweetie. Kaine and Halle seem to really love her, too. Here are some pictures:)

What a sweetheart!

The classic "yawn picture"

Proud Daddy!

Proud Mommy!

We were so thankful that our hospital lifted the ban on kids under 18 visiting! Just a few days before Layla was born they changed the rules, so we were so excited that Kaine and Halle were able to come and see Layla in the hospital!

Kaine just loves his new sister!!

He was even so kind to share his stuffed animal with her! (if you can't tell, Cheetah is laying on top of Layla)

Halle is fascinated by Layla--she is constantly touching her eyes, nose, hair, hands, etc and saying "nose" "eyes" etc. It is so cute! (at least, until Halle pokes Layla in the eye--poor little thing, she will have to be a tough child!)

Nathan taught Halle to burp Layla

Well, I was trying to get a cute picture...as you can see, it wasn't working so well:)

Sweet little Layla :)

Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with Layla!

more random stuff

Another original title, huh? As you may have guessed, I feel just really busy lately! I guess that would be why I hardly ever blog anymore! As a result, my posts have been consisting of just...random stuff:) Hence the title!

This picture was taken a few weeks ago...Nathan and Aaron went frog-gigging. Kind of a brutal sport, if you ask me, but they had a blast! Bless my mom, she let them bring the frogs in to her kitchen counter and butcher them! I guess we will be eating frog legs sometime soon. Or I should say, the guys will be eating them. I really don't think I have it in me!

Nathan ran in the Parlor City Trot again this year! I am super proud of him--he came in tenth! Here is my dad and Halle waiting for Nathan to finish.

Great job, honey! I am so proud of you!

This is from our annual Grabill Days (the Grabill Country Fair). Once again, we just loved going to the fair! It is such a good, hometown fair, and really fun. I hope Lisa doesn't mind me posting this picture, but this is from the blueberry pie eating contest. Nathan and our assistant, Lisa, both competed. It was so fun to watch!

The housedads on campus are so competitive! This is Ryan, Nathan, Bruce, and Joe doing the sack race. Joe won this race, and Nathan came in third. Great job, Natie!

The guys with their ribbons:)

Halle being her usual adorable self at the fair!

Kaine climbed this rope bridge--it was so cute! He took such careful steps and concentrated so hard! What a sweetie:)

And he also got to ride the kids' ferris wheel, which he loved!

A week or 2 ago, Nathan filled up our little pool with warm water. Kaine and Halle love swimming! By the way, Halle is actually happy in this picture...this is her new "cheeeeeese" face. It is so funny! If I ask her to say "cheese" this is always what I get:)

Halle did not appreciate this piece of grass on her finger!

My 2 boys...I love them:)

Kaine is "skiing" down the slide and of course, Halle is saying "cheeese!"

These pictures are from a great little park in Grabill. We often ride our bikes there on our days off. They have this really cool train that Kaine loves to "drive"

Halle's face the whole time she rides the merry-go-round:)

They are loving the merry-go-round! I used to love it as a kid, too. My dad was an awesome pusher!

This picture cracks me up. We took Kaine and Halle bowling on our day off, and we had to get them both bowling shoes. Halle's were a few sizes too big, and she looked adorable! This is a very exaggerated "cheeeese" pose, along with her dorky shoes:) (and her stomach hanging out!)

Kaine loves to climb!

My 2 studs again:)

Hopefully I won't have so much randomness in the next post! Have a great day, everyone!