Lots and Lots of Halloween Fun

This has been a very busy week for our family, so we've decided to combine everything into one blog entry.

On Tuesday we had our Moms Club Halloween Party, and John Grayson finally decided that it was okay to wear the pirate costume. Thank goodness! He had a great time playing with his friends and eating lots of sweets.

Arrr....I'm a pirate!

Boy, do I love all of the Halloween treats!!

On Wednesday, Daddy and JGray carved the family jack-o-lantern. Unfortunately, JGray wasn't too interested in helping since he thought it was spooky and scary. He did sit at the table with John and color while Daddy did the dirty work.

"Helping" Daddy with the pumpkin carving.

Taking a break from coloring to smile for the camera.

Daddy's masterpiece

On Friday morning, John Grayson visited a nearby retirement home and went trick or treating. He was such a sweet boy and remembered his manners (most of the time). He even gave out a hug or two while we were there.

Halloween night was so much fun for all of us! John Grayson had a fantastic time trick or treating. We went to about 5 houses in the neighborhood, which was MORE than enough candy for a 2 year old. Strangely enough, he had an even better time handing out candy to the big kids. He kept chanting "More big kids! More big kids!" He was very generous with the treats, and most big kids got a huge JGray sized handful of candy. Thank goodness Halloween is only once a year because Mommy and Daddy can't handle a crazy, hyper little boy every night!

Our bashful pirate

John Grayson and Daddy are ready to hit the streets for some treats.

I'm pretty good at this trick or treating thing.

I love Halloween!!

Halloween Blast

Sunday was the annual Halloween Blast in our neighborhood. Allison is in charge of the Recreation Committee, so she was very busy setting up the games, prizes and goodies and decorating. John Grayson and John arrived after nap time, and the boys had a great time. The highlight of the afternoon was definitely the hay ride. Actually, John Grayson had been talking about it all day!

Even though anything Halloween related is "spooky and scary" right now, JGray loved running through the tunnel. He would yell, run to the other end of the tunnel, and then immediately turn around and do it again. He's still talking about the "crawlies" (hands that were crawling along the ground).

JGray is supposed to be a pirate this year, but we're not sure if John Grayson will be wearing his costume. So far, all we've convinced him to wear is the pirate hat. Since we have several dress-up opportunities this week, hopefully he'll be ready for the big night on Friday!

Having fun on the hayride!

JGray and Mommy with our special "green" pumpkin. Maybe the
squirrels won't eat this one!!!

Fun with Friends

John Grayson and Mommy spent a wonderful (albeit chilly) morning at the Maymont Children's Farm with his friend Hannah Kate and her mom Susan. The kids had a fantastic time feeding the animals, running around, and watching the birds (especially the vultures).

Hannah Kate and John Grayson were so cute together holding hands and sharing their lunches. It's so amazing to see J Gray making friends!

Here are some pictures from our fun morning at Maymont:

Feeding the goats

Wow, that's a big cow!

Aren't they adorable?!

Good friends

The Crack of Dawn

John Grayson has always been an early riser, but today's antics were worthy of a blog posting.

Mommy heard him on the monitor at 5:30am. Yes, you read correctly, 5:30AM! That's two hours before the sun comes up. I managed to ignore him until 6:30 but heard lots of talking and singing and playing (all the usual stuff). When I walked into his room, he looked up at me, smiled and said, "Wake up Mommy! Cock a doodle doo!"

Ah, my cute little rooster......

Surviving the State Fair

On Saturday afternoon we decided to be brave and venture out to the State Fair. For those of you that have never been, the Virginia State Fair is quite the experience. I don't think you'll find a larger collection of mullets and Confederate flags in one place! And of course this year was also a mob of political stickers. I'm not sure what was worse. Nevertheless, we decided that John Grayson was old enough (and Mommy and Daddy were brave enough) to give it a shot.

The initial highlight of the trip was the wide variety of farm machinery on display. After 45 minutes of touring the entire John Deere display, we finally pulled JGray away kicking and screaming.



We walked around and saw all of the animal exhibits. Everything from sheep, cows, and horses to rabbits, chicken and geese. Mommy was very glad that she (1) remembered to bring her Purell with her and (2) the State Fair provides hand washing after each exhibit. Mommy was also very glad that J Gray takes a bath before bed every night.

Above all the greatest exhibit was the Swine (for some reason they call Pigs, Swine, at the State Fair). I initially felt bad about the sign on this cage... but then I had visions of bacon, pork chops, ham and Scrapple.




If you were to ask John Grayson about his favorite part of the fair, I think he'd say "strawberry milkshake." Yes, a milkshake. Next year, I think we'll go to Dairy Queen instead and save Mommy from stressing about all of the germs and crowds.

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

On Friday, John Grayson went to the Pumpkin Patch with his playgroup buddies--Hunter, Hannah Kate, and Molly. The kids had a fantastic time running around before the hayride (they've mastered holding hands and walking together without knocking each other down!), and John Grayson and Hunter spent quite a while hiding in the hay maze. Thank goodness they kept giggling or else we would have had a lot more trouble finding them!

This year was definitely more exciting than last year because J Gray was totally into the tractor ride and searching for the perfect pumpkin. I think that if I'd let him, J Gray would have spent his afternoon with the farmer! Here are some pictures from our fun morning at the pumpkin patch:

Walking with Hannah Kate and Molly

Throwing hay with Hunter

Searching for the perfect pumpkin

On the hayride with Mommy

J Gray is very proud of his pumpkins! Too bad the squirrels here in Richmond are already preparing for a bad winter, so one of the gourds has already fallen victim. I guess we'll have to leave our jack-o-lantern inside to protect it from the squirrels :-)

John Grayson's First Field Trip

Thursday was a big day in the Schmitt household---John Grayson's first school field trip!! We went to the Maymont Children's Farm and had a wonderful time. Who knew that a group of 12 kids under the age of 3 could be so well behaved?!

We saw lots of animals, including pigs, chickens, peacocks (although J Gray was convinced they were "cock a doodle doo's"), goats, sheep, cows, and horses. We know it was a successful day because no one lost a finger while feeding a goat :-)

I love petting the animals!

Coolest of all was the new Bald Eagle exhibit. I'm not sure if J Gray actually saw the bird but he thought it was fun nonetheless (or at least Mommy thought so).

I'm almost as big as the Bald Eagle!

We did a lot of walking, including a march up a big hill to have lunch. J Gray was one of the few kids to walk the entire time (props to Mommy for "forgetting" the stroller), and the final result was a very tired little boy who slept for 3 hours this afternoon.

Yay for Field Trips!!!!