Lots of Snow, Forts and Germs

Richmond has seen an insane amount of snow this winter. It's still on the ground, although some warm weather this weekend helped melt some of it. At this rate, we'll have snow on the ground in April :-( A typical winter weather forecast in Richmond usually mentions snow, but is wrong. Richmond is on the rain/snow line so the weathermen change their forecast at the last minute and we end up with a few flurries that quickly change to rain. This year, they were right, THREE times! We got a huge snow in December (that stuck around until mid-January), and then back-to-back weekends in February, we got MORE HUGE snow! 14+ inches the first weekend and then about 10 inches the following weekend. Needless to say, schools were closed and John Grayson didn't go to preschool for two entire weeks. It was a frustrating time for all of us. Thank goodness for the YMCA and their fantastic childcare. JGray may not have made it to school, but he did get some play time each morning at the Y (and I maintained a slight grasp on my sanity).

John decided to make the most of this Chicago-like weather and build what he called a "kick ass snow fort". He's received compliments from lots of the neighbors and anyone else who happens to come by our house. It has pillars in the front and windows that are JGray level. He spent almost 2.5 hours working on it, and he is so proud of it. It has finally started to melt, but I think part of it will still be visible well into March. A "happy" reminder of Winter 2010. John Grayson wasn't a huge fan of the snow when it was falling (because it was way too cold) but did enjoy playing in it for a few days afterward. John took some great pictures of JGray working on the fort and helping shovel the driveway.











Not to be outdone (and in desperate need of a new indoor activity), I build a fort for the kids inside. One card table and one king size sheet later and we had a pretty cool fort. Not exactly "kick ass" but the kids did enjoy playing in it for most of the day. Anything to break up the monotony of being snowed in! Delia has also created a fort of her own underneath the desk in the kitchen. She dragged toys and pillow in there and likes to hide.





Things returned to normal last week. Two days of preschool, music class for Delia, gymnastics for JGray. I was beginning to think that we were making the turn towards Spring when BAM! Stomach bug. John Grayson woke up yesterday morning telling us that his stomach hurt and then proceeded to throw up at the top of the stairs. Lovely. He had a fever in the morning and only threw up one more time. Delia and John had diarrhea, but luckily (fingers crossed), I've managed to stay healthy. Everyone seems back to normal today, so I've spent the morning washing sheets and blankets and cleaning toys. Hopefully this is our one big illness of the winter!

13 Months Old!

I feel like I just wrote the post about Delia turning 1, yet another month has passed. Delia becomes funnier by the day and her personality is beginning to show more and more. She knows when she's being funny and laughs at herself. She's very silly and incredibly sweet. She loves to give kisses (to Mommy and her baby dolls), and she takes her books very seriously.

At 13 months, Delia:
* Has mastered walking and has moved on to running and walking with attitude. I kid you not, the girl is learning to shake her hips and strut when she's walking. She likes to make noises when she runs because she likes to hear how her voice sounds different. And she thinks it's really funny to try to chase after her big brother. Dancing remains one of her favorite things to do. She has become a key participant in the Schmitt Family dance parties.
* Has a sweet relationship with the dog. Most of you know that Dusty, our wonderfully sweet old boy, wants nothing to do with John Grayson. They've never had a good relationship, and Dusty is totally justified in staying away from the boy. He was mean to Dusty when he was little---grabbing fur/ears/tail, locking him in his crate. Delia, on the other hand, is incredibly gentle and loves to throw the ball to him. Dusty seems to appreciate her calm demeanor and will stand there patiently while she pats him on the head or back. John and I have decided that Dusty is probably going to become a fixture in Delia's bedtime as she grows up.
* Loves to hide in the corner (and not because we put her there). We keep a booster seat in the dining room next to the china cabinet. Delia loves to crawl into it and sit there. Recently, she's started moving the seat and sitting in the corner herself. She usually brings a book or toy and will sit there until we come to find her. I think she may be a lover of hide and seek. Earlier today, she took a book into the upstairs bathroom and sat between the toilet and tub. Not sure if it's because she wanted privacy or she's seen her Daddy take reading material in there before.
* Has finally started to enjoy her time at the YMCA. Up until now, Delia has been my "problem child" at the gym. She's never really enjoyed being separated from me and I rarely hear that she made it the entire time without crying. Well last week, I think we turned the corner. I said good-bye and she looked at me, smiled and waved bye bye. Then she turned around and walked toward the toys. No tears. No screaming. Maybe her transition to preschool in a few years won't be so bad after all.
* Loves to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It". We have it as a book, and it's always her first choice. She does "clap your hands" and "stomp your feet" pretty well, and we're still working on "tickle your tummy". She asks for it over and over again too, which is hard to say no to because she gets so excited.
* Has started transitioning to 1 nap in the afternoon. This is not by my choice. I enjoy my mostly-quiet shower time in the morning, and I'm not looking forward to figuring out a way to keep the two children safe for 15 minutes. We put her in the crib each morning, but 3 days this week, she didn't nap. Sat in her crib and played for an hour. Luckily this lack of morning nap translated into awesome afternoon naps of 3.5 hours! Part of me is actually looking forward to moving to a one-nap routine because we'll be able to get to more morning activities. Plus, I won't mind an entire afternoon of quiet (until JGray finally drops his nap).

We're very excited about the weather becoming warmer so we can take Delia outside to play more. I can already tell that she's going to love the park and the backyard as much as her brother, although I'm not sure if she'll dig for dinosaur bones with him. Maybe if he agrees to play tea party or house.

Here are a few pictures of Delia at 13 months:

3 1/2 Years Old!

John Grayson is 3 1/2 years old! He's grown up so much in the past 6 months. When I look at him now, I have a good idea of what he'll look like when he's a teenager. The baby fat is gone now and he's grown another couple of inches too so all of his 3T pants are starting to get a little short. John Grayson is full of energy and imagination and is becoming more independent. We're definitely experiencing the Terrible Three's in our house. It's obvious that he wants to be in control of his world, and he has absolutely no problem voicing his opinion. We're working through it and the sticker chart seems to be helping tremendously :-)

At 3 1/2, John Grayson:
* Loves to read. He still sleeps with a giant pile of books in his bed. His favorite topics are dinosaurs, construction equipment and space. He is becoming more interested in learning the words on the page. He'll tell us that we need to read the book to him because "I don't know the words yet." Soon enough!
* Loves preschool. He has a wonderful teacher named Ms. Bridgette and several great friends in his class. He takes music and creative movement classes and brings home beautiful art projects.
* Is becoming quite the gymnast. I signed John Grayson up for a preschool gymnastics class in September, not knowing whether he'd enjoy it very much. Well, he LOVES it! He does wonderful somersaults, walks on the high balance beam, bounces on the trampoline and can even flip over the bar and push himself up. If he completes one more session, then he earns a trophy. Needless to say, he cannot wait to get that trophy!
* Is a wonderful big brother. We had some growing pains when Delia first became mobile (and got into all of his stuff), but John Grayson loves to play with his little sister and make her giggle.
* Loves to laugh. John Grayson has the best laugh. It makes his entire face light up and you can't help but laugh with him. He has started telling knock-knock jokes, and he thinks they're hysterical.
* Has become quite the expert on dinosaurs and space. He knows about so many different types of dinosaurs and can tell you when they lived and what their bones look like. He knows most of the planets and facts about them. Not bad for a paleontologist and astronaut in training!
* Has a vivid imagination and loves telling stories. John started telling him "tall tales" about Paul Bunyan and JGray could listen to those stories for hours. It's great to see him playing with his trucks/dinosaurs/space men and having conversations with them.

It's hard to believe that our little boy is growing up so fast. He brings such joy and laughter to our lives. He makes us enjoy each moment. There is nothing better than an unexpected bear hug, kiss and "I love you" from our sweet boy!

Here is a picture of John Grayson at 3 1/2: