The Schmitt Family

Fall Fun

2012-01-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

Fall 2011 was very busy for us. Our week spent in Arizona gave us two fewer weekends to get to all of our fall fun, so we had to get a lot done in a little bit of time. No worries though, we got it all in ;)

Pumpkin Patch
The fall wouldn't be complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch! We finally learned our lesson and headed straight to the "big" pumpkin patch a little further from the house instead of hoping the closer one would have the tractors going. We'd had quite a bit of rain before our visit, but luckily the kids didn't seem to mind the mud. The kids were very proud of their selections, and we were all very proud of Daddy for carrying all of them (it's $20, all you can carry).

Halloween

Surprisingly, this year's costume selections were pretty easy. JGray saw the Transformer costumes at Costco early in the season and knew immediately that he wanted to be Optimus Prime (even though he's never seen the movies). And of course, Delia wanted to be a princess. She chose a very pink Sleeping Beauty costume (that was ripped weeks before Halloween because she wore it so much) and plastic pink high heels. Already proving that fashion is worth a little discomfort, Delia wore her shoes the entire night without complaining! John really upped his pumpkin carving game this year and purchased a "pumpkin gutter" at Walmart. Attach it to your favorite drill and voila, you have pumpkins without seeds and guts in a matter of minutes (much to the delight of Mommy and Delia)! He also used his Dremel to create awesome designs. Check out the Cannibal Pumpkin!

Apple Picking
Quickly becoming a family tradition, we had to find a weekend to get to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick some apples! It was VERY cold, so we didn't spend too much time on the mountain. We bought apple doughnuts and immediately hiked to the Pink Lady Apples. Delia is a monkey and loves it when Daddy holds her up HIGH (emphasis on the word, high) in the air so she can reach the top of the trees. John Grayson, being our more cautious child, is much more content closer to the ground. We picked lots of apples and enjoyed them for over a month.

Flag football
Last, but certainly not least, we must discuss John Grayson's newest fall sport. Flag football. Silly me assumed that flag football meant minimal collisions and no tackling. Boy was I wrong! John Grayson was definitely a little intimidated by how physical the other boys were. They would throw themselves at each other to get to the ball! I think he had fun (thanks to his wonderful coaches), but he said that he was ready to go back to soccer in the spring.

5 lessons from "Own-A-Zona"

2012-01-22T17:13:00.000-08:00

This past October we took our first big family trip out to Arizona. Leading up to the trip John Grayson was very excited to see cacti and Delia was content just being excited to say the name of the state we were going to... which came out as 'Own-a-zona'. We learned a few lessons on this trip...

First - Children have no concept of time zones, this was readily apparent on both our flight out to Arizona (John Grayson was in tears about how tired he was at 6pm on the first day) as well as our 4:30am wake up time from the kids each morning. Thank goodness for 24 hour Dunkin Donuts.

Second - The kids loved Cacti.

It started with John Grayson. Every time we saw a new cacti (and there are lots of variety) he wanted to take his picture in front of it. This was great to look and learn about these cacti, but both John Grayson and I learned that touching a cactus is not a pleasant experience. John Grayson due to curiosity, while Daddy backed into a cactus while taking the picture above. I was picking needles out of my leg for more than a week.

Delia started getting into the game as well, but she had a passion for large cacti. We found this one just down the block from where we were staying. The locals told us that this one had to be at least 100 years old!

Third - While the air temperature is hot in October, the water temperature gets cold.

We went over to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda's house for a cookout one of the evenings we were there. I remembered how much I loved their pool when I was a kid, so I thought they would love it the same. They did, but wow was it cold.

Given that the kids are not prolific swimmers at this point, I had to go into the pool with them. I thought it would feel better over time, but the half hour we spent in the pool was one of my coldest dips ever!

Fourth - A family trip to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix is a long day no matter how you do it.

Lamenting the 8 hour round trip drive to get to and from the Canyon, I found a company that could do a charter flight from Scottsdale to the Grand Canyon, significantly shortening our journey. So on Tuesday morning the 4 of us piled in a Cessna with our pilot and headed up to the Canyon. The flight up was incredible, we were provided with some of the most epic views I could have ever imagined of the Arizona desert. We also got to spend 30 minutes flying over the Canyon which was amazing (picture above).

When we got there we spend a few hours hiking around the South Rim, while Mommy and Daddy were enjoying the view, the kids interest began to wane as they saw it as just a big hole in the ground. We were able to get a couple good family pictures thanks to some friendly folks in the park. By the end of the day the kids had enough.

All of us ended up sleeping on the plane ride back.

Fifth - The old west is cool at any age.

Our last night in Phoenix we took the kids to a western town called 'Rawhide'. They had people in character (Cowboys, Sheriffs, Outlaws) walking all around the 'town'. As we got there one of the Outlaws had been thrown out of the Saloon and a shoot-out ensued. The kids were enthralled at all of the old west activities and the actors.

Albeit a long trip to get there, taking the family to 'Own-a-zona' was a fun trip that filled with great memories!

New Year's Resolution

2012-01-21T16:34:00.001-08:00

Once again, I've neglected the blog. However, now that we're through the craziness of the holidays and Delia's birthday, I'm ready to redirect my focus back to the blog. Step 1, catch up from the second half of 2011. Step 2, stay up to date in 2012.

I can do this! At least for a few months ;-)

5 Years Old!

2011-11-13T16:43:00.001-08:00

Yet again, I am behind on the blog. I'm doing much better keeping photos updated on Facebook, but I seem to have trouble finding the time to update FB and the blog. I'm going to try to make the blog a priority for a while. We'll see how long it lasts :-)

John Grayson turned 5 back in August. He is growing up so fast and seems like such a "big" boy to us now. He is so smart, funny and kind. He gives the best hugs and still loves to snuggle with his mommy (yay for me!)

He started Pre-K at Mount Vernon in September and he absolutely loves school. He is so glad that he gets to go everyday and is learning so much. He can write his full name (first, middle last) and is "practicing" kindergarten skills in preschool. During his fall parent-teacher conference, his teacher told us that he's wonderful (but of course we already know that). He will be more than ready for kindergarten when he starts next fall.

At 5 years old, John Grayson:

Is 42.5 inches tall (50th percentile) and weighs 42 pounds (50th percentile).
Loves to draw and write. He's constantly asking how to spell certain words and he'll spell his own words and ask what he's written. He's taking an art class after school on Wednesdays, and his work is incredible (although I know I'm a little biased). He is very creative and draws detailed pictures of dinosaurs, sharks, trees, people and lots of other things.
Loves Legos. That boy will take a box of legos and build all sorts of trucks, houses, and cars. He doesn't get frustrated as he's building. He just keeps working on them. He'll spend his entire quiet time on most days creating lego masterpieces.
Is playing flag football this fall. Gulp, did you know they sometimes tackle in flag football? I didn't either or else I might have questioned letting him play. But he had fun this season with great coaches and learned a lot about the game. He wants to play tennis this winter and is thinking about trying soccer again in the spring.
Loves books. Each night, he and John read from a chapter book. We're amazed with how much he understands and remembers. He's read books like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Stuart Little", "James and the Giant Peach", and countless books from the Magic Treehouse series. He listens to Jack and Annie (from Magic Treehouse) every night as he's falling asleep.
Is so funny and loves to laugh. He's trying to learn some knock-knock jokes. Let's just say that he's making progress but still has a way to go ;-)
Is a rule-follower. Hmmm, I wonder if he got that from his mommy??? He gets upset when Delia doesn't do things like she's supposed to (which is quite often). His teacher even told us that he's like that in the classroom too. He still gets the occasional case of the giggles and gets in trouble from time to time, but he is a great kid. He always wants to do the right thing and is concerned when other kids get hurt.
Has a hot and cold relationship with Delia right now. Either he loves her or he is furious with her. She doesn't make it very easy on him with her fiesty personality and little sister's desire to drive him crazy. He is very protective of her though. If anyone is mean to her when they're together, he runs to her defense and makes sure that she's okay. He's her ultimate defender and it makes this Mommy's heart very happy.

John Grayson, you're growing up so fast and are an incredible boy. You bring such happiness, laughter and amazement into our lives. I pinch myself sometimes and wonder what I did to deserve a son as wonderful as you. Your daddy and I cannot wait to watch you grow and embark on many new adventures! We love you!

First Day of School

2011-09-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

John Grayson and Delia both started school two weeks ago. JGray is going 5 mornings a week and Delia is there on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. So far, both kids LOVE school!

JGray is thrilled to be in a Pre-K class. His teacher, Ms. Mary, is amazing and everyone raves about her (and now we know why). He is making lots of new friends and is already practicing skills he'll need next year in Kindergarten.

All ready for the first day of school

Outside his classroom on the first day

Delia is having fun too! Her class has lots of boys in it (9 boys, 4 girls), but having a big brother makes her perfectly prepared for dealing with all those crazy, silly boys. She is making some new friends too and loves her teachers, Ms. Sarah and Ms. Anna.

All smiles on the first day of school!

Delia and her sweet friend, Charlie, outside their classroom on the first day

2 1/2 Years Old!

2011-09-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm a little late writing this post but Delia has been so busy being "two na na half" that I kept forgetting to sit down and type. It's crazy to think that Delia is now a little older than JGray was when she was born. Oh how time flies! Delia has grown into such a sweet, sassy, delightfully funny and imaginative little lady.

At 2 1/2 years old, Delia:

Has the best laugh. It's contagious and impossible not to smile when you hear her giggle.
Makes the funniest faces, especially when she's mad or trying really hard to make something work. She scrunches up her nose and tries to be so serious (but it's hard not to laugh at her).
Is (almost) fully potty trained! Yes, this is a huge accomplishment and we're thrilled with how well she's doing. As luck would have it, bribery with princess underwear and skittles goes a long way with her. We've had our challenges--she doesn't like telling the ladies at the gym or at school that she needs to potty--but she's making great progress.
Started preschool! Yes, our sweet girl is a big girl who goes to school. She loves school and really seems to enjoy her new independence. When you ask how her day was, she always responds, "GREAT!"
Loves her "Bobby." Yes, she still calls John Grayson by the nickname "Bobby." Actually, most times she says, "My Bobby" and JGray is not happy when someone else (John or I) call him by that nickname. I keep hoping that this nickname will stick and she will use it to torture him when they're in high school :)
Has the most beautiful hair. Yes, I have hair envy for a 2 1/2 year old, but it's just beautiful. She's kept those curls and how it's long and reaches the middle of her shoulders. We finally cut it (but just trimmed the ends) and it has grown since then. She still loves her hair bows and now specifies how she wants her hair done each day--one ponytail or two, bow or clip.
Might be little but there is A LOT of personality crammed into that body! She's still tall, but I swear that she hasn't gained any weight since her 2nd birthday. She just gets taller and skinnier, but that hasn't stopped her personality from growing exponentially! She likes to do things by herself ("I do myself, Mommy!"). She also makes the funniest face when she's trying to be serious and make a point--she scrunches up her nose and opens her mouth (in a "Awww, Mom!" sort of way).
Is so lovable. Delia gives the best hugs and kisses. And is very quick to say, "I love you too!" (even if you haven't said "I love you" yet).
LOVES princesses, books about princesses, dress up (in princess dresses), tea parties, baby dolls, stuffed animals and everything girlie. She also loves to play outside, doesn't mind getting dirty and has been known to play too rough (she has a mean tackle, thanks to Daddy and big brother).

Delia, we love you so much and can't imagine life without your adorable face and giant personality!

Here are a few pictures of Delia at 2 1/2:

Delia's first hair cut (in July)

Delia and Mommy at a family wedding in July

At the beach in August

Snapshots of Summer

2011-09-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

I didn't do a very good job of keeping up with the blog this summer, but that's just because we've been so busy! We spent lots of time at the pool and the park, played with friends, went to Busch Gardens, drove to Chicago and spent an amazing week with family, went to the beach, and just had FUN! Until I'm able to catch up on individual blog postings, here's one big posting with lots of pictures from our fun summer.

In late May, I took the kids gem mining. It was hot and dirty, but everyone had a blast. The kids filled their buckets with dirt and rocks and then took them to the water and panned for gems. We didn't come home with anything special, but JGray and Delia thought they were priceless!

We also spent several mornings at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. They have an incredible Children's Garden with a water play area, and the kids love to run around and get wet.

JGray took swim lessons this summer and did so much better than we ever expected. He's been nervous in the past but really like his instructor and was a little fish by the end of the two week session. He was so proud of himself and we were too!

One weekend, we took the kids to a local putt-putt course that also has go-carts. Delia was too little to ride in the go-carts so she and I watched the boys drive by and took lots of silly pictures.

In late July we went to Chicago to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We DROVE, but the kids were spectacular, and thanks to a seemingly endless supply of fruit snacks and lollipops, we got there safely and sanely. We spent an amazing and very busy week with family. The kids even attended their first wedding and danced until 9pm! There are too many pictures to include here, so I'll make John draft a funny, witty post.

Photographic evidence that we did, in fact, drive the 13 hours to Chicago. See, they were quiet for a little while.

Auntie Em painted D's toenails for the first time. No big surprise, she LOVED it!

The kids had been practicing their dance moves for weeks and were very excited to show them off!

And not to be forgotten, one very special boy turned 5! JGray had a Mad Scientist birthday party and 15 of his friends (plus his little sister) helped him celebrate. I promise to write a separate, sappy posting about all the amazing things he's doing now. Plus John owes me a video montage.

We spent an amazing week in Sandbridge, VA (just south of Virginia Beach) with my parents. John had to work at the beginning of the week, so the kids and I got to spend lots of quality time with MaMa and Pop. We had to evacuate a day early because of Hurricane Irene, but the weather was perfect before our departure. The kids loved the beach so we spent the entire week on the beach, digging in the sand and playing in the waves.

I have an almost identical picture taken last year at Kiawah. Same big smile even though the waves were much bigger in Sandbridge.

Delia loved making sandcastles. Or let me clarify, she liked to make Pop and Daddy (and sometimes Mommy) make sandcastles for her.

JGray got a fishing pole for his birthday and he insisted on trying to fish at the beach. Unfortunately, the Cars-themed fishing pole didn't catch any fish.

Our beach baby loved the ocean. Her hair, not so much. By the end of the week, I couldn't brush it, but it did become beautifully blond.

Best buddies, some of the time

We let the kids stay up late one night so we could walk on the beach and hunt for ghost crabs. Imagine the beach covered with crabs of all sizes, but you can't see them because the kids have the flashlights. What? That doesn't sound like fun to you? Me neither ;)

What's this? A cute picture with Mommy!

What do you do at the end of the week when the kids and their fighting is driving you crazy? Dig a very big hole and put them in it!

Well, I've run out of pictures, so it must mean that summer is almost over. I still have a week left to play with the kids and we're going to try and cram in all the fun we can. Bad weather won't stop us! I promise to try my best to keep the blog updated more regularly this fall. Between both kids' school schedules (JGray has school 5 days a week; D has school 2 days a week) and other fun activities, we're going to be very busy!

Catching Up

2011-07-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post! We've been busy and I've had trouble keeping up with the blog. Let's see, what have we been doing? Lots of playing outside, including trips to Maymont and Lewis Ginter, picking strawberries and blueberries, going gem mining and learning to swim. I've promised myself to catch up on the blog before JGray's birthday, so I have exactly one month. I can do it, I think :)

Deliquent Random iPhone photos

2011-05-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

I realized tonight its been months since I uploaded photos from my phone, so I decided to put a few of the highlights up on the blog.

Back in September (I told you its been a long time) we went to the 'Field Day of the Past' out in Goochland County. I figured the kids would be interested in the tractor/lawnmower/pig/horse/steam machine competitions that this festival provided; instead we spent quite a bit of time inside an exceptionally large tire.
John Grayson finished another full session of gymnastics with Miss Ivy again last fall. Unfortunately/Fortunately gymnastics fell out of favor now that he has discovered Tennis, Basketball, and Football. While we may never see him on the podium again, I think he is set with an amazing base of tumbling skills.

Right before Thanksgiving last year we headed over to the Short Pump Mall to celebrate the arrival of Santa. JGray enjoyed his first Starbucks (hot cocoa) while Delia was in absolute awe at her first site of Santa for the season.
JGray in Daddy's new Ditka sweater. Da Bears.
Delia loves Guacamole. Ridiculous amounts of Guacamole.
For her 2nd birthday Delia received her very first Tricycle. Her feet are just getting to the point where they reach the peddles. She loves to try to follow around her 'Bobby' when he is on his big bike.
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Monster Trucks in Richmond! You may pay for the full seat but you'll only use the edge of it!!!!!!!!!!! In what is quickly becoming an annual event the Schmitt men made their way down to Thunder Nationals to watch Grave Digger destroy the competition. Apologies to the guy to JGray's right, he caught the end of Grave Digger flag to the face when JGray vigorously waved his flag in celebration of another Grave Digger victory.

Sweet Frog. Awesome Yogurt. Toddler Crack. If you don't have one of these near your house now, expect one soon.

Family Weekend in the Mountains

2011-05-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

John and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we have two portable kids (who aren't totally dependent on their naps) and go away for a fun-filled family weekend! We rented a house in the small town of Luray, VA and headed out right after lunch on Friday. No one napped (no big surprise there since Schmitt kids don't like to sleep in the car), but we arrived happy and ready to explore. We walked down to the river and then came back to the house and made smores. The kids were so excited that Daddy could build a real fire for them to roast marshmallows. On Saturday, we went to Luray Caverns and then spent a rainy afternoon at the movies. We took Skyline Drive on our way home; the sights were incredible! As promised, JGray got his hike. We came home tired but so happy that our first family adventure was a huge success!

Our adorable cabin

Playing by the river

JGray loved throwing rocks and sticks into the water

Our little monkey

Running to Mommy

Daddy put his Eagle Scout skills to good use and built an awesome fire!

Yummy smores!

She thought the chocolate was the best part!

At Luray Caverns

We saw a rainbow on our last night at the cabin

The view from Skyline Drive was incredible!

Hiking to see some waterfalls

"Aw Mom, can't we just keep walking??"

Going back uphill was pretty steep, so someone needed some help from Daddy.

And eventually Mommy had to help out on the hike back to the car.

Basketball

2011-05-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Watch out NBA, here comes JGray! In February, we signed him up for an instructional basketball class through a local church. Two of his friends were there too, which made it a lot more fun for him. It was a very low-key class with lots of instructional time. They focused on teaching the kids how to dribble, pass and shoot the ball. The last class was a "scrimmage." Each team played several 4 minute games and when one child had the ball, the others couldn't steal it. It was adorable and everyone seemed to have a great time! JGray said he liked basketball a lot more than soccer, but I think it's because the class was focused on teaching skills and then playing the game, instead of learning by playing.

JGray scored a basket during the last class, and he came sprinting over to John and I to give us a hug and a kiss. He totally forgot about the game clock, which was still running! It didn't matter though because I haven't seen him prouder of himself :-)

Here are a few pictures from basketball (I took a lot of pictures, but apparently I need to work on my sports photography skills because most of them are impossible to see):

Future NBA star!

Look at that form!

John also took some video from the last class, and we'll upload it soon!

What do you get?

2011-04-21T16:50:00.001-07:00

What do you get when you combine a promise for Lent to stop using the computer when the kids are awake? No time to update the blog! Combine that with 3 weeks of illness and you get even less time (and more importantly, energy) to update the blog. I promise things will change in the coming weeks! We have been very busy doing lots of wonderful things and we'll do our best to tell you all about it!

Busy busy February!

2011-02-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

February has been a very busy month!

John Grayson made Little Monster valentines for his classmates this year. I am so proud of him because he did most of the cutting, gluing and name writing ALL BY HIMSELF! They turned out great and he was so proud to take them to school.

We finally had some nice weather in Richmond and decided to take advantage of it. We spent the morning at one of our very favorite places, Maymont! The kids had so much fun feeding the animals and running around in the fresh air. We were all very tired by the end of our visit, but it was worth it. We can't wait until the beautiful spring weather is around for good!

Delia loved feeding the goats. She must have been trying to show the goat what to do by sticking out her tongue.

John Grayson is a petting zoo pro!

They are growing up so fast!

My boys

That same weekend, one of my dear friends, Courtney came to visit with her husband John and their son Will. Will is just a few weeks younger than Delia, so it was fun to watch them play. John Grayson loves his role of big brother, even when all of the little kids aren't his!

As you can tell, John Grayson wasn't very interested in having his picture taken. Will, on the other hand, was eager to ham it up for the camera.

I had a lot of trouble getting all three to smile for the camera, but I promise that they had a fun time playing together!

Dance Party, Schmitt style

More dancing

4 1/2 Years Old!

2011-02-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first year (since he was a baby) that the "half" has mattered quite a bit. John Grayson has been asking for a while now (at least a month) when he would be 4 1/2. I guess the "big kids" on the playground at school are turning 5 and 6 so he wants to make sure he's keeping up. He is growing up so fast!

At 4 1/2, John Grayson is:

Writing his name (both first and middle)! They work on it at school, and the teacher asked that each child write his/her name on their valentines. Writing his name 11 times paid off because now he can do it without much help from me!
Loves school! This is no change from past years, but we get a lot more details from him each day. When asked how his day was, he always answers "Great!" He loves his teacher, Ms. Carolyn, and has lots of friends. He even started up a "Boys Club" and he is the president. It seemed really strange at first when he was talking about it, and neither John nor I could figure out what he was talking about. Then JGray explained that he's the president of his boys' club, just like I'm the president of my MOMS Club. Ahhh, makes sense, and JGray has just the personality to pull it off. He's very self-assured without being cocky. He includes everyone. He's funny. He's sweet.
Started taking tennis lessons before the holidays and absolutely loved it! He did soccer in the fall and got bored, but really seems to enjoy tennis. He told me it's because he gets to use his hands and his feet. Makes sense. He's going to take more lessons later in the spring and is also trying out basketball and flag football.
Still loves books. We've started reading him chapter books. He loves the Magic Treehouse series and John just finished reading him "James and the Giant Peach." He sits in his room during quiet time, listening to his books on CD, staring at the pages in these "big kid" books. He tells us he's reading and I wouldn't doubt it. He also loves going to the library and picking out videos. He doesn't choose your typical preschool videos either. He's picked videos on Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, anything about science, and recently some "Reading Rainbow" dvds.
Is a remarkable big brother. "Bobby" as is affectionately called by his little sister, John Grayson is a helpful, loving, fun big brother. He tries to include Delia (most of the time) and loves to give her hugs and jump and play with her.
Has started telling knock-knock jokes. Some are better than others, but he thinks that anything that involves underwear in the punchline is funny. John keeps trying to teach him real jokes and he remembers them, sometimes, but his fall-back is always underpants.
Has officially stopped napping, even on days when he gets up too early. JGray is still an early bird, in spite of the lack of naps. There are days when we hear him up and moving around before 6am. He gets a little tired in the afternoon but always tells us that his eyes won't close. He does a great job of spending quiet time in his room (for 1.5-2 hours). He reads books, builds with legos, draws and watches DVDs.
Loves to draw, write and tell stories. He draws intricate pictures and maps and will spend forever telling you about them. He has a vivid imagination and an incredible memory. He'll come up to us and say, "Remember the time when..." It can go back a year or more, and John and I are shocked by his accuracy.

John Grayson amazes us with his outgoing personality, infectious laugh, charming sense of humor and compassion for everyone he meets. I still don't know what I did to deserve such a special little boy for a son. We love you, sweet boy!

Here's a picture of John Grayson at 4 1/2:

Happy Birthday Delia!

2011-01-28T12:14:00.001-08:00

Right now, one of Delia's favorite things is cookies so we thought it was only fitting to have a Milk & Cookies themed birthday party. We invited all of her friends and decorated the house with brown and white polka dotted table clothes and pink plates, napkins and balloons. My friend Andrea did the invitations and I thought they were just beautiful--"Nothing is sweeter than Delia turning 2!"

Luckily the snow held off (the forecast kept changing that weekend), but it was freezing during her party. We're definitely going to have to research some fun indoor birthday party ideas for the future!

I bought Delia an adorable shirt (my new favorite discovery is Etsy!) and a purple tulle skirt for the party. She loved twirling around in it! Too bad she danced right out of it and spent the end of the party in her leggings :)

You can't see the skirt very well in this picture but you can see how excited Delia was for her party!

Here's a much better picture of the skirt

All smiles!

We baked a TON of cookies for the day! A huge THANK YOU to MaMa for baking all of the pumpkin cookies! John made his (in)famous sugar cookies with hot pink sprinkles and I made chocolate chip cookies.

Even after sending cookies home with the kids as part of their favor, we still had lots of leftovers. Good thing they were so yummy!

I got creative and slightly crafty for the party favors. I made cookie pops--sugar cookies with mini M&Ms on a stick. They were wrapped in plastic and tied with ribbon (pink or brown with pink polka dots).

John helped with the tags. They say "Thank you for making Delia's birthday so sweet"

We set up a bounce house in the garage so the kids could burn off some of their energy. We also had cookie decorating and even a dance party!

Delia had so much fun bouncing with Macey. John had to pry them out of the bounce house! He got a lot of video footage of the day, especially the bouncing and dancing.

All the kids had so much fun decorating cookies!

Delia loved decorating her cookie! She put all of her candy in a big pile of the cookie--no time spent making it pretty!

My friend Marci made Delia's cake and she did a fabulous job! I found some ideas online and she did a great job of incorporating all of them. Delia loved that there were real cookies on her cake.

Delia has been practicing blowing out her candles for a year now. Last year, she got a toy cake that lets you blow out the candles. Evidently her hard work paid off because she blew them out on the first try! She was so proud of herself too; it was precious!

Delia was so ready to blow out her candles!

Success!

Here some more adorable pictures from the day:

Mommy and Daddy with the Birthday Girl

John Grayson and his best friend, Jack (who Delia has a crush on!)

Kisses for Daddy

A somewhat successful family picture

Delia also had two smaller birthday celebrations. We had a playgroup party because three of the kids have January birthdays and then we had a family celebration on her actual birthday.

JGray was so excited for Delia's birthday! Almost more excited than she was probably because he's old enough to remember that birthdays mean cake and presents. He was the best big brother all week. He didn't get jealous when she got to open presents or when she got most of the attention. He was just genuinely happy for her to celebrate her birthday. He is the best big brother!

Silly faces before birthday cake

Celebrating January birthdays at playgroup

And finally, the obligatory Schmitt family birthday video :)

Two Years Old!!

2011-01-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's so hard to believe that Delia is 2 years old! I feel like it was just yesterday that we brought our sweet baby girl home from the hospital. I was so worried about being able to balance two kids, so worried about how John Grayson would adjust to having a baby sister, so worried about being a good mom to two kids. Now I can't imagine life without her. Yes, there is a lot more noise and a lot more mess, but there is also a lot more laughter and a lot more joy. Delia has blossomed into a fiesty, sassy, happy, silly little girl. She amazes us with her personality and fearlessness.

At 2 years old, Delia:

Weighs 26lb 12oz (50th percentile) and is 34.75 inches long (75th percentile). I'm actually surprised she put on weight between her 18 month and 2 year check ups because she is an incredibly picky eater. We hear the word "gucky" (yucky) daily. I'm still surprised she can go without eating more than grapes for dinner.
Finally has all of her teeth, except for her two year molars. As long as it took Delia to get her teeth, she'll probably be John Grayson's age before she gets those molars!
Loves to run, jump, climb, flip, and hang. She'll say, "I'm runnin' " and then start jogging around the furniture. She's been taking a class at The Little Gym since the fall and she absolutely loves it. Her favorite things are hanging and flipping on the bars, walking on the balance beam, and doing rolls on the big red mat.
Has a great sense of humor. Delia is a very silly little girl. She loves to laugh and be tickled. She does funny things and if you don't laugh, then she'll do it again until you react the appropriate way. She actually goes over to John and asks him to tickle her. She pulls up her shirt, shows him her tummy and says "eat" because he kisses and tickles it simultaneously.
Is a little trouble maker. Delia is definitely starting to test her limits. You tell her not to do something and then she'll look at you with a mischievous twinkle in her eye and do it again. It's so hard not to laugh at her because she's so cute. This could be a big problem when she's a teenager.
Loves to sing. Delia loves to sing her ABCs. She knows most of the letters and will mumble the ones she doesn't know until she gets to one that she does know. She knows bits and pieces of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Silent Night." She also know parts to almost all the songs in our kids' CDs in the car. She'll sing what she knows (usually very loudly) and then hum along to the rest.
Loves to dance. She is an active and quite willing participant in the nightly Schmitt family dance parties. She loves to spin around until she falls down, but jumps right back up. She also loves to shake her bottom. If you ask her to shake it, then she giggles and shakes her butt. She loves the attention.
Talks, a lot. Within the last two months, her vocabulary has grown tremendously! We always knew she understood what we were saying to her, but it took a little while for the spoken words to catch up. It probably doesn't help that JGray talks a lot himself. Delia has started talking in 2 and 3 word sentences. She also does a lot of babbling and we understand a lot of what she's saying; not everything but definitely quite a bit. She has names for her baby doll ("Baby") and bear ("Sleepy"). Her favorite words are "pizza", "cookie", "juice", "runnin", "outside", "jumpin", "Luv you", "kisses", "hugs", "please", "thank you." She loves to blow kisses when she's saying goodbye ("mmmmuh, mmmmuh, mmmmuh"). She knows all of her body parts and animal sounds too.
Loves her brother most of all. She calls him "Bobby". Why? When she was a baby, I always referred to him as "big brother" or just "brother." When she first started talking, she called him "Ba Ba." Well, that has evolved into "Bobby." She yells it, so it's more like, "BOBBY!!!!!!" Best of all, he responds to it. She can holler his name and he'll say, "Yes, Delia?!" Part of me hopes that she'll keep this nickname forever because it is just too cute. It melts my heart to know that my kids adore each other. He is definitely her best friend, although she does have a crush on JGray's friend Jack :-)
Loves to play. She doesn't have a favorite thing like JGray did at this age (trains and trucks), but she has lots of toys she enjoys. Baby dolls and strollers, a tea set, coloring with crayons and markers, stuffed animals, legos, Little People, kitchen, dress up. She's not obsessed with princesses (although she does like to say the word "princess"). I think having a big brother helps keep her open to playing with balls, trucks, trains and dinosaurs. She can throw a ball and even catch it too. She also kicks really hard!
Loves books. She will grab a book and give it to the nearest adult, saying "Read!" (We're still working on the please and thank you part. Most of the time, she does say it, which makes Mommy very proud.)
Has shown a serious interest in the potty. A few weeks ago I thought that she was going to commit fully to the potty. She refused to wear clothes and ran around naked. BUT she peed (and pooped!) on the potty! She loved getting candy and the potty song too! Then I think she realized that this whole potty training thing isn't all it was cracked up to be. Since she's still young, I decided not to push things. John is out of town in March, so I think I'm going to lock us in the house and climb on board the potty train!
Our most recent challenge has involved her hair. Her beautiful hair with gentle curls at the end. We started noticing hair in her crib. Not a huge deal but the clumps of hair got bigger. And there were more of them. A lot more. So much so that her hair actually started looking a little thin on top. (I'm sure I was just more conscious of it because I put bows in her hair everyday, but to me it was getting bad.) We finally discovered that she was using her pacifier to rip the hair out of her head (yes, she still has a pacifier. Please forgive me. I promise it will be disappearing soon!). She was playing with the pacifier, eventually wrapping her hair around it. And then she was yanking it out, hair included! Long story short, she now only has one pacifier in the crib, and her hair is growing back nicely. Yes, the Paci Fairy is coming soon to the Schmitt house :-)

Delia, you've gone from this.....

To this....

in 2 short years. What a joy! We love you, sweet girl!

Updates Coming Soon

2011-01-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it's been a month since I updated the blog. We've been very busy with lots of wonderful activities. I promise to work hard this week to get things current!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Schmitt Family!!

We celebrated Christmas Eve at MaMa and Pop's house. The kids loved opening their presents and giving gifts too. Delia is especially excited about Pop's new doughnut maker (or nonuts, as she calls them).

We hurried home to take baths and put out cookies and milk for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer). Luckily we had tired kids, so bedtime was a breeze. I'm sure it helped that John Grayson was eager for Santa to come and knew that he had to be asleep before he would arrived. Surprisingly, there wasn't an early-morning wake up from the little ones. John Grayson stayed in his room long past the nightlight turning yellow, and Delia played in her crib until we got her up. Merry Christmas, Mommy and Daddy!

Santa did a GREAT job this year and got the kids exactly what they wanted. John Grayson got a giant crane and Delia got a baby doll. Santa also had a few surprises. A headlamp for J Gray and a unicorn pillow pet for Delia. At dinner tonight, J Gray told us that he got more than he wanted and he had a wonderful Christmas. Yay!

To infinity and beyond!

Delia got a basket of dress up clothes from MaMa and Pop. She absolutely loved all of the pretty clothes!

And the dress up continues, with a feather boa, gloves and bells.

Santa's work is complete! A baby doll for Delia and a giant crane for John Grayson.

Happy boy on Christmas morning

Delia hugging her new baby doll while sitting on her pillow pet.

Santa had no idea that John Grayson would like his headlamp so much!

Mommy and Daddy thought it would be fun to give them a joint gift this year---bathtub crayons. Sharing, at its best.

Grandma and Grandpa got Delia a new stroller for her baby doll. She loves it!

Fun On Wheels

2010-12-24T13:25:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to take the kids roller skating earlier in the week. There's a skating rink in town that has a preschool class on Thursday mornings for only $5! The kids get some time to skate on their own and then there is a short 30 minute class. The teacher taught the kids how to fall, how to get back up, and how to march on their skates. A few moms in my MOMS Club also went, and it was fun to have some buddies there to share in the fun. I was a little nervous about having two kids on skates, so I decided not to wear any myself (which was probably a very good idea since I haven't been on skates since I was 10!). Delia had a pair of fisher-price skates that she wore over her shoes and let her march on the floor. John Grayson actually more real roller skates, but they slow down the wheels so it's easier for the little ones to keep their balance. J Gray was initially a little leery, but he took to it quickly and didn't even want to hold my hand! Delia was fearless, as usual, and did a better job skating than most of the big kids! This is definitely an activity that we'll try again very soon :-)

In their skates and ready to go!

Delia was eager to skate with the big kids!

J Gray loved playing with the balls at the end of class!

Delia had so much fun during the skating class!

Look at him go! Skating all by himself!

Christmas Fun

2010-12-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

December has been another busy month in the Schmitt household. There are so many fun things to do and so little time! Sorry for combining all of these activities into one huge blog posting, but I've had trouble keeping up this month!

The kids are very into Christmas and Santa this year. Preschool does a wonderful job of reinforcing Jesus and his birthday. John Grayson can now set up the nativity on his own and knows lots of cute songs. One of my favorite things happened when his teacher gave him a candy cane to bring home. In the car, he told me all about how if you hold the candy cane one way, then it's a J for Jesus and the other way is a shepherd's hook. Smart boy! Delia knows all about Santa and can say his name. She is also very into cookies and holiday lights.

Decorating the Tree
We had friends in town for Thanksgiving, so unlike past years, we didn't put the tree and outdoor lights up the day after Thanksgiving. The Christmas tree went up shortly after Thanksgiving, but we had trouble finding a good time to tackle the outdoor lights. It became incredibly cold and windy in early December, and neither John nor I really felt like standing outside stringing lights. And then it snowed. Twice. Needless to say, we have no outside lights this year, but John promises to up his game next year.

The kids were a huge help decorating the tree, especially John Grayson. He loved finding the perfect spot for ornaments and then admiring his handy-work. Delia was interested for about 5 minutes and then she wondered off to play.

Making Cookies
Another tradition in our house is to make Great Great Grandma Schmitt's famous sugar cookies. They take two days to make because the dough has to rest overnight, but they are oh-so yummy and totally worth it. The kids loved playing with the dough and putting sprinkles on the cookies. Delia was much more interested in eating the sprinkles so I ended up doing most of the decorating after John iced the cookies. The cookies were a huge hit (especially with Delia, our little cookie monster).

Daddy and the kids making cookies. Delia was too into playing with the dough to bother looking at the camera :-)

Delia taking a break from the business of baking cookies to smile for Mommy

Delia loved the cookies, especially the icing and sprinkles!

John Grayson also loved the cookies. He was a big help with the sprinkles too, but only the green ones!

Snow
To be honest, I'm not sure if I live in Virginia anymore. It's only December, and we've already had two snow falls, one of which was "bad" enough to close schools for two days. They're calling for more snow tonight. At least we don't have to travel tomorrow! We learned our lesson from last year's huge snow and bought snow pants for John Grayson. He LOVED playing in the snow and helped John shovel the driveway. Delia, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with being outside. She watched the boys from the warmth and comfort of a chair near the front door. We borrowed snow pants from a friend (thanks Kelly and Bill!), so maybe we can convince Delia to play in the Christmas snow. We'll see :-)

Our house in the snow

J Gray LOVED the snow this year!

Delia watched the boys (Dusty included) playing in the snow from the comfort of her chair. She watched everything they did but refused to go outside!

This is my only picture of Delia in the snow, and she wouldn't go any farther than the deck. She insisted that I hold her if we went into the yard!

Lewis Ginter
For the second year, we went to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's Gardenfest of Lights. Lewis Ginter is the beautiful botanical garden in Richmond and they decorate all of the trees and bushes with Christmas lights. It was fun to bundle up and walk around the garden with the kids and MaMa and Pop. Delia was a big girl this year and walked most of the way. It was really cold, so the kids announced they were done after about an hour. It's definitely a wonderful Richmond tradition that we love to experience!

A family photo among the lights

John and the kids

Delia, MaMa and Pop

Delia was so bundled up that she could barely move! She did a great job though and walked almost the entire time.

Daddy and Delia. She loved sitting on the tree stump so it took some coaxing to get her to get up and keep moving!

Not the way I was hoping to start my day

2010-12-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

I had Bunco last night so John put the kids to bed. When I got home, he mentioned that Delia had been a little naughty and taken not only her pajamas but also her diaper off during her "falling asleep" time. She did WHAT?! Luckily it was a one-time thing and I went to bed without thinking much of it. Silly me....... I heard Delia on the monitor this morning around 6am. Typically I ignore her and did so until about 6:45 when she started calling my name. Since this is not normal for her, I decided to investigate. I was not prepared for what I discovered.

Delia. In the crib. Naked. Standing in a wet spot. Laughing.

Seriously!?

I tried not to acknowledge any more than I needed to. I simply picked her up, said "Yuck, Delia," gave her a new diaper, re-dressed her, covered the wet spot with blankets and went back to bed for 15 minutes. I just wasn't prepared to start my day with a naked, pee-covered toddler. John Grayson came in promptly at 7:00 (as usual) and I told both he and John my story. They both laughed. It was so not funny. When I went in to her room to get her, Delia was laughing too.

And then I smiled and laughed, because it is pretty funny.

Delia may look angelic and sweet, but that girl is a trouble-maker. Good thing she's so cute and gives great hugs and kisses.

I may love her dearly, but I am not stupid. She went to bed tonight with tape holding her diaper on. Of course, I just had to go into her room because she was undressed and stuck in the crib, so maybe I'm not that smart after all. But now she's wearing her pajamas backwards. Take that, little lady!

Visiting with Santa

2010-12-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

Today was our day to see Santa! Sadly, our schedule has been so busy that this was the first chance we've had to go. John Grayson was excited, which was to be expected. He's excited about most everything these days, and his favorite way to respond to a question (how was school? how are you doing?) is GREAT! Such a sweet boy. But I digress. Typically I go into our Santa visits with minimal expectations. That's way I'm not disappointed if one (or both) of them decide that they're just not feeling it. It also explains why John Grayson had clunky white tennis shoes on in his picture from 2008 :-) The past two years, I've dressed the kids in their "dressy" Christmas clothes but was totally okay (if not expecting) a tear or scream from Delia. Little did I know that the act of getting dressed would be the most stressful part of the experience.

We went to the gym first thing and then came home to change into Santa clothes before heading to the mall. J Gray was great and dressed himself. Delia, on the other hand, decided to battle Mommy. It took almost 10 minutes and bribery via Elmo to get her into her tights, shirt and dress. Forget about the shoes. She wanted no part of them, so I decided to be thankful she was dressed and head to the mall. Luckily we saw some of our friends in the parking lot, which helped distract Delia. She knows who Santa is this year and can actually say "Santa" but I wasn't convinced she'd walk up to him and stand there nicely for a picture. Well, Little Girl made me proud, and so did Big Brother!! John Grayson, bless his heart, held her hand and walked over to Santa with her. She looked very awe-struck, almost like she was seeing a celebrity for the first time (and for kids, especially tiny ones, Santa is a BIG deal). She stood there silently while John Grayson chatted with Kris Kringle. They took an adorable picture (if I do say so myself) and even went back to give an extra hug and high five. John Grayson asked for a giant crane (whew--I was afraid he was going to change his mind because Santa has already done his shopping) and Delia said "baby" (as in baby doll).

Santa 2010 = SUCCESS!!!

Snow!

2010-12-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

We got our first snow of the year today! Luckily it wasn't enough to cancel school (just an inch or so), but it was just enough to run around in before lunch and rest time. I'm not sure who had more fun, Dusty or the kids! Delia has a brand new hat and mittens, and she insists on wearing them all the time. She slept with them yesterday so it was easy to get out the door this morning without a hassle. John Grayson doesn't have snow boots, but he seemed fine wearing his fireman rain boots.

Here are some pictures from our snowy adventure:

Delia followed Dusty around the yard, calling his name.

The snow boots, hat and mittens were a hit! She's now added all three words (boots, hat, my mittens) to her vocabulary!

Trekking to the backyard

JGray loved going down the snow-covered slide

Hi Mom!

They love each other so much!

Fuzzle Fisbee

2010-12-05T09:29:00.001-08:00

Last year, it seemed that everyone I knew was talking about their Elves. Elves? As in a Christmas Elves? Huh? If it seems strange, then I was right there with you. It made no sense to me either. Especially when I overheard some people talking about using their magical Christmas elves as a way to ensure good behavior in their kids. Seriously?!

Let me explain. The Elf on the Shelf is a roughly 4 inch tall doll, dressed in a red suit (like Santa). As the story goes, the Elf (the kids get to name it) watches what the kids do and reports back to Santa every night. Good or bad. According to the book, these reports help Santa make his Naughty or Nice determination come Christmas Eve. The Elf appears in a different place in the house each day, and it's up to the kids to find him.

Last year, I managed to avoid buying an Elf because both kids were too young to understand. However, this year, I thought it might be fun to bring some Christmas magic into the house. I'm still opposed to the idea of using the Elf as a means to ensuring good behavior, but I thought the kids might like searching for the Elf each day. I ordered the package online (gotta love Amazon) and John and I brought the book out on December 1st to introduce the concept to the kids.

Well, John Grayson was NOT a fan of the idea of having an Elf in our house. I think the thought of this little creature stalking him daily, watching his every move was a little too much for him. JGray is such a rule-follower. He is a very good little boy, with the occasional moments of naughtiness, and he seemed genuinely concerned that this Elf was going to ruin his chances of getting presents from Santa. John and I overheard him in the hallway talking to Santa. He said, "Santa, I do NOT want an Elf in my house. Thank you." We were pretty worried that he'd freak when he saw him the next morning. Luckily, the kids and their Elf got off to a good start. They named him Fuzzle (okay, John Grayson named him Fuzzle) and gave him the last name of Fisbee (after a name they saw in their Elf on the Shelf book). Fuzzle has had a few nights of mischief (of which J Gray was NOT a fan), but so far so good. Let's hope the magic continues until Christmas!

In case you were curious, here's what our infamous Elf looks like:

After looking at him, you have to admit that he does look a little creepy. Like those eyes really could watch your every move ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! Derek (one of John's best friends from high school), his wife Kelli and their boys Louis and Jamey came up from Raleigh to spend the holiday with us. Louis is 3 months younger than John Grayson, so the boys always have a great time playing together. Surprisingly, Delia and Jamey (Derek and Kelli's 17 month old son) played well together too. Delia even shared her doll stroller with him!

MaMa and Pop came over for Thanksgiving dinner, but unlike years past, John decided to take responsibility for the turkey. John did an INCREDIBLE job! He smoked the turkey on the grill, and it was delicious! There was tons of yummy food and everyone was stuffed by the end of the meal. John Grayson announced that "I love Thanksgiving!" and I think that was caused by his full belly :-)

Here are a few pictures from our fun, food-filled weekend:

Before Thanksgiving dinner, we took the kids to the park. The little ones had a blast on the swings!

Delia loved the teeter-totter

John Grayson had so much fun playing at the park with his buddies!

Spinning until you fall down!

Jamey wanted to join in on the dizzy fun too!

John was so proud of his turkey!

Louis listened intently to John Grayson's blessing

22 Months Old!

2010-11-21T10:14:00.003-08:00

It's hard to believe that Delia is almost 2 years old. In some ways, I still feel like she's my baby, but in many other ways, she reminds us that she is becoming a big girl. Actually, if you ask her, then Delia will tell you that she is not a big girl, nor is she a baby. JGray is a big kid and she is definitely not a baby, so she likes it when we call her a little girl (although I'm sure that will soon change).

At 22 months, Delia is:

FULL of personality. Docile, quiet and demure are not words that we will ever associate with Delia. She is a fiesty, fearless, chatty, loving, happy, and spunky little girl.
LOVES her brother. And we've finally figured out what she's going to call beloved big brother. Drum roll please......"Bobby!!!!" Why? Because since she was born, I've always referred to JGray as "Big Brother." I'd ask her, "Where is Big Brother?" Initially she called him "Ba Ba" but that has evolved into "Bobby." She runs around the house, yelling for him. "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby!!!!" The best part is that JGray answers to it :-) I don't know if the nickname will stick, but for now, it's precious.
Is very, very close to having all of her teeth. Finally! We're still waiting on her eye teeth to push through all the way, but you can see them. Having top teeth has made a tremendous difference in her speech because now we can understand what she's saying.
Yes, we finally have a talker (and one that we can understand)! It's amazing what top teeth can do. Delia has always been chatty, but now we can figure out what she's saying. She's started repeating phrases if we ask her too, which is awesome. She's also started putting some her own basic sentences together. Some of our favorite unprompted phrases are: "Mommy, where you going?" and "I love you" and "Go bye-bye." She has a great repertoire of single words too, including dog, cat, cookie, drink, shoes, coat, bow, sleep, ball, swing, and Mommy's favorites, please, thank you and excuse you (she says that when she means 'excuse me').
Loves to play. She has a doll stroller that she loves to put her stuffed animals and dolls into and push around the playroom and kitchen. She also loves to play pretend with her Little People. She can throw and kick a ball too (one of the many pluses to having a big brother). Unlike a lot of little girls, Delia loves to play outside and doesn't mind getting dirty. She has a pair of Hello Kitty galoshes that she loves to wear (she'd wear them everyday if we let her). They're a little too big, but it keeps her from running too fast :-)

I cannot wait to see how much Delia enjoys Christmas this year. She's such an enthusiastic little girl, so I think she's going to love decorating the tree and unwrapping presents. Great practice for her birthday in January!

Here are a few pictures of Delia at 22 months:

She's growing up so fast!

Delia loves to play on the teeter-totter at the playground!

Halloween

2010-11-21T10:14:00.001-08:00

Both John Grayson and Delia were very excited for Halloween this year. JGray considered himself a pro and told Delia all about walking from house to house getting candy. Delia totally picked up on it and we even taught her to say "trick treat" and "thank you" before the big night. It's amazing what you can teach a 21 month old when candy is involved :-)

John Grayson really wanted to be a fireman for Halloween and since Delia's best animal sound is a dog (she pants with her tongue out, just like Dusty), she went as a dalmatian. We weren't sure if she'd like her costume or not, but she LOVED it. As a matter of fact, she still likes to wear it, weeks after Halloween.

MaMa and Pop decided to skip handing out candy at their house and came over to see the kids instead. It was a huge help---Pop stayed at our house and handed out candy, while John, MaMa and I walked around with the kids. To say John Grayson and Delia had fun is an understatement! They went up to each house by themselves, and JGray was a wonderful big brother. He held Delia's hand and made sure she used her manners. The kids pooped out after about 30 minutes so we came home and checked out their impressive loot.

Because of our squirrel problem (those pesky creatures always eat our pumpkins), we waited until the last minute to carve our jack-o-lanterns this year.

JGray really enjoyed carving pumpkins. Delia, did not want to get her hands "gucky" (her word for yucky).

John Grayson and Delia with their jack-o-lanterns. JGray wanted a scary one and John carved a laughing pumpkin (with crazy teeth--just like her) for Delia.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the kids (because it shows their personalities so well). JGray is telling a silly joke and Delia is laughing hysterically.

John Grayson, the fireman, and Delia, the dalmatian. Aren't they adorable?!

Delia loved everything about Halloween.

John Grayson wasn't so thrilled about all of the pictures. He was ready for candy!

Delia broke into the candy early.

MaMa, Pop and the kids.

Family photo (it's pretty obvious that the kids were ready to go trick or treating, isn't it?!)

Best big brother in the world

Fall Fun

2010-11-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in writing a blog posting, but we've had a very busy fall! I'm rarely out of town, but I was gone for three weekends in October alone. Thank goodness things have finally calmed down and we're able to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Apple Picking
We went apple picking at Carter Mountain again this year. It's quickly become a family tradition, and one that everyone loves. We headed to Charlottesville to pick apples with MaMa and Pop, and this year Oli, Justin and Elsa joined us too! Delia loved walking up and down the rows of apple trees, picking apples and eating a few. Since she's our fearless monkey, she loved it when John held her up as high as he could and she reached to pick apples. John Grayson was a fantastic picker this year and filled more bags than we could carry.

Delia loved climbing on the pumpkins before we headed up the mountain

JGray wanted to pose like a scarecrow in front of the scarecrow

JGray and his Aunt Oli

The first apple of the day

Apple picking is great because you can eat while you're picking!

Delia had to try an apple too!

Daddy and JGray

Delia is absolutely fearless and loved reaching high into the trees to pick apples!

JGray picked a lot of apples and carried the bag for a little while, but it was really heavy!

Daddy and Delia

JGray and Pop

Delia and Mommy

Delia and Elsa. These two loved playing together. We are in so much trouble when they get older!

Pumpkin Patch
This year we once again headed to Ashland Berry Farm to get our pumpkins. Well, let me clarify. For the second year in a row, we went to a different place, but because it was a weekday afternoon, there was no tractor ride. The tractor ride is the highlight of the pumpkin picking experience for the Schmitt kids, so we drove to a larger farm with a guaranteed tractor ride. Next year, we'll start at the big farm. John and JGray spent a lot of time selecting the "perfect" pumpkin. Delia, on the other hand, just wanted to march through the rows of pumpkins.

Delia insisted on wearing a skirt and bow to pick pumpkins. It was fine until she stepped in a giant mud puddle. We had to wash off her pretty sparkle shoes in a fountain before we went home.

Pumpkin picking is serious business.

After multiple attempts, this is the best picture we could take of both kids with their pumpkins.

While we were waiting for the tractor ride back to the parking lot, John Grayson told us that he needed to go for a run. He ran all the way down this path, and of course, Delia had to tag along too!

New York City!

2010-10-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, John Grayson and I flew to New York City to visit his godmother, Aunt Sarah, and to see all the sights the city had to offer. John Grayson was so excited about going to "NEW YORK CITY!!!" (he always said all three words, very clearly, with lots of enthusiasm). We were supposed to fly directly from Richmond to NYC, but there was horrible weather up north, so our flight was canceled. We ended up flying from Richmond to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to NYC. We arrived several hours later than we should have (7pm vs. 1pm), but JGray was a doll on both flights. He especially loved the onboard satellite television on the flight from Atlanta to NYC. JGray couldn't have cared less about our canceled flight---he was actually thrilled to be able to fly on two airplanes in one day! He was even more excited for the cab ride into the city. He jumped up and down in the line for the cab stand and seemed in awe of the cab riding experience.

Since we only had one day for sightseeing, Sarah and I created an ambitious plan of attack. Luckily, Sarah's husband JT was able to spend the day with their 1 year old daughter Bea (who JGray adored and keeps saying that he's going to marry someday). We (JGray, Sarah, and I) left the apartment around 10am and headed out for the day. He brought Bea's stroller with us because I knew JGray would poop out if he had to walk the entire time and (1) I was not interested in carrying him around the city; (2) nor was I interested in losing him somewhere on a busy street. John Grayson loved the stroller. I think he thought it was cool to have a prime spot for sightseeing.

It was sunny so JGray borrowed Sarah's extra sunglasses. Don't they look fashionable??

Our first stop was the NYC Fire Museum in the Lower East Side. The building was an old fire station and they displayed new and old fire trucks and equipment.

First stop---the NYC Fire Museum!

JGray kept asking if this was a "real" fireman

Trying on a real oxygen mask

Our next stop was the American Museum of National History to see dinosaur bones. He carried his model T-Rex around the museum and knew every dinosaur that he saw. Sarah and I had a lot of trouble keeping up because he jumped from dinosaur to dinosaur. We also saw sharks and whales and other wild animals. It was hard not to have fun when it was so obvious that JGray was having a blast.

JGray had so much fun on the subway!

Waiting patiently to go into the museum

Telling Aunt Sarah all about the animals

T-Rex!!!!!

JGray ran across the exhibit to point out his favorite sea lizard, dunkleosteus. And yes, he knew the name without any prompting and pronounced it perfectly!

After leaving the dinosaurs, we were starving (or at least Sarah and I were starving). As luck would have it, there was a vendor outside the museum, so we had hot dogs and soft pretzels for lunch. We walked across the street from the museum and ate lunch in the park. Saturday was such a beautiful day and it was great to be able to relax and enjoy the sunshine.

JGray and his Aunt Sarah having lunch in the park

JGray and I after our yummy lunch

After lunch, we decided to take John Grayson to see Times Square, which is quite a distance from Central Park. Since the weather was so great, Sarah and I decided to walk it and show JGray some more sights in the city. Our first stop in Times Square was M&M World. What a crazy store! Everything M&M that you could possibly imagine. We decided to stick with candy. John Grayson wanted green and blue M&Ms. He wanted to get the candy himself, but left the slot open a little too long. The end result was over a pound of candy, which JGray loved!

JGray chilling in the stroller with a very blue mouth from his M&Ms

After Times Square, John Grayson was eager to see even more of New York City. What visit to the big city would be complete without seeing the Statue of Liberty. We took the Staten Island Ferry and got the most incredible views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. John Grayson loved riding on a boat and was such a trooper on a very long day.

JGray on the Staten Island Ferry

Statue of Liberty from the ferry

We ended our busy day of sightseeing with pizza at Sarah and JT's apartment. We had a little time to play with Bea on Sunday morning so Sarah and I took the kids to a nearby park. It was freezing but the kids didn't seem to mind.

Bea and JGray at the park. Aren't they adorable together?!?!

JGray teaching Bea to go down the big slide

My sweet sweet boy

Sarah and Bea

10 years after college graduation, and we've traded NYC shopping weekends for all day sightseeing trips and early morning park play dates. I wouldn't want it any other way!

20 Months Old!

2010-09-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

I find it almost impossible to believe that Delia, my sweet baby girl, is 20 months old. Although I still think of her as my baby, she is beginning to show us that she is a big girl and ready for some independence. We're hearing a lot more "no, no, no" in the house now, and Delia is very willing to tell you what she wants, and more importantly, doesn't want. She's a girl on the move--running, jumping, climbing, rolling. At times I think she's actually a monkey! John Grayson and Delia have such a sweet, loving relationship. He wants to protect her and at the same time, he's the first to tackle her. Good thing she's tough!

At 20 months, Delia:

Is constantly on the go! She rarely sits still these days. Whether it's pushing her baby stroller down the hallway, climbing up and down the stairs, jumping on the couches, or chasing after her big brother, Delia is a busy girl. Must be something in the Schmitt genes.
Started taking a Little Gym class and absolutely loves it! With John Grayson in preschool three days a week this year, I thought it would be fun to give Delia a class that she'd enjoy. We've done music in the past, which she enjoyed, but she LOVES her Little Gym class. She is one of the first to try the new skills and always makes a bee line for the big balance beam. Fearless does not even begin to describe Delia. She does somersaults, tries to do handstands, and loves to swing on the uneven bars. At this rate, she'll be in a real gymnastics class by the time she's JGray's age!
Finally has two top teeth. She's still cutting the top left center and tooth next to it, so she looks a little like something punched her in the face. It's cute, but a little scary when she gives you her silly belly laugh. I took her to the dentist a month ago and he assured me that she does have all her teeth. An "unusual eruption pattern" is how he described it. Really? You don't say :-)
Loves to laugh. Seriously, she is one of the happiest, silliest little girls that I've ever met. I remember JGray being happy and silly at this age, but Delia is a riot. She loves to tell her own version of knock knock jokes (all she says is "knock knock," then mumbles and laughs). She makes silly faces and silly sounds. She loves to make herself laugh and then waits for you to laugh too. If you don't, she does the silly thing again, hoping to get your attention.
Has finally gotten over her stranger anxiety. For the longest time (probably beginning around 9 months), Delia has not been a fan of strangers. It made dropping her off at places like the gym and church a little challenging too. Luckily, she has now discovered that being a social butterfly is fun and loves to wave and say "hello" to everyone she meets. She loves giving hugs and kisses too (including the sweetest "mmmmuuuuhhhh" sound when she gives you a really big kiss). She is incredibly social and has several play mates her own age. I think we're going to be in trouble when she's older though because she shows a real fondness for JGray's big boy friends :-)
Talks, talks, talks! A lot of what she says is still very hard to understand because her top teeth are still coming in, but her speech has improved so much in the past few months. Her favorite new phrase (which I adore) is "clean up". She also says "cheese" when she's pretending to have her picture taken. Other frequent words in her vocabulary include "hello, yes, no, uh oh, this (with emphatic pointing), up, shoes, please, more, thank you, mommy, daddy, J and Ba (for John Grayson), Usty (for Dusty), Ma (for MaMa), Pa (for Pop), car, bow......" She waves to say good-bye and uses the more sign for more and please.
Has really curly hair. We're still not sure where it came from, but Delia's hair continues to get curlier. It's really long too (down to the middle of her shoulders when wet and combed straight). It curls up to her neck when dry, and I am relieved that she still loves to wear her hair bows. I'm afraid to cut it for fear that the curls will disappear, so luckily it looks nice and seems to be growing out nicely.
Has started showing an opinion on what she wears. Whereas JGray still doesn't really care what he puts on, Delia spends many mornings telling me "no" when I hand her something to wear. She runs up the stairs, opens her closet and/or drawers until she's found something more "appropriate." Many times it's her tutu, although dresses are also a favorite.
Is quite the girly girl. I have no idea how this happened since I am far from girly and there is a big brother in the house, but Delia loves all things "girl." She has several purses that she sometimes insists on carrying out on errands, loves bracelets, hair bows and shoes. She loves to hang her purse on the back of the baby stroller and push one of her many dolls around the house. She struts when she walks and also walks on her toes. We are in so much trouble in a few years!
Is full of so much joy. Almost everyone who meets her describes Delia as sweet and happy and adorable. Because she is :-) Delia is full of hugs, waves, smiles, laughs and kisses. She is an all-around cute kid.
Throws temper tantrums. Yes, Delia is even cute when she has a melt-down. JGray rarely threw a tantrum (I could easily re-direct him with a new toy, activity, etc). Delia, on the other hand, knows what she wants and and sometimes get very mad when you tell her no or take her away from something she's enjoying. The most frequent cause of tantrums right now is pulling her away from the computer. She loves climbing up to the dining room table and "typing" on my laptop. Thank goodness we usually catch her before she causes too much trouble (another plus of having a "tattling" big brother around). Her tantrums are almost comical because they are so dramatic. She cries, drops to the ground and sometimes even kicks and flails with her arms and legs. So far it works best if I leave her alone and eventually she calms down. Luckily, most of her tantrums are at home, although I have had to carry her out of a store once or twice.

Here are some pictures of Delia at 20 months:

Cheering at JGray's soccer game

Delia recently discovered how much fun it is to "hide" in the dryer. Too bad there were clean clothes in it :-)

Delia, you bring such joy into our house. You keep us on our toes with your fearlessness and adventurous personality. And although at times I wish things were calmer at home (why is it that sitting quietly to read a book is such a challenge these days), I couldn't imagine things any other way.

First Soccer Game

2010-09-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

John Grayson started playing soccer this fall. His team is the Hawks and John is the head coach. There are 8 kids on the team. The age cut-off is 8/31 so John Grayson is one of the youngest players on the team. JGray loves wearing his cleats, shin guards, tall socks and jersey. As soon as we bought the cleats and shin guards, he insisted on "practicing" at least once a day so he could put on his gear.

The Hawks had a scrimmage last week and the first official game was today. They don't really keep score and there aren't any goalies. It took the kids a little while to get into the game, but JGray managed to score a goal! He was so proud of himself (and of course, Mommy, Daddy, Delia and MaMa were too)!

MaMa came along to help watch Delia so I could take pictures. Thank goodness because Delia isn't exactly the best cheerleader. MaMa gave her a pom pom but Delia spent more time running around than cheering.

Here are some pictures from the first game of the season.

First Day of School

2010-09-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

John Grayson started preschool on Monday. He's in a 4 year old class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings until 12pm. On Wednesdays, he's also doing Lunch Bunch, which means he's at school until 2pm! I have no idea why staying for 2 extra hours to eat lunch and play is so much fun, but he absolutely LOVED it :-)

His teacher Ms. Carolyn is incredible and we can already tell that JGray is going to have a fantastic year. When I picked him up on Monday afternoon, I could tell that he seemed to love being back into the school routine. School is definitely wearing him out though because he's taking a nap this afternoon (which he hasn't done in weeks!)

Here are some pictures from the first day of school:

More Random iPhone Photos

2010-09-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

I have been using the phone more and more lately to capture some of the kids cute moments. Here are some from the late summer.

Grandma Schmitt came out to visit for a week earlier in August. The first weekend she was here they were having the Dragon Boat festival down near Rocketts Landing. Seeing as none of us had been to such a festival we thought it would be a treat... apparently Delia did not appreciate the Dragon Boats as much as the rest of us.

For his birthday this year John Grayson got his first big boy bike. He has been taking to it slowly as he is weary of falling (with good reason as he has managed to tip the bike with training wheels a few times thus far). Hopefully he builds more confidence through the fall so he could be cruising around next summer.

This summer our beach vacation took us a little further south the Kiawah Island, SC. The kids loved the beach there as the waves were so small the could run into the ocean pretty far.

In addition, they got along famously all week long. I know that they will not always get along this well so I am trying to take full advantage of these memories...
It has also been quite fun this summer to go around and explore what Richmond has to offer now that Delia is more mobile. Maymont has become much more fun for all of us...especially the Japanese Garden. The kids had a great time hopping the stones and playing near the waterfall.
The last picture is not of our kids, but of a random picture they have at the entrance of our library. Every time I walk past it I do a double take thinking it it JGray and Delia. I figured I'd get a picture because I do think it looks quite a bit like them...

Beach Week 2010

2010-08-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

This year we spent a week at Kiawah Island near Charleston, SC with MaMa and Pop. It was an incredible week with great weather and fun times. The beach was absolutely beautiful and the waves were small enough for the kids to enjoy. John Grayson learned how to boogie board and had a blast running and digging in the sand. He kept saying that he loved the "small wave" beach (Kiawah) so much better than the "big wave" beach (Outer Banks) where we went last year. I'm sure the lack of red flag had something to do with his feelings :-) Delia loved running into the waves and splashing in the ocean. We got some great video of the kids playing that we'll post soon.

Here are some pictures from our beach week:

Happy Birthday John Grayson!

2010-08-06T09:02:00.001-07:00

John Grayson had his 4th Birthday at Pump it Up this year.... for those that were not able to make this landmark event I hope you enjoy this quick video montage....

Dance Party

2010-08-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, John Grayson and Delia LOVE to dance. We have a post-dinner dance party almost every night. This week John was able to capture it on film. Enjoy!

4 Years Old!

2010-08-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that John Grayson is 4 years old! I remember when he was a baby and seeing a 4 years old running around at the park or mall. I was surprised by old they seemed, how grown up and mature. Well, now that I have a 4 year old of my own, it seems even more surreal.

At 4 years old, John Grayson:
* Weighs 37lbs (50th percentile) and is 40 inches tall (50th percentile). He's not the tall boy that he was when he was younger, but he always seems to grow a few months after his birthday. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't sprout up very soon.
* Loves space, exploring outside, running, jumping, kicking balls. Typical boy things. He also loves to do somersaults and handstands. Thanks to gymnastics class, JGray is very strong and loves to try out his new skills.
* Loves books. He's trying to teach himself to read, which is adorable to watch. We recently started reading chapter books to him (Magic Treehouse series), and he LOVES them! He'll sit there and listen to chapters at a time. More evidence that our little boy is growing up.
* Has an incredible vocabulary and a great memory. John and I are always surprised with what he remembers, whether it's a specific story or the details about one of our family adventures.
* Loves to laugh. He has the best belly laugh. It's impossible not to laugh yourself when you hear him.
* Is a great dancer. JGray and Delia love to end the day with a dance party, and John Grayson's dance moves are fantastic! He loves Bon Jovi (because 'it rocks') and has recently enjoyed some Black Eyed Peas and Lady GaGa.
* Adores his little sister. John Grayson is the best big brother. So affectionate and helpful. Of course, they have their moments (what siblings don't), but for the most part, I couldn't ask for a better big brother and role model for Delia.
* Can be a little shy at first but is very friendly, happy, and silly once he gets to know you.
* Is a wonderful friend. John Grayson makes friends wherever he goes. Evidence of his infectious personality was very apparent at his birthday party--30 children helped him celebrate!
* Is the proud owner of a big boy bike. Grandma and Grandpa bought JGray a big boy bike for his birthday and he's doing a great job pedaling it around the neighborhood. I think we're going to need a cruising bike for John so he can keep up with him!
* Is eager to get back to school. He went to two weeks of summer camp (at Bon View and the YMCA), and he had a blast. He's already started asking questions about his new class and teacher. He's going to school 3 days a week this year (MWF) and will stay late on Wednesdays to have lunch and play with his friends.

Here is a picture of John Grayson at 4 years old. He is very excited about his new bike!

John Grayson, your Daddy and I love you so very much and are so proud to be your Mommy and Daddy. You are growing into such a joyous, wonderful, sweet boy. To answer your question from this morning (which was "Were you sad before you had me?"), John Grayson, you and your sister bring unmeasurable joy into my life. Even on the most challenging days, having you as my son is rewarding beyond my wildest dreams. I love you!

18 Months Old!

2010-07-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

Delia is 18 months old. One and a half years. Half way to two. Please explain to me how that happened so fast! The best word to describe Delia at 18 months is FEARLESS! She will climb anything, jump off anything, and loves to do somersaults. Tonight she climbed into the rocking chair in her bedroom, stood up and started rocking. I had a hand nearby, just in case, but she got the biggest smile on her face and started laughing. I think she amazes herself with what she can do (and Mommy and Daddy too)!

At 18 months, Delia:

Weighs 24lb 10oz (50th percentile) and is 32.5 inches (75th percentile). She continues to come down the curve in weight, but I attribute that to her lack of appetite recently. Unlike her big brother, Delia has become a picky eater and the only certainty at the table is her love of fruit. That child could eat her body weight in blueberries, watermelon, bananas, apples and nectarines!
Jumps!
Climbs!
Talks, a lot! She consistently says---hello, Mommy, Daddy, JJ (for JGray), Usty (for Dusty), oggie (for dog, always accompanied by a panting sound because Dusty doesn't bark), oooh ooooh (for train), please, more. She's also used lots of other words but not as frequently---bubble, book, cup, all done, baby, eat, tomato, glasses, car, bye bye (although she waves good-bye all the time). She makes lots of great animal sounds----pants for a dog, roar for lions, dinosaurs and bears, "eow" (meow) for cats.
Loves playing with her dolls and stuffed animals. She recently started sitting them in the chairs at her little table and bringing the play food over to them.
Loves to push her doll stroller, usually filled with a variety of items. Necklaces, shoes, drinks, toys, and the occasional doll or stuffed animal.
Finally started getting her top teeth. The top two on the right are finally pushing through and we can see the ones on the left. Thank goodness because I was beginning to wonder if she'd ever have top teeth or would be forced to eat without them. It hasn't slowed down her eating so far, but I have a feeling her speech will improve once she has top teeth.
Loves to listen to music and dance. The family dance party is probably one of Delia's favorite things. She loves Bon Jovi and Lady GaGa. She knows the Bon Jovi songs from the first bar of music and immediately smiles and starts dancing. She likes to throw in some yoga poses (standing on her head) and some gymnastics (forward rolls) too. And now that she can jump, Delia loves to bounce on the couch and on the floor.
Still has some separation issues, but we're working on them. We go to the gym at least 4 days a week---so I can work out and so Delia can have some practice being away from me. There is one girl that Delia is particularly fond of, so if Miss Kathleen is there, then Delia is happy. If not, then there are tears. Luckily she calms down quickly and is fine for the rest of the time.
Has a temper. Unlike John Grayson, who could easily be distracted with a different toy/book/activity, Delia gets MAD if you tell her no or take something away. And once she gets mad, she lets you know by stomping around the house and crying. She is definitely dramatic!

Delia is one of the happiest, silliest, sweetest little girls that you'll ever meet. I still have trouble believing that she's already 18 months old, but she is definitely becoming a little lady. She has a strut in her walk that always makes me smile and a mischievous grin that makes me nervous for the teenage years. There is so much personality crammed into that little body. I can't wait until she's really talking because it's apparent that she has LOTS to say!

Having a tea party with one of her stuffed animals

Our first attempt at pig tails! Delia loves her stuffed animals Going down the slide at the Children's Museum. And no, she did not want my help!

Monkey Girl

2010-07-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Delia has always been a girl on the go. She sat up early, crawled early, pulled up early, walked early. All probably because she was trying to keep up with John Grayson. Recently, her focus has been on climbing and jumping. She climbs in and out of chairs with ease, and she can even get on and off the bed by herself, safely. Thank goodness she hasn't tried to climb out of the crib yet :-)

The other day I was outside with Delia. I turned my back for a second (bad mommy move, I know), and this is what I saw. Yes, Delia climbed up the slide all by herself!

Delia has also discovered her jumping legs. She's watched JGray with longing over the past months, seeing him jump around doing somersaults. Well, we took the kids to an inflatable bouncy place, and Delia loved it. Best of all, she found her jumping legs! Now she can jump off the ground (with both feet at the same time). She loves jumping on the couch now, ugh, but so far she seems pretty nimble.

Shot of Delia in action

JGray teaching Delia useful skills, like tackling

Random iPhone Pictures

2010-07-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've had the iPhone for just under a year now and take pictures here and there, but I rarely, if ever post them outside of the occasional Facebook posting. Having a little time this evening I figured I share a few of the highlights from the past few months....

John Grayson got to experience his first White Sox game this year at Nationals Park on Father's Day. I'm happy to say that our White Sox won that day (although we did not see then end as JGray announced the game over in the 7th inning). While I found the time with my boy and the baseball the fondest part of my memory, I'm sure that John Grayson will most appreciate eating a little bit of everything and getting some random souvenirs. Either way, a great time was had by all.
John Grayson has been getting more creative during the evening dance parties. I think he is going through a P-Funk phase, bringing some eccentric eyewear and different instruments to our evenings. Believe it or not, he was belting out "You Give Love a Bad Name" in the picture above.
While in Chicago I caught Delia thoroughly enjoying the Children's Museum. She is going to have to take some lessons from her brother on how to do the big chair pose.

I really wish this picture could have come out better. This is Delia with her Great Grandma Schmitt. Great Grandma loved spending time talking to Delia while we were there. Delia talked back but we're still working on understanding.

The pictures above were from John Grayson's last day of pre-school this past year. Miss Staci and Miss Bridgette were great teachers! The funny thing is I didn't even have to ask for the pictures, he actually asked if he get pictures with his teachers on the last day because he was going to miss them.

To finish off I figured I'd share what happens when you take a preschooler to the Cracker Barrel and let him order breakfast on his own. He ended up with strawberry pancakes with whipped cream, a biscuit, some eggs, two orders of bacon and some sausage. Now I know why Allison orders for him when we go out to eat.

Celebrating the 4th of July

2010-07-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend celebrating the 4th of July! On Friday night, John and I took John Grayson to see his very first fireworks display. Genworth has a concert and fireworks a few days before the 4th. It's a much more low-key affair than most, and it's close to home, so it was perfect for JGray's first late night show. We saw several friends and JGray had a blast running around waving his flag before the fireworks. I think the fireworks exceeded his expectations---he yelled a lot of "wows" and "yay, fireworks!"

Having ice cream with Daddy

So excited for the fireworks!

JGray loved the fireworks!

This afternoon, we went to a friend's house for a 4th of July cook-out. JGray was thrilled to spend some time with his favorite girl, Macey. Delia was also excited to have some playtime with someone her own age (okay, Delia might not have cared, but I was eager for her to have an age-appropriate playmate). Macey's younger sister, Taegan, is 4 days older than Delia. The kids played outside and enjoyed some sparklers and other mini fireworks. No one was injured or scared by the fireworks (including the dads), so all in all, it was quite a successful evening.

JGray had fun playing with the sparklers

Delia watched the festivities from the safety of the Cozy Coupe

JGray and Macey spent some time checking things out from a safe distance

Hugs!

It might not be the Stanley Cup

2010-06-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

John Grayson has earned his very first trophy!! We know this is the first of many, but that doesn't stop this proud momma from beaming with pride :-)

JGray has been taking a gymnastics class since September. He absolutely loves it and has become noticeably stronger and more flexible. He does a killer somersault, can walk his feet up the wall into a handstand, and can do a flip over the bar. We've even seen a cartwheel. There were a few points during the year that JGray decided that he didn't want to go to class, but the one thing that kept him going was the knowledge that he would earn a trophy if he took the class for the entire school year.

Yes, the trophy became a bribe at some points, but if you asked John Grayson if he liked gymnastics, then you would get an emphatic YES!

This is the trophy. And yes, that is a BOY gymnast!

Our sweaty little gymnast. He is soooo proud of himself!

Chicago 2010

2010-06-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Last week marked our annual whirlwind trip back to the Chicagoland area to visit friends and family. Allison and I employed the same travel strategy as we did last year it seemed to work well. I get 13 hours of peace and quiet driving to Chicago while Allison handles two toddlers on a plane for 2 hours. Which would you choose?

That said, we have become pretty adept at managing toddler idiosyncrasies while traveling by plane. Delia has now inherited her brothers backpack (leash) while John Grayson can now be thoroughly entertained by DVD's of Dinosaurs while consuming many treats that he wouldn't usually get at home.

Once we got to Naperville, JGray could not have been more excited to see his cousin Jacob. In addition to telling Jacob about all the things that he is going to teach him about, he also got to help him eat! He definitely felt like a big boy here!

On Monday morning we headed down to Naperville's annual Memorial Day parade. Note that this is us walking across town to get to our parade spots. Although not depicted in this picture, note us not checking the weather forecast as we walked across town. We had all kinds of fun waiting for the parade and when the parade started the kids could not be more excited. We saw police cars and firetrucks and the Naperville Municipal Band. While this was going on we noticed dark clouds rolling in (note the lady in the back of the picture below did look at the weather forecast). After about 15 minutes of parading the police along the route announced the parade was canceled and soon after we had a downpour. We managed to make it to a shelter in the Riverwalk where we got cozy with a bunch of other folks and half the of the St. Raphael marching band waiting for the storm to blow over.

On Tuesday we headed over to the DuPage Children's museum to play with Robbie Weiss. I guess in my head I thought when we would go to the children's museum with others that the kids would all generally play in the same area ... not so. Below is the closest that we had to all of the kids in one area as each one of them had their own agenda and Nicki, Allison and I had to chase them everywhere. Luckily we also planned lunch together so we had some time to catch up and hear some exciting news :)

On Thursday we headed down to the Brookfield Zoo, this time about 20 degrees cooler than our visit last year, so much more enjoyable. Both the kids loved seeing all the animals and making their sounds. Although when you ask Delia to make any animal sound it sounds like a panting dog.... something to work on.

I have to confess, when I saw this picture below I wondered why we sat Delia in front of a big pile of poo, but on further inspection this was a big bronze statue of walrus that she liked... my bad.
No trip to the Brookfield Zoo is complete without a ride on the Merry-Go-Round. John Grayson being the oldest got to pick the animal he wanted to ride. I don't know if I would have gone with riding a snake, but it was the adventure he wanted to take on.

Delia on the other hand had no choice as she had to ride the animal next to the snake. She seemed pleased with her dolphin but as you can see it didn't seem to be moving nearly as fast as JGray's snake at this point.

As a special treat, John Grayson and Allison took the train back from the zoo to Naperville while Daddy and Delia drove home. This was JGray's first ride on a train and it more than exceeded his expectations. Not only did he get to ride the train, he was able to see many other trains and their conductors waived to him. He talked about this for days!!

Still enamored with his train riding experience, we went to the train restaurant the following day. Have you ever seen a bigger smile?! While I thought the concept of having a train bring you your food is novel at first, it absolutely never gets old to my boy.

No trip to Naperville is complete without a ride on the paddleboats downtown. JGray, Grandpa, and I took to the waters to paddle around the riverwalk. It ended up being Grandpa and Daddy paddling while JGray told us where to go. He very well could have a future in management.

Delia on the other hand, too young to ride the paddleboat, played on the lawn with Mommy. Allison and I found this ballerina skirt at a store earlier in the week and Delia loved dancing around it it. She probably would have worn it all week if we let her.

As always, we got to spend some good time with Great Grandma too. We made many attempts to get a picture with her and the kids, but our youngest was always trying to escape so this was the best we can do. Great Grandma loved watching the little ones run around. It is a really cool experience to see 4 generations interacting with each other, very special memories.

16 1/2 Months Old!

2010-06-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

I've been writing this post for weeks now, but I kept getting pulled away. We just got back from our annual trip to Chicago, so I decided to adjust the post and include some more current milestones. Delia has blossomed into a spunky, lively little girl. She is always on the go, but that's because she desperately wants to keep up with John Grayson.

At 16 1/2 months, Delia:

Finally got some top teeth and they are molars! She's still working on the front four, but it should be soon.
Loves to eat with a fork and spoon. It makes eating yogurt a lot easier, but also a lot messier.
Can climb in and out of chairs now without assistance. She loved climbing in and out of the rocking chair at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Talks, a lot! She'll repeat what you say too, so it's funny to have "conversations" with her now. She was even able to say "Jacob" (her cousin's name) during our family visit.
Loves to snuggle and give hugs. She remains a Mommy's girl, although there are now times when she just wants a hug and kiss from her Daddy.
Gave up her morning nap and now takes 3 hour afternoon naps! She did a great job in Chicago of being flexible. She made it until almost 2pm on several occasions, which is impressive for a little girl who recently dropped her morning nap.
Has a favorite teddy bear that she takes everywhere. JGray gave her the bear for Christmas, but it wasn't until a few months ago that she latched onto it. It rode on the plane with us and even eats breakfast with her.
Learned how to climb down the stairs at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She held the railing and walked like a big girl. Luckily she only takes the stairs at home when she's holding Mommy's hand.

Here are some pictures of our sweet little lady:

So proud of herself for climbing into the rocking chair

Having breakfast with her favorite bear

Our big girl eating with a spoon

Finally......Top Teeth

2010-05-12T19:01:00.001-07:00

Delia has been teething for weeks now and still no sign of her top teeth. That is, until this week! I put my finger in her mouth and discovered a top tooth, but it's a molar. Babies aren't supposed to get molars first. What happened to those cute top front teeth?!

As soon as the other teeth appear, I promise to post pictures!

Strawberry Picking

2010-05-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

Spring in Virginia brings yummy fruit, especially strawberries! Since there wasn't a field trip to the berry patch this year and we weren't able to go with the Moms Club, I decided to take the kids strawberry picking by myself. I mean, how much trouble can two kids get into in the middle of a giant field of berries????

The weather was a little cold but JGray and Delia were ready to help Mommy pick some strawberries. Or should I say that JGray was ready to look for bugs and Delia was ready to eat any strawberry she could get her hands on. At the beginning, she was eating them as fast as I was picking them! I ended up having to put some directly into her small basket so she would leave me alone :-)

We picked for about 45 minutes (we collected about 4 quarts of berries) and then played on the small playground before heading home. Both kids were exhausted and were down for naps by 12:30!

Here are some pictures from our morning at the berry patch:

We had just arrived at the berry patch and Delia was already eating strawberries!

An attempt at posing for a picture

Eating another strawberry. She didn't care if they were covered in dirt or straw!

John Grayson said he found the perfect strawberry

Delia was still eating strawberries. Notice that she is covered in strawberry juice!

Awwww, kisses for big brother

And hugs for big brother too

Getting Ready for Summer

2010-05-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

The weather has been unseasonably warm recently. Even though it was May, the humidity made it feel like August. We decided to take advantage of the hot weather and brought the water table out onto the deck. John Grayson absolutely loves the water table, but this was Delia's first experience with it. She loves splashing in the tub, so it was no surprise that she was a huge fan of creating a giant mess on the deck!

John Grayson had so much fun getting wet! The water was cold but he leaned right over the water table and dunked his entire body.

Delia's first splashes of the season

Delia getting crazy. Notice that JGray has taken a step back from the table.

I love this!

Both kids were soaked by the end!

Who needs a power washer when you have an eager 3 year old?

Best Buddies

2010-05-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

John Grayson has become very good friends with a little boy in his class named Jack. Everyday when I pick JGray up from school and asked who he played with, he always says "Jack L." (there's another boy named Jack in the class, so he will always be Jack L. to JGray).

Jack has a little brother named Charlie who is a few months older than Delia, so everyone has a friend to play with. I think that Delia has a serious crush on Charlie, but up to this point, Charlie has played hard to get. Delia is persistent, and I think she'll wear him down, eventually :-)

We meet Jack and Charlie at the park all the time, and I was able to snap a few pictures when I was chasing Delia.

Monkey see, monkey do. The boys were showing off their gymnastics moves, but I couldn't snap a picture with both of them upside down.

I tried very hard to get a picture of both boys smiling at me, but this is the best I could do.

Delia climbing through a tunnel. She loves the park and it's hard for me to keep up with her!

The boys also take a gymnastics class together. Like I said, they're best buddies :-)

Nap Time

2010-05-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

John got home from a guys' weekend just before nap time. When Daddy said that he was taking a nap, John Grayson immediately said that he wanted to nap with him. I think both John and I thought it was very unlikely that JGray would actually sleep in the bed with John. Boy, were we wrong. I went upstairs a few minutes ago and here's what I found:

Out the Window

2010-04-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

I looked out the window tonight before I took Delia up to bed, and this is what I saw:

Could they be any cuter???? John Grayson has embraced being a big boy and loves helping around the house. His "job" is to feed Dusty every night, and we think that Dusty (and his waist line) are benefiting from JGray's added responsibilities. Tonight JGray told John that he wanted to help him mow. I had no idea that he'd really help him. Our little boy is growing up so fast!!

15 Months Old

2010-04-21T10:29:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that another month has passed and that Delia is really a toddler. She brings such joy and laughter into the house. She continues to remind us that she is a carefree and fearless little girl. The best word to describe Delia right now is BUSY! Delia is always on the move, whether it's running, climbing, kicking a ball or chasing after John Grayson and Dusty.

At 15 months, Delia:

Weighs 23lb 10oz (70th percentile) and is 32in long (88th percentile). She's come down a curve in weight, which makes sense since she runs around so much, and she jumped up a curve in height! I have no idea where these huge kids come from----I'm still holding out hope that Delia will slow down and join her Mommy on the lower end of the growth chart, but we may end up with two tall kids!
Has started climbing. She can get onto the couch by herself now, but luckily she is able to turn around and climb back down safely. She also likes to climb onto the bottom step of the bathroom step stool, let go with her hands and try to jump. Thank goodness she seems to have good coordination thus far.
Got another tooth at the beginning of April and is definitely working on getting her top teeth. It's about time! The pediatrician also said that it looks like she is cutting her first molars too. Ugh, why does teething have to be so difficult?!
Loves to play outside. She loves to swing and climb into the tree house with John Grayson. If you turn your back on her (for even a second), then she's half way up the stairs. I really hope we can make it through the spring and summer without a trip to the ER!
Enjoys playing with the soccer ball and can even dribble it across the backyard! Who knows, we may have a future soccer star on our hands.
Loves books. If we don't know where she is, then chances are that Delia is sitting on the floor in front of the book shelf, reading. She loves to look at the pictures and "tell" us about them.
Talks, a lot. We don't understand everything she says, but it's obvious that Delia has lots to say. She will repeat simple words back to you and loves to make silly sounds. She is also learning her body parts (she knows tummy, teeth, mouth and foot) and is fascinated with books that have pictures of animals or people in them.
Has started trying to use a pen/pencil! I don't remember John Grayson being interested in writing until much later, but Delia loves to carry crayons around the house. So far we've been able to avoid scribbles on the walls, although it may be time to start locking up the art supplies. She gets a small notebook (usually "borrowed" from JGray) and lays on her tummy in the floor to "write". I haven't been able to capture it on film yet; hopefully soon!
Is trying to jump. Usually it appears during the nightly dance party, but Delia really wants to get both feet off the floor.
Has started putting her head on the floor in a type of pre-somersault/yoga pose. I think going to John Grayson's gymnastics classes has worn off on her because Delia seems determined to be an acrobat like her big brother. She is definitely going to be ready for gymnastics class in a few years!

Here are some pictures of Delia at 15 months:

Delia loves her new flip flops!

Playing at the park

Running Away with the Circus

2010-04-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back we took the opportunity to visit the Greatest Show on Earth as it came through town. The circus pre-show started at 10:30(am) so naturally we had to fill up with a big breakfast beforehand.

For any of you who live hear in the greater Richmond area, we found what John Grayson called the 'Greatest Breakfast in the World' at Perly's on Grace Street. I do have to admit that I have not tasted a better biscuit in the Richmond area and our son has not stopped talking about it for 3 weeks. After walking a few blocks over the Coliseum, we arrived and were first in line to get into the building. We ended up being down on the floor with the performers for a full hour before the show. John Grayson had a hat thrown on his head from across the room by a clown (it was a clean looking clown so I'm not too worried about his sharing hats...).

To my surprise, the clowns continued to show and affinity for our family by calling me out into the middle to be part of a clown ring toss game. I have to say I was a rather good target.

Not wanting to be left out, John Grayson ran out into the middle with me to see if the clown could hit a smaller target. At first the clown avoided the challenge preferring to stay with the larger target.

But after some coaxing (me walking away) the clown finally successfully rung John Grayson. By the way, I'm all for clowns being hip, but I was not a fan of this guys clown outfit. Sure he had the big shoes but he was light on the clown makeup, did nothing with his hair, and was essentially wearing a jogging suit. Clown school must not be what it used to.

The clown affinity for our family spilled over into a demonstration by the world's strongest man. (Note: I doubt the man they had there was the world's strongest man, he may have been the strongest man in the building that day, but this guy was a runt compared the the fellows I see on ESPN Classic) The assistant to the worlds strong man brought John Grayson over to have a tug of war competition.

John Grayson didn't quite grasp the idea of the tug of war so the world's strongest man easily retained his title. We stopped by the concession stand to buy the world's best popcorn (for $8.00 a box it damn well better be the world's best) and headed up to our seats. This year the circus had video screens and that just happened to by our son's favorite part.

This year we nearly made it through the entire circus, with about 10 minutes left John Grayson declared that the circus was over and that we were leaving. There really was no grand finale, and we had been there for 2.5 hours already, so we obliged.

All in all, a very successful trip to the circus and we look forward to bringing Delia along next year!

Visit with Good Friends

2010-04-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday was a very special day because I got to spend it with two of my best friends and their adorable kids. Andrea and her son Grant came to Richmond for a few days to see her family during spring break, and Oli and her daughter Elsa drove down from Charlottesville for the day. John Grayson absolutely loves his "Aunts" and waited very patiently for them to arrive. He passed the time by naming them in the wedding pictures that we keep near the front door. Andrea also brought her niece Kate (5) and Jack (3 1/2) so it was a very full house! The kids had a wonderful time playing together and we even managed to have a dance party before everyone headed home for naps. It was a very special morning that made me eager to organize a beach vacation for all of the "aunts" and their families :-)

All of the kids had lunch together and were very well behaved!

Another one of the (in)famous Schmitt family dance parties

Our attempt at a picture of the little kids together

Delia and Elsa

Easter

2010-04-04T17:43:00.001-07:00

Spring has arrived in Virginia and we were able to spend a special Easter outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Unlike last year, we didn't have as many egg hunts on the calendar, but the kids definitely enjoyed dyeing Easter eggs and hunting for them at MaMa and Pop's house.

John Grayson is an egg dyeing pro, so he was able to explain the ins and outs of decorating to Delia. He's learned to spell his first name (my guess is it will be a long time until he can spell Grayson too), and he was very proud that he could tell me the letters to write on his egg. Delia wants to be just like her big brother and loved using the wax crayon to create her own egg masterpiece.

JGray explaining to Daddy how to create the perfect egg

Delia spent a long time creating a special egg

We celebrated Easter Sunday at MaMa and Pop's house. We got the kids ready early and actually made it to 9am mass (which is no small feat with two small children). We learned a bit of parenting wisdom today---giving Peeps to your kids for breakfast is not a good idea, especially when you want them to sit quietly for an hour. We also learned something else---Schmitt kids do not have a post-sugar crash so we did not benefit from the post-Peep sleep. That being said, John Grayson did great during the service. Delia is 1 and we had low expectations because of her big brother. Luckily we now know that she will grow out of her wiggles and we can expect to have two well behaved children in another 2 years. After church we drove straight to MaMa and Pop's house and had an egg hunt. Delia loved running around in her pretty dress and JGray enjoyed showing off his egg hunting skills.

Delia loved running around the yard in her Easter dress

Wearing your basket around your neck frees up both hands for egg hunting

The kids loved driving around in their new Power Wheels Arctic Cat

Our sweet angels

Mommy and Delia

Mommy and John Grayson

Daddy and Delia

Schmitt family, Easter 2010

The Sweet Things In Life

2010-03-31T17:27:00.001-07:00

John took the kids to Chick Fil A last night for dinner so I could take my Adrenaline class at the YMCA (thanks sweetie!). No Daddy dinner is complete without dessert, and John was able to capture this sweet shot of the kids sharing a milkshake.

It's moments like these that make me stop and realize how truly blessed we are. We have two beautiful children who are healthy, happy and thriving. Even though Delia likes to break JGray's Lego towers and mess up his dinosaurs landscapes, I know that, deep down, they love each other. And now we have the pictures to prove it!

Comfort

2010-03-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

While we continue to be excited by our son growing up and becoming more and more of a little independent boy each day, one area that he has recently exerted his independence has become quite a challenge. Up until the past couple months JGray showed little interest in how we dressed him, in turn we were able to put him in clothes that match, fit, and are appropriate for the season. Now that our son has an opinion on his attire all three of those conditions have been thrown out the window. It got me thinking, if our son was to have his own clothing line it would go something like this….

Comfort – By JGray

Tops – Never mind the season, long sleeve is always in. This year’s collection features a number of monster truck and dinosaur prints (although some monster trucks have been rejected for being too scary). Colors can vary day by day, but if a green shirt is available it will be worn regardless of what pants are chosen.

Bottoms – Elastic, Elastic, Elastic. As long as it has an elastic waist it is IN this year. While almost any elastic waist will do, sweatpants are by far preferable. Pants this season should not extend all the way to the floor, if they do it is preferable to roll them up to just above the ankle.

Socks – Socks may be any color but they have to match. They don’t have to match the other parts of the outfit (which don’t usually match to begin with), but have to match each other. For example one white and one red, no good. Two red socks with white dress shirt and grey sweatpants, good.

Shoes – Shoes are one place where you do not want to be constrained in the slightest. Snow boots are always preferable, but if you receive too much flack from your parents, throw on a pair of loafers that have dinosaurs on them. Any shoes with laces or Velcro closure should be immediately dismissed as ‘bad-guy’ shoes and forever banished to the shoe rack.

Pajamas – Much like the rest of the collection, Pajamas are long sleeve and include pajama pants (no shorts). Unlike the rest of the collection, pajamas must match. If they do not match you may feel welcome to wake a family member (preferably your mother) to inform her of the error and have it corrected (even if it happens to be 5 in the morning).

14 Months Old!

2010-03-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that spring is already here and Delia is 14 months old. Her personality grows more and more each day, and she seems to enjoy displaying her independence, silliness and sweet disposition.

At 14 months, Delia:
* Saw her own shadow for the first time. On March 7th, John and I took Delia to the mall for a little outside time and shopping (JGray was with MaMa and Pop). Since it's an outdoor mall, Delia got to run around outside in the beautiful spring weather. Not unlike Puxatawney Phil, Delia saw her shadow! The weather has been so cold and snowy this winter that poor Delia hasn't been outside much since she started walking. Now that she's a girl on the move, she loves playing outside. It was so cute to see her trying to run into her shadow and giggling the entire time.
* Got her 3rd tooth (bottom left) on March 7th and is working on several more. The poor thing hasn't been sleeping as well as normal because her mouth is bothering her. We'll all be glad (Mommy in particular) when those teeth appear.
* Knows where her tummy is. When you ask her where her tummy is, she gets a huge grin on her face and immediately starts patting her tummy. She also knows where Mommy, Daddy and JGray's tummies are. She's definitely gifted :-) Next body part? Her nose. At this rate, she'll know her body parts by the time she's 2.
* Loves to shake her head "no" when she doesn't want to do something. One of her favorite things not to do is giving Daddy a kiss. She'll kiss Mommy, JGray and Dusty, but not Daddy. We think she's just having fun teasing Daddy because it's obvious that she adores him.
* Has quite the vocabulary! She's added "all done, Dust (for Dusty), uh oh, duck, chair, bye bye, hi, diaper, food" to her list of words. I'm sure she says lots of other things but I haven't been able to decipher them just yet. She "talks" all the time and it's only a matter of time until she's talking in full (and understandable) sentences!
* Cannot wait until she's a big girl. We take John Grayson to gymnastics class every week and Delia watches intently from the observation room. Last week she made a mad dash for the door when Ms. Ivy opened it, and it's obvious that she cannot wait until she can be in the gym tumbling and using the equipment. JGray got a ribbon for completing the last session and Ms. Ivy let Delia stand on the podium too. It was so cute!
* Is starting to drop her morning nap. Delia loves to nap and has turned into a great sleeper, but she has started skipping her morning nap. I always put her in the crib, but half the time she doesn't sleep. She sits quietly in her crib and either reads books, sings, talks or kicks the side of the crib.
* Had her first ear infection. The combination of cold weather and teething was too much for Delia's immune system. The poor thing didn't sleep well for several days so I finally took her to the doctor and sure enough, her ear was infected. Luckily some antibiotics seemed to do the trick and she quickly returned to her normal, happy, sleep-loving self.

Delia brings such laughter to our home. She is becoming quite the silly little girl. She loves to dance and we see her bopping around the house all the time. Here are some pictures of our adorable little lady at 14 months:

Standing on the podium at gymnastics class

Playing play doh with John Grayson

Being silly

Spring is here!

2010-03-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally gotten warmer here in Richmond, after a long, cold and snowy winter. The kids absolutely LOVE playing outside and it's cute to watch them playing together. Delia desperately wants to be a "big kid" and tries to do everything she sees John Grayson doing. She is especially fond of standing on top of the sand box and seems to like digging in the dirt and chasing the dog. JGray still loves to dig for dinosaur bones but has now added hitting the baseball and kicking the soccer ball into his list of must do's.

We took a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the weather. JGray was a reckless tricycle driver, so we had to threaten to bench him. Delia loves the wagon and her sunglasses. She is such a girl!

We managed to snap a silly photo of the kids on the deck.

This weekend we took the kids to Maymont for our visit of the spring. John Grayson loved seeing all of the animals and running around. Delia seemed pretty content in the stroller (because she had a great view), but also loved petting the goats and chasing her big brother. We saw the animals at the Children's Farm, had a picnic lunch and then let the kids run through the grass. It was a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday

2010-03-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was my 32nd birthday and I spent a fun and low-key day at home with the kids. The weather was nice in the afternoon so we were able to play outside and enjoy the sunshine. John and JGray made brownies for me over the weekend, and they were absolutely delicious! So delicious, in fact, that they lasted less than 24 hours :-) Just like last year, John Grayson was insistent that there be marshmallows for decoration. Luckily we were able to convince him to use them on only on his brownie.

I got a new camera for my birthday and have been using it to take lots of pictures. But because I gave up the downstairs laptop for Lent (where I store all of my pictures), I haven't been as good about uploading photos to the blog and Facebook. Sorry! I promise to get better soon.

John Grayson and Delia gave me the most wonderful card. Both of them drew pictures and JGray even wrote "Mom" on the envelope! Tears came to my eyes, it was so beautiful, and it's incredible to think that he's big enough to learn how to write! Funny story about the card. John made dots for the letters for JGray to trace, but apparently JGray couldn't decide which hand he liked to use more. John said JGray kept switching back and forth from right hand to left hand as he wrote the letters. Eventually he's going to have to decide!

Thanks to John for taking me to a yummy dinner at the Melting Pot last night and bringing sunflowers home from work. I am a very lucky lady!

Ring a Ding

2010-03-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry for taking so long in between posts, but not much has been going on in the Schmitt house. A few more germs (ear infections for both kids) and some very welcome spring weather means playing outside. As I've mentioned before, Delia and John Grayson LOVE to dance!! John changed the ring tone on his phone this weekend and it's pretty apparent that the kids think it's pretty cool.

Lots of Snow, Forts and Germs

2010-02-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

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:

Delia's 1 Year Pictures

2010-01-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

We had a professional photographer come to the house last weekend to take pictures of the kids. Even though Delia wasn't in the best of moods, the pictures turned out GREAT!! Here are some of our favorites:

Birthday Party Extravaganza

2010-01-23T13:49:00.001-08:00

Delia had three separate birthday parties this year---one for family and one for each of our two playgroups. Needless to say, she quickly became a pro at eating cupcakes. John created a video montage of the events. Also, I've attached some of the cutest pictures from the parties. Enjoy!

1 Year Check-Up

2010-01-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

I took Delia to the doctor this afternoon and it's no surprise to us that she's perfect! Growing like a weed, walking like a pro and talking constantly. She got a few shots (3 to be exact), but she was brave and didn't cry too much.

Here are Delia's 12 month statistics:
Height - 30.25 inches (75th percentile)
Weight - 22lb 9oz (75th percentile)

Delia's been in the 75th percentile for height and weight since her 6 month check up, so she's consistent! We've been given the go ahead to start whole milk, which should be fun. I've enjoyed only having one type of milk in the house for the last 2 years. Hopefully we can find room in the fridge!

Happy 1st Birthday Delia!

2010-01-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

Delia turned 1 today! A few words come to mind. Incredible. Amazing. Beautiful. Funny. Challenging. Rewarding. Adorable. Special. It's been a year since we welcomed our beautiful little girl into the world, and what a year it's been. From acid reflux, spitting up and sleep deprivation to smiles, laughter, and a girl on the move. Delia has brought such joy into our lives and continues to amaze us everyday.

Instead of just listing all of the things that Delia can do, I thought I would make a list of all the things that Delia loves (since there are quite a few). Our little lady loves to:

Go, go, go! Delia started really walking a few weeks ago and she is officially a girl on the move. Her steps are getting a lot better, although John still thinks she looks like a drunk sailor. The weather has been nice this week so she's gotten to play outside twice. She loves walking in the grass and falling in the leaves.
Talk - Delia has lots of words (Mom, Da, Ba, Hi, Bye Bye, All Done). She has also started making a funny sound with her tongue that sounds like la la la. She's definitely going to be a chatterbox.
Play with her brother (even though he doesn't always want to play with her) - Delia adores her big brother, and now that she's walking, John Grayson seems a little more interested in her. She loves to laugh at him and we definitely see that she tries to imitate what he's doing.
Be silly and laugh - Delia is a silly, silly girl. She loves to laugh and be tickled. She loves to smile. She wakes up with a smile on her face, even if I've had to wake her up from a nap.
Read - Just like her big brother, Delia loves books. She'll walk over to the books and pull them out one at a time, opening the pages and looking at them intently. Then she gets a huge grin on her face like she couldn't be prouder of herself.
Carry her stuffed animals and baby dolls - Delia loves her lovies. She has several stuffed animals and now some baby dolls that she lovingly carries around the house. She gives them kisses too!
Play in the water - Delia loves to take baths and she loves to splash! Sometimes I come out of the bathroom looking like I took a bath in my clothes because she splashes so much. I have to close the shower curtain and let her go at it to keep the water in the tub. Delia just started swim lessons at the YMCA and the girl is a fish! She kicks her arms and legs and even tries to jump off the side into the water. I think we're going to have to keep an extra eye on her this summer at the pool.
Dance and listen to music - The family dance party is still a regular event in the Schmitt household, and Delia is an active participant. She's still trying to master dancing without holding onto something, but she gets better every time.
Climb the stairs - I try to keep a gate at the bottom of the stairs, but occasionally I forgot (or a certain preschooler takes it down without telling me). Delia always makes a bee line for the stairs to check on the gate. If it's not there, then she's climbing, and she's really fast.
Sneak into the bathroom and play in the toilet - Like the stairs, Delia always checks the bathroom. Since she loves water, the toilet seems like a logical place to play. Mischief maker!
Play dress up - I kid you not, Delia is already interested in shoes and bags. Her new favorite thing is to put a scarf around her neck, to try to put a hat on her head, and to carry her new purse. I have a feeling that boas and jewelry and high heels are right around the corner...
Give kisses - If you ask her to give you a kiss, then Delia immediately leans forward to plants a wet one on you. She thinks it's hysterical and we think it's precious, just like her.

Delia had a busy birthday weekend with 3 separate parties. One with family on Saturday and two with different playgroups on Monday. She now knows that the song "Happy Birthday" means cake and was a lot neater with her birthday cake than John Grayson was. We got lots of great pictures and video, and John is in the process of creating a video montage of the festivities.

Happy Birthday Delia! You are such a special little lady and we cannot wait to continue on this amazing journey with you. We love you!!

Here are just a few pictures of our adorable toddler:

Mastering the English Language

2010-01-14T17:20:00.001-08:00

I'd have to say one of my favorite things about my son over the past couple months has been his exploration and interpretation of words. It all kind of started once he gave his sister her first nickname to 'mock' her. JGray started giggling to himself during dinner at El Paso, next thing we knew our daughter had the moniker, Quesa-Delia.

Pre-school has brought a couple new interpretations as well. When they were learning about their senses JGray informed us about the taste-butts that he had in his mouth. We asked him if he meant 'taste-buds'...but no, he informed us they are taste-butts, like the one on his bottom. We kind of let that one go.

We started letting JGray give the same prayer before dinner that he gives before snack at school. I guess I wasn't paying attention the first couple times, but I finally realized he was ending his prayers with Oh Man, instead of Amen. When I asked him about it he said, of course it is Oh Man Daddy, I am talking to Jesus and God aren't I? Hard to argue with that one.

While we are in the midst of the terrible 3's (whoever came up with terrible 2's never let their child age another year), these are the little things that make us smile.

A Date with Dinosaurs

2010-01-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, John Grayson and I had a date with dinosaurs. Dinosaurs of the robotic variety. JGray's big Christmas gift was two tickets to see "Walking With Dinosaurs," an arena show with 15 life-size robotic dinosaurs. We thought it might be nice for him to have some quality time with his Mommy (and for me to have some quality time with JGray). The show was in Hampton, so we left right after school. JGray napped in the car and we had an uneventful drive. We got there about an hour early----just in time to buy some souvenirs. After buying a $25 t-shirt and $20 program, we were on our way to our seats. Fourth row, at the end of the arena. Perfect for dinosaur viewing. Lots of kids were wearing headphone or earplugs, but I reminded JGray that if the "paleontologist" in the arena (i.e., the actor who talked about the dinosaurs) could be in the ring next to the dinosaurs, then we were safe. Lucky for me, this logic seemed to hold. John Grayson was very brave and seemed to love seeing the big dinosaurs. He sampled a variety of expensive snacks---$3 snow cone, $4 popcorn, $3 lemonade---and had a wonderful time. It was a special day for me because I don't get to spend much alone time with my sweet (most of the time) boy. He got a little scared when the Mommy T-Rex came out and roared not once, but four times. Compared to the boy sitting next to us who left crying shortly after intermission, John Grayson did a fantastic job! After the show, we had dinner at Five Guys and drove home. JGray was so worn out from his fun day with Mommy that he slept in the car. I had a great time and loved spending special time with my special boy.

Here are some pictures from our date:

Waiting patiently for the dinosaurs

Enjoying dinner at Five Guys

New Shoes for a Girl on the Move

2010-01-07T06:42:00.000-08:00

That's right, Delia finally made the big transition from crawler to walker. She is a girl on the move! Although she's been taking steps for months now, she finally decided on Sunday to start walking and hasn't looked back since. MaMa and I took her to Saxon on Wednesday morning to buy her first pair of shoes. Shoe shopping for a girl is SO much harder than for a boy. Boys need a pair of tennis shoes and then a nicer pair of shoes (usually in brown). The girls' section is enormous and there are shoes in multiple styles and colors. I decided to stick with some simple---brown mary janes---but they do have little flowers on top and some sparkle. Delia's initial response wasn't what I expected. She started crying and wouldn't walk. Of course, the shoe salewoman was a little weird, so maybe Delia was picking up on that.

Here are some pictures of Delia in her new shoes and some video of our new toddler:

Christmas 2009

2010-01-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was very special for us because we were able to spend it with our entire family! Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt flew out from Naperville and Uncle Andy, Aunt Emily and Cousin Jacob drove down from New Jersey for the holiday. MaMa and Pop and Uncle Stephen also came over to our house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. John Grayson was totally into Christmas this year (both Santa and Baby Jesus), and Delia just seemed excited to have new people to play with her. And in what is becoming a new tradition, the boys made the oh-so yummy Schmitt family sugar cookies. Since it was the first Christmas for both Delia and Cousin Jacob, we are thrilled that we were able to spend it with so many of our loved ones. Here are a few of the wonderful memories from Christmas 2009:

Eleven Months Old!

2009-12-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry for taking so long to write this post, but the holidays were crazy this year in the Schmitt household. Crazy in a wonderfully joyous and festive way, but crazy nonetheless.

Delia is 11 months old! It's hard to imagine that this time last year we were performing last minute nesting activities to make sure that everything was ready for our little girl's arrival. John was heading to UVA for school for an entire week and I promised to do my best to stay pregnant until he got home.

Delia continues to amaze us with her fearlessness and joyous spirit. She is such a happy little girl and we feel blessed to have her in our lives.

At 11 months, Delia:

Has become a master climber. One of her favorite activities is making a mad dash for the stairs to see if she can start climbing before we reach her. She thinks it's hysterical. We do our best to keep the gate up, but sometimes a certain big brother takes it down and forgets to tell me. She has also realized she can climb up on the toys bins. We found her standing on them, looking out the window. I think Delia is going to have lots of bumps and bruises in her future.
Still only has two teeth. She's trying hard to cut those top teeth, but we haven't seen them yet.
Depending on the day, you could say she's walking. Some days she'll walk across the room and toddle after John Grayson. And on other days, crawling is her preferred method of transportation. It seems like she can't decide what she likes more. She's such a fast crawler that she probably thinks it's silly to walk when that takes longer.
Talks, a lot! Her vocabulary has expanded dramatically in the last month. She clearly says "All Done" (with the sign too!) when she's done eating, "Mom", "Da Da", and "Ba" (for her brother). We are also pretty sure we've heard her say "JGray" and "John Grayson" as well as "Dust" (for Dusty). She also says "Bye Bye" and "Hi". She babbles all the time so I'm sure she's saying a lot more words that we don't know yet.
Doesn't spend much time sitting still. Although she loves books and stuffed animals, Delia is always on the move. Whether it's walking or crawling, Delia gets where she wants to go. She is a girl on the move!
Loves to play with her big brother. It's obvious that Delia thinks John Grayson is pretty terrific. Sometimes the feelings are mutual, but not always. Delia loves to play with his toys and wrestle with him. She follows him down the hall and laughs at him constantly. She also loves to splash in the tub with him. They get so wild that we have to pull the shower curtain closed so the water stays in the tub!
Celebrated her first Christmas! Delia went to see Santa for the first time and looked adorable in the picture in her pretty holiday dress. She didn't cry but did stare at Santa, trying to size him up. She enjoyed opening presents and loved getting so much attention with all of the extra family in the house.

Here are some pictures of Delia at 11 months:

Bright Lights, A Big House, and Lots of Snow!

2009-12-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a very busy week!

On Wednesday night, we went to the Garden Fest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden with MaMa and Pop. For those of you who aren't from Richmond, Lewis Ginter is an incredible garden that, very wisely, has found a way to keep people coming even when the weather is cold. They decorate the trees, bushes, plants and buildings with hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights. Over 500,000 to be exact. To quote John Grayson, "That's a lot of lights, Mommy!" It was a cold night, so we bundled up the kids and got to the garden at dark. John Grayson had a fabulous time running around and trying to figure out what all of the light designs were. Delia, bless her heart, was perfectly content wrapped up in the stroller and didn't fuss the entire time. John Grayson even got to toast marshmallows at a big bonfire.

All bundled up and ready for some lights

Ready to see some lights!

We're cold but having fun

The boys just ran through a maze of lights

Yummy smores!

On Friday, we went to Maymont for a private, behind-the-scenes tour of the Dooley Mansion. We made a donation to the Maymont Foundation this year because it's one of our favorite places, and they very generously invited to see the mansion. It was beyond incredible, and John and I felt so privileged to see inside. JGray and Delia were on their best behavior, thank goodness, because there were many many many things that couldn't be touched. Although its not a great picture, this is the four of us in one of the bedrooms at Maymont in front of the Swan bed. We're usually traditionalists when it comes to bed shape, but this was quite an amazing bed.

The weathermen in town had been calling for snow all week. And when they call for snow, it usually means that we get flurries. Well, not this time. It started snowing on Friday evening, snowed all night, all day Saturday, and Saturday night. In total, we ended up with 14 inches of snow!! Unlike last year when John Grayson refused to wear snow boots and ended up coming inside after 5 minutes, he had a fabulous time in the snow! He wore his snow pants, boots, mittens, hat and coat the entire time and loved helping John scrape the driveway. Dusty also loved the snow and was outside with the boys most of the time. They also built a huge snow fort, with a tunnel! Luckily, Delia fit into JGray's old snowsuit, so we bundled her up and spent some time outside. She really seemed to enjoy the snow and laughed a lot at the snowflakes.

The boys had a blast playing in the snow!

Oops! I guess we should have taken the umbrella down before the snow started falling.

All bundled up and ready to play in the snow!

Hiking to the Food Lion. We realized a little later that this wasn't a good idea (way too cold!) but had to walk home anyway.

John and the kids in the snow fort

Delia "playing" in the snow fort

The kids and I in the snow fort

John Grayson on top of the giant mountain of snow