schmits.org

Welcome to schmits.org: , , , and virtual front porch. This web site is just that; a place to visit for family, friends, and anyone, who are too far away, to stop by in person. Pull up a chair and stay a while....

Dylan's Cousin

Early this morning, at 12:41 a.m., Dylan's first cousin was born. Thomas Daniel, Jr. was born to proud parents Tom and Maryann. Tommy weighed in at 7 lbs even and 20" long.

Congratulations!

Eighteen Month Update

Earlier this week, Dylan turned one and a half. Or eighteen months. I'm still wondering at what point we will cease to count months and only count halves of years. I have updated our web pictures to include pictures from months 16-18. Be sure to also check out our summer vacation photos!

Eighteen months was a big milestone at the doctor's office. We now don't need to return for six months, except for any sick visits. I think that Dylan will be spared from any more vaccination shots until he is four. With his one shot this visit, he didn't cry. He just looked at the nurse with an expression that said, "You just did something to me, but I'm not quite sure how to respond." And then she gave him a band-aid with smiling strawberries, and all was forgiven.

Dylan continues to grow as might be expected. He's staying right around the 50th percentile for weight, at 25 lbs, 13 oz. He is between the 75th and 90th percentiles for height, at 33 1/2". And Dylan's head remains off the charts (i.e. above the 95th percentile) with a recent measurement of 19 7/8". No new teeth since his last checkup, but the set of canines appear ready to break through the gums any day.

Summer Vacation 2005

Destination: Upstate New York

We departed Naperville the morning of July 1st with the car packed. It seemed we had a bit of extra room compared with our trip last Thanksgiving; however, it might just be the difference between pants & sweaters, and shorts & t-shirts. Dylan travelled well in the car again. Be sure to check out our pictures!

Our first stop was to visit Rocco, Steph, and family. It was great to see them before they move to Vegas. Dylan had a popsicle with their boys, but he wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Cameron and Ian seemed to have a better handle on eating popsicles. Dylan enjoyed blowing bubbles with Ian and reading books with Cameron. And, of course, the trip to the park to swing and climb on the playground was a hit.

We then continued our trip to Oma and Opa's house. Upon arriving, Dylan was met by Penny, the stuffed animal dog, who he had seen plenty of times via iChat. While there, we got to visit with Dylan's great-grandparents, Papa and GG, and Uncle Grant. Also, Grandma and Aunt Marty stopped by to visit one evening. On the Fourth of July, we went to the parade where Dylan acquired two books; he received three more as gifts before leaving Oma and Opa's. Dylan went to visit the recently renovated Scout lodge with us all. Dylan's favorite activities likely included making Papa's car horn beep, riding up and down the hallway in the laundry basket, making music, and checking out the gardens. Dylan had many visitors both to the house and at the parade, as we hadn't been to upstate New York for a visit yet.

Our next destination was to Uncle Grant's house to be his first overnight visitors. We enjoyed a great dinner with everyone on Geoff's side of the family and then settled down for the evening. Dylan checked out the nearby park the next morning, where the swings were probably the favorite.

The final upstate New York destination was Grandma and Grandpa's house. Dylan enjoyed picking raspberries on the side of the house with Grandma, Mommy, and Daddy. Dylan enjoyed playing "pat-pat" with Grandpa's shiny head; Grandpa seems to enjoy the game also. Dylan showed Grandpa how he could make Grandpa's car go "beep-beep", just like he did with Papa's car earlier in the week. Much to our surprise, the key fob controller worked from inside the house! Our other wonderful surprise of the week was getting to visit Jen and her kids Taylor and Nathan. Of course, the visit wouldn't have been complete without seeing Jen's mom and sister; we missed Jen's dad on this trip, but hope he understands.

The big outing of the week was to the zoo in Syracuse. Oma, Opa, Grandma, Grandpa, Mommy, Daddy, and Dylan all went. The monkeys were a bit hit and so were the penguins. Dylan observed feeding time for the penguins from right up by the glass. We also stopped by the farm animal section of the zoo, since Dylan was with us. He seemed to enjoy the llama. Before leaving the zoo, Dylan added a monkey to his stuffed animal collection and another book to his collection to make it a half dozen for the trip.

The final adventure was the Skychiefs game, a Triple A baseball game, in Syracuse with Grandpa, Grandma, Mommy, Daddy, and Dylan. We managed to obtain a set of tickets right behind home plate behind the netting, which was especially nice with Dylan. We were close enough that Dylan wanted to go on the field. He wasn't impressed with our explanation that only professionals could go on the field. By the end of the game, Dylan wanted to meet Scooch, the mascot. Dylan was impressed with Scooch's dancing ability. Dylan shook hands with Scooch. Just now, as I'm writing this (more than two weeks later) I mentioned Scooch to Dylan. He replied with "shook hands" and "dance," much to my amazement. To top off the evening, Dylan got his first foul ball. Actually, the hot-dog vendor just barely beat Daddy to the ball and gave it to Dylan; Geoff probably gave the woman a look to convince her. Geoff seemed quite happy that he can check one item off the "Must-Do-For-One's-Son List."

It was a long trip home, and we were exhausted when we arrived. I'm pretty sure that we left a wake of tired people behind us. Of course, there are always people we didn't manage to visit and things we didn't manage to do. But, there's always another vacation.