Saturday, November 13, 2010

Halloween Can Be A Little Scary

Our Halloween turned out a little differently than we expected. We excitedly welcomed Papa to join us (Nana was out of town) in our favorite trick-or-treating neighborhood - Lakewood-Balmoral, near Andersonville. We headed out, and 3 houses into it, Dylan threw a tantrum that landed the back of his head onto the cement sidewalk, causing a gash in the back of his head that didn't stop bleeding. We took him to the ER, and he got 3 staples in his head. :(  The little trooper that he was, he asked to go out trick-or-treating when we left the Emergency Room. 




This is at the very same time - the cutest and saddest image of Dylan I've ever seen. He actually really enjoyed the ER, and ran around checking out everything in the room.

(Note to Chicagoans: if you ever need to go to the ER - St. Joseph's on Diversey and Lakeshore Drive is always fast and efficient! We've gone there 2 other times, and have never had to wait.)

Friday, November 12, 2010

The Letter "E"

Dylan really likes - and often points out - the letter "E" these days.

Lincoln Square Business Trick-or-Treating

We went trick-or-treating in the Lincoln Square Business District, the day before Halloween.

 
On our way to the Square.

 "Just let me reach down and get that rock..."

 Here, Dylan is showing his "reflective Halloween pose."

 Dylan bumped into a "brother" from his litter!

 Trick-or-treat!

Really, Dylan didn't have much interest in the whole idea. The main thing that peaked his interest was that at the end of the strip was the toy store, and he'd get to go play with the choo-choos. Mission accomplished.

Halloween Playdate

Dylan's first opportunity to dress up in his doggie costume was for a Halloween playdate in mid-October. He was the cutest little puppy this mommy's eyes had ever seen.

On our way to the house.

Gotta include a shot of the back of the costume!

  Some of the attendees.

After snacks, and when everyone had gone to the other room to play, I realized mid-conversation with a mom, that Dylan had disappeared. I came into the kitchen to see that Mickey Mouse and the Puppy had gone back for seconds.

 Somehow these two knew they belonged together.

Illini Weekend

Our family took a trip to Champaign, IL to see some friends, and to visit Marc's alma mater, University of Illinois. (I had never been there.) Here are a few shots from our campus visit: 





Seattle Trip

I went out to Seattle to visit my sister and her family in early November. They had moved in June, and I hadn't seen their new house yet. They have a beautiful mountain view, and it was so refreshing to be in that setting. I loved being with her family, learning about Olivia's new school, and getting to know my now-1-yr-old nephew Nathan, who I hadn't seen since last November! He's changed so much.

 At a local playground with OE.

At Olivia's bus stop. It was so neat to see her as such a big girl, boarding the bus and off to school.

Baby Nathan is the most "go-with-the-flow" baby I've ever met in my life. Can't you just tell? He is so funny, and so precious.
 Nathan, taking after his daddy (who's a cop) - supervising his older sister's playtime.

Nicole and I outside of our beloved Starbucks.

Monday, November 8, 2010

UPS Truck

A UPS driver noticed that Dylan was interested in his truck one day, so he let Dylan get in. When he asked Dylan if he wanted to see the back, I hopped in too, because I always wondered what it looks like back there - how do they keep all those packages organized? Now I know their tricks.

"Tall"

Dylan built a very tall tower one day.

We got the camera out to capture the small-but-big accomplishment, and I told Dylan to smile. To my surprise, he did! The tower got knocked down in the meantime, but I was happy to learn he understands and responds to the request to "smile!"

Machine

Since we are into "Bob the Builder" in our household, we take note of any and all machines that we encounter when we're out and about.