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.

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.

"We Were The Champions"

For the Blackhawks first game of the season at the United Center, they had a very special ceremony, with the raising of the championship banner. It was the first time that we watched TV as a family! Kind of fun. With Dylan's fascination of things going up, down, open, and closed, he was enthralled, and requested to watch it again and again.

Autumn with Nana

Nana came up for a visit in October, and brought Dylan a surprise. It's a jack-o-lantern with his name carved in it! We all love it. Dylan requests that it be turned on, when he first wakes up in the morning. :)

The weekend after that, Nana took Dylan to Bengstson's Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen. Dylan STILL talks about his visit. The "froggie ride" that goes "up and down" and the "choo-choo-train" especially. The day really must have made an impact on him! Thank you, Nana, for giving him such a special treat.

Surrounded But Alone

At least that's the way it looks. D woke up rough from his nap, and seemed to want some comforting. After cuddling awhile, I sat him on the couch, put on "his" music, and brought out the stuffed animals. He just sat there, looking like this. Not exactly the reaction I was going for.

Bath Toy

Who DOESN'T take a bath with a large purple ball as big as you are?

Hopscotch

Playing hopscotch at the local toy store.

Peak!

We Totally Have It All Together

Little D

Our friend Kristin gave Dylan this shirt for his second birthday. Her nickname for him has always been "Little D." He finally fits into the shirt, so I had to snap a shot of it! (Thank you, Kristin!)

Later in the day, he did this to his shirt. Why in the world would you NOT watch a video like this?

Handyman

 A toy ran out of batteries, so I told Dylan we needed to put new batteries in it. D was all over that - marching to the battery bin and bringing them back into the room. We needed a screwdriver to open the slot holding the batteries, and D surprised me by being veeery into helping.

Picking out the right size.

 Attempting to open it.

 Moving on to tightening the screws on his crib with Daddy.

Full access. No safety concerns here, right?

Baby Wyatt

One of Dylan's little buddies is Wyatt. A couple of shots from our recent times together.

Helping Bring in the Groceries

 

First time. He truly helped!

Sesame Street Parade

Every once in awhile, Dylan brings his Sesame Street pull-a-long toy for a walk down Lincoln Ave. The toy is pretty cute - Elmo clashes the cymbals, and Big Bird plays the drums. Needless to say, Dylan gets a few stares (and smiles) as we make our way through the Square.

Make A Wish

Dylan's newest thing is throwing coins in the fountain at the plaza. I wonder what he wishes for? Probably something along the lines of: cookies, a day at the splash pad, a Bob The Builder book, a Blues Clues DVD, a morning doing the escalators at Target, as much yogurt as he wants.....

Training Wheels!

Nana got a bike with training wheels at a garage sale! Papa and Nana put Dylan on it, but he doesn't quite get the pedaling thing yet. He still loves the bike, as he has a fascination with pedals.

Enjoying The View

Dylan came with me to a recent doctor's appointment. When he comes, he knows that he gets to ride the elevator, that mommy gets a bandaid, that he gets a snack, and that he'll see the skyscrapers out the window.

You've Got Mail

 A package came from Grandma for Dylan.

He was happy to receive it.

 

And this is what it was - an outfit from Gymboree. We love it! Thanks, Grandma!

Papa & Nana's Visit

Papa and Nana came to the city for a visit in early September, and we celebrated Papa's birthday with a walk in Lincoln Square, and brunch.

Getting ready for the "party." Yes, there is a little boy somewhere inside those balloons.

Swinging with Papa.

Playing "chase" with Nana at the plaza.

 

Papa is a craaaaazy driver.

 

Books before naptime.

Thursday Morning Visitor

Dylan rushes to the window to see the garbage truck go through the alley. Hello, city livin'.

Some Form of A Dog

The other night, Dylan and I were at the park, and he wanted to go in the swing. Next to us was a dad swinging his daughter, doing what is shown in the picture below.....

5 seconds later, I heard Dylan's request: "Hot dog! Hot dog!"

To understand the humor in this, you must know that what is being demonstrated in the picture above is called an underdog. It's when the person pushing the swing goes underneath, all the way through to the other side. Not that anybody wouldn't know that (ahem, Marc).

Anyway, Dylan got confused that night at the park, and instead found himself requesting this:

Shopping Cart Drama

For the second time, I let Dylan have his own shopping cart at Trader Joe's. 10 minutes into the trip, as I was staring at the turkey trying to figure out the difference between "roasted" and "smoked," I heard a big crash. Dylan had tipped over the (very full, at this point) cart. He came running over and hid in my legs. Thankfully, the folks at TJ's are very kind and helpful and helped fill the cart back up. 5 minutes after that, Dylan decided he'd had enough of this whole shopping cart gig, and he simply abandoned the (even fuller, at this point) cart and just started booking it down the frozen foods aisle. I suddenly found myself carrying my shopping basket, steering his little cart, with my purse hoisted over my shoulder, chasing after my 2 yr. old. That was a fun moment.

Dylan bounced back, though, and proudly rolled his cart into the checkout area, proudly displaying his grocery selections.

Mephibosheth

The message at church last Sunday was on Mephibosheth. (Cool, amazing story to revisit!!) For the first time, Dylan came home from the children's ministry at Park with his very own art project. It was a picture of Mephibosheth with graham crackers glued onto the table in the picture. He was so proud to show me! We walked around after church, and he was proudly gripping his project. Suddenly I noticed him chewing something, and realized he had pried off the graham crackers and started eating them. Surely some form of glue was ingested. This is what's left of his project now. :)

Olivia's First Day of School

My niece Olivia, who lives out near Seattle, started kindergarten last week! Congratulations, OE!

It's Baaaack

And I am a happy camper.

First - and Last - Ravinia of the Summer

We went to the Labor Day concert on Monday. I heart Ravinia!!

Ex-Calators

The Whole Foods on Kingsbury is extra special because there are two levels of "ex-calotors." Dylan is in heaven when we go there.

Hangtime

As the summer progressed, Dylan got more and more comfortable - and fearless - at the splash pad. We'd arrive, and he'd just belly flop into the water to get himself initially wet, then would just go for it from there. In picture above, this is Dylan jumping in the air by himself and about to land on the splash pad below. Serious hangtime.