Summer Hangs Out a While

Well, we may have jumped the gun a little a week ago when we title a blog post 'The Last Days of Summer'. Temperatures reached the 80's again today, and with the blue skies and light breeze, it was perfect. Sylvia has been having a good bit of what we believe to be teething pain, so we took it easy for most of the weekend. We decided to get a little more beach time in Sunday afternoon, though.







Throwing sand.

The astute among you may have noticed that a few members of the family have shorter hair than in recent posts. Chris took the day off on Friday for his 'Summer Vacation." Vacation included a haircut for both Chris and Darcie.

The Rose Garden of Eden

Today we had a picnic at the rose garden. While we thought we packed enough food for everyone, Sylvia was convinced that she needed both apples. This reminds us of some story. Something about a woman in a garden and an apple and desire. We can't remember how it goes right now, but we plan on looking it up.

We should point out that while Sylvia had control of both apples, she did share. Darcie and Chris got to take bites when Sylvia told them to.

1st Birthday Video

Well, we've posted some video from the birthday party, so now you can refresh your memory or catch a glimpse for the first time.

The Things They Carried

Those are peas. Those fall out of Sylvia's clothing when we get her ready for her bath at the end of the day. I can't remember the last time food fell out of my clothing at the end of the day.

Happy First Birthday Sylvia!

We know we've already celebrated with dog-shaped cake, but today is the real day.

Happy Birthday, Sylvia.

The Last Days of Summer

This weekend was much quieter than last, but the summer weather returned. The weatherman said it reached about 80 on Sunday, and we tried our best to enjoy the fantastic weather. We started out by going to the beach.
Where Sylvia got her feet in the water and built her first sand castle.

It might not look like much, but it took us a while, and we're all very proud of it.



Later we stopped by the rose garden. We can only imagine that the roses will soon disappear, but for now they seem to be in full bloom. It was nice having a little more summer weather. Maybe it will last until October.

Ravinia and Baptism Photos Are Posted

Ravinia photos

and

Baptism photos

The Big Weekend, Part 2 (Baptism)

On Sunday, Sylvia was baptized at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Evanston. The church is right across the street from our condo, which made it easy when we were running late. Sylvia decided to hold off on her morning nap until twenty minutes before start time. So we actually had to wake her up. I still break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. As the saying goes, 'let sleeping babies lie.' Well, we woke her up and she did great.

She did lose her barrette in the holy water, but the priest fished it out for her. With all of the commotion she didn't fuss at all.


Afterwards everyone headed back to our place for lasagna and strawberry cake. Sylvia ate fruit, bread, 3 pieces of lasagna, and cake. Baptism will make you hungry.

Thanks to everyone for making it such a great weekend.

(I will post the baptism photos as soon as I get a chance.)

The Big Weekend, Part 1 (Birthday)

We're all recovering from the big weekend here at Sylvia and Co. It was a double header with Sylvia's first birthday party on Saturday and her Baptism on Sunday. Sixteen people from out of town, including family from Mississippi and friends from England, and lots of local friends gathered for various events over the two days.

Sylvia handled all of the excitement pretty well. Of course, good food and presents helped a bit.


The birthday party was held at Alexander Park just a few blocks from our condo, and though we experienced a slight cold snap, the sun was out and all of the kids had fun. Sylvia got a chance to catch up with her cousins, Austin and Elaina.


Darcie made a dog-shaped cake, and Chris did not drop it on the way to the park.


Saturday evening, the family trekked up to Ravinia to hear Emmylou Harris. It was quite cold out, but the beer, wine, and Cheerios helped.

For more photos (a lot more) check out the photo album. There will be more coverage of the weekend to come.

Happy Birthday, Darcie (Mom)!

Last Saturday was Darcie's birthday, and it was a busy day. Darcie, Chris, and Sylvia woke up at 6:30 am, so since we were all up, we decided to go for breakfast at Walker Brothers' Original Pancake House. There were lots of other kids there for a really early breakfast. There might be some correlation between age and early breakfast, but we're not sure.

Next we went to the farmer's market where there are starting to be more and more squash, a sure sign that fall is on its way. The weather is also giving that indication. It's getting nice and chilly here at night, so if you're coming up this way this weekend, bring a light jacket.

Later we met up with lots of friends at Sylvia's favorite pub, Nevins, for a few drinks and dinner.

Hanging out at Nevins. Sylvia sports a new bib.






Sylvia enjoyed some sweet potatoes.

Taking It Easy on Labor Day

Well, since we cut our camping trip a little short, we decided the best thing to do on Labor Day was just relax and enjoy the wonderful weather. The skies were blue in Evanston on Monday.

First up was brunch at Tre Kronner, a Swedish place in the city. Sylvia had a fruit feast and some toast. After a short nap, we decided to go for a bike ride.

This is where we have to admit that we already opened Sylvia's birthday present from Dede, Papa, Aunt Heather, and Uncle Will. We opened it early! But Sylvia looked at us with such sad eyes, that we had to give in.

The riding is going pretty well. Sylvia loves the bike seat. Unfortunately, she hates the helmet. Her personal best is two blocks before pulling it off. We're working on it.

Next we went for a walk to the lake where Sylvia got to swing for a while and chat with some of her buddies from a local play group. Afterwards we strolled out to the beach to enjoy the sand and water one last time before the swimming areas officially close for the season.

We tried to fill the stroller with sand and then stuck our feet in the water.

After a big dinner of grilled sausages, we all slept well. Hope everyone's Labor Day was fun!

Kettle Moraine

Over the Labor Day weekend we tried a little family experiment and took Sylvia camping at Kettle Moraine State Forest in Wisconsin. We weren't sure how she would take to sleeping in a tent, but she did great.

She slept in her very own baby tent inside our tent.

Unfortunately the mosquitos were pretty bad. We tried a number of hikes...

... but eventually the bites were just too much:

Not even bug spray or clothing could stop them.

Still, we had lots of fun at Kettle Moraine.



Check out all of the photos in the photo album.