Happy Halloween!

Halloween certainly seems to be the official kid holiday. Sylvia had a total of 4 Halloween related events over the past few days. And of course all of that culminated in trick-or-treating tonight.



We have posted a whole gallery of costumed images here. Have a look, and happy Halloween!

Feed Unto Others

We here at Sylvia and Company think pretty highly of our little mascot, Sylvia. She’s become a master sleeper, she’s rather chipper and interested in the world around her, and we consider her pretty cute. Lately we have noticed that along with those wonderful traits, she is also a good eater. Not just that she tends to eat a lot, but that she also eats well.

Last night she and I sat down to a meal of lentils, tomatoes, spinach, potatoes, and brown rice. After her third bowl, I realized that she had eaten more than me. I never thought I would be writing this next sentence. My one-year-old couldn’t get enough lentils and spinach. I brought out some pear sauce to mix thing up a bit. She ate that, but then began asking for more lentils and spinach.

Of course, she can be fickle. She could decide tonight that she will not be eating any more spinach for a while, but overall Sylvia tends to be open to all kinds of food – not just mac and cheese out of the box or ultra-sugary baby yogurt snacks. As I filled up her bowl once more, I threw a few more bites on my own plate, and I realized that maybe one way that we have encouraged good eating habits is by feeding Sylvia exactly (or almost exactly) what we eat.

This works well for many reasons. First, Sylvia is really a part of the dinner activity. She has her chair at the table and eats the same stuff as us. If she’s not into it at first, a bite or two from our plates with our spoons usually gets her interested in her own meal. Secondly, it encourages us to eat well, too. It’s pretty hard to eat a burger you ordered while trying to convince a one-year-old to swallow her stewed carrots. Lastly, it’s a lot cheaper. Making a large fresh meal costs so much less than individually tailored or restaurant-prepared meals.

Now we just have to work on the issue of wearing our food.

They Were Nice Enough to Just Use One Candle

When Chris woke up on Sunday, he felt a little strange. At first he thought he might be a bit wiser or more mature, but it turned out to just be a crick in his back which Darcie informed him would happen now that he was 30.

At least they only used one candle.


Opening gifts.


For brunch we headed to Blind Faith Cafe for some eggs and pancakes. It was a great 30th birthday.

A Little Bit of Halloween

This weekend Dede and Papa came for a visit.

Sylvia was a great hostess as always.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a 'little' Halloween party.

Sylvia was a monkey. Another kid was a monkey, too. With so much in common, there was a lot to discuss.


The group photo. That's Sylvia behind the purple ball.


Bobbing for apples.


The walk home.

A Little Turkey, A Little Pumpkin

Technically Canadian Thanksgiving was celebrated a few weeks ago, but to a lot of Chicagoans, October 21 will do just fine. Better late than never, as they say in Toronto. Cecile, our resident Canuck, hosted her annual Canadian Thanksgiving and pumpkin carving this evening. It felt less like Canadian Thanksgiving, though, and more like Florida Thanksgiving with the 72 degree weather. Before going to the party, we even stopped off at the beach to play in the sand.



After brushing the sand out of our hair and practicing a few yoga poses together, we whipped up a squash casserole, grabbed our pumpkin and were off to the party.


Joe did a lot of the hands-on work, though Sylvia tried to help.


Chris and Joe do some carving.


Joe polishes up the final work.


The gallery of jack-o-lanterns.


Our goofy jack-o-lantern.

The Day Mom Was Waiting For

On Saturday, Sylvia had a change of heart and let us strap a bicycle helmet on her. We rode all the way to the lake and back (stopping at the swings by the water, of course). She loved watching Darcie's feet pedal and Chris pass on his bike.



Also, we had Halloween pancakes:

A Few Words about Words

One of the main duties of a parent is to worry. Is my child happy? Is that a rash? Did she just stick something in her mouth? After Sylvia's last trip to the doctor, we at Sylvia and Company picked up a new concern. Is Sylvia's language development on track? Darcie was asked if Sylvia knew four or five words. Words? As in English words? Like 'surreptitious' or 'corporation'? No, she doesn't. She knows 'mama' and 'dada'. She uses 'ba' for bath and about a quarter of the rest of the objects in the world. She makes an 'ahhhh' sound for water, but words?

So we opened some books. We looked online for advice on how to encourage your one-year-old to talk. We dropped adult-speak altogether in exchange for toddler-talk. We needed four words. Five would be great, but we needed at least four. And somehow we knew that we had missed the opportunity to teach our child language, one of the most valuable skills a human can posses. We failed her. If only we had repeated 'ball' a few more times in the first sixth months. Our nasty little secret was that 'ball' didn't even come into the picture until month six!

Then this morning at breakfast, as we agonized over our language development backup plan, Sylvia interrupted the conversation with laughter. She was watching the bird who, hiding at the bottom of her cage, suddenly poked her head up then disappeared again. Sylvia laughed. She pointed at the bird, looked at us, and covered her own eye peek-a-boo-style. The bird is playing peek-a-boo. Sylvia communicated a sentence. It wasn't in English necessarily, and we're not sure about the grammar, but she communicated a complete thought.

They should really offer a caveat when asking if your one-year-old knows five words.

Grandmama, Picasso, a Duck

Grandmama came to visit this weekend, and Sylvia decided to show off by pushing the cow around the neighborhood in her wagon. Grandmama and the cow were quite impressed.



Though we're not sure what, there's something in this photo that says, 'Picasso'.

On Saturday, we turned the car seat around. Sylvia commented that it was a whole new world, and that she was going to try looking at everything from a new perspective. The stroller, for instance, which she will walk behind from now on.


Saturday evening, Darcie and Chris went to the wedding of Stefani Foster and Danny LaBrecque. It took place a little north of Chicago in a community called Prairie Crossing. The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception included an Elvis impersonator. We got to hang out with a lot of friends that we don't see very often (other than just Elvis). People came from as far away as Paris.


As is customary for Sunday morning, we dressed Sylvia up as a duck. The costume was a gift from Uncle Will and Aunt Heather. Sylvia says, "Many thanks!"

Sylvia's Menu - She's Healthier Than We Are

Sylvia's menu today:

Breakfast - Oatmeal with molasses and bananas and organic whole milk
Snack - Plain yogurt with sliced strawberries
Lunch - Grilled cheese on whole wheat with asparagus
Snack - Black beans, quinoa, and banana puree (from Happy Baby found in your grocer's freezer)
Dinner - Vegetarian lasagna with white beans, spinach, kale, carrots, and mushrooms (while she won't typically eat these vegetables independently, she'll gobble them up in lasagna or soup)

Sylvia's schedule today:
6:30 am - get up, nurse
7:00 am - open all of the kitchen cabinets while mom and dad make breakfast
7:15 am - get frustrated that mom and dad are taking so long to make breakfast
7:30 am - eating oatmeal, feeling content
7:50 am - saying "good luck to mom" (Mom had a job interview today)*
8:00-12:00 pm - fun play day with Dad!
12:00 pm - met mom at train and went home for lunch
1:00 pm - nap
2:30-5:00 pm - play
5:00 pm - dinner with Amrick (3) and Wesley (6 months)
6:30 pm - bath
7:00 pm - bed time


*I interviewed for a part-time position consulting in Chicago-area public pre-schools. Chris stayed home to watch Sylvia and I should hear in a few weeks whether or not I am a potential candidate for one of the positions.

The New Experiment for Mam-Mam

This is a test to see if I can emerge into the world of blogging. Since I'm rather reticent about technology and rely heavily on the knowledge of my super-computer of a husband, I've fallen behind and I'm slowly digging my way back out. (I even made a page on Facebook and I got a cell phone that is in color - still doesn't have a camera or anything fancy and I refuse to text message.) Plus, as any other narcissistic parent, I figure my little monkey, Sylvia, should have not one, but two blogs documenting and commenting on her every little fascinating detail of her life. Now, our families can learn about Sylvia's day-to-dayness through the eyes of her "Mam-Mam" as Chris has been actively maintaining the other site.

Who We Are

We got to thinking. What if a thousand years from now, aliens are investigating the Earth to see what all the fuss was about? How do we want to be remembered? Well, we here at Sylvia & Company decided to compile a little digital time capsule. For the aliens. Below are a few photos taken over the weekend that we think capture who we are.


Sylvia wears her monkey hat while digging through a box of old clothing.
Note for aliens: Monkey hats are not standard issue. They are very special.


A pretty typical dinner.
Note for aliens: Between hard boiled eggs and pasta, always choose pasta. Between pasta and Cheerios - a toss up.


Sylvia in her play outfit: a nice dress and Uggs.
Note for aliens: Every girl must have a few pairs of Uggs, and sometimes girls get prunes on their dresses (it comes out though).


Sylvia puts her bonnet on Chris and then climbs on him at the beach.
Note for aliens: Sand has a way of getting into everything.


A map of Sylvia's path while walking with her walking wagon thing (we need to decide on a name for that thing).
Note for aliens: Drawing is not to scale.

We hope you have enjoyed this little taste of our lives. Please leave any notes for the aliens in the comments.

Sincerely, Sylvia & Company

A Few New Movies

Today's double feature includes "Ahhhh and Arrrrr" and "Walking with a Little Help". Take a look. We hope you enjoy!

Back to the Beach

Sylvia and Darcie spent the afternoon at the beach with Zella Rose and Manda who biked up from Rogers Park. With no life guards on duty, the girls tore up the beach and chased a few sea gulls. We can't wait to see Sylvia on the beach next summer. She really loves the sand and water. We feel lucky that she loves to interact with the world so much.

The weather has been amazing, though the days are getting noticeably shorter.


Did you ever think you would see Sylvia in a bonnet? This is one of those rare photos that you might not ever see again. The moment did not last long.


Zella Rose and Sylvia admire Chris' new bike wheel. His old one was stolen outside of the YMCA. Yes, that's a new chain, too!

Look, Mom. No hands!

She ate her whole lunch this way.