Trick-or-Treating

On Sunday we took Elynor trick-or-treating on Southport Ave. Before you get embarrassed for (or mad at) Ryan & I for using this lame excuse to get candy, know that we only actually took candy from one business - and the guy offered it to us. Really, we just strolled Elynor around in her adorable pumpkin suit (thank you GG Jean!) and took in all the other cute kids in costume prior to a delicious fall food potluck back and Chris & Lauren's. Here are some pics of Elynor and her friends.

My Hands Are Full...

And I need to unfold the stroller. What do I do?

A. Hand baby to wife to free a hand
B. Unfold it with one hand
C. Lay baby down in cold grass
D. Tuck baby under my shirt to free a hand

As you can see, yesterday Ryan chose option C. Fortunately, Elynor didn't seem to mind. So rather than pick her up, I snapped some pics (check out that tummy!:)!

A Day At the Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we celebrated the beauty of fall by taking a trip to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch in Maple Park, IL (WEST... past Aurora and St. Charles) with Stephen & Alisha (and Baby Rylander growing in Alisha). Unfortunately, due to the unseasonably warm fall we've had, the u-pick portion of the orchard was already closed for the season. So we settled on filling ourselves with yummy apple donuts and cider, a photo-shoot with the pre-picked pumpkins, and filling a bag with pre-picked apples. For us city folk, this still felt like a taste of the
country.

On our trip home, we drove along the beautiful Fox River through quaint Geneva & St. Charles. We also stopped at Old Navy in Naperville to check out their maternity section for Alisha. At about 7:30pm we were thrilled with how great Elynor had done. She must have heard us talking, as around the same time we noticed a smell in the car. Since we were in our car in a parking lot of a business without a changing table (this should be outlawed), we debated if we should 'check' her diaper or if we should just try to get home (good parents, I know). Were it not for the smell, we would have hit the road, but we just couldn't take it (and also subject Stephen & Alisha). Our 'checking' showed us why God made baby poo smell... so parents like us wouldn't leave their adorable children sitting with poo up their backs for hours on end! That's right, the poo in her diaper had traveled 1/2 way up her back and all over her clothes, etc. And yes, we were stuck in the car with no handy access to a convenient changing station. It's at this point we faced a tough decision: to change in the cramped confines of our VW Jetta, to go in and use the floor or a booth in the Oberweiss Dairy, or to put the poopy baby back in her carseat and drive to another, changing-table blessed establishment. We chose option A. I won't go into detail, just use your imagination to visualize Elynor lying (and sliding around on) the backseat, car door open, Ryan & I standing in the dark, chilly outdoors, doing our best to change her while minimizing the additional spread of poo. All the while our innocent (and very patient) bystanders Stephen & Alisha wonder what lies ahead for them next spring!

Ryan is not wearing a purse... that's the Baby Bjorn, sans-baby

Yes... those are pink socks posing as gloves. I can't find baby mittens other than those sold in hat/mitten combos!

Snuggling with Daddy in the Baby Bjorn (watch for a future post with photos of Stephen & Ryan figuring out how to put on this contraption)

Next year Baby Rylander will don the Baby Bjorn

Shopping with what feel like 'play' grocery carts

Dishes, laundry & dog hair

These seem to be my never-ending chores. It's much more difficult to ignore an overflowing kitchen sink, hamper, or piles of dog hair when you're at home for the majority of every day. And I seem to dirty a lot more dishes, and Elynor creates more dirty clothes. I'm not sure how Ally can possibly deposit so much hair. Too bad we can't collect it and sell it for pillow stuffing or making Halloween wigs or something. We would definitely be rich!

Would You?

...let another woman breastfeed your child?
...breastfeed another woman's child?
...if yes, under what circumstances?

These questions spurred some interesting discussion amongst a group of lactating friends this afternoon. I think the overwhelming and immediate group response was, 'NO WAY!'. But then some intriguing scenarios were debated.

What if you were babysitting a really good friend's or sibling's child and their mama was stuck in traffic, delaying her 2 hours past feeding time, leaving you with a screaming child and no bottle?

What if you could make some really good money?

What if your babysitter fed your child without your permission?

And since there are wet nurses, why not bottle and sell breast milk in the grocery store, as an alternative to formula?

What do you think?

p.s. I think this conversation was triggered by me dropping & spilling approx. 3.5 oz. of pumped milk. That's one great way to silence a room of women who know the great value of every drop of stored milk!

Brandtrust Baby

Almost 2 weeks ago (I know, I'm a little behind...) Elynor & I took a solo trip to North Michigan Ave. Though we couldn't resist a little shopping, the main purpose of our outing was to visit my Brandtrust colleagues at our office in the Hancock Center. As usual on our outings, Elynor was a doll... sleeping soundly in her stroller and loving the snuggles from her Brandtrust friends. Since she is the first baby born into the Brandtrust family since most of us have been there, there is no shortage of Brandtrust love for Elynor!

One of Elynor's fave sleeping spots (and check out her left arm)

Cuddling with Carmie, who has the magic touch

Plenty of admirers (Jenny, Daryl, Carmie & Beth)

More fun times w/ Trinity & Everett

Look how much Elynor & Everett have grown in just 3 weeks! He evidently didn't like a girl being bigger than him. He will pass her up in no time (though she might have him on the belly and cheeks for some time...:)


And a few more shots from their photo shoot. Thanks to Everett & Trinity's awesome photographer mama, Leslie!

Everett didn't get the memo about the purple dress code.

Elynor is definitely smiling now... for most of her waking hours!