HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Calm Before the Storm

Things have been a little bit back to normal since we got back from the wedding (despite the fact that I got the flu and was completely useless for a few days, fortunately Nick and Ellie didn't get it). And we have a few more weeks before everyone's lives are turned upside down and we move. And before that happens we have Aunt Susie's favorite holiday Halloween!

But while our lives are almost back to a regular routine (leaving the house for showings in the evening and keeping it spotless keep us from being back to normal) I thought I would share some of the mundane things that go on in our household.

Ellie sleeping in her favorite position and blanket (she won't sleep without the red blanket...)

Some morning mischief of playing with her books, note she isn't even dressed yet

Time to escape her room and see what else is going on in the living room...

...and make funny faces at the camera


Nap time. This is Ellie just after a nap, sitting up, ready to come out of the crib. (As a side note, Nick lowered the mattress the other night as we found Ellie standing up screaming. So at midnight, Ellie was reading a book and Nick was lowering the mattress.)

Time to play with her toys. Apparently taking the toys out of the basket is more exciting than actually playing with the toys.

Appetizers before dinner of puffs and a sippy cup of water. She is quite proficient with the sippy cup and grabbing the puffs and getting them to her mouth.

Getting in a little bit of trouble before bedtime...she knows she can't play with garbage cans or outlets now.

Getting her nighttime bottle...right before a couple stories and going to bed.

Phew, she keeps us going everyday. Its always something new, from pulling half her books off the shelf or taking all her diapers out of the basket or "petting" Mallie or demonstrating to us that she does know how to use a sippy cup...life is exciting even on what seems to be the most boring and typical day.

Welcome to the family, Uncle Mike!

Two weekends ago we took a trip to Illinois for my sister Cindy's wedding to her boyfriend of 6 years or so, Mike. We were there from Thursday through Tuesday and in addition to the wedding we were able to fit in time to visit with a lot of our close friends. It was great to see all of them, but the wedding itself (and getting to see relatives from as far away as Denver and Seattle) was the real attraction, so we figured we'd share some of our photographic memories.

Ellie was quite excited about the necklace Mommy received as a gift at Aunt Cindy's rehearsal dinner. Check out her eyes in there!

Here's Ellie hanging out with some members of her far-flung family. There's Great Grandma Kost (Palatine, IL), Grandma Sue (McHenry, IL), Great Uncle Gordon (Longmont, CO), and Great Uncle Glenn (Bellevue, WA). Those uncles are my mom's two brothers.

Ann, Cindy and I.. pre-ceremony.

Cindy & Mike sharing a laugh during the "sand ceremony" part of their wedding. They alternated filling a vase with different colored sand. (It was new to me, despite having been to about a dozen weddings since college.)

Cindy & Mike at the reception.

Ellie was very curious about the wedding cake, and Ann had to keep her a good distance away because the little one most definitely would have stuck a hand or two in it.

Ann's family (her sister Susie and her parents, Mike and Pam) came to the wedding to help celebrate.. and help us take care of Ellie while we had fun at the reception. Thanks to them for all their help.

Believe it or not, Ellie was the first one to hit the dance floor.. and everybody tried hard to get her attention for a couple funny photos -- little did they know *they* were the real funny ones..

Ellie made it through this round of pre-dinner pictures before zonking out. Then she slept through dinner in her car seat, which was next to my feet at the table.

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You know it's a party when the mother of the bride ends the night with the groom's tie around her head.. and one of the wacky uncles breaks out the glow necklaces to help with his air guitar routine.

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We'd like to thank Cindy and Mike again for inviting us, and wish them all the happiness and luck in the world. The three of us had a great time helping them celebrate their special day.

8 Months Old!

Wow! Has Ellie grown in the past few weeks, let alone the past week. She is crawling all over the place now to get (or find) what she wants. Her hair is growing like crazy, she has blonde curls everywhere. She is waving to anyone who looks at her (including the cat). At dinner I gave her a little edible cereal "puff" for her to practice her fine motor skills, and first try, picks it up with her thumb and index finger (pincher grasp) and puts it in her mouth (gotta keep the floors clean). She is also babbling all the time. Talking to herself, her toys, the cat, us...today after her nap I found her talking to her reflection in the mirror in her crib. She's super curious, thinks sneezes are hilarious, and hates missing any of the action. She absolutely hates to be on the floor while people are standing up or walking around. Everyday we learn something new about her.

"Mommy, are we done taking dolphin photos, I want to play..."

The Staging of our Condo

So...after going under agreement on the new house, we needed to sell our current condo. If you haven't been to our place, let me tell you, our condo was very personalized. Before moving in we painted our kitchen BRIGHT orange. One day while I was at work, Nick covered the walls of our office nook with sports memorabilia. Our formal dining room was used for our massive collection of books (and later Ellie's main stomping ground and where we kept our Wrigley chair). Needless to say, about half of our stuff was put away into storage (in our basement). I would like to share some before and after photos of our place.

BEFORE:

Living room

Office Nook

Formal Dining Room

Kitchen (oh how I miss my orange!)

AFTER:

Totally different huh? Amazing what some paint, a table, some boxes, and a weekend will do. It feels like we are living in a hotel (except we have to make our own bed!).

So if you know anyone looking for a 2 Bed/1 Bath in Boston have them check out our website, www.16sullivanst.com!

Ellie on the go

10-5 crawling and sitting
Originally uploaded by AHarrer

Here is just a little video evidence that Ellie is on the go. First she gets herself into a sitting position...then she gets herself over to where I am (she wanted to sit in my lap).

Apples and Pumpkins

Today we went out to a farm to pick some apples, choose a pumpkin, drink some freshly made cider, eat some cider donuts and carmel apples, and enjoy a fall day in New England.

Ellie wore her pumpkin hat (which Grandma V made for her). We got many compliments, including one lady who wanted to know where we bought it because it was awesome!

Ellie even helped pick some apples.

Aunt Susie came with us as well. We had to get a photo of the two of them rocking the Grandma V made hats! For the rest of our photos from today, you can check them out on our flickr site.

Happy Fall everyone!!!