'Tis the Season

Technical difficulties have prevented me from updating the blog with some much needed photos from the last few months, but thankfully most of you are able to keep up with us on Facebook. I'd love to say that I'll get to posting from the last few months before Christmas, but chances are it's not going to happen. So in the mean time, enjoy the season, spend time with your loved ones, and give thanks for all the blessings in your life.

These felt Christmas trees are too cute - I thought I'd share some Christmas fun for you all. I'm guessing a pretty simple version of these could be made at home lickity split. Enjoy!

One Year

Quinn, at one year you:

can walk

love to chase your big sister

play peek-a-boo with your hands over your ears instead of your eyes

laugh ALL the time

love to get everyone else laughing by snorting

aren't a big fan of eating if it's not what everyone else is eating

refuse cow's milk

can play independently

have started swim class and have really taken to it

are beside yourself excited when dad comes home from work...it absolutely makes your day

have eight teeth

can sign one word, and it's an important one: "more"

love to play pat-a-cake and make us put our arms in place to get started

light up when taking a bath and splashing with Lillie

love giving out kisses

are wearing some 2T clothes

can kind of say lillie (yee-yee), da-da and ma-ma

are a beautiful little boy with a big heart

Apple Picking

We ventured out on a very cloudy, rainy day and chanced that the farm would be open and we could go apple picking (a must do in the fall.) An hour or so later, we arrived to find it just opening after a break in the rain. We had a lot of fun running around picking apples and taking wagon rides. Because of the rain, the pumpkin patch was closed during our visit, but we came home with a lot of apples, pears, and cider donuts. Yum!

Baby Steps

Take a peek at what we caught on tape yesterday!!!

I ♥ Ina

My love for all things Ina Garten continues...

Conor had a craving for some meatloaf, and since we mostly don't eat red meat any more, I found this recipe for turkey meatloaf. (I say "mostly" because while Conor never eats red meat, I occasionally find a pulled pork sandwich or steak on a menu that I just can't resist.) This is not your grandmother's meatloaf, but it is ultimately very easy to make and the reviews? Two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Both the boys were members of the clean plate club while Lillie remains as picky as ever. Sigh. I also made these smashed potatoes, and um, I will be making them again. Soon. Yum. Yum. Yum.

A few weeks ago some new neighbors moved in next door so I tried out these outrageous brownies to give as a welcome gift. While they were good, the process of making them was a bit involved and it makes a lot! The recipes also calls for walnuts, so I set aside some batter to make a sans nuts portion for Lillie. I recommend making these when you're craving chocolate...and lots of it!

Update: I realized that I forgot to post the recipe for the meatloaf! The original recipe called for five pounds of turkey (?!!?) and I'm not sure we could have gotten through all that. So I used a three pound "roll" because it was the biggest roll I could find and because it's 85/15, which I think it cooks up much better. I modified a few of the other ingredients accordingly. We had enough for seconds, enough to give to our favorite babysitter, and enough for two days of leftovers. Oh, and the leftovers just might be better than the first night!

Recipe: Adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 large onion)
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 3 pounds ground turkey breast
• 1 cup plain dry bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs and it seemed to work well)
• 3 extra-large eggs, beaten

For the topping:

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

• In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the topping evenly on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

This Preview is Approved for All Audiences

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you. See Lillie in costume on 10-31-2010.

Eleven Months

Quinn is 11 months now. He loves to talk, especially to Lillie, and it's pretty clear that his first word is "Lillie." She has started to really enjoy playing and interacting with him, too. Quinn is standing for long periods of time without assistance and loves playing pat-a-cake and putting our hands together to get us to clap. Walking? Not yet, but our money is on him walking by his first birthday.

I Yuv You Daddy

I have so many updates to post from the summer, it's hard to figure out where to start. While I was going through our hundreds of photos from the last few months, I came across this one and couldn't stop smiling at it. This was one of the sweetest moments between Lillie and Dad (well, and baby doll too). She cozied up to him on the floor one lazy afternoon, with the cutest smile, and couldn't stop saying, "I yuv you daddy!" While we may be smack in the middle of the "terrible two's," these moments come around and remind us just how sweet our little girl is.

Ten Months

In just a few days, Quinn will be 11 months old, and then ONE YEAR. I don't think I'm ready to have him turn one, it's just too fast, and I'm not sure I believe that it is really here. I guess these monthly pictures of him prove that it will soon be here. Ah well, we'll just cherish each moment of the next month before his big first birthday!

At ten months, Quinn worked very hard and successfully cut four teeth (all at the same time.) He's cruising really well, but hasn't taken that first step yet. He also mastered the ma-ma-ma and da-da-da sounds, and it's music to our ears. He weighed in at a whopping 25 pounds and measured up at 30.5 inches. We love our big boy.

More from Ohio (the first trip)

One of the great things about getting out of Chicago and visiting Ohio, is that we can spend all day outside in the backyard. Lillie loves to be outside and realized that she can have fun with Quinn too. She felt like such a big girl being able to push him in the swing!

Nine Months

Although I'm writing this very late, at nine months, we were just getting ready to head back to Ohio for the birth of cousin Camden! Quinn is getting very used to all the long car trips, and is very patient with mom's driving. He loves to stand and look out windows (in the house, not in the car!), still says no to anything on a spoon, and just can't stop moving for one second.

MJ Would Be Proud

Lillie visited a house with a keyboard and microphone over the weekend. Dance lessons? Not needed, but certainly in order!

Beep Beep

We've had quite a bit going on the past month or so, and I'm way behind on the posts. Here's something to get you through until I can get back to regular updates.

Lemons

Conor got his new iPhone last week and has already been busy doing fun things with it. This morning, Quinn had his first lemon, and Conor took the video, edited, and uploaded it all using his phone. Check it out, so fun!

Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day in Ohio and decided to have a BBQ and spend the day outside...it was great weather. When cooking out on the grill these days, our go to main entree is grilled chicken marinated in this barbecue sauce. It never fails to turn out delicious (even when the master griller starts a fire and they get a little charred....ahem, ahem...not mentioning any names). Anyway, we make a good team, I make the sauce, and Conor cooks the meat.

As hard as we tried, we couldn't get the pool up and running for the holiday. Turns out it wasn't on flat ground and kept collapsing once it got to a certain depth. What a happy accident that was because it ended up making a perfect wading pool for the kids to be in by themselves.

Quinn didn't get to play in the pool with the big kids, but he got his turn with playing with Lillie. It's so cute to see them playing together - now that he's getting bigger.

After a wonderful day of playing outside and spending time with family, this is how the day ended. About as perfect as it gets.

Summer Grillin'

Can't it stay warm all year long? We're loving being able to make breakfast outdoors and eat it there too. There's nothing better than eating warm, syrup-y hotcakes on the deck while being in our jammies and feeling the wind blow all around us. Hello summer...won't you stay a while?

Eight Months

Wow, life has been busy the for the Sullivans. Quinn turned eights months old while we were in Ohio (almost a month ago), so again we found the best chair we could to add to his monthly photo series. He is crawling like a champ, has 2 teeth, would rather eat with his hands than with a spoon, and isn't quite sure what he thinks of his sister making scary monster noises to him.

Play Ball

Lillie got her first baseball glove and LOVES it! She's fielding grounders like a pro and hitting home runs with her imaginary bat. Thank goodness for summer and playing outside...before we know it, Conor will be teaching her how to throw a knuckle ball. 

A New Chapter

Lillie at one month

Wow. Just wow. Lillie is officially registered to attend preschool one day a week this summer. Our baby isn't a baby anymore. The excitement in the house is just overwhelming right now. How do you explain to a 2.5-year-old the concept of time so that she understands it won't start for three more weeks?!

Grass

This is a letterpress project I've been working on since January! I signed on to work with a client who is getting married at a golf course and wanted to incorporate grass in the design, as well as using green and navy blue as her colors. I was excited to have designed and printed all of these, but now I'm itching to get a bigger press. Mine is very small which means I can only do small bits of printing at a time.

Teeth

Numbers 1 & 2 are here. Loving this sweet, sweet smile of his.

Two and One Half

Lillie, at 30 months you:

have chosen Mary Poppins as your favorite movie and when you want to watch it, you request Mary Muffins or Mary Puffins

love to sing all the songs from the movie, but supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is your favorite (with spoonful of sugar coming in a close second)

dance (actually, it's more like march) around the house with your purple umbrella while singing "super-cali-docious! um diddy aye, um diddy aye!"

play "dr. lillie" and look forward to going into the real doctor's office because you get to lay on the paper

give mom massages and call yourself a "moose" instead of masseuse 

sing "rain, rain go away, come again another way"

would much rather run places than ride in the stroller

find matching colors in the world around you

have an imaginary friend called magic man, and he's everywhere you are

have successfully potty trained

constantly want to know "what dat noise?" and "what we doin?"

can write many letters, and can write an L better than you can say it

say upside down as "right side down"

are waiting for Quinn to get bigger to give him your full attention

have had your first haircut and you were so brave

have all but one of your three year molars

can get dressed all by yourself

love being outside

love to help do anything in the kitchen

have come a long way baby!

Mother's Day Flowers

Here's how the planters look full of flowers. I really like how they turned out - it's so nice to sit out on our deck and enjoy looking at them. This is my first experience with outdoor flowers...well, anything more than a hanging basket...and I feel so grown up! Now, if I can just successfully keep them alive for the summer.

Happy Mother's Day

Hope all you moms out there had a great day...I know I did!

My Garden

 

My mom, Lillie's Mamaw, has been visiting us for the past week. I've been wanting to spruce up our deck with some flower boxes and planters since we moved here a year and half ago, and I finally started the project with my mom in town. We found an awesome nursery and she helped me find some beautiful flowers. Since it's supposed to be 39 degrees tonight, we decided to keep the flowers in the garage to escape the frost, but I couldn't wait to do something with it all. So I put up the flower boxes on our deck railing and filled them with potting soil. I found some toddler size garden gloves at CVS so Lillie could dig in and help with the whole process. Now we're both giddy with excitement and looking forward to actually planting the flowers!

Lillie's First Haircut

Yes, it was an emotional, fun-filled day here. We said goodbye to a bit of that baby hair Lillie was born with, but she had so much fun getting it cut. When we arrived, Lillie got to sit in this Jeep, and watch her most favorite movie: Mary "Puffins." She was instantly in heaven. I'm happy to say the curls are still intact and cuter than ever. Here is our rock star when it was all over, isn't she fabulous?

Peek-A-Boo

Collin and Lillie were having fun playing peek-a-boo in the curtains. Today we head to the Cubs game with the whole gang. Two games in one week for me?! I love it.

Seven Months

At seven months, Quinn has gotten two teeth and is closer yet to crawling. He's mastered pushing backwards and doing the downward dog, but no forward crawling yet. He's eating solid foods now and would prefer to eat the good stuff that we're eating over that silly "baby food." He is still as smiley as can be and loves to be happy.

My Birthday Cake

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a fabulous day! Conor told me I could pick any cake I wanted and he would make it for me. I had to think long and hard about this one...any cake I wanted?! The possibilities, oh the possibilities. I finally decided on this Strawberry Country Cake and it was so good. Conor really outdid himself this time. I had to go back for a second piece, and am already drooling thinking about eating the leftovers tonight for dinner.

After cake and ice cream last night, Conor and I went to the Cubs game, he surprised me with the tickets earlier in the day. It was great to get out of the house just the two of us and enjoy the (chilly) baseball weather. And yes, I did help myself to a beer and hot dog even though we'd just stuffed ourselves with yummy cake, and I'd do it again!