This picture was taken when the house was no longer occupied. The house was built into the side of the hill. The upper yard refers to the large flat area at the top of the hill at the back of the house.  The front yard sloped steeply to the street.

A pretty sight was presented at the residence of O. W. Trumbo, in Dayton township, last Thursday. The beautiful grounds which overlook the town were the scene of a novel and pleasing affair. Clare [sic] Van Ettan, 15 months old, son of Mr. and Mrs. Will Van Ettan, was master of the occasion, and with the aid of seventeen of his baby friends managed to make the woods echo and re-echo with their joyous shouts of glee. All the little ones were about the same age, none being older than nineteen  months, and, with one or two exceptions, all were cousins. The picnic dinner was served in the upper yard and each baby, accompanied by its mother, took a seat on the lawn and, it is needless to say, the sight was indeed laughable and pleasant. There were also present about twenty older children, friends of Baby Clare.

Claire and younger brother Walcott Van Etten

The ladies present, whose babies were honored guests, were: Mrs. M. Peddicord, Mrs. Will Newell, Mrs. N. M. Green, Mrs. T. E. MacKinlay, Mrs. J. G. Gay, Mrs. John Parr, Mrs. Charles Shaver, Mrs. Ed Vernon, Mrs. W. N. Bagley, Mrs. H. B. Williams, Mrs. Frank Shaver, Mrs. Frank Trumbo, Mrs. Will Van Ettan, Mrs. John Gibson (Denver, Col.), Mrs. Wm. Martell (Syracuse, N. Y.), Mrs. T. H. Green (Morris, Ill.) The same babies held a party one year ago and it is the intention of the parents to have them assemble annually whenever possible.¹

I’ve ben able to identify these baby guests:
Lulu, daughter of Newton M. and Ella (Pool) Green
Harold, son of John and Lucy (Milliken) Parr
Ida Mae, daughter of Charles and Nellie (Watson) Shaver
Sadie, daughter of Edward and Adelaide (Benoit) Vernon
Jesse, son of William N. and Cynthia (Smith) Bagley
Frank, son of Hosea B. & Cora (Green) Williams
Claire, son of Wilmot and Jessie (Trumbo) Van Etten
Frederic, son of John T. and Josephine (Green) Gibson
Albert, son of William and Edith (Dunavan) Martell
Mabel, daughter of Thomas Henry and Cora (Childs) Green

1. Ottawa [Illinois} Free Trader, July 26, 1890, p. 7, col. 3