holiday weekend happenings

I love holidays because they mean time with family.  Even the family who don't live in town.  I spent last Saturday at the farm to celebrate Ryan and Elizabeth's baby girl on the way.  Matt was on jeopardy call and couldn't come with me, so Kate and I drove down and back in the same day.  The drive down went really well, but the drive back was a different story.  I waited until 7:00 pm to feed her and then took off, thinking (hoping, I guess) she'd sleep the whole way home and then I'd just move her into her crib once we got there.  Well, Kate cried until we got to Coldwater, slept from Coldwater to Battle Creek, and then cried from Battle Creek until we got home.  Not the most fun I've ever had in the car, but we made it.

Kate did some major teething on Saturday...she demolished this Velveeta box!

she always has kisses for Aunt Tessa

and smiles for Uncle Paul:)

Sunday, Matt had to work but he finished rounds around noon and was able to join us at my parent's house for fish tacos.  Andy and Sam were the masterminds behind our meal and all I can say is YUM! They rubbed mahi mahi with spices before grilling it and made two kinds of salsa for the tacos; one with cabbage and carrots and one with tomatoes and avocado.  I could eat those fish tacos every day!

not only does she lounge in the bathtub, she lounges in the crib too:)
this is how I found her napping Sunday morning

playing with Uncle Adam

littlest Tigers fan 

working hard...or hardly working?

Last Friday, Matt and I went to my parent's house to help with some yardwork (read: repay them for all the ways they've helped us this spring).  We got all of their mulch spread and some rocks hauled to the new berm in the backyard.  We also pulled the cover off the pool, but that wasn't until Sunday.  We worked hard...Kate checked out the grass, took a (very short) nap, smiled, laughed, and watched everything so very intently:)

Happy Memorial Day!

Matt had Monday off, so we enjoyed the holiday all together! Our friends Tom and Sarah came over for breakfast, I went on a crafting adventure to JoAnn Fabric, we took a trip to Home Depot to get patio furniture for our deck (yay!), grilled with my parents for dinner, and finished the night on the deck eating ice cream.  That's a pretty good day if you ask me!

Kate is such a happy baby!

just hanging out

practicing sitting with daddy

she's sitting up SO well!

A big thank you to those we know (Steve, Derek, Scott, Jon, Kenzi, Ralph) and the countless others we don't know who are serving our country as part of the armed forces.  We cannot thank you enough for the sacrifices that have been made on our behalf!

rice cereal!

Kate started eating rice cereal last week.  She's still giving it mixed reviews, but I can't really blame her...it kind of tastes like wallpaper glue.  Each time she tries it, she gets better and we've had fun giving it to her.  She's also drinking out of a sippy cup sometimes.  She usually prefers to chew on the spout, but she does get a little water once in a while.

Here is her first rice cereal experience...

she mostly wanted to grab the cereal:)

first bite in the mouth!

not so sure about this...

let me help you, mom

daddy's turn 

she wanted to help him too

pretty excited for another bite

well, that was fun! now it's time for a bath!

Moving Day for Aunt Tessa!

Tessa recently finished up her sophomore year at Calvin and will soon be a junior! I can't believe how fast  her time is going and we sure love having her in Grand Rapids.  We got some extra time in with grandma, grandpa and Tessa on the day she moved out of her dorm and Kate was loving it!

Pridgeon girls...missing Nikki

kisses for Tess

raised beds, part 2

Ok, so there was no part 1, but let me tell you about it.

Last spring, Matt and my dad built me a 4 ft x 8 ft raised bed for a garden.  But, this wasn't just any raised bed, it's built into a hill.  A hill that runs in two directions.  So, needless to say, it took a bit of planning and a lot of work to make it happen.  But, they are wonderful and they did it for me.  And the box was level and beautiful.

the finished product

my completely overgrown 2011 garden

I loved having a garden last summer and fall, and I kept saying I needed more room because there were so many other things I wanted to grow, so when my dad offered to come help build another one (on a steeper slope) over the weekend, I was pretty excited.

It took a little more planning and a lot of hard work, but by the end of the day, I had another raised bed.  I now have 64 square feet of planting space! And I didn't wait long to get going.  My new box is now home to peppers, snow peas, romaine, spinach, onions, spaghetti squash and butternut squash.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!

double decker raised beds...i am one happy girl:)

box 2 all planted

romaine

green peppers

red peppers

jalapeno peppers

box 1 tomatoes (with cages...thanks mom!)

box 1 green beans

they're coming up already!

Yay for summer!

Lamp Revamp

So, a while ago (like before Kate was born) I got her a cute little stick lamp for her bedroom.  I didn't know what color to get because we didn't know whether she was a baby boy or a baby girl, plus I didn't really love any of the colors they had at Target.  So, I went with white and told Matt I would customize it once the baby was born.  Fast forward 6 months and I finally did it! For any other Young House Love fans out there, this falls into Sherry's 'get on that' category:)

I forgot to take a before picture, but here's a link to the lamp, if you're interested: http://www.target.com/p/Room-Essentials-Stick-Lamp-w-Drum-Shade-White/-/A-11156663

I thought about sewing a new cover for the lamp shade, but I found pretty much the perfect yellow (buttery and light, not bright yellow) spray paint at Hobby Lobby, so I decided to spray it and see what happened.  If it was horrible, I could still sew a cover for it, right?

It's all fun and games until someone ruins the deck...

oops! I didn't realize spray paint spread so far!

Anyway, after quite a few coats of paint and a few days of drying, I added a yellow and white polka dot ribbon for fun, and it came out looking like this...

It was cute.  But the ribbon didn't stand out enough, so I added a white ribbon behind it to help it pop a little more.  First, I glued the two ribbons together...

Then glued them onto the lamp shade...

And here's the finished product...

The lighting was really bad when I took this, but I promise it's not as lemon-y yellow as it looks.  Overall, it was a fun project and I'm glad it's finally done! Hopefully the munchkin likes it:)

letting go (just a little)

We put Kate in the nursery at church for the first time last week! Ahhh! She no longer sleeps during church (she just catches a quick nap at home before we go), and she's getting more vocal and squirmy, so we knew it was time, I was just dreading actually having to do it.

It felt so strange to be in the sanctuary with no baby, but also kind of nice.  One reason I wanted to put her in the nursery is that I had such a hard time paying attention with her on my lap.  The only problem is that I was so nervous about her in the nursery that I hardly paid attention any way! All the other moms say this gets easier, so I'm hoping it does.  I didn't cry (yay me!), but I just kept thinking about her...wondering if she was crying...what she was doing...who was holding her...

So, during the offering, I ran back to check on her.  She was, of course, doing fine.  I was reminded of the promises we made during her baptism and the promises that the church made as well.  They promised to help teach her about God and to love her and care for her.  And I know they will, if I will let them.  So, I guess this is God letting me know it's time to let them start.  And that it's ok to give up a little control once in a while:)

6 month stats

Our little lady is a growing girl! We saw her pediatrician on Tuesday, and everything looks great.   Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 pounds (25%)
Height: 25.5 inches (36%)
Head Circumference: 42.5 cm (48%)

With the things Matt sees every day at the hospital, we are more acutely aware of how blessed we are to have a healthy baby.  We are so thankful!

helicopter hair

Kate got a bath right before bed on Saturday night and when she woke up Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think her hair looked like helicopter propellers.  She rocked the mohawk for a few months earlier in her life, but since her hair is getting so long now, it's been laying down better.  I still think she's a cutie, but seriously, look at that hair!

planting season

Kate and I worked on getting the garden ready and planted it this week.

My raised bed is 4 feet by 8 feet and I think I did a much better job of planning it this year.  Last year, my zucchini plants completely took over a few other things and my tomatoes were a big tangled mess because we didn't put cages on them.  This year, I have two zucchini plants, 5 tomato plants across the back, and two rows of green beans along the front.  I kept my herbs in pots on the deck this year, and did green onions in a pot too.  We're hoping to build another raised bed this weekend, and I'd like to plant peppers, asparagus, carrots, and a few lettuce varieties in that one.