carrots

Kate is not a fan of carrots...can you tell? I'm pretty sure more ended up on her face than in her mouth:)

buddies!

We are so thankful for friends with kids, who can share in this stage of our lives.  Kate is finally getting to the point that she enjoys other kids and kind of actually plays with them.  Usually she just babbles at them, squeals, grabs them and pulls their hair, but she's getting there:) We love buddies!

Kate and Koleman 'sharing' a toy

hugs!

Koleman, Alexa & Kate

Haven & Kate are ready for the pool!

Kate got ahold of Haven's leg...she didn't seem to mind!

our happy place

I have always been a lover of the beach - Lake Michigan is one of my favorite things about living here, and one of things I missed most when we were in Ohio.  My high school friends went to the beach as often as we possibly could in the summer, and I used to 'study' there in college.  One of Matt and my first dates was to the Bowl (overlooking the lake).  It's a special place:)

On Saturday, we decided it was about time Kate made a trip out to Holland to check it out.  We ate an early dinner during her third nap, and headed out as soon as she woke up.  It was a little windy, and not overly sunny, but we still had a great time.  Kate even got to stay out past her bedtime (too bad that makes her cranky instead of excited)! Of course, I had to bring my camera, and of course I took way too many pictures:)

Kate had fun discovering - and eating - sand and dune grass.  We hope she learns to love the beach as much as we do!

lazy pool day

Last Sunday was Father's Day, so once Matt got a nap in (he worked overnight) and Kate got a nap in, we ventured over to my parent's house and took full advantage of their pool.  Kate was not excited to get in the water the last time we took her over (it was only 75!), but this day was a different story.  The water had warmed up to 78 and she was willing to sit in it and play! She's kind of figuring out how to splash and thinks it's pretty funny when she gets going and the water is flying.  Mostly, she loves her daddy and wanted him to have a very very wonderful first Father's Day:)

just the toes went in at first

she's sitting on the top step!

hanging out in the shade 

Kate loves to grab faces, especially noses and ears:)

oh hi mommy!

she really loves kisses from daddy!

daddy & daughter

Kate loves her daddy so much! Almost as much as I do:)

outtakes

These were cracking me up, so I just had to share:) I took over 300 pictures for Kate's 7 month birthday, so as you can imagine, some are super cute, and some are just funny!

7 Months!

I think I say this every month, but where is the time going? Our beautiful little girl is already 7 months old! Wow....

She is getting more personality each day (including her first temper tantrum) and is quite the busy body these days - always grabbing for something and babbling all the time.  She sits up really well now and can stretch or roll to get pretty much anything she wants.  She's quickly growing out of 6 month clothes and into 9 month clothes.  She is so curious about everything, always wanting to be part of the action.  She's eaten rice cereal, sweet potatoes and carrots now. I think we'll try some fruits next.

Each month I post more and more pictures because they're getting harder and harder to choose.  Without further ado, here's the sweetheart on her 7 month birthday!

so serious! 

oh, you wanted me to lay on this? i'd rather play with it:)

somebody's getting sleepy!

Oh, Kate, you are so much fun and bring us so much joy! Thank you for seven wonderful months with you!