bed head!

This girl has some serious bed head these days.  I think it's because her hair is getting so long and she's so active in her sleep now.  I also happen to think her bed head is adorable:)

9 Month Stats

Kate saw her pediatrician for a nine month check-up on the 22nd and everything looked great! Kate is ready to start eating proteins for lunch and dinner - how is she already that old? She showed off her crawling and sitting up skills, told a few stories, had another Hepatitis B shot, and we were on our way!

Weight: 16 lb, 3 oz (16%)
Height: 27.5 in (41%)
Head Circumference: 43.4 cm (36%)

weekend fun

We had lots of fun this past weekend!

On Friday afternoon, Matt got off work early and we got to hang out with Andy and Sam before they took off for New Jersey and NYC.  Then we ate dinner outside and went for a walk with Kate.  Later on, we got to hang out with Tessa and Justin for a few hours.  Doesn't get much better than that!

the sweatshirt is still a little big, but she's so cute:)

Matt worked on Saturday, so while he was gone, I made tomato sauce from a bunch of tomatoes from our garden.  It's so nice to have 'fresh' tomato sauce to use in the winter:) A big thank you to my mother-in-law for letting me borrow her food mill - it's so much easier this way!

Matt was home by 2:00 pm, so we went furniture shopping, then out for coffee (we have a new Starbucks close by!!), and then watched The Hunger Games after Kate went to bed.  The movie really wasn't that great, but reading the books first really helped.

Sunday we went to church together and Tessa came with us too:) We had lunch outside, then naps, then headed to my parent's house for a get-together with our small group.  It wasn't the best weather for swimming, but we had a great dinner together and lots of fun.  These kiddos really enjoyed it:)

9 months!

Where is the time going, sweet baby girl? Kate turned 9 months old last week. That means she has officially been alive outside of me as long as she was inside of me...crazy!

Just a few days before her 9 month birthday, she started crawling, and by the time her birthday rolled around, she was crawling like a maniac.  She is jumping in her exersaucer and loves to stand up (supported).  One of her favorite things to do is crawl over to the toy bin, pull it over, and pick through the toys until she finds one she likes.  Usually it's a pacifier (to chew on, not suck on) or her old empty vitamin bottle (she chews on the dropper end)...what a silly girl.  She has started to laugh more and gets really lively just before bed time.  She seems to love being outside and is still a big fan of water.  9 months is such a fun age!

Her monthly pictures are getting harder and harder to take because she really doesn't want to sit still and she really doesn't like to be on her back anymore.  But, we did our best:)

such a goofball!

the sweetest face in the world!

Kate's favorite play spot

Kate scooted herself between the couch and end table and was very happy to dump out her toy bin and play there for a while.  She would occasionally peek out to make sure I was still watching her, and then burrow further back in and keep jabbering up a storm.  What a nut!

on the move!

Our little Kate is finally on the move.  She started crawling this past Friday...just one, then two, then three knees at a time, but she's definitely figuring it out.  She's been moving backwards for about two weeks and she scoots her little butt around all over the place.

watch out world! 

She usually doesn't go too far, unless you entice her with something she really wants (like a phone, remote, or something else she's not supposed to play with:)), but I'm ok with that.  We covered all of our plugs on Friday night because this girl can get pretty much anywhere she wants to go now.  She is really good at going from sitting up to crawling back to sitting and seems super coordinated to me!

As she went crawling across the floor at my parent's house yesterday, my emotions were all over the place: I was so proud of her and so scared at the same time.  Things are constantly changing as she continues to grow and develop, and that's a good thing, but that also means my little baby is growing up!

Boyne Vacation

After our marathon of college reunions, we headed over to Boyne Mountain for a week of relaxing with the Pridgeons.  We watched the Olympics, played cards, went for walks, window shopped in Petoskey and Charlevoix, laughed, played, swam, and had a great time together.  Kate was, of course, the main attraction of the week and she didn't disappoint with her squeals and smiles.

Kate had lots of fun playing with her friend Jack

The guys went skeet shooting in Charlevoix on Wednesday

Fun in the pool!

Jeff & Jack and Matt & Kate

Diane & Jack

play time!

Our trip to Charlevoix was really fun and the weather was beautiful:)

How many brothers does it take to feed a baby?

Deer Lake!

she just can't get enough of the water!

motor boat, motor boat...

Tessa took Nikki and I to get pedicures on Friday at the Solace Spa...what a treat! Thank you Tessa:)

happy toes:)

We had dinner at Cafe Sante on Friday night in Boyne City and it was really yummy!

sisters:)

brothers