Football!

Welcome, football season! Greg was getting Cate in the spirit before we went to the Murray State game last night ...



And she had a good time when she got there too.


She enjoyed the food, as you see above.


And the company and atmosphere.

Still summer

The summer really has flown by. I've enjoyed all the summer moments ... swimming at the lake, grilling out and playing at the park. But it's not over yet! We went to a pool party Sunday evening with our church and Cate soaked up a few more summer moments.

Thunder Holler

There's this place a few minutes out in the county called Thunder Holler. It has food, a fishing pond, corn hole, volleyball and karaoke. The plans eventually call for mini golf and go-carts. Anyway, we went there with some friends for a birthday party, and it was a lot of fun for everyone.

We went out earlier than our friends because Greg wanted to fish. Consider it Cate's first time fishing too ...


She was all about the bobbers, even though she thought they were balls.




Yes, Cate tried to eat the worm! Later she decided holding it was sufficient.



Cate tried to clean the wooden bench with her wipe.

Then our friends got there, so we migrated back toward the games + food ...


Cate quickly found a ball that didn't go to anyone's volleyball or corn hole game. She kept it close most of the evening.


That's Greg + Birthday Girl Kim playing corn hole, complete with official Thunder Holler boards.



A tiny puppy belonging to one of the girls who worked there was much entertainment for the kids + some of the adults ...





Kim enjoyed sitting in front of the fan with Norah, pretending their hair was being styled for some kind of photo shoot. Then Cate wanted in on the action!

Then it was on to picking out a karaoke song ...



Cate liked dancing to people's karaoke selections.



Cate (this time I mean our friend, pictured above) + Kim sang "Dancing Queen."

Buy me some peanuts + Cracker Jacks ...

OK, well, we didn't have peanuts + Cracker Jacks, but we did eat our Sonic dinner at Greg's softball game last night. And Cate had a good time, as you can see above.

She kept a close eye on Greg, and said "Da-ee" often.



Oh, OK, you want to hear her ...


First Daddy then her "new shoes."

One more thing ...


Oh, and people of any age appreciate Sonic drinks! (Actually, she drank some apple juice out of there, but then I dumped what was left into her sippy cup. So, truth be told, that's just an empty Styrofoam cup and straw. But she finds such objects rather entertaining!)

Hello?

You've seen pictures of Cate's love of phones ...


... now you get to see her in action! Usually her conversations are a little longer, but she noticed the camera. At the end when she's hastily repeating her version of "hello," she's telling me it's my turn to talk. So she starts toward me.

More Holly

I didn't specify the short-hand "U" on Holly's cake, but I guess that's just what I get for not specifying all words should be spelled out from a 16-year-old who probably thinks all the world prefers texting shortcuts. Anyway, last night was Holly's last regular small group meeting with our friends from church, so I provided the best dessert in Murray -- a Dairy Queen ice cream cake!

We love how Holly loves our kids ...


Cate is a tad obsessed with Norah's pacifier these days. She likes to put it in and take it out ... of Norah's mouth, which is better than her own!


Cate had enough partying. She was ready for bed.

So then Holly + Katie stayed and played cards. Greg + Katie each one a game of Hearts and Katie + I won Spades. The spontaneous card games were a great end to the night.


Holly took this self-portrait of us. And she documented our night quite well here.

Sunday fits

Cate definitely can have a stubborn, I-know-what-I-want streak when she wants. Then she thinks her world is crumbling when she doesn't get exactly what she wants. And when she's tired everything is even a bigger deal.

Ah, the life of a 15-month-old.

No worries, though, we are working on breaking the fits. (Have any of you parents read "To Train Up a Child"? The horse and buggy analogies are too much for me, but the principles are good.)

But the point of this blog is Sundays. The day of rest that tends to wear my little girl down. Most Sundays Cate doesn't get her regular morning nap (Yes, she still takes two most days ...), so by the time church gets finished at noon, she's hungry and tired. And we usually push her a little longer by going out to lunch with our friends. We try to go to places that don't have a wait and have speedy service, like yesterday when we went to the Chinese buffet. Still, it's usually pushing it.

And yesterday Cate was extra sensitive, which can probably also be partially blamed on the molars she's cutting. Anyway, when I was getting food from the buffet, Greg was attempting to entertain Cate ...



And she obviously liked it. Holly took these pictures, although she said she kept missing Cate's attempts at balancing a spoon on her nose! All of this came before Cate's two breakdowns. She fell asleep on the way home, pretty much in mid-sentence of her babble.

While the following picture was actually taken on Saturday (again, by Holly ...), it illustrates Cate near her breaking point ...


Cate wanted to sit on Evalyn's belly. Not sure why! But we obviously didn't think that was a good idea, so Cate laid down next to her and let us know what she thought about being denied. Although she did learn soon after how fun it is to drink out of a water fountain.

Gotta love distractions and the perks of a 15-month-old who goes with the flow more than she maintains her resistance. Although that resistance can be powerful when she wants it to be.

For Holly

So my friend Holly is moving. To New Mexico. Yes, it's sad.

I should let you know that she'll be four hours from her mom and her two brothers and sister than live at home and the new job she's taking will be a promotion. So, like me, you should be happy for her!

But, still ... I'll miss her. Holly became a fast friend after she started working at the Ledger & Times when I decided to stay home with Cate. That means we've known each other a little less than a year. But it seems like I've known her longer. We have no trouble talking. She makes me laugh. And she loves Cate. She likes to play games and hang out at the lake, so that's how we've spent time socializing with our friends this summer.

And that's how we celebrated Holly. She's moving across the country next weekend, so we had to play this weekend. We had Game Night on Friday and then went to Lake Barkley for Saturday afternoon/evening. (And, yes, we got to tube again!)

There are more pictures here.

Giddy up!

A local church had a free carnival at the local park today. Cate was too small for most of games, but she did get to experience her first pony ride!

This smile was her initial reaction. No hesitation. But Daddy still walked beside her!

talking + working

Here's a couple recent moments ...

Cate is really into phones. Real ones and toy ones. And really anything she can hold up to ear and talk into. So we found these two in the toy box the other day. And, of course, she needed both of them. What can I say, the girl gets a lot of phone calls.

Cate likes to visit Bonnie (and the bird) at the office. Although when we pull up to the office, she usually says "Da-ee," that would be a 15-month-old's version of "Daddy." She knows what she's talking about. Although she usually calls the bird "dog." Speaking of dog, she left her stuffed animal here, seen in Bonnie's hand, for the more interesting telephone, pen and Post-It note.

friends + songs + crayons

This is how Cate starts most of her days ...

Usually not long after we wake up, we walk with Jaclyn, Luke + Norah. Even though they see each other nearly every day, they get excited at the first sight of their friend. Today Luke was especially loving, as you can see above. He had important things to tell her and then went in for a kiss.

___

It's no secret some kid music is just annoying. Well, I have a solution, although I doubt I'm the first to make this discovery: Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame. It's a bonus that Greg + I are already Andrew Peterson fans.

___

Cate has liked to "draw" for quite some time now, but just recently has she gotten to enjoy crayons at restaurants. The temptation to eat them has died down.

As you can see, she's rather possessive of the allotment of crayons. While she colors with one, she hoards the rest earlier today while we were at Applebee's with Holly + Katie.

water world

This was one of those pages that just came together as I was going. I like those!

scrap, read, watch

I took a break from my book to scrap yesterday ...


(That's a two-page layout above, and a single page below.)

Then I finished my book later while watching the Olympics. Michael Phelps is amazing. Seriously.

family + friends

We took a road trip to Louisville this weekend ...

A wedding aboard the Belle of Louisville prompted the trip, but we hung out with Mom, Cassie, Kevin, Jaxson + Milla too.

Aunt Cassie got lots of time with Jax. Who wouldn't want that?!

Milla affectionately calls him "Brother." On Sunday morning she said things like: "Daddy, is Brother awake?" + "Where's Brother?"

And my favorite picture ...

Milla got a new shark tent that Cate enjoyed too. Apparently they're synchronizing sticking out their tongues!

Then I spent Sunday afternoon with Katie + Bekah. Apparently we were having so much fun we didn't think to take pictures. Katie, what's wrong with us; we always take pictures?! We ate at Joe Bologna's, then shopped at Fayette Mall, ate Graeter's, and then shopped at Home Goods. Greg + Cate visited with other friends, and I met up with them later to catch up with Laura, Dave + Jodi.

waiting for Jax