Thanks Gammy and Pop Pop

Last week Brian's Mom and Dad, Gammy and Pop Pop, came to Michigan for a visit. It was kind of a last hurrah for Linda before her foot surgery (which turned out well and she is currently recovering from.) As always we had a great time. We were able to go out for many nice meals and had a few good ones at home too. Brian and his Dad did a bunch of little projects around the house over the few days, which Wa is great at. Thanks so much! We were also on a quest to purchase a larger rug for Kate to have a larger, cushier play area in our family room. Three Home Depot trips and returns later we had success. We are always so thankful to have family visit!

Also, on the trip Gammy and Pop Pop brought Kate a special present. It was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. Now we don't let Kate watch much TV and up until a little while ago she didn't watch any. One morning while I was in Chicago my Mom graciously cared for Kate when she woke up a little on the early side. My Mom introduced Kate to the magical world of Disney that day. Kate got so excited to see Mickey and the Disney characters, it was too cute to deprive her of this joy. We now let her watch a few minutes here and there, and with the new DVD we have adorable episodes on hand. We taped Kate watching a little of Mickey below. As Brian says, "It's not hard to see why Walt Disney is a billionaire."

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Watching Mickey!

Kate Pictures

I've caught up with Kate's pictures, so below you will find Kate's 7th and 8th month photos. Some will be review, but some will be new especially in her 8th Month set. I can't believe she is getting so big. This is definitely our favorite stage, though every one has been our favorite so far. She is so interactive, fun, and happy. She is standing, waving, crawling, laughing, smiling like crazy, cuddles a lot, loves to read books, loves playing puzzles, loves Mickey's Clubhouse, loves when Daddy comes home, and is a real people person. She loves the library, the mall, going for walks, going anywhere in her pink car, and especially being around other kids. She is our sweetheart!

CLICK HERE for Kate's 7 Month Pictures!

CLICK HERE for Kate's 8 Month Pictures!

Kate in Action

We haven't posted tons of video of Kate over the summer. We've been a bit busy, and it has been too nice outside to be inside working on the computer. Being a Midwesterner, I have this ingrown sense of taking advantage of every ounce of nice weather while we have it. Back to our Kate and her videos...
Kate is such a jolly child with squeals of laughter that bring joy into our lives. I think those are my favorite videos. Our little girl has really starting to communicate with us. Shaking her head no came first, and Kate is now starting with yes. In one of the videos below Kate really wanted to go for a walk instead of taking pictures and she certainly made it known. Just this weekend Kate has mastered waving thanks to Gammy and Pop Pop's help. Kate is also now standing up on everything. Crawling was good for her for about a week. Now crawling is just a means to reach something she can stand up with. We hope you enjoy these clips of our Miss Kate in Action.

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate's 7 and 8 Month Milestones!

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate and Her Michigan Cheer Bear!

CLICK HERE for Video of Where's Daddy?

Ready for the Gym...Gymboree that is!

Kate and I have gotten into quite the routine this fall. On Monday and Wednesday we go to Parent/Baby Swim lessons. On Thursday we go to an adorable story time for babies under 1. Fridays we have MOPS, Mothers of Pre-Schoolers, and Tuesdays I go to Cardio Blast while Kate enjoys the child watch at the gym. I am so thankful to be able to participate in all of these enriching activities with my little girl. We are having a great time together. On Monday Brian, Kate, and I went to a Gymboree class and it was too cute-- Kate loved it! She crawled on everything, loved the bubbles, the parachute games, and most of all baby soccer which you can see from the video below. Thanks also to Chera for the adorable pink tracksuit that is perfect for all of Kate's sporty endeavors.

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate at Gymboree!

The Hunter Visit

The weekend after Labor Day the Hunters had a family wedding in Detroit, so we were lucky enough to have Giselle, Geoff, Eric, Chera, and Dr. and Mrs. Hunter stop by for a visit. It is always exciting for us to have visitors, but especially so to have such great friends meet our little girl. We were able to visit, played a backyard game called washers, enjoy dinner together, and sampled some great California wine that Geoff and Giselle brought from San Francisco. He may turn us into more sophisticated wine drinkers yet. Everyone showered Kate unnecessarily with adorable presents (Mrs. Hunter will be a wonderful grandmother), we took a tour of the church, went to lunch, and had a way too late rematch of washers Saturday night. After all the times the Hunters had Brian in their house, it was so nice to have them in ours!

Video of Our Little Crawler

After a few requests here is some video of our little girl crawling to her favorite object...
CLICK HERE for Video of Kate Crawling!

Our Little Crawler

Last week Kate finally figured out the crawling thing, and as the week has gone on has gotten better and better at it. Last night I came down the stairs, she put her toys aside, and crawled right for me. My heart was truly a puddle on the floor. We are still going to post some pictures from the Hunter visit but here is one of our little girl to tide you over. Somehow with the crawling Mommy is finding herself a little bit busier.

Da Bears

We had a great weekend with the Hunters and will certainly be posting more pictures shortly. With our company gone, however, Kate (and her Mommy and Daddy) needed something to cheer us up. Luckily, the Bears are providing us with a decently exciting game. Here is a picture of our littlest cheerleader in honor of the start of the NFL season. Kate was very impressed with all of Luke Winterhoff's football outfits and is hoping to catch his eye with an outfit of her own.

The Champion

In an epic battle reminiscent of hard fought ping-pong battles in the Hunter basement, Geoff overtook Brian in the rubber match washers game. After getting knotted up at 21, the boys proceeded to overtime, where Geoff took the crown 11-10. Brian kept asking for "the eye in the sky" to provide a reply, a la the Hunter family basement, but to no avail. Check back later to see if Brian resorts to a double or nothing must pin . . .

Bubs gets revenge

Bubs just won game 2 of washers, final score 25-17. Rubber match to come!!

Live Update

An update on the Hunter's Visit. We're close to giving you a play by play. We took a tour of the church this morning, opened neat presents, and Geoff destroyed Brian in washers 21-10. Bubs predicted that would be the score of the Bears Colts game.

The Hunters Have Arrived!

The Hunters have a family wedding in Detroit and we are so happy they have come for a visit. Geoff wants to hijack the blog and put this picture up. Brian tells me I shouldn't use Geoff and hijack in the same sentence. We're having a great time!

Our August Excursion

Kate and I made it to Chicago for one last taste of summer. We had such fun and Kate really loved playing in the lake. She screamed, bounced, and loved kicking her legs to swim. Kate got to see her cousin Tommy who is growing by leaps and bounds. He is three months and just about the same size. Even though Kate is in the 90% herself, boys are just bigger. Kate also got to meet little Katharina Politzki for the first time, what a cutie. On our trip we got to go to the Botanic Gardens, Grayslake Days, the Farmer's Market, take numerous walk to sunset beach, and spend a lot of time with family and friends. What a great end to the summer!

CLICK HERE for Video of Kate in the Lake!