Fall Fun

So I'm catching up on blogging again, after a busy week with work, and then a fun couple of days with my mom here. Dan & I got to go to my good friend/former co-worker's wedding on the 24th, and we actually stayed the night down in Janesville! Yes, we left Kate overnight for the first time--it was hard, and I missed her, but I knew she was in good hands with my mom. And luckily she only woke up once in the night (although it was for an entire hour--sorry, Mom), so I'm glad to report it was a success! Weddings are always such a good time, and since I had a hand in getting Scott together with Sara, it was doubly fun.

Here are some random shots of Kate throughout the past couple of weeks:


Happily building blocks at the children's museum




Drumming away




Playing with some squirrel puppet


Kate & me with Meghan and Adelaide at the zoo's carousel






She loves music



At the zoo playground (a different time, obviously; this was a Saturday we went with Dan)




"But I don't want to go have lunch!"


In the kids' area of the mall

Her new bear!

Grandpa was in China on a business trip the last week and a half or so, and of course, he couldn't return to the States without bringing Kate a bear. Needless to say, Kate (who loves all animals) was thrilled! The bear has been her constant companion this morning; she's been carrying him around the room, pulling him in the wagon, etc. She loves him! Now to think of a name for this new little friend...


Look at my new bear, Mom!


A close-up hug


This bear's gonna go everywhere with me today


Giving hugs

Summer Outfits

We've been having a lot of fun these past few days with the beautiful September weather; too bad I neglected to take pictures! Thursday, Kate & I went to the zoo after having lunch at The Laurel. We rode the carousel twice (I let her pick the animal both times, and both times, we picked the mountain lion and hugged the "kitty".) She, of course, was in heaven. We also spent a ton of time playing on the playground by the carousel; she could go down the smaller blue slides by herself, but I made sure to go down the big slides with her. She for some reason thought that was hilarious!

Friday, we met Meghan and Adelaide for a picnic lunch at Olbrich Gardens. Kate is such a fast mover; I probably spent half my time chasing after her. The girl has no fear! Most kids will look back to make sure their parents are watching them; not my child! She'll just take off and bravely head for whatever object it is she wants to see. I love this age, but sometimes I envy Meghan, since Adelaide is still just in the crawling stage. It's a lot easier to chase after a crawling child as opposed to a running one!

Today, we all went to the Sun Prairie library, and Kate had fun playing in the kids' area there. Then, since they didn't have the book Dan wanted, we headed downtown to get it from that library. First, we made a stop at Frida's and ate our lunch outside. Kate was incredibly well-behaved; probably because she was so excited that she could see "doggies" walking past on the street on a regular basis!

Here are some pictures of her I took last week or the week before, in some of her cute summer outfits.


I bought this outfit at the end of last summer, at Target's clearance. I think I got the entire thing for like 2.00. Not bad!




Ok, weird picture of her, but good one of her outfit!


Look at my cute overalls, Mom!




Meghan and Adelaide came over for a playdate last week. Clearly, the girls still are kind of unsure what they are actually supposed to do at a playdate, since playing doesn't seem to be at the top of their list ;)






Look at that crazy hair!


Albert Einstein, anyone?


Quit taking pictures of my hair, Mom!

The Eplegaarden

I was poking around online last week looking for things to do Labor Day weekend (other than the Ren Faire, of course), and I noticed that the Eplegaarden (that's Norwegian for apple garden, in case you couldn't tell) had a "nickel ice cream social" going on all weekend. I mentioned this to Meghan, since we had been talking about how much we love fall and all things fall-like, so our two families decided to go together on Sunday.

It was so much fun! It was a beautiful fall day; sunny with just the slightest chill in the air (which was welcome after the 90-degree temps we had been having the week before). We got a huge bag of apples to share (I'm already thinking of what I can make--apple bread, applesauce and, of course, apple pie are at the top of my list), and Kate loved that she got her very own ice cream cone (vanilla, of course; no worries about stains!) And Kate & Adelaide had fun together like they always do; it's fun to see them play together.


Checking out her new shoes (well, they're not new; I got them for her baby shower, but they've been too big until now)


What is this blasted thing you just put on me?


Love the shoes, outfit and her expression!


Kate & Daddy before we head out! It was one of those days where layers were definitely needed; in the sun, we were too hot, but then if the wind blew, we were glad to have our sweatshirts.




Hey, can I get in the wagon?














Two good friends


Mmmm.... ice cream

The Renaissance Faire

We had so much fun at the Renaissance Faire; it's become a summer tradition, and since summer was almost over and we still hadn't gone, we went on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. It was the three of us, plus Rori, Kirsti and Colin. We had such a great time! We saw some shows (such as a sword-swallower--ouch!--and an acrobat team), the queen's processional, presentation of the nobility, and a joust (the guy that our section of the audience was cheering for was by far the best). Go figure, though; the joust was during the time that Kate had only been sleeping in her stroller for about half an hour, so all the cheering woke her up. She had the funniest look on her face, like, "What in the world is that ruckus?" All in all, it was an amazing day; always one of my favorite parts of the summer.

I think Kate's favorite part was going on a pony ride (I, of course, walked right by her). Any animal that she doesn't know the name of (or, more accurately, that she can't say the name of) she calls "doggie." So as soon as I put her on the horse (whose name was Simon), she started saying excitedly, "Hi, doggie! Hi, doggie!" and petting its mane. It was absolutely adorable. Of course, when we left, I told her to say bye to the horse, and she did the absolutely adorable wave and kept saying, "Bye, doggie, bye, doggie." I love this stage; it's so much fun!




Look how happy she is!


Sitting so nice on her horse








You can tell she's getting tired; she's had a long day!