1, 2, 3, Wheeee!

Summer fun!

Went to good ol' Delaware for the weekend, and got to enjoy some good old-fashioned summer fun. First we went to the Delaware State Fair, where Kate got to try a spin on a toddler tractor...

On Friday, we spent the morning at the beach, despite the dreary weather. Kate and her cousin Evan had a blast playing in the sand and in the waves, and picking up pebbles and shells on the beach. It was a much better experience than last summer!

And no trip to Rehoboth is complete without a stop at Grotto's for pizza. And the kids worked up quite an appetite, and enjoyed sitting near each other over lunch.

Baby Evs...

Miss Kate and her "cheese" face...

And finally, on Saturday, we went to Uncle Tim's for a big family picnic. It was a HOT day, so the pool was awesome, and Kate had a blast on the slide.

Summer Concert...

Baltimore's great for things to do in the summer. Friday nights lots of places host summer concert series' or block parties. We caught one last night with the beautiful weather, and Kate had a ball dancing to the country tunes and making new friends!

First official milk mustache!

Kate's doing really well drinking from her own (non-sippy) cup at meals now, and her milk mustache is pretty funny!

This pic is just proof to Aunt Gina, and also a testament to how random toddlers can be! On a typical day, Kate carries any amount of unnecessary paraphernalia around the house in her baby stroller, including the ever-essential pudding snack, lei, shoes (both for the same foot, which is unfortunate) and washcloth! Never a dull moment...

 

Kate's little buddy...

Kate's cousin Paige is *so* good with her, and they always end up wearing similar outfits, so it's ten times cuter! We spent a really great day with Mommy's family, where Kate could play and run wild in the backyard with her cousins. Paige broke her wrist a few weeks ago, so she's sporting her hot pink cast in the pics, not that it fazes her one bit! Thanks Paige-y!

Easy does it...

If this is any indication of how well Kate will take to a new sibling, it's comforting to know she'd be so loving and affectionate. It's also a little scary that she doesn't realize how fragile little babies can be! This is our friend's 4 month old Kadyn. Kate loved her, and couldn't get close enough, can you tell!

Red, White, and Blue...

For a kid who doesn't get much sugar at home, Kate had a hay-day at the July 4th parade, where surprisingly, she raked it in! She probably worked on about 4 lollipops before we left that morning, double-fisting most of the time!

Below, Kate made a friend, who helped her fetch candy from the street, and shared some with her (as if she needed more)...

Hangin' with Daddy and Nana in their red, white, and blue. And no, Kate did not remove any clothing to get those beads!

And though Kate couldn't hold out for the real fireworks show near a friend's house, we enjoyed a fun cookout and some bubbles before heading home. 

Yay America!

I'm fairly certain this is a pretty inappropriate use of the American Flag, but Kate was loving the music and small marching bands, candy, and other floats at a local July 4th parade.

July 4th weekend in PA...

Kate loves visiting Nana Fo's! July 4th weekend afforded us an extra day with that Friday off of work, so we headed up to PA for some summer fun. A little swimming...

A little cookout, complete with corn on the cob, one of Kate's favorite do-it-herself treats!

A lot of watermelon for dessert...

And a little kickstart to the weekend with some sparklers in the backyard. You would think the sparks caught Jess by surprise too!

After a few more, Kate got the hang of it, though there was a lot of blinking as the sparks got closer to her little arm, and she wasn't quite sure what was happening!

Go O's!

A morning walk on Goucher College's campus. 

Below, Kate is perplexed over the O's 9th-inning flop to the Red Sox last week.