Cate sitting up!

Cate has just started getting really good at sitting up unassisted. She was so cute sitting in this dress that I had to pose her outside, and then I had to post all the pictures, b/c I couldn't decide which was the cutest.

More of Cate in Ashland...

Oh, wait, there are a couple of balloons in the background! Here's Gramma keeping Cate warm, as it was starting to get a little cool that evening.



We got to visit with Great-Grandma Sprague, and here we are hanging out at her condo. Cate's so lucky to have two great-grandmas who love her so much!!



Aunt Laurie loving her little Cate. Don't get too jealous Aunt Chrissy!! :)

Cate in Ashland- Balloonfest 2008

Over the 4th of July, we flew out to Ohio for Balloonfest. We usually spend this time in Ashland, and it was fun to take Cate this year. She was great on the plane (probably thanks to a short, morning, direct flight from Boston to Akron), and she seemed to have fun in Ashland. On our first morning in town, Cate was in the Push'em Pull'em Parade, along with hundreds of other kids in strollers, wagons, on bikes, scooters, and even ponies. Aunt Laurie and Gramma decorated her stroller for the event, and Cate was decked out in her patriotic sunsuit for the occasion.



Here we are headed up Center Street in the parade.



Every year we go to a party/cookout at the Robert's house one street over from Mom and Dad's. We can watch the hot air balloons from there, and somehow, I didn't seem to get a single picture of a hot air balloon this year. Hmmm. Anyways, Cate really liked swinging in their hammock.

Cate eats cereal!!

So even though Cate hasn't reached the 6 month mark yet, we did decide to start her on some rice cereal. At her 4 month checkup, our pediatrician said that if she started not sleeping as well at night and wanting to eat more at night, we could try some rice cereal. Well, that's kind of where we are right now. About three weeks ago, as I mentioned in a previous blog, we moved her out of her carseat and directly onto her crib mattress to sleep. While she is still sleeping in her crib, it's still not going as well as when she was in her carseat. She has more trouble going to sleep, and she's waking up more frequently at night. Plus now that she can roll over from back to front, she rolls over in the night (sometimes multiple times) and then doesn't know what to do once she's on her stomach. Plus add that to the fact that we removed her bumper pads b/c of the recommendations for SIDS safety, and when she rolls over, sometimes she bumps her head on the crib rails, or sticks her arm through them, or knocks her pacifier through them and onto the floor. Bottom line, Rick and I end up doing rescue missions constantly.

But back to the cereal... so since she's been waking a lot at night, she's now wanting to eat more at night, so we thought we'd try some cereal. Whether she's wanting to eat b/c she's waking more or whether she's waking more b/c she wants to eat, we may never know. But bottom line, two days ago, we started the rice, and she loved it!! It took only a couple of bites and she opened that mouth like a little birdie. I don't think we're going to have any food problems with this one!

And on one final note, this morning when I got up, Cate was still asleep, on her stomach! Perhaps she is finally learning that if she flips over, she can just put her head down and go back to sleep. Let's keep our fingers crossed for more sleep-filled nights ahead...

Cate playing dress up & just being cute

Living in Maine, we don't have lots of opportunities to dress up, so the other day I put Cate in a couple of her summer dresses and took her out on the deck for pictures. I love the ones above in that cute yellow dress. Doesn't the picture on the right just say, "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" haha!



Of course Zoe had to get in on the action, and she's always trying to lick Cate's hands and feet whenever she gets a chance. Cate was smiling at Zoe, but I guess Cate caught me trying to take her picture, so I got this look instead, which, actually, kind of makes the picture a little funnier. It kind of says, "Ugh, Mom, why are you allowing this mongrel to lick me?"



And these are just for cuteness.

Cate turns 5 months

Yesterday Cate turned 5 months old, and she decided she that someone of such advanced age obviously needs reading glasses. Just kidding! She was, however, very interested in Grandpa's glasses, so he put them on her. Isn't that hysterical?! Maybe she's on her way to being a librarian.



Sunday was Rick's first Father's Day, and Cate is wearing a little romper that reads, "Daddy's Little Caddy." It was particularly appropriate being that it was the final round of the U.S. Open (which, for you fellow golf fans, know ended up not actually being the final round. That Tiger always puts on quite a show!) Cate was also really impressed by Grandpa's mustache. She just couldn't seem to get enough of it.



And Cate having a nice after-nap snuggle with Gramma.

Whales of laughter

Last night we went to the semi-annual "English Dept. & Friends" party at Johnna and Brian's cottage down on the ocean. Johnna's great-grandfather built the cottage about a hundred years ago, and she's now the sole heir. It's quite a picturesque spot in a cove with views of open ocean straight out. We had a great time, it was a gorgeous evening, and Cate held up well. Since we were heading down to the water, Cate decided to wear her purple dress with little blue whales on it (thanks, Mrs. Fraas!). I think she really stole the show.



Rick took this video of Cate laughing the other day. He was trying to keep her from seeing the camera, since that usually stops her dead in her tracks. She has such a cute chuckle!!

Summer attire and more rolling!

We experienced some of that heat that the rest of the country was dealing with, so I had to break out Cate's real summer clothes. So cute.



All that heat can really wear a girl out, and here she is asleep across my lap. Zoe is giving a big yawn too- I guess we're in the dog days of summer! haha Actually, it has since cooled down significantly, and it's much more comfortable outside!




About a week ago, we discovered Cate could roll from back to front when we discovered her on her belly in her crib. I only just got to see her in action when she rolled over before her bath the other night trying to get to a bottle of baby lotion. I recreated the scenario again a couple of nights ago, and she fell for it. Check out these mad skills!

Out at the land

After dinner tonight we went out to the land. They finally started blasting ledge at the end of the road- or, what will be the road- back to our lot. This big pile of rocks is in front of our lot. Tomorrow they'll be blasting the ledge in front of Mom and Dad's lot. It's really quite a sight to see!


Here we are in front of Mom and Dad's lot. Couldn't stand still too long- the mosquitoes were out!!!



And Cate snoozing on Rick this afternoon. So cute!!

In her big girl chair

We got Cate's "big girl chair" assembled and strapped on a kitchen chair. She won't start solids until around 6 months, but we thought she might enjoy the chair. She has always preferred to be sitting up, and in the picture on the right, she is pulled up to the dinner table with us. It was the first night in a long time that she didn't fuss while we were having dinner. I would usually end up holding her on my lap just to keep the peace. Last night she was happy as could be. All she wanted was to sit at the table with us!!





On a separate note, seriously, is there anything cuter than a baby in a towel??



And now back to the chair, here's a little video of Cate at the dinner table last night.