Lily at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 months of age.

Physically there wasn’t much difference between 8 and 10 months.  Her bottom teeth came all the way in, her hair got a little longer.  Mainly the changes were in abilities.  She started crawling everywhere.  She began picking up foods to eat them with her fingers (bunny cookies being her favorite).  She began successfully mimicking more and more sounds.  She helps put on her clothes, and tries to buckle her car seat when you put her in.  And she adores books.  Can’t get enough of them – which is good.  They’ve become an integral part of her bedtime routine and replaced nursing as the end-of-the-day activity.  She reads her books with Daddy, and then off to bed.  Such a sweet little girl!

Lily looking thoughtful.

[View with PicLens]

I’ll take a page from Julie Andrews in the “Sound of Music” and start at the very beginning (the beginning is a good place to start).  So I’m going to start with few photos that highlight August.

We spent a lot of the summer at the park up the street.  The city of Golden Valley runs a wonderful park program every weekday from 1-4pm.  Lots of neighborhood kids come to the park and play games, work on crafts, and just have a good time.  This was great fun for Gabe.  Often Lily and I would walk down to pick him up and end up play at the park ourselves for a bit too.

When we could, we also did a lot of fishing with Jacquie.  Largemouth, smallmouth, and rock bass; crappie, sunnies, and bluegills; even the occasional carp or catfish.  So much fun!

We also did a lot of canning, mostly jams and sauces.  Such tasty results, and we’re capturing a bit of summer for when it’s all cold and dreary this winter.  Except it’s so good, we may eat it all before the snow starts!   Ah well, we can always make more.  It’s also a good way to deal with the extra veggies from our CSA farm share.

I also did some sewing.  I’ve really enjoyed making clothes for Lily, and plan to do so until she gets sick of homemade clothes (or it stops being fun – ie, she wants me to recreate things exactly like store-purchased items – what’s the point of that?)

You can see more pictures by checking out the August Wrap Up gallery of pictures here.

[View with PicLens]

Gabe figures out what the wheel does.

It is a zero depth entry pool, meaning it gradually deepens from zero to 24 (or 36, I’m not sure which), but is deeper yet after the ropes and in other areas of the pool.  It has slides for little kids and bigger kids, and plenty of sprayers, fountains, and splashy things.

Do you like my hat?

Lily loves to hang out in water (with me) and splash and kick, while Gabe runs all around having a blast.  One of these times I need to get Mike or someone else to come with me so I can take Gabe on the bigger slides.  He’s not sure strong enough of a swimmer to do them completely on his own, and I can’t leave Lily on her own either.  Next time.

Gabe at the SLP Aquatic Center

SLP Aquatic Center

Gabe and Lily at the SLP Aquatic Center

10 Photos

 

I have to thank Kristen for these photos.  We didn’t bring our camera, but she had great one and took wonderful photos of everyone.  Especially Lily.  She’s a cutie:

Lily on the Fourth

Gabe mostly played on the beach making elaborate sand and water contraptions, Lily sat around looking adorable,  bonding with Maisy and Austen (those two couldn’t get enough of her), and getting cuddles from the grandparents.  We did get to take out the boat, and Gabe got to ride in the tube.  He loved it (as long as it didn’t go fast enough to get tossed out of the wake!).  It was a lovely way to cap of the Fourth weekend.

Fourth of July 2010

We celebrated the Fourth of July at Kristen and Chad's lake cabin this year.

15 Photos

 

After the super hot day at Holiday world, the weather turned a bit cooler, and we ended up with great weather the last couple of days.  It was cool enough we could finally hike the trails without soaking your clothing with sweat.  So Katie, Tom and I tackled the parks trail system – and we did them all!  Oh wait, *technically* we did not do ALL the trails – we did not do a quarter mile, paved, handicap trail that ran around a picnic shelter.  That trail aside – we hiked every trail (and a few offshoots) and it was lots of fun.

Hiking at Harmonie State Park

The trails go through some very nice forest – made of a large variety of trees – beech, oak, maples, sweetgum, redbud, sassafras, walnut, and many more.  It feels very undisturbed and natural – vines, mature trees, ferns and smaller woodland plants, and vast gullies and ravines.  Even the trails themselves were in the process of being reclaimed by the forest – trees and limbs down across them, a bridge that had collapsed, and sign posts that leaned against trees instead of standing next to the path.  Some people may not have liked that, but I thought it added to the adventure.

Hiking the Trails

Hiking the Trails of Harmonie State Park

15 Photos

 

The last nights we were all there we had a big cookout between Katie & Tom’s and Kelly & Shelby’s campsites.  We pulled all the picnic tables (and another site’s too) in a half circle, and then set out all the camp chairs for the other half, circling the camp fire.  Lots of yummy food, and good company, made this a great night.

The whole family together for a cookout

We got someone across the road to take a picture of everyone (which turned out really nice – I’ll replace the Myrtle Beach one on my wall with this one).  Once it got dark we tossed a lantern up in the trees and then played cards long into the night.  I’m sure the neighboring sites probably didn’t like that, but it was the last night for all us there anyway.  So much fun!

Cookout

The whole family together for a cookout

12 Photos

 

On Saturday, our last day, we packed up the cabins and campers and headed home.  Our little family, along with Katie and Tom, made a stop along the way at Grandma Nita’s.  Grandpa Joe, Travis and his family, and Susie were there too.  Grandma made a pretty little doll blanket, and her sister Marcia made an old fashioned doll for Lily.  After a wonderful supper of soup made from veggies from the garden, we headed down to the barn.  Susie, Katie, and Gabe all went for a ride on Splash, Grandma Nita’s Tennessee Walker (because Splash is such a nice horse to ride).  Susie worked out all the jitters and calmed Splash down, then led Splash around while Gabe rode.

Gabe riding Splash

Gabe was pretty nervous at first (”It’s so high up!”), but he settled down and loved it so much he had to go a second time after Katie.  After the horse rides, we headed back to the house, and Grandpa Joe gave Gabe a ride on his motorcycle.  Two firsts in one night for him!  We hung out and talked until way too late, then hit the road at 6AM for Minnesota.  A wonderful ending to a wonderful trip!

Grandma Nita

Photos from our visit with Grandma Nita and Susie

7 Photos

 

Around the Campground

The first group of pictures are ones that didn’t really fit into a category.  Shots from around the campground of things that caught our eyes, or cute kids, or what-not.  Lily ended up in a lot of pictures (cute little baby!), as well as snakes, for some reason!  Kelly, I”m surprised at how few shots everyone got of baby Shelby.  I did take some – but they ended up being little blurs as he ran by, bounced up and down, or was swung from our arms on a walk.  Very few turned out!  He just doesn’t hold still anymore.  Maybe next time.

Around the Campground

Photos from around the campground at Harmonie State Park.

19 Photos

 

On the second hottest day (nearly 100, full humidy, and super-sticky (what were we thinking?)), a few of us explored the town of New Harmony.  Grammy K, Katie, Tom, Lily and I walked all around town.  I’m happy to report that the Labyrinth is doing really well – thicker and nicer then ever.  The town itself is picturesque with great historical buildings and homes, lovely gardens, and quaint shops.  Definately a good town to walk around (but maybe not when it’s that hot (are you sensing a theme yet?)).

New Harmony toll bridge

Either I’ve forgotten it, or we never went across it when I was a kid, but there is a GREAT old metal bridge.  It connects the town of New Harmony to Illinois, spanning over the Wabash River.  It’s amazing – so high, and old, and kind of rickety looking.  You have to pay a dollar to cross it – but it’s so worth it.

New Harmony

Pictures taken exploring New Harmony, Ind.

10 Photos

 

On the HOTTEST day of the trip we went to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana.  Yep – Santa Claus is the name of the town.  It’s next to Christmas Lake, and every store and street has something to do with holidays.

Amy, Gabe and Lily with Santa Claus

It was a good day to go to Holiday World because it has a HUGE water park with the longest water ride and the highest water ride in America (so their signs say).  We didn’t go on either – but we played in a fun kiddie water park most of the time which helped us stay about as cool as we could.  We ended up with a hot sticky baby though, and had to head home early.  On the way out we saw the diving show – and they had somebody who set themselves on fire, and jumped 60 ft down into a tank of water.  It was actually pretty cool!

Holiday World

Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana

8 Photos

 

There you go – that’s about half the photos from the Indiana trip.  I’ll add the rest soon!

Click to make bigger.

Lily’s nearly 9 months today (next week).  But we went out of town to Indiana before I got a chance to upload these photos onto the website.  So let’s take the way-back-machine, and jump back a few weeks, and check out Lily at her 8 month birthday.  The biggest change in the last couple months is how well she sits up, rolls around, and interacts with everything around her.  She’s very talkative – and more then just mamamama – she’s got some ba’s and ga’s and lots of silly growls, trills, squeals, and other “sound effects” that can’t really be described.  She’s also is getting her first teeth – the two on the bottom – so lots of drool:

Drooly baby!

Thankfully these ones are not bothering her too much.  She’s a bit more cuddly, and a bit less content to just play on her own when we are at Jacquie’s and working, but other then that, she’s taking them in stride.  She does chew everything you give her though – chomps down on spoons, ni-nights, your fingers!  Still sleeping through the night however, so that’s good.  And boy, does she ever adore her big brother.  Which – right now – he thinks is pretty cool.  I’ll remind him of that later when he can’t stand his annoying little sister!

Lily at 8 months

Photos of Lily at 8 months of age.

30 Photos

 

More photos and posts to come – lots of things to catch up on!