July 4th

This year our fourth of July was a bit different. First of all, NO FIREWORKS! We had a burn ban so we couldn't shoot off any. This was definitely my first year I ever remember not seeing or shooting off a single firework. Made me sad since I love them so much. But we definitely couldn't because it was soooo dry. At least I had another fun thing to look forward to on the fourth---Veggie Tales Live! Mom found out they were going to be in Branson and I really thought Ingrid might like it, so we tried it out. We met Heather, Amelia, and Elise in Branson. Elise got to stay for the first half, and she did great and loved the show. Ingrid didn't know a thing about Veggie Tales prior to the show, so Derek and I took her to CBO to pick out a movie. We watched it once so she would know the characters a bit. Ingrid still isn't really into movies yet, but those movies have a great message! The message of the show was "God made you special, and He loves you very much!" It was really good. Ingrid stayed interested in it the whole time. She loved all the songs and characters. She really loved the bubble machine. She even went up close to the stage to get a better look! We had so much fun. After Veggie Tales we headed back to Mom and Dad's for their annual 4th of July cookout! Dad grilled tons of meat and mom made tons of sides. She even made the cutest red white and blue dipped strawberries and I didn't even get a picture! Meme made a cherry cobbler that was so delicious. All the girls were just happy to play together! Darren, Melissa, Cole, and Gannon came over later in the evening and Mom pulled out the poppers! The kids loved them. Heather and the girls decided to stay at Mom and Dad's until Ingrid birthday since it was the following weekend. We took advantage of them being here and played in the water one evening. They could have played for hours and hours. I am so thankful to live in the USA. We had such a great time celebrating our freedom with family we love so much.

Second Annual Cates-Statler Shopping Trip!!

We had a blast this past weekend laughing and shopping with our cousins. This was our second annual Girls Shopping Weekend and we had so much fun. We met Saturday morning and hit up the Landing and Tanger and then ate at Cantina Loredo. Sunday morning we grabbed Starbucks and headed back to Tanger for an exchange and a couple more stores we missed the day before. We traveled over to Kohl's next then went to Target and T.J. Maxx. We had a late lunch at Chili's and called it a day! We had the best time. I haven't laughed that much in a long time. I think all the laughing might have balanced out the massive amount of calories I consumed. I definitely indulged in whatever I wanted. We found so many good deals, too. I wasn't sure there would be too many sales at this time of year, but we found them. I was in "dire" need of some new pieces to add to my wardrobe. I had bought some things after I had Liv since none of my pants fit (even the ones I bought after I had Ingrid!) but I still wasn't comfortable in most of the clothes in my closet. So I fixed that problem. I bought ALL separates! I seriously cannot believe I didn't buy one single dress. I always buy dresses and bottoms and no tops. I stuck to my list and got almost everything on it, and hardly anything that wasn't on it. Lists are so helpful when shopping! I can't wait to wear my new clothes. Shelby didn't get to come with us this time. We're not letting her off the hook so easily next year! Classic Heather In just a few years, I know a few other girls that might want in on this trip! We found them a few new things too, of course. Laughing at something Mom did I'm sure and sad faces for the missing Shelb. Of course we got the delicious Mexican Apple Pie. Kac is looking at in longingly while it cools off a bit. Can you find Heather in this picture?? She really is in it. Tada! A huge thanks to Derek for keeping both girls Saturday and Sunday so I could go on this girls trip. We had a great time, and while I missed the girls so much, it was nice to recharge a bit. Can't wait until next year!

8 months old!

Dear Liv Riley,

There are only four short months until your first birthday! It's just unbelievable how quickly you are growing and changing. Most of your dark brown hair is just a memory. All the hair growing in is, dare I say, blonde??? It's definitely a light brown to dark blonde color and it's coming in fairly thick and straight. You have the brightest, prettiest blue eyes under the sun. Everywhere we go people always comment on the color of your eyes. They are gorgeous. You still have your sweet dimples when you smile big and laugh. You are also sporting two new pearly white bottom teeth that popped up this past month! You are working very hard on getting some more. You've done really well with teething. You chew so much all day long (and have even tried to chew one of our tables into pieces) but you are never very fussy about it. You're really not that fussy ever. You are so happy and fun to be around. You love playing with toys, especially whatever Ingrid has. It always seems to interest you most! Your sister's new favorite thing is to get one of our toy buckets and take out every single toy and pile them all around you! It's quite a funny sight. She tells you what everything is, in great detail, then asks you if you want to see it or play with it. Then she answers for you in a "little tiny Livy Riley voice" that yes, you do want to see it or play with it! Liv, you think everything she does is absolutely hilarious. You laugh at her so much throughout the day. You are still eating great! You eat cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt for breakfast and a fruit and vegetable for lunch and supper. You love snacking on puffs and melts. We are still working on your sippy cup. You are getting better with it, but you definitely do not have it mastered. The thought of taking your bottle away in a couple of months is so crazy to me!! How are you that old? I'm definitely going to crack down on sippy cup practice this month. You are sleeping about the same as you were last month, except your naps are shorter than before. I won't make any more comments on your sleeping habits this time! You are still faster than lightening, crawling and pulling up on everything in sight. You did a new trick this past month! You will pull up on something and let go for a few seconds and balance all by yourself! I really can't believe how well you balance and how strong you are for such a little, tiny girl! You go to the doctor for your well-check next week, so we will see just how big (on small) you are! I'm going to savor every single day I have with you this next month because I will be going back to work in August and missing all your snuggles. You are such a bright light in my life.

Love you,
Mama

Hello 2

Ingrid Cate's second birthday was so different from her first birthday in many ways. First of all, she picked her party theme. About two months ago we were talking about her birthday and I just started listing off all the different "themes" she could have for her birthday. Even though I didn't really want a character party (because I really like making decorations and things and wasn't sure I could do it the way I wanted with a character) but I knew Ingrid would be much more into her party if it was centered around a character she knew and picked herself. I listed Dora, Elmo, Olivia, Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Princesses. She immediately picked Hello Kitty and there was no turning back! From that moment on, she knew she was having a Hello Kitty party for her second birthday and she was sticking to it! Another way this party was different was all the PINK! Last year was red, white and blue. I used to have such an aversion to pink. I never really liked the color. But after this party, I think I'm a new believer in pink. Everything was so cheery and happy with all the different shades of pink all over the place. I haven't even taken down this pink party garland because I just love it! We had planned to have the party out on our new deck but all the days leading up to the party day were over 100 degrees. So I thought we would just do our food out on the deck and have the rest inside to cool off. On Saturday it was stifling. Humidity was at 98% and there wasn't a breeze in sight. I finally succumbed to the fact that the party needed to be indoors. (I really wanted to show off our new deck!) Am I ever glad I didn't start decorating outside. Around 4:00 a huge storm blew in, knocking down a massive limb in the front yard, raining so hard you couldn't see anything, and even knocking out the power for a while. I am so thankful I hadn't already set up all the decorations I had made for the deck. I had wrapped cans of food in Hello Kitty paper and ribbon and hot glued a safety pin to the top. I pinned all our plush Kitties to the top of the cans so they could be displayed without blowing over or falling down. I had intended to line the railing of the deck with these and connect them with pink and white streamers. It would have been so cute! But I guess they were just as cute placed around the house. Here's a pic of one of the kitties. One thing that didn't change from last year's party to this year's is how much fun I had planning it! I absolutely love planning parties and making decorations. It was so fun staying up each night making something new for the party and then seeing Ingrid's reaction when she saw it the next morning! I designed a Hello Kitty wall for our dessert table. I used black and white Hello Kitty color sheets that were on a color roll from Michaels. I outlined the sheets with pink Hello Kitty duct tape to finish off the edges. I made a banner that read "Ingrid is Two" to hang in front of our Kitty wall. On the dessert table was the adorable Hello Kitty face cake that I sourced out to my friend Liz. She did a great job on it and it was delicious too! Also on the dessert table were bags of Hello Kitty cotton candy, white chocolate dipped pretzel rods with flower sprinkles, and strawberry marshmallows. When it was dessert time I brought out pink sprinkle edged ice cream sandwiches and Hello Kitty golden oreo pops. These little kitty pops took me way too long to make!! I know now what I did wrong and I think I could do a lot better next time. But I'm still really proud of how they turned out! The theme of the party was Hello 2 and Derek did an amazing chalk art piece in our office. I cut out the letters Hello 2 and displayed them on our radio collection. Ingrid loved spelling this out every day! I also made two felt Hello Kitty pillows. They were super easy and Ingrid loves them so much. I had a pink yarn wreath on hand that Heather had made and I glued some felt pieces to it to make it more party ready! I found Liv a Hello Kitty onesie at Old Navy and sewed a pink gingham skirt to it so she would match Ingrid a little more and so it would feel more like a party outfit. Bless her little heart, she got so sleepy at the party. We had to change her into her jammies before we ever made our family picture! Ingrid was so happy to greet everyone who arrived for her party and play with Amelia and Elise a bit while she waited for the party to start! I am totally enamored with her smocked Hello Kitty bubble. I adore this outfit! We ate first thing. The menu consisted of chicken caeser sandwiches, build your own sandwiches with turkey and three kinds of cheeses, cherry/blueberry/strawberry fruit kabobs, guacamole salad, chips and onion dip, and chips and salsa. We had strawberry lemonade to drink. After we all got stuffed it was present time! Ingrid had been so funny talking about her presents. She had been telling me for a couple weeks that she would have one, big, pink present to open. I told her she would have lots of presents to open at her party. Her response was always, NO. I will have ONE pink present to open. hahaha. She definitely had more than one gift. She was showered with stickers, puzzles, stamps, books, shoes (Hello Kitty Vans, turquoise sparkle Toms, turquoise sandals), and clothes. She got a new placemat/plate/bowl set (that she LOVES), a sprinkle mat, a Dora guitar, a backpack with her name on it, a new pirate ship water table, and a play house! I'm sure I'm not even naming everything. She was genuinely excited about every single gift she opened. She was very appreciative and has played with everything. When it was finally time for her cake, she helped everyone sing and then she blew her candles out all by herself. Derek got all that on video for us! It was a very special day that I will never forget!