Endless Summer

 In August Grammy and Grandpa Joe came up for a visit. Kaitlyn showed them her new walking skills, and enjoyed some fun time with them!

September was still very hot, though not as boiling as July and August had been. Kaitlyn got to enjoy many of her favorite summer activities until the end of the month!

We visited Daddy for lunch on a very nice day. We treated him to some Wendy's and picnicked at the park Downtown.

 Kaitlyn loved running around the grassy lawn!

 She wanted to run around more than pose, so she's pretty squirmy in this photo.

On Labor Day weekend, we went to a party hosted by Kaitlyn's Great Aunt Anita and Great Uncle Marc. They have a cool pontoon boat; so Kaitlyn took the opportunity to check it out! It was tied up and off, so with supervision we felt it was okay if she didn't have a life vest on. (It's also a canal so no waves). We'll have to get her a vest if she ever wants to go boating in the future!

 

Kaitlyn and Daddy pretending to be captains!

We've had some rainy days here and there too, and Kaitlyn is no fan of being cooped up in the house. But we manage to get through those days. Here, Daddy and Kaitlyn are practicing the Rockband guitar for future sessions:

Kaitlyn's a button masher; so she loves that the Aquarium has a "submarine" area where she can smash buttons to her heart's content!

"Dive, dive, dive!"

Uncle Mark was able to come home for a visit in September. At first, Kaitlyn needed a few minutes to warm up to him, but when she did they were old friends again! 

Enjoying a book with Uncle Mark

In mid September there was an Italian Festival at the Oceanfront. It rained like crazy that day, and was very windy, but we were under a huge tent so it made things more comfortable. After dining on giant meatballs, ziti, stuffed shells, and bread, we had a lovely selection of desserts too: cannoli, zeppoli, and gelato! Kaitlyn was especially fond of the Blood Orange Gelato!

 "Yum, gelato!"

There was a Pizza Olympics competition, and they gave away free hats and Frisbees!

A future career in pizza? Maybe!

So, the time has finally come. We were postponing it as long as we could, but it was unavoidable. Kaitlyn's hair has taken so long to grow in the back, but the front has really taken off! Her hair is so fine that barrettes won't stay in it, and a headband only stays in for so long before she grabs at it. So, one day when Grandma and Papa had her at their house, Grandma trimmed the front bangs.

 Before:                                                                                     

After:

 She did a great job, and Kaitlyn's hair is now out of her eyes! She looks so adorable, but then she did before too, just a little bit wilder.

But don't let that lady-like hairstyle fool you, she's still our wild, independent, strong-willed daughter!

Tough girl says, "That's all for now!"

Summer is at an end

Summer is over. We were so busy we didn't keep up with the blog as we should have. How to compress all of summer in one post? We can try!

Kaitlyn's Aunt Heather came for a visit. That meant going sight seeing around town, which included the Aquarium and the Zoo!

 Posing with the shark head!

 Papa, Kaitlyn, Grandma, and Heather at the Zoo!

We went to the zoo on Kaitlyn's actual birthday, so she got to wear her birthday shirt again!

There is so much for a baby-turned-toddler to do! Kaitlyn took her first steps in mid-July, after her 13month mark. She's been unstoppable since then! She keeps Mommy and Daddy very busy.

Some of the following pictures are just a fraction of what fun we had!

 Playing in the pool

 Playing in the dirt!

 Playing in the water at the Botanical Gardens

 We did this many times over the summer!

Playing in the rocks....what kid doesn't love that?

 And of course cupcakes....

 ...and more cupcakes!

 And picnics at the park...

...or just in the backyard!

 The unstoppable Kaitlyn! Once she learned to walk she was ready to go, go, go!

 She loves exploring playgrounds now. She doesn't pay much attention to the signs that say 5-12 yr old areas!

One of our local parks has a large sandpit; she adores it!

 Her cute little Fourth of July outfit!

Kaitlyn acquired a car from Mommy's cousin's little boy. It was very nice of them to let Kaitlyn have it! She loves to be pushed around the yard and the neighborhood in her new ride!

 Kaitlyn can be so silly sometimes...here she is wearing a ball cap and holding Mommy's belt while admiring herself in the mirror. What a goof!

As the Summer ended, we did have one hurricane to contend with. Lucky it didn't do much more than blow leaves all over the place, but we had to keep Kaitlyn entertained inside. (She's an outdoorsy girl!) So we tried to teach her about coloring. She'll get it someday, but for now she was happy to bang the crayons around and peel the paper off of them.

 Kaitlyn is a little clone of her Daddy. They love to pose together!

 And of course they love their silly time together too!

Fall is here, though the temperature doesn't reflect that yet. Looking forward to cooler days, hayrides, pumpkin patches, Halloween, and lots of fun!