A trip back "home" to Michigan: Kate and I traveled to Detroit by ourselves in May to spend some quality time with my grandmother. It wasn't the first time we traveled alone, but it was much different than the first time when she was 7 months old. I thought this time would be s
o much harder and it wasn't. Kate is a terrific travel companion. Thanks to my pal Faith who shared the tip of strapping the car seat to the carry on luggage, I was able to manage a stroller with Kate, a carry on bag, the diaper bag and my purse all by myself! Kate ate lunch on the plane, read some books and then watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I splurged and upgraded us to Business Class on Airtran, so we had plenty of room and nobody to bother us.
o much harder and it wasn't. Kate is a terrific travel companion. Thanks to my pal Faith who shared the tip of strapping the car seat to the carry on luggage, I was able to manage a stroller with Kate, a carry on bag, the diaper bag and my purse all by myself! Kate ate lunch on the plane, read some books and then watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I splurged and upgraded us to Business Class on Airtran, so we had plenty of room and nobody to bother us.In Detroit, she made herself at home at the house of Mimi and Joe Joe (pictured here in their basement with Joe). Despite the fact that she's 37", she still squeezed into the pack n play each night without complaint and for nap time, also. We visited with grandma on a couple of occasions. Each time I learned something new about my mother and her siblings that I didn't know before. For those of you who don't know, my grandmother had ten children. She has some amazing wisdom and shared a few gems with me that I hope to some day share with Kate.
We made our way to Brighton so I could pay respects to my childhood babysitter and then to my favorite playground as a child...the Mill Pond. My how it has changed from a couple of swings and spinning wheel to a huge, wood climbing structure. Words cannot do this thing justice. Somehow I didn't take any pictures while there, so I must return and get a couple!! We fed the ducks together and I reminiced about doing the very same thing with my dad many, many times.
A Trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan: We traveled again to Michigan, but this time with Keith, Papa Paul and Grandma Ebbo on our way to Terri Schroeder's wedding. Again, my little traveling Diva sat in her car seat during the entire flight without complaint. This marked her seventh round trip flight in 2-1/2 years! Kate was very excited to go to the wedding. She knew we would all be wearing our fancy clothes and couldn't wait to dance to music. Unfortunately, she came down with a bug and begged daddy to take her back up to the room before t
he reception even began. Thank goodness Aunt Betty and Uncle Ken agreed to stay next to us a
nd Keith and I were still able to enjoy the reception while Kate and Aunt Betty had some good bonding time.We stayed an extra couple of nights in Grand Rapids to relax and spend time with
Aunt Betty and Uncle Ken. We took Kate to the John Ball Zoo--she enjoyed seeing the brown bears (her first time seeing bears, I believe), but grew very tired after that and pretty much cried through the rest of the exhibits until we left! She kept saying, "I just need to cry now."From our hotel room, we could see an indoor carousel at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Keith and I walked with Kate across the river, up and down lots of steps to take Kate to the carousel. We pay to get in, go to put her on the carousel and she freaks out. For the next two days, she kept saying, "I didn't like that carousel..." Too bad she didn't figure that out until we walked over there.
Kate did totally love the Children's Museum. Too bad we discovered the little store, kitchen and restaurant area on our way out. Makes me lament not having something like that in Orlando. We have great stuff, but nothing compares to this place or any of the other Children's Museum's I've visited (Indianapolis...Atlanta...New York...Grand Rapids). First 4th of July Fireworks: On the 4th of July, Keith and I finally kept Kate up past her bedtime so she could watch the fireworks. We had terrible weather...lots of rain, but that did not keep us and the Lee Family from packing up their mini van, cramming in 4 adults and 3 car 
seats and tons of gear. We set up our tent and enjoyed a wonderful display without any major downpour. I am so greatful to have such great friends who make us do things we otherwise wouldn't and to do crazy things like this together. Speaking of which, we sat in the rain under a tent the night before listening to live music with pretty much the same group of friends at our city celebration. The kids had a blast running around in the rain (don't worry, there wasn't any lightening).
seats and tons of gear. We set up our tent and enjoyed a wonderful display without any major downpour. I am so greatful to have such great friends who make us do things we otherwise wouldn't and to do crazy things like this together. Speaking of which, we sat in the rain under a tent the night before listening to live music with pretty much the same group of friends at our city celebration. The kids had a blast running around in the rain (don't worry, there wasn't any lightening).Daddy's Birthday: For Keith's birthday, Kate's speaking was nothing new, so I knew that hearin
g her say happy birthday would fill him with warm fuzzies, but wouldn't be the same experience it was for me nine months ago when her language was just taking off. So, instead, I took the opportunity to have Kate help make a homemade chocolate cake for him. She loved it...both the cooking and the eating, though, she prefers vanilla ice cream. :-)
What I did not anticipate was her complete enthusiasm for wearing the party hats and decorating with balloons. She wore her party hat each time we had cake over the next couple of days (and sang happy birthday, again and again). She was so disappointed when the weekend ended and I took down the decorations. She thought we should just continue celebrating every day!
The Beach: Unfortunately, we have only made to the beach twice this summer (maybe three times if we go Labor Day). Kate loves running in the sand, knocking down towers and negotiating the waves. At first, she was just a little timid of the waves, but after going in with her daddy, she warmed up. She really enjoyed standing at the edge of the water and taking on the waves! I even managed to keep enough sunscreen on her to avoid any nasty sunburn and she was a sport and wore her hat 99% of the time.
The Beach: Unfortunately, we have only made to the beach twice this summer (maybe three times if we go Labor Day). Kate loves running in the sand, knocking down towers and negotiating the waves. At first, she was just a little timid of the waves, but after going in with her daddy, she warmed up. She really enjoyed standing at the edge of the water and taking on the waves! I even managed to keep enough sunscreen on her to avoid any nasty sunburn and she was a sport and wore her hat 99% of the time. In all, I'd say we had some great times this summer!
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