Seven Month Sweetie

I really don't know how it is even possible to be writing about Hannah's seventh month! Sadly that means summer is dwindling down and the school year is about to gear up. But enough about that and onto Miss Hannah. We returned from our first family vacation (which I will post more about later) just in time to celebrate Hannah's "month" birthday. I know I've said it before, but I love watching Hannah's personality develop throughout the month. Just recently she developed her "cheesy" smile which makes her look like an old lady who forgot to put her teeth in, but it is so cute! (It is even cuter when she has a little drool coming out of her mouth!) Besides her blossoming new personality she is also developing physically. She can completly sit up by herself (just in case you can't tell in the picture) and loves to explore her world from this new angle. She is also starting to stand up holding on our hands and maybe when holding onto something. She still does not want to roll from her front to the back, but I really think she is close! Because she loves being on her back she is not making much of an effort to crawl yet. From what I've been told, I should cherish this time because once they figure out how to get mobile, it doesn't stop! The most important thing is that she is a healthy and very happy little girl! Thank you, Hannah for bringing joy to our lives every day!

All-Star Fan Fest

It's always fun being a Cardinal fan, but it has been especially fun this year. St. Louis is the host city for this years MLB All-Star game and the city has been hopping all this past week. It is an All-Star tradition to have an interactive Fan-Fest with booths about baseball history and tons of fun games for the kids to particpate in. My mom and dad had tickets with their Cardinal package but they were on vacation, so we were able to use them. It was a very fun day! We decided to avoid traffic and parking prices and take the MetroLink from the Shiloh station. This was Hannah's first trip on the Metro and she did very good! We then headed to America's Center for the festivities. We knew we wouldn't be doing much or any of the interactive part, but we loved seeing the exhibits of both the Cardinal's history as well as MLB history as well. It's even more fun for a Cardinal fan with three players in the All-Star Game, including our family favorite, Albert Pujols! Since it was also home run derby day, we decided to walk down to Busch Stadium to take in the sights and sounds of this historic event. We even hung around for a few minutes while batting practice started. Here are some pictures of us enjoying our "Monday Excursion" downtown! Hannah and Daddy waiting for the Metro Link train on our way to Fan Fest.This was a really cool picture - an employee for the Pujols Foundation saw that Hannah had her Pujols shirt on and asked if we wanted to get her picture with one of Albert's game worn batting gloves! How awesome is that?!?! Hannah and Mommy before Hannah took a little snooze during Fan Fest.

Timmy watching batting practice, and wishing we were inside for the Home Run Derby.
Hannah and her new sippy cup - we are slowly starting to learn how to drink from a sippy cup.

Just Hanging Out

When we are not out and about, we love to just hang out at home. Some of Hannah's favorite activities include learning to sit up, reading, playing with her toys, watching TV (especially Cardinal games) and most importantly looking cute. Here are some fun shots of Hannah just hanging out.

Happy Birthday, America!

Hannah celebrated her first Fourth of July with rain. Bummer! We had planned on going down to St. Louis to watch the annual VP Parade with my mom and dad, but the rainy day kept us away. Instead, we headed to the mall for a Macy's one-day sale. Later that evening, our neighbors John and Kelli (who are due with the first little one any day now) came over for dinner and fireworks. However, the rain shut down all of Mascoutah's festivities. So we did eat dinner and hang out but had to wait until Sunday evening to watch the fireworks. They were not too exciting for Hannah because she was already in bed. But she did prove to us that she sure does love to sleep -- she didn't make a peep even with the fireworks going off right outside her window! I hope next year she will enjoy the traditions that make this holiday fun!

Friday Excursion

Tim and I were so excited to spend Friday's together this summer doing fun things around St. Louis. Well, June was so busy that our first Friday Excursion was today, the beginning of July. That is okay though, we had a lot of fun! We went to Kimmswick, MO which is about 25 miles south of St. Louis. It is a small town with a historic section that dates back to around 1859 or so. They had cute little shops with antiques and other items. They also have this amazing homestyle breakfast/lunch restaurant called the Blue Owl. It was so yummy, especially the desserts. It was a very fun day and a great way to kick off our Summer Friday Excursions! Here is a picture of Hannah and I waiting to eat lunch.

Half a Year

Hannah is 6 months old today. Where has the time gone? This month has been tons of fun with Hannah. It really seems like she is doing new things every couple of days. She has completely mastered rolling over from front to back and seems like she is getting close to go from back to front. She can get her legs and hips over, but can't quite get her upper body going yet. She also has been getting much more vocal lately and loves to talk up a storm...I don't know where she get's that from? :-) Besides talking, she laughs and smiles all the time! Tim and I love to find different ways to maker her laugh out loud...it is one of the sweetest sounds to our ears. She is working on sitting up and sometimes can do it for a few seconds by herself. She also has tried lots of food and really loves her vegetables! Her favorites seem to be sweet potatoes and peas, although she eats green beans and squash as well. She doesn't mind peaches and pears and can tolerate applesauce. She didn't seem to mind the taste of banana's, but they gave her some belly issues so we havn't done them lately. She also has been putting EVERYTHING in her mouth that she can get her hands on....hands, feet and any toy around. There are no teeth yet, but I think she is working hard on them. Overall, it has been a fun month and I know that it will just get better each month. I am really loving my time home with her this summer and am excited that I still have 6 weeks or so left. Hannah, you are still such a blessing to our lives and we are excited to continue to watch you grow. We love you!

Aunt Nikki and Uncle Kyle's Wedding

We set off with my mom for a week long trip to the Northwoods to get ready for the big wedding. As Nikki's matron-of-honor, it was nice to be there the week before so I could help with any last minute plans or projects. It was also fabulous that my mom was able to join us not only for the eight hour trip up there but to help with Hannah and the wedding projects as well. It was a fabulous week! It was great to spend time with Tim's family and then cap it all off with a beautiful wedding! Being an only child, Nikki is truly the sister I never had. We love her and Kyle so much and want to thank you for letting us all be a part of your special day! We also want to thank Nana and Papa for being such good hosts for us during the week. We love each and every one of you! Here are some pictures from through out our week.

Hannah and Sophie became pretty good friends while we were there!
Hannah and Mommy at the rehersal Friday night. The Casey Family

Hannah the Flower Baby ~ She looked pretty cute coming down in Uncle Kyle's wagon!

Hannah and Daddy during the father/daughter dance at the recpetion.