The Longest Post Ever...

Tater-bug says "Welcome!" to the longest post ever...

The last month has been jam-packed with lots of fun events and good times. Tate is now almost 6 months old and starting to eat solids! The squash in every crevice of the kitchen floor is evidence... Back in late June we had a baby shower for Adriane at Mom's house with all of her close friends and family. Below are some fun treats we made for the occasion, chocolate pretzel sticks and chocolate-covered Oreos:

Lots of sweet gifts and best wishes for Baby Adkesson! We also played "Baby Bingo" and "Guess the Baby Poop" where guests had to decide what type of poop (melted candy bars) were in various diapers ;)

The next day we had a very special christening ceremony for Tate, performed by our close friend Kim, who just happened to be in Chicago between travels and returning to Mexico. It was a beautiful ceremony, and made all the more special by our family's participation. Kim had each family member bless a small glass of water and then combined everyone's blessings and prayers to form one large bowl of water with which to baptize Tate. His godparents, Adriane & Mike, also performed a wonderful reading.

I promise Tate wasn't yawning at you, A & Mike:

Tate was wearing the beautifully detailed and hand-made christening gown that his cousins Adelle & Autumn also wore:

Tate has some pretty loving grandparents:

...and great-grandparents!!!:

Tate's expression appears a little disgruntled in this picture, maybe due to his wet head... good thing his godparents were there to rescue him :)

His aunts and cousins!:

Great-Aunt Karen and Great-Uncle Tim:

We checked out this awesome "splash-pad" in a nearby park. The water was freezing, but Tate had fun looking at all the fountains:

"Ugh, I can't quite reach my toes, Dad...":

4th of July came so quickly!!! We saw the fireworks show at Elver Park in Madison, ready to make a quick getaway if Tate was scared. No worries, he slept through the whole thing, just to wake up at the finale and quietly watch the pretty colors. I thought we were pushing our luck by bringing him to the fireworks show in Lakeside the next night, but again, Tate slept through the whole dang thing. The kid's a solid sleeper. Here he is enjoying the beach in his awesome swim outfit, courtesy of his super cool Great-Uncle Whitney!

A week later we were back in Woodstock to enjoy Kenny's sister Lisa's birthday/belated 4th of July party thrown at her boyfriend Steve's house. Tate relaxed in the warm weather with his sweet rock star sunglasses.

Last, but certainly not least, we attended Bec & Camm's wedding in Mokena, IL, on July 17th! What a joyous celebration of two wonderful people and their love for each other and their friends and family! It was beastly hot, but even the heat couldn't keep us down. Everybody had a blast at this very unique and creative wedding. The beautiful bride before the ceremony:

Walking down the aisle with her parents:

Husband and wife!!!:

An homage to their loved ones, notice Madison made the cut!!!

The place cards were tags to mark your bell jar for the night, very earth friendly!!!

Bec and her family scrounged the local thrift stores for months to find enough plates for everyone:

A neat way of displaying family wedding photos:

The happy couple, with their gingham and argyle:

Camm's family with the newest addition!

The wedding was so fun and playful, very reflective of the couple and their lifestyle:

Old buds from IWU:

Garlands of gingham were everywhere... all hand-cut and sewn:

Then this past weekend we were back in Chicago and Decatur for another baby shower for Adriane... a wonderful time with the Adkesson side of the family.

After all the traveling and fun times we've had, it's time for a little rest. Grandad and Tate know how it's done:

Until I see you again, be well!

Love,

Meredith