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

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there! We've had a great month; Tate is now 4.5 months old, and weighs in at a whopping 14 lbs! Mommy and Daddy are much happier now that Tate has a little visible chunk. The jowls are pretty cute, too. He just helped Mommy make Daddy's Father's Day present:

It's beautiful here in Madison; we love our daily walks but now need a little sun protection ;)

Auntie A came to visit and Tate snuggled with her a bit:

We love our deck! Tate is a big fan of the outdoors, so we've been spending quite a bit of time in the backyard.

Thanks to Missy, Rachel, Cassie & Allie for Tate's adorable froggy outfit!

Love this shot of Auntie Corry & Tate against the beautiful flowers in Mimi & Papa's yard:

Memorial Day Weekend was Tate's first time in Lakeside!!! He was not so enthusiastic about the cold lake water, or the sand for that matter. Maybe next time...

Here's a video of Tate just being his cute self:

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the beautiful weather (if you're lucky enough to have some)! Next up is Adriane's baby shower, Bec's bachelorette party, and Tate's christening! Will be sure to share those photos soon!

Love,

Meredith

The Month of May

What a fun month! May has flown by, and we really enjoyed celebrating our birthdays and my first Mother's Day! Thank you all for the birthday and Mother's Day wishes! We went to see "The Lion King" at the Overture Center here in Madison and had a fancy dinner beforehand to celebrate all of these occasions. Corry, Lisa, Adelle & Autumn were nice enough to come up and babysit Tate while we had our date night! The first couple photos are just before we left; Zoey is trying to get in on the action in this first one, and the 2nd is us all gussied up for the night!

This was our first time at the Overture Center; it was gorgeous and the actual show was amazing. Beautiful music and costumes.

Tate loves his high chair. I finally caught a smile on film while he sat with Mommy and had breakfast:

One of the reasons I love spring is because it's garage sale season! I found this awesome beaver hat for a quarter and just couldn't resist buying it. It's ridiculous, right?

Bathtime is Tate's favorite time of the day! He loves to splash around and enjoy the warm water. Caught a little of it on tape:

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone! We're headed up to Lakeside for the first time with Tate! We'll be sure to catch some good pics/video of him checking out the beach and lake!

XOXO~

Meredith

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

It's been a busy few weeks! In addition to going back to work (barf), I've visited Chicago a few times to see friends/family and celebrate Bec's upcoming wedding at her bridal shower! Tate got to hang out with Aunt Kristy, and meet Aunt Cathy and friends Gina & Joe! Tate is getting stronger and more inquisitive by the day, and we've got some cute photos of him trying out his Bumbo seat for the first time. He's three months old today!

Here's Daddy and Tate getting ready for a walk (it was still pretty chilly out so Daddy kept him close):

Tate was not happy that I was trying to snap him in his cute monkey outfit:

Look at that cute monkey butt!

Aunt Kristy snuggling with Tate:

"Hey Mom, I kinda like this thing! I can sit up on my own in it!"

"This is surprisingly comfortable!"

"This is pretty cool, Mom & Dad!"

"I caught you taking my picture, Mom!"

Bec's mom and best friend Mandy threw her a beautiful bridal shower. Here's Bec with a great handmade gift showcasing her new last name, Rowland!

Bec and her hostesses!

Kate, Bec, and I enjoying some sangria!

There were beautiful gerbera daisies and roses scattered around Mandy's house; I couldn't resist taking a photo:

Have a great weekend everyone! Kenny and I are having a date night for our birthdays on Saturday! We're going out to dinner and seeing "The Lion King" at the Overture Center! We're also getting some 'professional' shots taken of Tate and our little family by a photographer friend so I'll be sure to post those soon! Until then, be well!

Meredith :)