5 months old

Katie turned five months old on July 16.  She weighs about 15 lbs now.  We started feeding her rice cereal recently, and she's getting better at keeping more of it in her mouth than on her chin.  She sleeps about eight hours every night, so I'm not as tired as I used to be.  She has been rolling from her back to her tummy for about two months, and finally figured out to roll back a couple weeks ago.  Now she rolls all over the living room and we realized it's time to do some babyproofing since she's more mobile.  We get comments all the time on what a good, happy, and cute baby she is.  And we agree!
   

 

Katie loves to stick out her tongue.  It's always out lately. :)

Oh, that smile just lights up my day!



4th of July Festivities

 Our July 4th weekend was filled with sunshine, good food, fun, and most important, family!  Jacob's sister, Rachel, and her family moved here from Idaho at the end of June.  Jacob's mom and youngest sister, ShayNiel, flew out with Rachel's boys a few days later and stayed with us for two weeks.  We love having family here now, especially because we never thought it would happen.  Rachel and Todd even live in our neighborhood, and we're able to see them often since they are so close. 

But back to our Independence Day... We started off the weekend by driving down to Galveston to swim in the ocean.  Apparently, everyone else in Texas had the same idea, but we found a little spot of sand and settled in for a couple hours.  We kept Katie shaded under an umbrella or in her carseat, but she was miserably hot in there, so that didn't last long.  The water was warm, but there was a nice breeze, and nobody got sunburned too badly.  Here are some pics of Katie's first trip to the ocean.  

Grandma Angela holding Katie under the umbrella

Katie had another first: riding a boat!  We all climbed aboard the Galveston Island Ferry for a fun free ride.  Jacob and the others saw dolphins but I was inside with Katie. 

Katie stayed inside because it was too windy and sunny outside for her. 

On July 3rd, we went to the Houston Symphony's patriotic concert like we did last year.  It's a great free event for the community and the symphony puts on an amazing show.  I always love how music brings people together.  I felt more unified with my fellow Americans as we sang the National Anthem and other songs.  That was until the lady behind us started smoking, lol.  I didn't feel as much love for my "neighbor" while my baby breathed her first second-hand smoke. :)  We still had a good time, and Katie amazed us all and slept right through the cannons in the 1812 Overture. 

Her onesie says "red, white, & cute". 

me, Rachel, and ShayNiel

Todd, Nancy, & Val Koster

Angela & Jacob

Teagan & Kaden

Rachel & ShayNiel- aren't they gorgeous?

We had everyone over for a barbecue on the 4th.  We enjoyed eating hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, bean dip and chips, watermelon, and peanut butter fudge.   

We love our nephews!  They always want to run upstairs and play ping pong.  I'm glad someone is using that table. :) 

ShayNiel and Katie

We ended the night playing board games, talking, and laughing.  Our city, along with most of Texas, cancelled the fireworks show and banned the sale of any fireworks for personal use because of the severe drought we are having.  I think it might have been the first time I can remember when I didn't see fireworks on the 4th of July.  But in a way, it was nice to not have to fight the crowds and just stay home and enjoy our wonderful air conditioning.  :)  I'm so thankful to the men and women who have sacrificed and are sacrificing now for the freedoms we have in our country.  We are very blessed.   

Bear Lake, Days 3 & 4

Here are pictures from the last couple days of the family reunion. 

Gpa and Gma Austin with Katie

Grandma Jane and Katie

Grandpa Bill and Katie

Will and Katie

ready for swimming

The water was a little too cold for Katie, but she didn't mind it on her feet and legs for a few minutes. 

Heather brought Liam into the pool also. 

Rob and my cousin Trevor

We went down to the lake to one of the only open beaches.  The water was so high that there wasn't much sand for the kids to play on.  We had to walk through a stinky swampy area to get to the water.  But we still had fun riding the wave runner and getting sunburned on the beach. :)

Katie hung out under the umbrella.  I had to take her back to the house after a while though so she could take a nap cause she wouldn't fall asleep outside. 

Jana and Rob

Jana and me

Heather and Will

Liam was a good baby and slept most of the time.  He needs to teach Katie how to do that. :)

We enjoyed eating our candy and treats at the Bischoff Blowout.  My great-grandpa Bischoff started the tradition of eating junk food the last night of our reunions.  Isn't that a great tradition to carry on?  We also talked about our family history, which I always love hearing more about.   

my family before we all left to go home (minus Jacob, David, and Sage)

One last view of the lake on our way out of the canyon

I'm so happy I went to the reunion.  It was tons of fun being together with my family.  They are the best!

Bischoff Family Reunion: Bear Lake, Days 1 & 2

We headed to Garden City, Utah for the 18th bi-annual Bischoff Family Reunion (my mom's side).  This was the 5th time we've held the reunion at Bear Lake and the 3rd time we've stayed at The Inn at the Lake.  My mom and her siblings take turns planning the reunions, and this year was Mom's turn so she enlisted her children's help as well.  It was raining as we drove through Logan Canyon, so we were a little worried about the weather, but it cleared up the next day.  Of course, I took tons of pictures, so I'll have to do at least two reunion posts. 

Bear Lake

The Inn at the Lake- this place is huge.  It held 65 of us comfortably.  Our family has well over 100 people now, but a lot of my cousins couldn't come. 

bedroom where Katie and I stayed- I loved the quilt

One morning we were supposed to go on a hike in the mountains, but the trail was covered in a few feet of snow.  So we opted for a little walk down to the lake and then strolled through the main street of town.  Here's the group of hikers walkers. :)

me, Jana, and our cousin Melissa

Jana & Rob

Heather & Will

Melissa and I posing on an old tractor we found down by the lake

Katie slept in a pack-and-play for the first time.  She didn't like it as much as her crib.  Basically this trip threw off her sleeping schedule, which made me one tired momma.  But she's back on track now, thank goodness. 

Katie with her Aunt Anna, my cute sister.  Anna loved holding the babies, and it was fun to see her interact with them.   

We played games in the yard one afternoon:  volleyball, ladder golf, croquet, and bocce ball. 

Each family took a turn cooking a meal.  This night my parents, Jana, and Rob prepared a potato bar.  It was delicious as were the other meals of taco salad, pizza, and Cafe Rio pork burritos.    

my cousin Jordyn and her boyfriend Jalean

Oh my goodness, these next pictures still make me laugh!  My mom and her sisters had been planning this surprise for everyone for months.  They called themselves "The Inn at the Lake Toe-tappers" and came out in these ridiculous costumes and wigs and tap-danced to a song.  It was hilarious!  We were all laughing so hard.  From the left: my Aunt Anne, Aunt Mary Ellen, Aunt Ellen, my mom Jane, and their bro-in-law's sister Charlotte (not sure how they roped her into doing it). 

I love my aunts!!

This was what my dad was doing the whole time they danced. :) 

Later we played Just Dance on Wii.  I think Jana beat everyone.  Here's my mom, two of my aunts, and my cousin dancing. 

I wanted us to have a family tree to display that we could all write our names on and see how big our family has grown.  My cousin Melissa designed this for us.  Isn't is awesome?  We all loved it. 

I know this was long, but I want to remember everything since I haven't been writing in my journal.  (Really need to do that.)  More to come...