We've been staying busy the last couple weeks visiting with friends, going to parks, and traveling to see family. It has been pretty hot out lately which makes me very thankful for air-conditioning. We have not had much rain at all and our plants do not really look that great. If I didn't have a little baby I could probably get out there and water more, but this summer I can only do what I can do. The garden seems to be growing, so that's good. We'll see if that translates into anything to harvest. I had several pictures on my phone from the last couple weeks, so I thought I'd share a few. We went to Grabill Park last week with our friends Erin, Will, and Lauren. It's not a glamorous park, but it does have a lot of shade and works well for little kiddos (Lauren is only 1). Last weekend we traveled up to Cadillac to visit Curt's family. We went up on Thursday afternoon to have a little bit longer visit. Betsy (my sister in law) took 6 month pictures of L...

I can't believe that on July 4th, our little Lucy will already be 6 months old! I decided this week to finally get started with feeding her rice cereal. I wasn't really in a rush to try baby food this time around. I think it's the crazy mess that comes with it...not my favorite stage. But it is certainly fun to watch babies try new things.  She tried her first meal in the Bumbo seat. I didn't feel like dragging the high chair up from the basement. I did bring it up today and now it will remain a permanent fixture in our kitchen...at least for a couple years.  Does it look like she likes it? I'm not so sure. Lucy LOVES taking a bath. It always makes her happy, even if she is cranky before getting in the tub. She loves to kick and splash the water. If I say, "Good job Luce!" she'll get really excited and kick her legs even harder. 

I didn't have a plan in motion last night to visit the zoo today. I shocked myself this morning by deciding that we should go because it looked beautiful out and Ben thought it sounded fun. This was my second time taking the kiddos by myself and everything went very smoothly. We stayed a little over three hours and even grabbed some lunch there. Lucy did really well, sleeping or being content in her stroller. Near the end I put her in the carrier and she was very excited to see everything. Ben's choice for a ride today was the log ride. I had Lucy in the carrier for that and she really seemed to enjoy it. It was nice to be a little spontaneous...which is not always easy to do with a little baby. :)  Ben wanted to take a picture with his new penguin, which he named Cute. Ben has a love for penguins and was excited to introduce his new penguin to the other ones he already has at home.  The pelicans like to hang out by the fence.  We haven't seen the ostri...

Here's a little look at what went on with the Walkers last week...  Ben and I built a fort in the basement early last week. Part of it contains his tent and tunnel. He likes to crawl in there and play. It is still up and I'm probably going to have a hard time getting him to take it apart. :)  Ben loves to play with the neighbors on his swingset. They spin pretty fast on his tire swing.  Lucy and I relaxed in the shade one afternoon while Ben played on his swingset.  Curt took Friday off of work and we spent the morning at Buckner park.  Ben liked trying to balance.  There were tons of kids on the play equipment because...  The water wasn't turned on yet! It was such a bummer. :( In past years it was always running in the morning. This year they had the times of 12-8 taped over the old times on the sign. If it's that way all summer we might not go back there because we usually get out to places like this in the morning...

 My parents and brother Matt came for a quick visit last weekend and I managed to take a few pictures. I know you are shocked, right? :) Lucy usually has a hard time warming up to other people, but it did not take her long this time. She especially took a liking to my brother. Even when he talked she would turn to stare in his direction. She let everyone hold her and was very smiley. Maybe being in her regular environment helped. Ben was so excited to have them visit. He even had Gramps running races with him outside! On Sunday afternoon he was very sad that they were gone. He is always bummed when company has to head home or we need to go home from a trip. He is such a people person.  Me, Matt, and my Mom Gramps and Ben  My Dad, Mom, and Lucy  I took a few pictures of Matt and Lucy on my phone. I just couldn't believe how happy she was with him.  Having fun with Uncle Matt.  Matt read her a new book that my parents ...