katie, ben and lucy » Elinore http://www.coatefamily.com Coate Family Happenings Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:03:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 So a Million Years Later…Or 3 Months…. http://www.coatefamily.com/2010/07/19/so-a-million-years-later-or-3-months http://www.coatefamily.com/2010/07/19/so-a-million-years-later-or-3-months#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:36:27 +0000 Katie http://www.coatefamily.com/?p=1980 So “HI.”  Welcome back.  Sorry we’ve been gone for so long.  An absolute huge amount has happened since our last post.  In March, the California crew, along with Amanda’s parents, came for a visit.  The goal…a new deck at the lakehouse.  The boys worked hard while the girls and kids played harder.  Next, we celebrated my birthday and Easter in April by visiting my brother and his family in Washington DC.  When we returned to Houston after the trip, we enjoyed the opening game of the Astros’ Baseball Season. About a week after Easter, Lucy learned to walk.  After her first day of the big accomplishment, her distance seemed to double every 24 hours. In no time, she was quickly waddling from person to person. In May we moved from our cute little first home in Houston, after 3 weeks of renovations, to our new more permanent home in Katy.  I’ll spare you the details. But as usual, it was a long and difficult process that Ben and I are glad to be done with. To make matters more interesting, Ben was working on one of the biggest projects of his career at the same time.  He dealt with all of the home renovations; I dealt with all of the house hunting, packing, and moving processes.  The workload between us evened out in the end.  And as usual, we couldn’t have done it without our wonderful realtor Patti. Then we celebrated Lucy’s 1st birthday with two little shin-digs with the family.  (You’ll notice two separate “Smash Cakes” in the photos.  The pink flower cake was on her real birthday – a Tuesday.  The cupcakes were for her birthday party which occurred on a Saturday).  For the past two months, we have been renovating the new house.  OK, actually, the new house is in wonderful shape..structurally.  But cosmetically, we had very differing opinions from the previous owners concerning paint colors, flooring choices, hardware, light fixtures….just about everything imaginable.  So, slowly but surely, we have been making it our own.  We still have lots to do – but in time.  We need more money for that!  So if you’re wondering why there are not any pics of the new house yet, it’s because I’ve been wanting to add our touch to everything before the big reveal.  Soon enough my friends, soon enough. For July 4th, the entire family hung out at the lakehouse to celebrate with food and fireworks…except for me. I had to work the holiday. But no biggie…I spent my spare time, baby-free, to paint the nursery. It has now transformed from olive green to “dried toothpaste”…but pretty dried toothpaste – aka a light mint green. I was informed that Ben and Lucy should take more trips with the family and without me. Since I was not there for Lucy to cling to for dear life, she was much more social with everyone else – giving hugs and sharing kisses with everyone. (I must admit, it is nice to have her lean over to give you a kiss on the cheek with a loud smack of her lips. Very cute!).  Last, but certainly not least, my cousin James and his sweetheart Kelly just married this past weekend.  It was quite a fun party – with lots of family to celebrate with.  So…all in all….A LOT has happened. I tried to pick the best photos for all the occasions. But of course, i still managed to pick about 70 or so “Perfect Pictures.” So have fun flipping through the gallery that covers the last three months of Coate Family Happenings. As usual, click on the photos for an enlarged view; you can move from picture to picture by using your arrow keys.  They’re shrunk to fit on the website page.  For a short little caption on each photo, just hover your mouse over the small version.  It’s amazing to see just how much Lucy changes in the photos during this time. She’s growing so fast; it just amazes me.

March – A Family Affair…Building a New Deck at the Lakehouse

Building a new deck at the lake house Working on the deck at the lake house Aunt Amanda with her mom, Susie Making bird feeders out of pine cones Cousin Milo on Granddaddy's tractor Nanny and Lucy Milo watering the dog Showing off the teeth 

Still March - Renovations to Our Old House

Family room of old house under construction Redoing the wall in the old living room Redoing the wall in the old kitchen Master bathroom remodel in the old house Guest bathroom remodel in the old house Who needs kitchen counters anyway? Renovating the kitchen of the old house Living room of our old house, ready to sell New granite counter at our old house, after renovating Kitchen at our old house, after renovating Living room of our old house, after renovating Master bathroom at our old house, after renovating Guest bathroom at our old house, after renovating The old house…great memories.

April – Our Trip to D.C.

Pretty Trees Cousins Ingrid and Malcolm Cousin Ingrid with Lucy and Mom Dad, cousin Ingrid and Tom Lucy, Mom, and Tom Cherry Blossoms We like the Washington Monument The Virginia Belchers The family enjoying the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC Ingrid on her bike Easter Egg Hunt with Cousins Playing with cousins Presents? For Easter? Bunny Birthday Cake 

Still April – Opening Day with the Astros!!!  Shortly thereafter, Lucy learns to walk on her own!!!

Take me out to the ballgame... Looking cute at the Crawfish Boil 

May – Lucy Celebrates 1 Year…Twice  :)

Birthday Presents Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack Trying on a new hat The family celebrating Lucy's 1st birthday Wearing a Pink Birthday Cake! Bath Time! (Wash off the cake) Lucy's 1st Birthday Cake Fun with Cake Chocolate Cake and Milk New Toys!

July -An Explosion of Fun!!

Dad and Lucy on the Jet Ski Lucy Riding the Rudy Grandma and Lucy at the Lake Aunt Elinore Reads with Lucy Lucy with her Granddaddy Lucy and Daddy Swimming

Still July – James and Kelly’s Wedding

 Newlywed James and Kelly James and Kelly's Wedding Cake James and Kelly's Grooms Cake Zach and Haley Grandma, Lucy, Mom Dad and Lucy Grandma and Grandpa Dancing Aunt Diana and Lucy Aunt Cammie and Cousin Zach Fa Fa and Uncle Russ Ashley Dancing with Lucy Dad and Lucy Dancing Cousin James at his wedding with his mom, Aunt Diana Lucy with her Grandparents

And just because…

Worst Bite Ever!!! It took about a week to heal...poor kid.  Reading with Grandpa For all you non-believers...Cuddling with Kitty Cat TOYS! Sleepy Cuddly...Loves that Giraffe! Loving her Fa Fa Pensive Thoughtful

]]> http://www.coatefamily.com/2010/07/19/so-a-million-years-later-or-3-months/feed 2 Bridalized http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/12/22/bridalized http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/12/22/bridalized#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:08:18 +0000 Ben http://www.coatefamily.com/?p=1627 For those who have been keeping up with the Coate family happenings, this past weekend was the wedding of my brother, Patrick, and his new wife Elinore.  It was a beautiful ceremony, a great reception and a wonderful chance for so many friends and family to gather here in Houston.  Welcome to the family, Ellie!  Welcome to a life of everyone mispronouncing your last name.

They hired Patrick’s old friend, Khara, to be their wedding photographer.  I was thrilled to hear that she was coming down from Nebraska to shoot the event.  Ever since I saw her photo work (11 - 12 years ago), I have always admired her creative and artistic skills with a camera.  There is no way that I could take a better photo than her, so (with her permission – which I did ask for) I would like to share a few photos.

Patrick’s groom’s cake was a big hit at the reception.  He made it.  No, not the cake… the dog.

Of course, no blog entry would be complete without a darling picture of Lucy.

Here are a few links to Khara’s website if you would like to see more.

  Khara’s blog entry on the wedding and reception  (Tons of amazing photos and some great descriptions of the wedding and reception)
  Khara’s blog entry on the “Shoot Shack” (Guest portraits at the reception)
  Khara’s website  (If you ever need to hire Nebraska’s best photographer)

]]> http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/12/22/bridalized/feed 2 A Visit from Amanda, Lola, and Milo http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/11/01/a-visit-from-amanda-lola-and-milo http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/11/01/a-visit-from-amanda-lola-and-milo#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:42:23 +0000 Katie http://www.coatefamily.com/?p=1492

Henry and Patrick Nanny and Lucy Milo
Lola on zipline Lola on zipline Patrick
Just the three of us Milo So serious
 Katie and Lola  Elinore  Amanda, Lola, and Milo
Dallas, Milo, and Lola   Carving a pumpkin  Milo - eating raw pumpkin seeds???
Amanda, Nanny, and Lucy Playing chase with the kids Lola and Ben
Milo Lucy Lola and Lucy
]]> http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/11/01/a-visit-from-amanda-lola-and-milo/feed 0 How Engaging… http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/09/07/how-engaging http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/09/07/how-engaging#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:34:47 +0000 Katie http://www.coatefamily.com/?p=1242 Uncle Patrick and Soon-To-Be-Aunt Elinore had their engagement party this weekend.  The food was delicious and the company divine!  Congrats again, you two!

patrick, ellie, and lucy

]]> http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/09/07/how-engaging/feed 2 Have you the wing? http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/03/20/have-you-the-wing http://www.coatefamily.com/2009/03/20/have-you-the-wing#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:58:42 +0000 Ben http://www.coatefamily.com/?p=649 I’m sending out big congratulations to my younger brother Patrick and his girlfriend fiancée Elinore. 

Engaged_3-18-09.jpg  The_Ring.jpg

The goofy boy asked the silly girl a big question a couple of days ago, and the silly girl responded to the goofy boy with a smiling yes.  Congrats you two!

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