Plastic pigs don't taste as good as the real thing

A very merry Christmas

Tessa had a wonderful first Christmas! Christmas Eve was spent at my Aunt Tammy's house in Spring Valley, MN. Uncle Dave and cousins Klarissa and Klysen were there, as well as Aaron, Jessica and Kory. And the Schoppers' dog, Max, of course. We had a great time, and as always, it went by too quickly! We drove to Minneapolis later Christmas Eve to spend a few days at Aaron and Jessica's. Poor Tessa had a few rough nights. Her schedule being thrown off and her being in so many new environments made her fussy (mostly at night). I know she enjoyed spending time with family, though. She's good around different people. And she did very well at our family photo shoot at the Walker Art Center in Mpls. (It was part of my Mom's Christmas gift.) Some of those pictures are attached. Tessa also got to meet great-grandma Marge, great-uncle Tom (Kathryn, Kaitlin, Kerry & Danny), and great-uncle Matt, who made a surprise visit from North Carolina. The Saturday after Christmas, we went to Albert Lea to see Grandpa & Grandma, Matt & Natalie and Eric & Christina. Tessa had fun playing with all her new toys. She also received some really cute clothes. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful gifts!

A few weeks before Christmas, Tessa rolled over for the first time! And she's been busy rolling over ever since (but only on her left side). We have noticed that she has been sticking her butt in the air during tummy time, which we think might be a precursor to crawling. She has been able to get up on her knees a few times. She just needs to get stronger.

Tessa has also exercised what I like to call her squeal of delight. It's quite a squeal. I think it's borderline little girl screech. :) She has her 6-month checkup soon. I can't believe it – she's almost half a year old! She'll begin eating baby food soon.

Tessa's fighting another nap ... gotta go!

Tessa hearts her exersaucer. Thanks, Grandpa & Grandma!

Wait for it, wait ... for ... it ... and ... she's out.

Wild nights are calling ...

Note the drool hanging from her chin.

Tessa diligently studies the canis lupus ...

... and would like to eat it.

Cereal: It's what's for dinner

Miss Independent

After I received a harassing e-mail today, I thought I should update Tessa's blog. I expect nothing less from Crazy Uncle Aaron. :)

She had her 4-month checkup last week and did wonderfully, even with the vaccinations. Eric took her to the appointment and stopped by to see Mommy at work afterward. Tessa now weighs 13 lbs., 14 oz.; she has almost doubled her birth weight! So exciting! She is 24 3/4" tall (can I say that even though she can't stand yet?), and her head size is 16 1/8. I'm sure you're all going to measure your heads now just so you have a comparison. :)

Tonight was Tessa's first time trying rice cereal. To Eric's dismay, the nurse was not talking about Rice Krispies. No, I'm not joking. :) We mixed it with some of her milk (it was more like soup than cereal), and she did a great job eating off a spoon for the first time. We had to hold her hands down because she kept wanting to grab the spoon and feed herself. So I said, "Fine. You can just change your diaper then, too!" Ha – not really – but it's great to see she is actively learning. She now plays with her toys instead of just staring at them and grabs everything within reach, including hair, earrings, large blankets, Christmas decorations, wine bottles ... (just kidding about that last one).

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago. Mima gave her the Vikings cheerleader outfit before she was even born. (OK, it was on Tessa's birthday.) At the time, it was difficult to picture her ever fitting into it!

New Tessa Loves:
*When we kiss her tummy (this really makes her giggle)
*When we sing "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah"

How big is Tessa? SOOOO big!

I know, I know. I should be updating this more often, but I'm a working mom, and I'm tired. :)
Tessa is growing every day. She now clutches a rattle and is actually interested in the different toys she has. Our new favorite Tessa-ism is her laughter - ADORABLE. It's good to know she has a sense of humor. She would never survive in our family if she didn't.
Eric and I recently discovered that Tessa loves watching football. I don't know if it's the noise because it reminds her of Eric's volleyball games, which she also loves watching, or what, but we think she'll be a sports fan.
We missed a great photo op. Tessa was a kitty for Halloween, but I forgot to take her picture in her costume with our kitty, Sam. Maybe I'll dress her up again just for the photo (before she grows out of it!). More updates later ... I promise!

Little Lamb of God

I realize it's been almost a month since I last posted, but life has been busy. I've been at my job as a newsletter coordinator for The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society for 2 weeks now, and Tessa has been at daycare. It is going very well. I drop her off in the morning and pick her up by 5:15 each day. I am happy to report she has slept through the night ever since she started going to daycare. I think the kids wear her out. She has been taking a lot of naps lately and still sleeps through the night. I think she might be going through a growth spurt.

Yesterday Grandpa Bill and Grandma Beth visited, and we spent the day at Eric's volleyball tournament here in Canton. Tessa did really well. She slept through most of it but had her moments of interest when she would watch a few games. Afterward, we went to Pizza Ranch with Lynn, Marilyn, Luke and Amy (Eric's uncle, aunt and cousins who live near Canton). As always, it was a lot of fun. We're getting more comfortable taking Tessa to more public places – probably because we usually know what she wants, what soothes her and can better prepare now that we know her routine, likes, dislikes, etc.

She was baptized on Oct. 12, and we were blessed to share the occasion with family. Eric's brother, Matt, and his wife, Natalie, are her godparents. She slept through most of her baptism – she didn't even wake up to the water being poured over her head. She was fussy toward the end but had a good day. I've posted pictures of her baptism (photos compliments of Joan and Mike, Tessa's great-aunt and uncle); we'll have more later. I will update the blog with more once I find a cord for my mom's camera. (Our camera broke, so we're borrowing hers.)

I don't think we'll do anything crazy for Tessa's Halloween costume. (If you have any great costume ideas, let us know!) We're not going trick-or-treating, just handing out candy. TTFN!