Say wha?

Fancy feet

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"