9.28.2009

Animal Adventure Weekend Part 2





Mima and I took Tessa to the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls two weeks ago. She seemed to enjoy the flowers more than the butterflies. We were glad she wasn't afraid of them — one of the workers told us a lot of toddlers are — and we were thankful she didn't step on any! We would hate to be banned for life!

Skippin' School


"Now where did I put that?"

"I found a new hiding spot from Mom and Dad."

Tessa has a knack for finding Samantha.

Pirate or cyclops?

A few weeks ago, before the carrot incident (a completely different story), Tessa's daycare provider had the flu and was closed for the day. So, instead of adding more instability to Tessa's life, and worry and panic in mine, I stayed home with her. We had such a fun day! At one point, Tessa decided to go through one of the cupboards and pull everything out. Sam later joined the fun and hid on the shelf in the cupboard for a while. Tessa moved on to toys in her bedroom but later returned to her disarray of various kitchen items and put them back in the cupboard. I love our little neat freak! 

The Minneapolitans visit Tessa


Aaron, Jessica, Lola & Tommy left the big city to spend Aaron's birthday weekend in South Dakota. Tessa was already asleep when they arrived Friday night, so it was fun to see her excitement when she saw them Saturday morning. It was all the better once she realized they had brought her favorite dog cousins. But to Aaron's disappointment, Tessa is now too big to ride Tommy. 

We spent Saturday afternoon at Buffalo Wild Wings, so the guys could watch the Gopher game. And little did Tessa know that after she went to sleep that night, we busted out the board game Mall Madness. We hope it will become a family favorite for her once she's older. It's already a timeless classic for Eric, Aaron, Jessica, Kory and me. Of course, Aaron and Eric wouldn't admit it if you asked them, but I have pictures to prove it. 

On Sunday (which also happens to be the day Tessa's first cousin, John William Trygstad, was born!), we went to Newton Hills State Park, about 6 miles south of Canton. Since Mommy almost passed out from exhaustion while hiking with Tessa on the trails, Daddy had to haul her (Tessa, not me) most of the way. Although, I think at one point I did ask someone to drag me up the hill. What seemed like 20 miles later (I think it was actually less than 5 — way less, I'm sure), we made it! It was a good hike and a wake-up call for me to get into shape. Uff-da! 

For Tessa's birthday, Aaron & Jessica got her an Explore and Learn Helicopter (which she loves!) and an adorable winter coat, which I'm sure she'll need in no time. Thanks, guys! 

9.02.2009

Sayonara, summer!


Wow. I forgot how hectic life is come August. Where do I even begin? So much has happened.

We bought our first home and moved in Aug. 8. Soon after, we realized how much more Tessa-proofing we have to do. We think she likes the new digs. She often stands against the patio door and watches the neighbor boys play in their sandbox. (When they hear her talking, they look up and say hi — it’s nice.) But that in itself is a concern: boys! We’re surrounded by them. It’s a good thing Eric got in some target practice before his summer ended. : ) And that’s another thing: Daddy daycare came to a close. With the move and a new daycare, Tessa had a difficult time transitioning. She refused to nap at daycare, so after I picked her up, she’d be so tired and cranky that we’d have to put her to bed right after supper. We miss her, so that was really hard to do. She’s doing much better now, though.

Two days after Tessa’s last well-child checkup, we had to bring her to urgent care. She had a bad cough that turned out to be croup, and she was on meds and a nebulizer for a week. Poor girl.

Tessa is perfecting the art of walking and has made her first attempts at running, which result in a fall soon after. At least we’re getting our exercise chasing her! Eric recently inflated the canopy pool she got for her birthday from Mima. It’s sitting in our family room because it has been too cold to use outside. Tessa loves climbing in and out of it. Sometimes she goes in one leg at a time. But other times, she goes in headfirst and does a little flip/tuck-n-roll thing. She usually giggles post landing. I think she’s trying to make a ball pit, because every ball she finds ends up in the pool. And that’s her favorite word to say right now: ball! She also says hi, bye-bye, mama and dada clearly. She talks extensively in rambles, but we don’t know what she’s saying yet!

Her personality is definitely shining through more. The other day I was telling Eric that my friend and former co-worker, Ardis, died on Sunday. Well, as I told him I started to cry, and Tessa walked over to me and gave me a hug. It was the sweetest thing ever. Life with Tessa is full of sweet, sweet moments.

Last night was Eric’s first volleyball match of the season. We swept Madison — Eric is so stoked! Attending the matches will be so different now: I have a mobile child who wants to run after balls! Tessa and I arrived while JV was still playing, so she spent some of her patience on that match. But she did well sitting through it all, even clapping after watching the crowd clap. We just have to teach her only to clap for our team! She sat still on my lap through most of varsity’s first game, but we left after that since it was past her bedtime. Plus, I can only give her so many unsalted saltine crackers in good conscience.

This & That

Miss Grouchy Pants

Rockin'

Tessa keeps watch over the alfalfa field in our backyard.

Here, Kitty Kitty!

Why, is that a kitty I see?

Nice try, kitty. You can't hide from me!

8.06.2009

Going strong after 12 months

Tessa's well-child checkups aren't as chaotic as they used to be. I no longer fear she'll piddle on the scale while being weighed, she no longer wails at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason, and after a year of fulfilling her every need (or so we hope), we're confident one small first-time parent freak-out isn't going to scar her for life, thus our questions to her pediatrician are more of a formality than a list of serious concerns.

With that said, here are her stats: 21 lbs., 13 oz.; 29.5 inches tall; 18.25 head size ... lookin' good! Her doctor gave us the go-ahead to start giving her whole milk (woohoo! no more mixing formula!), and we can switch out her rear-facing car seat for her new, forward-facing toddler seat. Praise the Lord! Carrying and lifing her while she was in her car seat was proving more difficult. Plus, her legs stuck way out from the edge of the car seat, so we'd have to carefully manuever her through doorways, etc.

Some more Tessa updates: Her top front two teeth are coming in; she is weaned from her bottle; and when music is playing, she taps her right foot or marches in place, and sometimes even sways.

We are very blessed to have such a healthy baby! Whew! One year down, 17 to go ...

More from the Birthday Bash








Tessa's Birthday Bash

Tessa starts the day playing with the activity table we got her.

Tessa enjoyed the ribbons and wrapping paper as much as the presents.

The girl already loves shoes!

One of Tessa's 3 birthday cakes (2 made by Mima). This one was dubbed the "peacock puke cake," and it was delicious!


Tessa mid-sugar rush after delving into her cake; I must say, though, she was tame compared to some babies I've seen
post-birthday cake encounter. She was very polite with hers - what a little lady.

Amid all the excitement of having family over and the party atmosphere in general, Tessa took a tumble into a chair and got her first bruise - on her eye. Chair: 1, Tessa: 0. Poor girl. It's looking much better, though. She loved having Matt & Natalie, Christina & Eric, Mima and Grandpa Bill & Grandma Beth for the day! She played well, ate well and slept well. Tessa's first birthday party: a success!

8.04.2009

Tessa Turns 1!



Tessa had a wonderful 1st birthday! We woke her up by singing "Happy Birthday." It seems like we're constantly singing to her, though, so she probably thought nothing of it.

I took the day off from work to spend with her. We went to a park for the first time, and she momentarily enjoyed the swing. It was fun until her weight forced her forward, and she couldn't straighten herself out. Plus, she was tired. We did walk through the play area, and she got sand in her shoes, so I really feel like she got a good playground experience.

After Daddy got done with volleyball camp, we trekked to Sioux Falls to get a birthday gift at Toys 'R' Us. We were due for a trip there; it had been a while. It started raining when we were in the grocery store, and by the time we walked outside, the rain had stopped, and we saw a beautiful full rainbow. It was awesome. We told Tessa that was God's birthday present to her.