Our Last Trip to the Baltimore Zoo

November 6th Tessa, Caroline and I had tickets to fly to Boston, for good.  So on the 4th we got together with lots of our friends for a chilly trip to the zoo.  We were so fortunate to make such good friends while we lived lived, it was bittersweet to say good bye.

Izzy, Anna, and Tessa on the lion.

  Evan and Tessa

 Beth with her girls.

 Some of the crew.

 Checking out the fish

 So happy to see Rylan!

 Bundled up, and being a very good baby seeing as though she'd had no nap.

 Talking about elephant teeth.

 Frogs

 The lions were both up and walking around...I have never seen either of them move on any of our 20+ previous visits.

 Carousel time!

 And the tram back to the cars.

Tessa, Caroline, and I had a blast!  Although it did make saying good bye even harder.

Christmas 2011

 We have clearly been VERY busy, moving in on the 14th and trying to get settled in time for Christmas at our house.  I have lots to catch up on (Caroline turned 1!) and we lived with Jen/Nana for a combined amount of 5 weeks, and we said good-bye to many friends in MD.  Hopefully now that blogger has a "better" photo uploading tool I'll be able to post all that stuff soon.

Tessa was a lucky little girl this year, and was able to see Santa quite a few times.  I included the first picture to prove to Caroline years from now, that she was there...that she just didnt want ANYTHING to do with Santa.  And unlike the people that think the picture of the kid screaming on Santa's lap is cute...I'd rater not put her through that.

Tessa wasn't afraid of Santa this year (or ever), but a little quiet (a rarity for her). 

 Making chocolate chip cookies to leave out for Santa.  And I was instructed numerous times to make sure there were enough for her too...

 I dont know why this picture is sideways, I've tried to fix it numerous times, and I'm done trying.  Here are the girls dressed to go to Christmas Eve at Nana's.  Too bad Tessa has her coat on...(and I have no pictures from Nana's because I was too busy)

 Presents from us, to the girls.

 Stocking are hung, and filled.

 Christmas morning, Santa ate everything!

 Tessa was the cutest!  She wanted me, and Tim, and Caroline to open the presents that she had picked out for us, before she opened any of her own presents.

 Merry Christmas Daddy!

 A happy girl with the baby doll Tessa picked out for her.

 Opening her easel from us.

 Santa's present!

 Peaking.

Yay!

 Tessa asked for a fish, and was lucky enough to get a pretty little purple Beta fish and a nice tank.

 This pretty much is the look we got from Caroline all day, "Ohhh"  She was thrilled to open presents.

 Her xylophone from us, and puppy from Santa.

 Harmonica!

 Trying hard...within a few minutes (thankfully) she mastered it and loves to play it!

 Painting

 and painting (I've only been brave enough to let Tessa paint one other time while Caroline was awake, any other time she asks I say she has to wait til Caroline naps...I can only imagine how much fun Caroline would have getting paint everywhere!)

 Christmas afternoon, family arrives.  A dollhouse from Nana.

 Lots and lots of presents from Grampa.

 Our bare family room.

 A talking/singing monkey from Mimi.

 Swinging while Uncle Dan untangles the fishing rod.

 Casting.

 Nose.

 Caroline's favorite person is now Grampa...pretty sure he fed her a whole bowl of ice cream.

And then my camera battery died...

Our Tree

Fun Times

We've moved

We've been BUSY. Although our townhouse did not sell in the 4+ months it was on the market, it did rent in 3 days. So we quickly hopped on a plane and headed to Massachusetts to look for a house to buy. After seeing 20+ homes in 4-5 towns we found one we love. Unfortunately they do not want to close until December 13th. So until then we are living with my sister Jen and her husband Dave. We are so thankful that they have opened their house to us.

I had planned to write a lot more, but there is still lots of unpacking/organizing that needs to happen.

More later. (hopefully with some pictures as I have tons to go through...)

Caroline Walking

Caroline has been able to take a few steps for quite a few weeks now. But not until today did she truly care. All she has wanted to do today is walk! She is getting very good, and a few times I've seen her do 20+ steps...albeit very small steps, so she still doesnt get very far. She is quite proud of herself too! I'm going to have my handsful packing up the house with her underfoot, opening boxes, and pulling everything out. Oh well, these are the fun times.

Weather Watcher

Tessa started singing a song about the weather on the way home from school yesterday...too cute! Its amazing the difference a year makes...last year I could barely get anything out of her at this point in the year. But 6 days in she's learned a new song, and all kinds of other things I'm sure (hopefully mostly good things).

"Playing" Together

It was a pleasant surprise tonight at the playground when Tessa wanted to push Caroline on the swing, and for the most part did a good job. These days, Tessa spends a lot of time telling Caroline "No", and just not being very nice to her. Hopefully this will change soon, but I'm not holding my breath.

Caroline loves dogs too

Our neighbors got a new puppy, and despite sad circumstances the girls are absolutely loving playing with her!

Caroline is Standing

She hasnt taken any steps yet, but she is getting really good at standing by herself. This was taken a week or so ago, so now she can stand up for a much longer period of time.

Guesses on how long I have til she starts walking?

Laughing at Nana's

Bath Time Giggles

School starts today!

Tessa's 3 Year Check Up

Weight: 32.25 lbs 66%

Height: 27in 50%

She got one shot, and wasn't pleased about it. Other than that there were no issues...except for the fact that Dr. Goldstein looked in Caroline's ears and found 2 ear infections. Apparently thats why she's been fussier than normal.

Videos from Tessa's Party

Storyville

The Baltimore County Library, has incorporated "Storyville" centers into two of their libraries, one on the East side of town and one on the West. Neither is in a "great" neighborhood, but I'm pretty sure thats the idea. Storyville is meant for children aged birth to 5. It is almost like a small children's museum inside the library, and its free! Tessa's first trip was around 7 months, she enjoyed it then, but truly loves going there now. Here are two videos from today, one where we are delivering the mail and the other where she is shopping.






They have a baby area, which is for babies not yet walking...hopefully I'll be able to take Caroline there sometime soon when Tessa is back in school. For now, she has to fend for herself in the big kid area. And now that I think about it, she might be walking by the time Tessa starts school...