In Milford (Part Two)

Tessa spending one second checking out the baby, the rest of the time she showed no interest.
Anyone want to play tennis?

Cute Blakeley, a tad fussy...and by that I mean she let out a few unhappy noises.

Dan and Tessa enjoying a snack.

Grandpa and Tessa

The O'Neil boys and one cute little girl.

Mimi and Tessa playing with all sorts of fun things.

In Milford (Part One)

We've been in MA since last Thursday evening. Tessa was great on the 7 hour car trip up. I had planned to stop at a playground along the way, things didn't work out quite as I would have liked but we got here in one piece without much fussing.

Tessa finally got the bottom eye teeth, so the tooth count is up to 16 now! She was mighty fussy/clingly over the weekend, hopefully only as a result of the tooth.

Friday we got to see my cousin Rachel's new baby, what a cutie! Tessa had a good time going through all the toys Blakeley has yet to use.

Nana and Blakeley

On Saturday, we went apple picking with Nana, Jen, Cole, Kevin, and Kayla.

Kevin helping get the apples that were up high

Tessa enjoying an apple

Cole and Tessa picking apples

Sunday my uncle Ed, aunt Celine, and cousin Julia came over. It was great to see them, as its been far too long! We are all really excited that we will see them again on Christmas Eve!

Monday we got to see Tim's grandparents DD and BopBop, as well as his aunt Debbie. It was nice that our paths crossed here in Milford, as they live in CO.

Mimi being silly with Tessa

Debbie and Tessa

Bops, DeeDee, and Tessa

Wednesday we got to see Erica, Jim, Connor, and Ellen at the Smith's. Tessa had a good time climbing around their swingset and swing.

Nana, Tessa, and Connor

The rest of the week has been spent taking Tessa to various playgrounds, parks, and indoor playplaces. Its been fun!

We're heading to see Blakeley again today, so hopefully we'll take some more pictures. Tomorrow Tim gets into town and we'll see his dad, and maybe his brothers.

And then Sunday Tim and I leave for Napa! We can't wait!!

I hate how long/frustrating it can be to upload pictures to blogger, so you can find more/better pictures here: Pictures

And Jen's Pictures: Apple Picking

A busy day

Today we tried our hardest to keep busy as its the second straight day of rain. This morning while T was napping I went to a local consignment store and was able to get a super cute Halloween costume for CHEAP!

Once Tessa woke up we took her to the Towson library, they have a nice children's section complete with toys, books, puzzles, and a slide. The best part is that most of the stuff is in an enclosed area...so there's no escaping. We all had a good time playing with the toys and watching to see what Tessa would try to do next.

After T's next nap we took her to Tiny Town at the mall. We were just there yesterday, but she loves to play, and since its raining there aren't a lot of options. There weren't nearly as many people today as there were yesterday so she got to explore a lot more. Unfortunately, Tessa has had quite a few "rough" encounters with toddlers and has become a little "afraid" of them. She's been hit, kicked, and tackled in the last few days. She still wants to play but is much more guarded when kids get near her. She did take a liking to an older man, probably in his 70s, and kept pointing at him...a little awkward since the man didn't speak English.

Tonight, after seeing a little bit of blue sky and a momentary stop in the rain, we decided to take her over to the school to burn off any remaining energy. Well by the time we got there it had started raining again so we had to pack her back up and take her home :(

Hopefully the rain will stop tomorrow and we'll be able to go back outside!!!

Here's some pics from today's activities:

Quick Update

Since I posted last, we've done lots of stuff!
Tessa and I have joined a "1-Year-Old-Playgoup". There are six 1 year olds in the group, they are basically all born within 3 months of each other. So far its been lots of fun! Its really cute to see them playing together, sharing their sippy cups, and of course snatching toys from one another. I think its really good for her to be around children her age, to learn from and hopefully form "baby friendships".
We took Tessa to the zoo over Labor Day weekend. We all had a good time. Tim and I are pretty sure that Tessa's favorite part of the zoo were the waterfalls...maybe next time we go she'll be more into the animals. She did like the cows and the giraffes, but other than that she was too interested.
Tessa joined a new gym, and has been to 2 classes so far. The gym has lots of toys, climbing structures, a ball pit, etc
I have hiking quite a few times now with Tessa in the backpack and have been really enjoying it. Tim and Lou come with us if its after work hours. I hope to get more hiking in before the weather gets too cold, and the terrain too slippery.

And now, a few pictures:

Looking at the cows

Drinking a quick bottle before all her friends came over

Five 1 Year Olds on 1 Couch

Outdoor Concert

Tonight we went to an outdoor concert at a local vineyard. Here's a picture of Tim and Tessa dancing.

Tessa's 1 Year Pictures

Click on the link below and you should see the pictures

http://smilestore.picturepeople.com/my/images?tk=c287313d-3556-4093-8b9e-d5fb8de92f27

Tessa and Lou playing Hide and Seek

1 Year Appt

weight - 22 lbs 12 oz 75th%
height - 30 in 75th%
head - 48.5cm 98th%

Hopefully I'll finish editing her birthday video and get the pictures uploaded sometime soon...

Quick Unexpected Weekend at Home

Quick Recap, Two weekends ago we traveled home to go to a wake for a high school friend's mom. While we were there we saw quite a few people and took some pictures:

Family Pic

Talking on the phone with Dad

Showing off "stretch"

Laughing on the swing with Nana

Walking on the beach with Mom and Dad

Picnic Lunch

Walking around with fistfulls of sand

Eating Crackers with Uncle Dan
Reading her birthday card from Uncle Kevin

Opening her birthday present from Uncle Kevin

Grandpa and Tessa

Summertime Fun

Today we took Tessa to a "splash park" complete with sprinklers, geysers, bubblers, etc. For the first 20-30 minutes she just walked around shrieking in delight. Of course she wasn't afraid of running head first into the water. We weren't able to stay too long because she got tired fast. Hopefully we'll make it back next summer and by then I'm sure she'll be able to run for hours!

Tonight, while giving Tessa a bubble bath she figured out how to squeak the rubber ducky, needless to say squeaks could be heard for the rest of the bath.

This past weekend Mark (Grandpa) came to visit, unfortunately we didn't take any pictures :(

On Thursday Nana, Jen, and Dave arrive to celebrate Tessa's birthday! It should be a fun weekend. And hopefully they'll be some pictures...

Here are a few from today:

More Video - July 17th/19th/20th

The first part of the video is Tessa opening her first, 1st birthday gift from Amy. I've been trying to teach Tessa to hold her dolls (babies) and rock them nicely...

The second part is from last night, when once again Tessa thought Lou was just hilarious.

And the last part is from today, Tessa showing how she can stand up and walk around.

Tessa Walking with Some Babbling

Walking Video

This is from last week so she's obviously gotten much better, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

Recent Pictures

Tessa is trying really hard to master walking. She definitely prefers it to crawling these days. Although she hasn't learned to stand up without using something, so if she falls in the middle of the room, she has to crawl to something so she can get up. She is so proud of herself when she can walk across the room. Today Lou was in her way (what a surprise), and she was able to manuever her body around him and back to where she wanted to go without falling. I was pretty impressed.

Here are some pictures:

Thanks to Amy for letting us use her camera...mine got fried in the car and we haven't gotten a new one yet :(

Colorado Trip

We got back earlier this week from Colorado. We had a really nice time seeing family and old friends. Here are some pictures from the trip.
CO Pictures

Since we've been home Tessa has spent most of her time practicing her walking. She can do 8-12 steps before falling/sitting down. Hopefully I'll get her on video later and be able to post it.

This week the weather is definitely that of summer so we're spending lots of time at the pool.

Jen and Dave come on Friday, we can't wait! I'm sure there will be lots of pictures taken over the weekend.