Mealtime Pics

Now that the camera is back home I had to capture some of this cuteness. Tessa is loving her avocados and is eating more and more every day. She's really getting the hang of this eating thing!

Tessa's First Meal

...well first meal not at the 'breastaraunt'.

That's right- Tessa is officially eating! After research I decided to forgo the rice cereal (it can cause alot of constipation, colick, etc) and go for veggies and fruits.

So today I got the highchair out of storage, broke out some never used bibs and our new baby spoons and Tessa has some pureed avocados for lunch. Avocados are really nutritious and bland and a first food that alot of folks recommend. She loved it! She would have kept eating had I not cut her off, and I think she was equally as interested in gnawing on the spoon as actually eating.

So she gets avocados this week and sweet potatoes next week (assuming I get a new blender that can actually handle sweet potatoes without catching fire....hint hint Jeremy :)

Sorry no pictures- Jeremy still has the camera in Canada. I'll get some soon!

Tessa goes International

Tessa made her first international trip this weekend, well if Canada counts as international. Jeremy is in Ottawa for business this week so we joined him for a long weekend. What a beautiful city! We walked around and saw the sights, took a river boat tour, and ate good food (note to self- babies who like to scream and squeal with joy shouldn't be taken into romantic style restaurants).

Tessa and I travelled back by ourselves yesterday which made for a long day but was not bad at all. We of course spent many more hours in airports than on planes! Yes Tess had to get a baby passport with a tiny passport photo- so cute! And the funny thing is that it lasts until she's 5 years old.

We're all very tired today but getting back to normal. The dogs were very happy to be picked up at 'doggy jail' this morning!

Fun with the hotel crib

We forgot to take Flat Stanley sightseeing with us so our pics for Room 42 included some 'Fat Baby' shots instead


Showing off some of her fall clothes!
This COULD be a good pic- anyone know how to Photoshop my eyes open?




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New Ducky Pics

Yes I realize that I have been pretty bad about keeping up on the Ducky pics....Oops! I will try to do better in the future. But for some perspective here' a look back you might enjoy...

Tessa with Ducky 1 week

5 weeks

And taken today at 5 Months! Can you tell who's teething?

5 Month Photo Shoot

Well now that Tessa is 5 months old (can you believe it!) we had to get some official 5 month photos, again foregoing the expense of a real photographer. The pink dress is actually my baptism dress from when I was a baby. Enjoy!

Tessa and I attended our first MOPS meeting this morning, which just restarted with the school year. It was really cool, there were alot of ladies that I already knew from church. Today was just an introduction to the group and some crafty things. Tessa hung with some of her baby friends in the church nursery. Click here to read more about MOPS International.



You can see the main reason Tessa doesn't wear many dresses- they end up in her mouth!
By the time we got to this outfit it was meltdown time....

Roll Over

It doesn't get much better than this

Cry It Out- Night #4

With Tessa's recent sleep occassional sleep issues (ocassional meaning sometimes she sleeps through the night, and sometimes she wakes up 5 times!) we decided to pick a bedtime strategy and go with it for consistency.

We know she will wake up between 3-4:30 hungry for a feeding, that's just a fact. We also know that if she wakes up and fusses before that that she's almost never hungry...just awake and unhappy, usually chewing on her hand because her paci has fallen out and she wants it back.

So our new strategy is this. If she wakes up and starts to fuss we let her cry for 2 minutes (the idea is then build up to 4 min, 6 min, 8...). When we do have to go tend to her we will NOT get her out of her crib unless it's a dire situation. We rub her tummy, plug in her paci and sing to her.

And guess what- it's working! The first night she wimpered herself back to sleep the third time she woke up- before her two minutes was up. In the two nights since she has been doing well- a couple times she's needed tending to and a couple of times she's cried herself back to sleep. Yay!

I've tried to implement the same technique at nap time and have decided it's really best for her to nap in her crib if possible (instead of in the swing, carseat, pack n' play or on the couch) because she sleeps longer. Twice this week she's taken a 2+ hr nap and you know what?...on those days she's super happy and not fussing much. nappy baby = happy baby....why did it take us so long to figure this out?

Tessa also watched her first Baby Einstein this week. She was mesmorized by it- it's like baby crack! I don't want her to watch it too much but I think we will start to add it in once in a while. And maybe it will make her a genius...who knows.

Sorry no pics. I should have gotten one of her yesterday in her hoody sweatshirt. Fall is here!

Signs You Might be a Country Boy...

Finally!

...I stepped on the scale this morning and the baby weight is officially gone! I now weigh what I weighed at my first doctor's appointment last August. It sure took long enough!

As you can see I've got a long way to go still but that's all my fault, I can no longer blame Tessa for it :) I've been going to the Thurs morning WW meeting faithfully every week and there are quite a few ladies who look forward to seeing Tessa and fussing over her. I think doing WW while nursing makes it alot easier as I get 10 extra points (about 500 calories) above the average member, so I really can't complain. So I'd like to use that to my advantage and get off as much weight as I can while still nursing.

Now I don't feel so bad about skipping stroller aerobics this morning. Tessa had a rough night last night so we just didn't make it! She was chomping her hands pretty hard yesterday so I think it's her teeth. I gave her some teething drops this morning now of course she's snoozing away. I guess it would be smart to sneak a nap while the moment is opportune.

Just had to brag :)

Tee Hee

Funny video about breastfeeding...Enjoy

New Toys

Just thought we'd show off a couple of things. Here is Jeremy's birthday present. A charcoal grill that is also a smoker. We have a gas grill too but I think it will be abandoned for a while so Jeremy can play with this one. We had smoked salmon for dinner- very tasty!

And look what Tessa and I picked up today at a garage sale for only $1! It was calling my name, just needs a little pedal repair.

Snuggle time with the fam...just missing Mommy!

Happy Labor Day

Hey guys- Tessa here. Did y'all (yes I can say that- I am an Indiana kid after all) know that there's another labor day aside from the one where I came out of Mommy? Well Mommy was sick most of the weekend but feeling better today so we went out visiting.

Daddy helped Uncle Andy and Papaw rebuild a deck, but I just sat and watched. Daddy said that makes me a Supervisor.

I've been busy growing teeth and trying to put anything and everything in my mouth. The other day I even had a good grip on Hayden's tail and decided to give it a taste....not so good. Mommy says I've been a good girl about not waking up too much at night.

Also I am now wearing 3-6 month clothes. Can you believe I am that big? Alot of my 0-3s still fit me but Mommy had to start a storage thingy for the ones that don't. That makes Mommy sad, not sure why...she's crazy.

On Friday I spent the evening over at Auntie Erin's house and she took good care of me. Mommy and Daddy went on a date to a fancy restaurant and Mommy drank too much wine and was funny. So I had to eat some pumped milk from a bottle- yuck! I hate that stinky plastic thing.

Are you impressed with my grammar skills?
Ciao~ Tessa Vanessa Superbaby
aka Muffin Head, Muffin Cake, Sugar Booger, Lil' Miss or Principessa Poopypant

Bear Skin Baby

Ever since Jeremy's sister Carrie gave us a stuffed animal that looks like a mini bear skin rug, I've been waiting for the opportunity to take that classic nakey baby picture. So we had some fun tonight and got a couple of great shots

But of course the good shots came with lots of antics. Taking pictures of a baby is harder than it looks....thank goodness for digital cameras!

During our little photo shoot Tessa gave a few laughs. She's been squealing and goo-gooing for some time but this is the first time I've heard her say 'ha ha ha'. I tried to capture it on the video part of the camera but it was too hard to tape and tickle her at the same time. Good thing Daddy's coming home soon for just such an occasion!

Boredom Leads to Online Shopping

Well we are officially on day 9 of Jeremy being gone out of town and me alone with Tessa 24/7, and I've got to give props to the single moms out there. I definitely don't mind being alone with her all day, as we do that every day, but it sure would be nice to have someone else hold her for an hour or so in the evening.

She's continuing to teeth which has made her a little fussy and needy, and she thinks it's cute to throw a fit every time I leave the room to pee, check the mail, or get food. She has a couple of little white tooth buds under the surface that have gotten more prominent. Her sleeping is better but we've been using chamomile or gentle naturals teething drops alot...and once in a while (like last night) she just has a tough night!

I'm trying to keep us occupied so we don't get too lonely, but found myself shopping on Ebay yesterday to kill time. We got some baby clothes and Bum Genius diapers, and look what else- a juicer! We can make our own juice!

Simpsonized

Yes I know I'm a little slow on this bandwagon...but I've been simpsonized. Pretty good except I'm missing a baby on the hip (they don't have simpsonized baby images) and it wouldn't let me have two dogs, just one. Otherwise pretty good! :)

Mamaw's Famous

Well at least in North Vernon she is :)
http://plaindealer-sun.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&subsectionID=42&articleID=1870

Happy Birthday Mamaw

Hey Folks- Tessa here. Mom is all busy reading about feeding me or not feeding me so I thought I'd write my own blog. Doesn't she know I like the breastaurant anyway?

Last night was my Mamaw's birthday. We celebrated the 25th anniversary of her 30th birthday. That's confusing. Anyway, here are pictures!

Hey, listen up suckers or I'll sock you one!

There's my Mommy, Mamaw and Great-Mamaw. I was too busy eating my hand to smile

Bob was really into something called cake, and he made a mess!

We went on a walk. There's cousin Bill and below is Aunt Becky with flowers in her hair. Bob picked them for her.

When will I get to walk around in the garden with everyone? My mommy says not yet.

Papaw kisses me alot

There's Mamaw, the birthday girl

Hey I know that lady