18 months

Tessie is 18 months old! I can’t believe that she has been around for a year and a half. She has grown up so much. As we had expected, she is really understanding and using language now. She now has the following in her (speaking) vocabulary: hi, buh-bye, hat, mumma, dudda, apple, more-more, thank-you (duckoo), ball, shoes, socks, juice, upstairs (uppee), dog, sit (ish), train (choo-choo), boat, banana, bubble, kitty, trash (chosh). She has also added more signs: cat, helicopter, boat, cracker, and cookie, which she uses relentlessly until someone (i.e. daddy or grampa) gives in.

She is still running everywhere and climbing very well. She has become more independent in her play. She doesn’t need an adult on the floor with her all the time. She is happy enough to tinker around with her toys on her own and bring a book over to us once in a while. Her favorite book of the moment is “A” You’re Adorable (based on the song). She loves to sing and dance. She would give Jonathan Papelbon (Go Red Sox) a run for his money. You have to see the video. Hopefully I can figure that out for the next update

The biggest thing for me right now is how on-the-ball she is. She understands so much now. She follows directions (when she wants to) and even learned to be shy and/or embarrassed. It’s so cute. Her head drops down and she looks at her hands in her lap. I’m hoping we can bring her back out of her shell by touring her around again to visit lots of people. She wants to do everything on her own. She gets frustrated when I try to help her with things (like eating, wiping her nose and face, washing her hands, going up/down stairs, etc.) because she wants to do it by herself.

Tessie had lots of fun this fall. We picked out our pumpkins at Parlee Farms and had fun feeding goats. We had (toddler) friends over for a mini Halloween Party. My friend Liz took a bunch of fabulous photos of Tessie in her costume. We went to Brooklyn, New York this past weekend. She was a really flexible about adjusting to city life and being strapped down for the 4.5 hour ride each way. We visited with college roomie Karin (and cat Joey, whom was terrorized by Tessie all weekend). Tessie got her first ride on a train to Coney Island on Sunday. Tessie loved the New York Aquarium. She was a little freaked out by the giant walrus, but loved the fish, water fountains, and the general freedom of running around. We topped the day off by walking the boardwalk (seeing the Coney Island Polar Bear Club take a dip in the ocean) and getting none other than a famous Nathan’s Hot Dog. Take a look at the pictures.

I have changed the way you look at photos now. Instead of attaching huge files, I am sending you to Kodak or Snapfish (you choose) so you can see a whole slideshow rather than just a few pictures. It won’t take up space in your email and you can even have the photos printed locally if you want (Nana Sally). Let me know if you have a preference of a site because it’s tough uploading to two different sites. So look for emails immediately following this one from Kodak and Snapfish.