7 months

November was a busy month of visitors and visiting. We were lucky with the weather being so nice that we were able to travel to the Albany area to visit with Tessie’s newest cousin Tristan and her pal (and cousin) Sara Rose. She also got to meet some of the other cousins when they visited to enjoy a Lithuanian meal. She’ll learn how to cook klaitchkes when she gets older…
She is trying new foods. We have been feeding her rice cereal still and gradually starting other new solids. She didn’t enjoy the sweet potatoes at first, but she’s learning about new flavors. We will be trying peas on her next. We’ll see how she does with that. I think we fear her diaper more than her reaction to new foods. She is growing so fast. Almost 16 lbs and 25 ½ inches long.
Now that she knows how to pull herself up to standing, that’s all she wants to do. Stephen says he can tell where Tessie has been from her “snail tracks” (drool that she leaves behind) as she moves along the furniture. Still no teeth yet. I think before the end of the year that she will have one. We have gated the stairs and have other temporary set-ups to keep Tessie safe. Once she sees something she likes (usually something that’s off-limits), she can crawl pretty fast.
Tessie is learning to imitate small things we do, so we really have to watch ourselves now. She makes raspberries and a lip smacking sound. We still don’t know if she is trying to tell us something when she does it. She tries to clap her hands only she hits the back of her hand instead of her palm. She will sometimes hit your palm if you hold it out to her too. She raises her hand to wave but not all the time. She loves it when people wave to her though.
Tessie’s first Thanksgiving was a success, traveling to Grampa’s in Walpole and to Auntie Cathy’s in Wilmington. She had fun seeing everyone and playing with her cousin Molly. We look forward to Tessie’s First Christmas.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year.

6 months

We are 7 days away from Tessie’s Half Birthday. She is growing so fast and it seems like she learns so much every day. She has been eager to get moving this month. She is already bored of sitting and learning to crawl and has taken to pulling herself to standing by using people and furniture. She is getting a little too daring though, trying to stand without support. This has lead to her nickname of Thumper because she often has tough landings.
In October we have started getting out more locally, despite my broken ankle for three weeks. We visited friends and family and started going to a story-time/sing-along at the Burlington Public Library. She is the loudest baby of the bunch and has a blast when she’s there. Halloween was a big event of course. We have scarred her for life as proven by the attached photos. She still loves us though. She is starting to show us that she actually knows who we are by making sad faces, reaching, or crying when we leave the room. Don’t let that fool you about her ability to socialize. Did I mention that she is a loud chatty baby? Still waiting for her to say “mama” or “dada”…
Enjoy our little chicken!

4 months

It’s amazing to really watch a human grow. Tessie is changing so much and learning so much every day. She is still sleeping through the night and stays busy during the day. She is awake more than asleep, which makes it a little harder to email, but much more fun overall. She rolls around a lot- sort of uses it as a mode of transportation. She is trying to creep and crawl, but hasn’t quite figured out how to hold her head up when moving her legs, so mostly she just plows her face along the carpet. Tessie is really watching what everyone is doing and pays close attention when we are eating. I think she may be almost ready to start cereal with her milk.
She is very grabby and mouthy. She grabs for anything that looks remotely interesting and shoves it into her mouth. Tessie’s new favorite toy is her Baby Einstein activity center. You should see the thing- it’s no wonder kids end up with ADHD with all of those attachments. She loves it and it keeps her attention. She is still chatty and seems to have found out her voice can get louder. She loves to hear it and look at herself in the mirror.
Tessie and I traveled to Long Island where my friend Kristen took about 200 pictures... don’t worry I didn’t attach them all. Then we went to New Hampshire with family for a few days too. She has gone swimming in a pool and dipped her toes in the ocean. She loved it. We may have another swimmer in the house! She is growing so fast. We will be getting her Christened on September 10th. No other major plans yet for September. It’s so strange to not be doing back-to-school shopping…