1 year!

Tessie turned ONE today! Our little baby is growing up. How quickly the year has gone. Tessie is such a wonderful little girl- I can’t call her a baby anymore, can I? Stephen and I are so proud of Tessie. She has developed this wonderful personality of her own. We can’t imagine her being any other way than the way she is. She is very sweet and likable (as any of you who have met her know) and she is learning something new everyday. She says “Hi” now (repeatedly) and waves hi and bye with much better timing. She is learning how to use the new swing-set that Daddy got for her birthday (we have connections), but a little too well. Her climbing abilities make Mommy a little nervous. She has no fear. She is taking baths in the big tub now. She loves it. I switched her carseat to face forward.
Her birthday party went off without a hitch. Everyone had a good time. She got many new fun things to play with and wear. Mommy is happy that Tessie’s college fund is growing. (Can you imagine how much it will cost in another 17 years?)
We visited family in NY this month again. We have been hosting new friends at the house, too. Tessie will be taking her first plane ride to Florida with Mommy and Grampa this weekend to visit Auntie Sally, Uncle Freddy, and the rest of the family in the Sarasota area. Keep your fingers crossed for pleasant DIRECT flights.
Thank you all for watching Tessie grow this year. We hope that you have enjoyed it. I will still try to keep you up to date with photos, but now that she is a fast moving toddler, I may not be so good at it. Thank goodness for digital cameras or I’d be sending you photos of the back of her head.

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.