Welcome to the World, Jack!

I am so excited to be making this post! It has been a long road, but we finally got to the top on Wednesday the 17th at 6:05AM. Jack was born a whopping 9 lbs, 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches. My, did that hurt! We are all home now. Basically healing, getting cabin fever, and not a lot of sleep. Tessa is doing great as a new big sister. She loves helping to go get things mommy needs to take care of Jack. No matter how tired I am, this beats being pregnant ANY day!


Have a Merry Christmas!

Update

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I was kinda hoping to have my next post be a birth announcement. But it is taking FOREVER! I am sad to say, I am still pregnant. I still get approached about six times a day by total strangers wanting to know when my due date is. No one remembers how to talk to ME, they only know how to talk to my pregnancy. If I had a nickle for every "How are you feeling?", "When is your due date?", "I bet you're ready to be done"...I would have college funds and retirement taken care of. I guess everyone thinks they are the first to ask. Or maybe, they think I am excited to talk about the same three questions all day. I am eternally thankful for the few people left in my life that can have normal conversations with me. It really helps me remember that I actually am in here somewhere--not forever gone while cooking a baby.

ANYWAY. Did I mention my patience is virtually gone these days? :)

So. Since my last post, we have had a handful of snows. Some giving us 8 inches or so at once. Tessa got to build a snowman with her daddy on the deck. She LOVED it. In fact, she had to say hi to the snowman each day after building it as it shrunk more and more into a puddle.

The snowman started off normal enough, but when the face and arms needed to be added, Daddy got lazy. He didn't really get the right parts on the snowman. So when he finished, Tessa spent some time staring at the monstrosity before pulling out the eyes and arms and throwing them over the rail of the deck.

Which was fine with me--it kinda creeped me out.

We put up Christmas decorations and lights. The house is festive and fun. Since our cat Diego ran away last summer, we haven't had to limit the ornaments to unbreakable. We also don't have to flush the cat out of the tree every time we come home (he would sleep in the upper branches).

We woke up today to the news saying that the temp in Denver was -18 degrees. Yes, that's 18 BELOW zero. Anthony's car wouldn't start. And since getting into his work place is like trying to get into the oval office, a coworker of his had to meet us at the gate to drive him in. Tessa spent the whole morning on hyper drive about it all. She kept asking Anthony if "Daddy's blue car was broken?".

Well, that's about it! If I don't post before the 25th, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving...

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring except...

I was partially awake last night when I heard a loud noise in the house. I had just flopped over in the bed to lie on my other side and gotten my "nest" of pillows readjusted in all the right places when I heard it. So I did what every red-blooded American girl would do. I shook Anthony until he woke up and told him he needed to go check the house because I had heard a noise. As he stood up, we heard, "Daddy?" spoken softly outside the door. The loud noise I had heard was Tessa shutting her bedroom door as she left it. You see, when we first moved Tessa to a big-girl bed, we put safety child door knob covers in the inside of her room. She was too young to wander the house at night--but she was very capable of doing just that. Since then, Tessa has developed a very healthy fear of the dark. Apparently, the dark is where dragons are. She usually won't go into a dark room and certainly not a dark house alone. So we removed the doorknob lock. The last month, she has slowly come to discover this new freedom. And that leads us to last night.

We have officially begun that stage of parenting where your child comes into your room at night and asks you for a cup of water, or says they are scared, or tells you they are about to throw up. It's like being promoted in the field of parenting. (haha)

For Thanksgiving today, we cooked our little family a nice small feast. Before we ate, we made special hats together to wear. Anthony was a pilgrim, I was an Indian, and Tessa was a turkey. I know she spent over an HOUR playing with the glue, scissors, and construction paper. You give that child an art project and she goes to town!

My favorite dish was the deviled eggs. Tessa loved the rolls. Anthony said it was all great, but he ate seconds of the green bean casserole.

Now we are plunked on the couch digesting our meal while Tessa naps hers off upstairs. We are truly a blessed family!!

Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones today!!

Time keeps on Tickin'

There comes a point in every woman's pregnancy when she no longer cares how much sleep she will lose, or how painful labor will be, or how different life will be in her world with a new baby--she just wants it to be over!!!!!! I am officially there. I am past the worry stage. I am now into the please-let-it-be-over-soon stage. Here are some visual images that I think do a better job of communicating my feelings than my words ever could:

Maybe I've said too much...

Disney Princess Makeover

We got a book from the library a few months ago that had all of the Disney princess stories in it. I know there are a lot of mothers out there that cringe at the whole Disney Princess thing. I really never thought it would stick in Tessa's head so well. I guess it is reinforced over and over again whenever we walk into any store and see all of the Disney Princess products on display. Like, the Safeway has Campbell's chicken noodle soup with the noodles in Disney Princess shapes. And Tessa has such an eye for these things! She can pick a head shot of Ariel out of a million Disney characters in seconds. She is just all about everything princess right now. And no, we don't discourage it. Mostly because she is 2 1/2 and very cute when she pretends to be a princess. Groan all you want! My most favorite part of this whole fascination with princesses, is that Tessa will call her Daddy a Prince and ask him to dance with her. They will get up and dance around the living room or kitchen. And she always has this cute smile on her face. My second favorite part about the princess phase is the names she calls each princess. Here are a few of my favorites:

Princess = Princa (prince - ah)

Belle = Bale

Beast = Peas

Ariel = Arrow

Snow White = Nose White

Sleeping Beauty = Slippin' Booty (my personal favorite)

Cinderella = Cinarera

I was driving Tessa to school the other day when the light for our turning lane turned green. The woman in front of me didn't notice the change, so I said--rather impatiently (HUGE SHOCKER)--"Green Arrow"! Tessa was listening in the back seat and said, "No, Mommy! It's a RED Arrow". It took me a minute to realize that she was referring to Ariel and her red hair. And I had to concede the point.

The Turtles said it.

The days of parenting one child are numbered for us. Tessa will unknowingly step into the shoes of "big sister". I feel like I am cheating her in some strange way. I have become increasingly aware of the little moments we have together. I spend more time cuddling and snuggling with her, and I love to just watch her play. I dedicate "Happy Together" to my precious princa:

Imagine me and you, I do

I think about you day and night, it's only right

To think about the girl you love and hold her tight

So happy together

If I should call you up, invest a dime

And you say you belong to me and ease my mind

Imagine how the world could be, so very fine

So happy together

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you

For all my life

When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue

For all my life

Me and you and you and me

No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be

The only one for me is you, and you for me

So happy together

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you

For all my life

When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue

For all my life

Me and you and you and me

No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be

The only one for me is you, and you for me

So happy together

Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-baBa-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba

Me and you and you and me

No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be

The only one for me is you, and you for me

So happy together

So happy together

How is the weather

So happy together

We're happy together

So happy together

Happy together

So happy together

So happy together (ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba)

Thoughts on baby number two.

My God, my God! Help me! It's about to begin!!!

Dear Lord, PLEASE make this baby come right at 37 weeks. I can't stand being pregnant any longer than that!

Father, I wish I wasn't pregnant. OK, I wish I wasn't having another child. Please reverse time to March so I can start over. I SOOOOOO don't want to do this.

What's he going to be like? Will he look like his daddy? Will he have blue eyes and dark hair? Will he have long eye lashes? Will he laugh early and have dimples?

WOW! I can't wait to experience having a boy! It will be like the tomboy coming back out in me. I have always done better with guys.

I don't know if I will like having a boy. I mean, they are so........boyish! They like bugs and boogers! They don't have cute clothes like girls do! Their hair is basically one style forever! And they don't *gasp* like to shop!!!!!!

And the tumbling conflicting mass of thoughts goes round and round in my head like the clothes in my washing machine are doing right now. By the way, I totally waited until I only had one pair of clean undies before I broke down and did laundry this time. At this rate, there will be fungus growing on all the surfaces of my house when we bring Todd Junior home. The gripping fear and the awesome wonderment are still duking it out for control. The worst part is having to filter out the nay-sayers. There are several people in my life who just fill me up with negative thoughts. They mean well (I think), but they give me that pitiful head-tilt and wish me luck. Or they share all of their war stories. I say "war stories" because some people make having two children sound like the hardest, most grueling, in-the-trenches job ever. I half expect them to start pulling up their pants legs to show me scars or thump their scalp where the metal plate had to be installed in their head after the Battle of the Legos. Fortunately, the Lord has seen fit to bless me with some optimistic friends who realistically represent the challenges but at the same time gloriously embellish the good things.

Don't worry though. I fully intend to use some of the entries of this blog to represent the changing realities of the Todd household. And I will embellish the good as much as possible because life is better for everyone that way.

Quote of the day:

"Hold onto your butts!" said by Samuel L. Jackson in Jurassic Park.

Life in General

The days around here continue to blend one into the next. Especially since the time change. I am at a distinct disadvantage because I am tired a lot of the time these days. And I am supposed to stay up later so I don't get up at 4 in the morning. But last night, I could only make it to 9:00, and I woke up at 4:30. So I am going to try for 9:30 tonight. Wish me luck!

The Lord has truly blessed some of my time with Tessa lately. We have shared some very special and heart warming moments together. I am very glad for that since I will be less able to focus on just her in the near future. Just yesterday, she came over to the kitchen table where I was reading a book, and climbed up in one of the chairs. I could sense she was staring at me, so I looked up at her and she smiled really big. I said, "What are you smiling at?" and she said "I'm lovin" (which means "I love you"). I was charmed and scooped her into my lap for a hug and kiss. She snuggled against my huge belly, and we contentedly chatted together. At one point, she looked outside at the trees blowing in the wind and said, "Trees are laughing." It was an enchanting description of the bright yellow trees dancing in the wind.

Today, we got home and all Tessa wanted to do was "paint a princa picture". This activity usually gives me about 20 minutes of quiet time until Tessa's artistic expressions begin to travel outside of the box. Sometimes I just let her go with it as long as she doesn't eat the paint.

Trunk or Treat

Our church does trunk or treat every year. It has been a fun way to get some miles out of a Halloween costume. This year, Tessa was Tinkerbell. It was a pretty popular choice--I think we saw four other Tinkerbells while we were there. Besides the chill in the air, it was a good time had by all. Here are some pictures from our evening:

We actually got her to stand still long enough to get this shot:

And then she was OFF!!!

This man was dubbed "scary", and when we left, Tessa waved and said, "Bye-Bye, Scary!"

This was Tessa's Tinkerbell Pout. See how it compares to the original.

Jumping around to stay warm became a must. Note the red nose. Sorry about the blurry shot--I will learn how to properly use my camera one day...

There may have been four other Tinkerbells, but ours was the cutest!

A Big Scare

So I had a hard day yesterday. Around noon, I picked Tessa up to place her on the changing table and on the way up her leg bumped the railing on the side. It obviously hurt because she started to cry really hard. Then she started the "not breathing" cry she does when something really hurts. The difference this time was that she wasn't coming out of it. She was just not catching her breath. And she started to turn purple. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she began to go limp. I became frantic. I sat her up and her head lolled to the side while her eyes were half open. She was still trying to get a breath! I stood her up and she took one short breath...and then another. Finally, she started breathing normally as she slowly came back around and resumed her crying. I had never been so scared in all my life.

Once it was all over, she was fine and went on to have a happy day. I, however, could not get the images out of my head. I spent the rest of the day spoiling her so she wouldn't cry. Of course, keeping a toddler from crying is like stopping the sun from setting. And (coincidentally) as the sun set, she fell pretty hard on her bottom. Fortunately, her crying didn't escalate beyond the normal. But I was on edge until it was over.

After calling the doctor and doing some googling, it turns out Tessa's episode was pretty normal. Well, as normal as freaking your mother out can be. However, I am pretty sure it will take me a little while to get back to "normal", myself.

Family Visits!

So my family and Anthony's family visited over the last few weeks. We had lots of fun experiences and got lots of great pictures of Tessa enjoying her grandparents. Here are a few pictures my dad took of Tessa while he and my mom were here:

And here are some pictures from Anthony's family visiting:

Tessa received a princess dress-up outfit as an early Christmas present from her Aunt and Uncle Hawley. Obviously the gift was a total bust (hahaha).

I love you, Grandma!

Today, Tessa reminded me of my grandma. I have been blessed with a very close relationship with my grandmother over the last several years. She is a bright light in my life. There is one aspect of her that shines the brightest, and that is her God-given gift of encouragement. My grandmother can encourage anyone. She has a beautiful way of finding the good in every situation, but mostly--she finds the good in me. No matter what. In this way, my grandmother is like Christ to me. If I ever need a pick-me-up, I can just call her on the phone, and she is ready to bolster my confidence in any way needed. I love you, grandma, for that!

So this is how I saw my grandmother in Tessa today. Tessa loves to watch me or Anthony do things. She always wants to know what we are doing. She particularly loves to follow her daddy around in the back yard while he is picking up after the dogs. For each successful "scoop", she applauds and congratulates him. She says "Yeah Daddy!!" and "Good job, Daddy!" and always runs into the house to share with me how great Daddy did. I think it's precious how easily she finds delight in the success of someone else--even someone picking up dog poop.

May you bask in the warmth of God's delight over you, his child.

Expand your Brains!

OK. I know it's been a while since I've written anything new. But to be honest, there hasn't been a whole lot going on. Tessa is enjoying pre-school. She is learning some big things like:

1. Use markers on the paper, not your arms and face.
Apparently, Tessa was trying to draw on lipstick. The teacher turned to grab a towel to wipe it off, and when she turned back around the whole class was painting their lips. What can I say--she's a born leader!

2. Do not spit in the teacher's face when she tells you to do something you don't want to.
I still haven't found the words to say about this.

3. When the teachers say don't run, they have a reason.
Tessa's teachers had to file an accident report on her because she was running in the music room (even though they called her name and told her to stop) and fell and hit her head pretty hard. They were supposed to be hopping in a circle while shaking their maracas, but Tessa got too excited and lost control. Can you say "Windham"?

Somehow, she has also begun to realize that the closet is a dark and scary thing at night. She told me yesterday morning that there was a dragon in her closet. I had to open it and show her it was gone. Where did she learn that????

Anthony and I are busy learning, too. Anthony is learning how to be a supportive husband with a pregnant woman in the house all over again. He is also learning a lot about corporate worship. He is on a committee that was set up to reevaluate worship in church and what it should be about, etc. Meanwhile, I am learning about teen Bible studies and what makes them work. I am also learning fun ways to decorate pumpkins. I kinda don't like the whole scary carved face thing, so I am trying some non-traditional approaches. I will take pictures and post them soon.

Otherwise, it's the day-to-day around here!

Mall Crawl

Saturday night, we decided to go to dinner and then hop over to the mall to kill some time before taking Tessa home for bed. She had been at a park for a large chunk of the day, so we opted for a change of scenery. Anyway, it was almost like a date for Anthony and I. Mostly because the mall's floor projector babysat Tessa for about 25 minutes. We were able to sit on a bench and watch her while we had a real adult conversation with no interruptions! She fell promptly asleep when we got home, and slept 11 hours waking up still sleepy for church.

She would lie flat on the floor when someone walked by--I guess she thought they couldn't see her or something.

Local Gang of Raccoons Outsmart Engineer

I am so tired right now. For the last two nights, I have not been able to sleep for more than two hours at a time. And it's not even due to a newborn yet! Our problem is...

And I guess the other two problems are the dogs and Anthony. See, our neighbors have this grape vine that gets fruit this time of year. Then the raccoons come to eat off of it at night. The dogs go berserk barking at the raccoons. Anthony runs down to make the dogs stop barking before the neighbors can't sleep either. I have been letting Anthony get out of bed and deal with this problem because, well, it's hard to get up and down in your third trimester. But I am about to take matters into my own hands. Anthony thinks he can run off the raccoons. He comes into the bedroom after being out in the yard and running around the house panting and giving me a play by play at 2:30 in the morning. "And there was this one big one.....And I got a rock.....Just hung there looking at me!!" I keep telling him that raccoons will not be run off by suburban men carrying rocks when food is involved. I pleaded with him to just bring the dogs in the house. But no. He has to outsmart the raccoons. He actually mentioned something about a man defending his territory. Here is what the raccoon said:

So we'll see how it goes tonight. Anthony might just be sleeping in the basement where he can better "defend" his territory.

Communication is Key

I feel that the best way to communicate what I am feeling today is with a picture that portrays the exact opposite of where I'm at:




Having done that, I have nothing further to add.

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been tagged to write 6 random things about myself on my blog. This will take a little bit of thinking, but since I like talking about myself, it should be fun!

1. I can't sleep unless the covers are just right. I am not one of those people who flings their body into the bed and doesn't care whether their feet stick out or the comforter is half on the floor. In fact, one of my favorite ways to relax is to take a nice hot bath or shower, slip into some cozy pj's and then slide between perfectly clean 1,000 thread count, wrinkle free, perfectly placed sheets on a perfectly made bed. This is always followed by a few moments to myself to read a book before my husband flings his body into bed and maneuvers half the comforter onto the floor with his careless tossing and turning in the night. Oh well.

2. I have amazingly vivid dreams that are more like movies with entire plots and a slew of characters. Anthony has always enjoyed our lazy Saturday mornings where we wake up together and I can relate the latest blockbuster in my head. And he should, since most all of his dreams (that he remembers) involve violence and peril. Which gets boring after a while. And might account for his careless tossing and turning in bed at night.

3. I like to take my sandwiches apart to eat them. I have been this way since I was a kid, and I'm not sure how it got started, but I will make a sandwich and then sit down and take it apart eating each ingredient one at a time. This doesn't work with PB&J, but most everything else. Anthony will pause in eating his own sandwich to watch me eat mine. He thinks it's funny and will tease me to no end about it. Tessa also likes to take apart her sandwiches. She even manages to make it work with PB&J. Anthony swears she inherited that from me.

4. I have a degree in Mathematics and I am married to a Mathematician. Anthony was three years ahead of me in college, so I would sometimes pick his brain for help in my more difficult classes. That was not so good for our relationship. It's one of those things I don't tell people about, and it usually surprises them to know.

5. I think Sophie Kinsella was channeling me when she wrote the Shopaholic series. Mostly. I know the Becky Bloomwood character is a little bit more ditsy than me (please let me have this one). Plus, she is in no way a Christian, but otherwise we are the same person. That probably revealed more about me than I wanted.

6. This is hard! Ummmmm.....My favorite smell in the whole world is Home Depot. Seriously, when I walk into one, my nostrils automatically flare while I breathe deeply the aroma of wood, dust, and potting soil. It almost gets me high I love it so much. I'm craving the smell just sitting here writing about it.

OK. That does it for me. It wasn't as easy as I thought! I tag Melanie H, Christina M, and Nicole P. Have fun!!!!

Breakin' Out

Today was the first day of MOPS! It started off with a prison break! I dropped Tessa off at her classroom (at the end of the hall) and went back to the first of the hall to chat with a friend. Then I heard someone yell, "We have an escapee!". I turned to look, and here comes Tessa running so fast that her hair is a straight line behind her head. And she has that look on her face that one could only call desperate hope. Her eyes were wide and she was leaning back slightly at the waist while her upper half tried to keep up with her lower half. She got halfway before she was grabbed from behind. As they teacher turned her back to her room, all hell broke loose. Here, I saw a little of me in her when I usually see so much Anthony. Where Anthony would have been resigned to his fate, Tessa was the complete opposite. That 2.5 seconds of freedom just tasted too sweet.

I'm sure Tessa did many other things to charm the pants off her teachers in the following two hours. They just didn't mention anything. Probably because there were too many cute stories to choose from.

Another Thursday!

Wednesday was Tessa's first day of preschool. She was so excited about it. I think she had a whole lot of fun. Her teachers said she didn't nap, but sat quietly on her palate and read a book. She was so tired, she almost slept until 8:00 this morning! I guess it was just a long day for her. She sure is growing up fast!

The Tuesday morning Women's Bible Study has also started at our church. It is off to a great start. Plus they give us free baby-sitting. I mean, you really can't beat that! I am very excited about my group--it's small and intimate. And I think everyone in there is ready for a closer walk with the Lord. It's so much better to step out of ones comfort zone with others beside you.

Well, that's all for now. I hope y'all have a blessed weekend!

Today is Thursday, And...

This morning, the whole house woke up feeling better. I feel a little better because I actually slept last night (and could breathe). Tessa slept really well, too. We had breakfast together and then went to the grocery store. Tessa behaved herself like I've never seen. She even held onto the cart as we walked to the car and "helped" me get it there OK. I had to stop and tell her how proud I was of her good behavior. She shrugged her left shoulder up to her ear and smiled. She was so thrilled with herself. If only that were enough incentive to keep things like this from now on.

Our Life Group has started a short study of the book, The Shack. It is going to be a challenge to many people in that group--including me. I think it will get people thinking about blurring some of their harsh black and white lines into grey. Which is always a good thing, but a little scary at first. Like, for instance, the book asserts that Jesus comes to get us off whatever path we are on to save us. In other words, our response is only that--a response to the work He already did. That will be a change from the "Be baptized for the remission of your sins" thinking. It might lean us towards the "Be baptized because Jesus' blood has washed away your sins". The only real difference is that the power and glory is shifted from us to God (where I think it should be anyway). Still, like I said, this is grey matter and hard to know the exact dimensions of. Salvation is a great mystery of eternal workings and power. I can't wait to get to heaven and see salvation from God's point of view.

Pray for me. Anthony might be catching my cold. I would say pray for Anthony, but I will be the one wanting to kill him. I must resist the urge....

My Women's Bible Study starts up Tuesday. I am leading Blackaby's Experiencing God. I've never done the study before, but everyone who has raves about it. So it should be a great avenue to gaining a more personal relationship with the Lord and other women in my church as well.

Tessa met her pre-school teachers yesterday. Her class age-group spends a lot of time on potty training. They try to get everyone potty trained before the class ends. I think it's wonderful to have other people helping me potty train her. Like teammates.

Well, today and tomorrow mark the last two days of summer vacation for me and Tessa. Our time together will drop from EVERY day, to Thursdays and every other Friday. She is going to love the change, and SO AM I!!!!!!!!!!! I just know I will be a different person with some "me" time. I might even have nice fingernails, eyebrows and hair just as a result of more time for "me". ;)

We Do It By The Numbers

1. I'm sick with a head cold.

2. My voice comes and goes.

3. Tessa found my wallet in my purse and snuck it out onto the deck and casually threw all of my cash into the back yard. Then she opened the change pocket and (one-by-one) dropped each coin through the deck boards. Then she took out each credit card, bank card, etc. and buried them in her sandbox.

4. I didn't find out until way too late.

5. While running around the yard after my money, Tessa got my glass of water from the table and stuffed a scarf into it and then dumped the whole thing onto the couch.

6. I didn't find out until I sat down.

7. While I was squeezing out the scarf in the sink, Tessa removed all of the books from an entire row of our bookshelf and THREW them around the room.

8. I knew she was doing this and hid in the kitchen.

9. When I finally went to pick up the books, Tessa rolled her baby's stroller out onto the deck and filled the cloth seat up with sand from her sand box.

10. I went to peel potatoes for dinner in the kitchen and heard a strange sound. Like sand.

11. I walked in on Tessa grabbing two huge handfuls of sand out of the stroller and throwing them backwards over her shoulders all over the living room.

12. Daddy got home late tonight and didn't call ahead of time.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dogs Tails

We found out this morning that we are having a boy! It was not what I expected, but I was overjoyed. Anthony mentioned checking off the "I'm a man" box for having a son. I guess he was pretty pleased. So here we go to the one-of-each world. Of course, we knew Baby #2 would have to be strong to have Tessa as a big sister. I mean, she will probably be feeding him bugs every time I turn my back. And if the way she treats her baby dolls is any indication...

The ultrasound picture is blurry, I know. If you can't tell, little Boy Todd is sucking his thumb. He is already taking after his daddy (who was a notorious thumb-sucker). He wouldn't mind that I told you that. Probably. OK, don't tell him I told you, OK? OK.

Tessa's Pick of the Week

BUGS = COOL

I was unloading the dishwasher this morning when I heard a crash come from the living room. The crash was the sound of Tessa falling in her haste to get to me in the kitchen. She was yelling,

MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!!!!!!!

(Yes, Momo is gone...sigh). She burst around the corner and said,

Look at that! See that?

and she pointed inside her mouth. I looked inside wondering what I would see (I'll be honest here, I was a little reluctant to know). I didn't see anything, but I said,

WOW! What is that?

To which Tessa swelled her chest out and replied (with obvious pride),

A BUG!

I looked again, still seeing nothing, but I asked,

Did you eat a bug?

And Tessa leaped in the air and yelled

YES!!!

with a huge smile on her face. Trying to suppress my laughter, I said,

Oh! What did it taste like? Was it yummy?

Tessa looked at me seriously for a moment and then said

Bug was dirty. See that?

And she pointed in her mouth again. I explained to her that she shouldn't eat bugs or other dirty things she might find on the floor. While explaining this, with little point I'm sure, Daddy called. He was on speaker and immediately Tessa began jumping up and down in her excitement to tell him about the bug. When Tessa gets excited, she sounds like

WafimstasruksfordurtysanthesgubanthesBUG! See that?

So usually, the person listening will gather about 2 words--just enough to get the gist.

JONAS BROTHERS = NOT COOL

My new camera is supposed to get here tomorrow, so I am anticipating that. I can't wait to start snapping pictures everywhere. It would have been so easy to get a picture of Tessa holding her mouth open and pointing inside this morning if I had a working camera. Another exciting thing happening tomorrow is the big ultrasound that will reveal whether we are having a boy or girl. I am 22 weeks pregnant right now, so it's a few weeks later than usual. Oh well. We are pretty excited. I will be sure to write about it then.

Oh yeah, and then there was the Jonas Brothers. I took Tessa to the Great Clips by our house to get her bangs trimmed again. She remembered the routine exactly. From hopping into the chair, to sitting really still. She did great. Her favorite part is at the end, of course, when they give her a sucker. Before they even offered, she hopped around and yelled sucker. So I reminded her of her manners--hahahahahahahahaha (sorry, I had to get a hold of myself there)--and she said please and thank you in her charming way. The hair dresser then asked her if she would like a poster of the Jonas Brothers. Tessa just stared (she has Proverbs 17:28 down pat). So the lady handed her a rolled up poster. Tessa held it in her hand a few moments looking from it to the sucker in her other hand and back again. Making her decision, she handed the poster back. I'm sure she felt like it was a no-brainer, but maybe was trying to not hurt the lady's feelings. So we left Great Clips plus one watermelon flavored dum-dum, and minus one Jonas Brothers poster. I think we got the better end of the deal. ;)

Soap, Hell and Fire

I don't soap box very much on this blog. Even though, if you know me, you know I have...ahem...opinions. But I guess this has been on my mind lately. So sometimes writing it down helps. Our new preacher, young though he is, gave a great talk last Wednesday night about leading others to Christ. Evangelism. It's a word that many people shrink from because of its implications. Namely getting out of the Lazy Boy and being among the masses. I can understand--evangelism has so many forms and formulas these days--which do you choose? Our preacher discussed those good-intentioned Gospel meeting preachers of old who would try to "scare" people into the water. Jesus was described as a get-out-of-hell-free card. He went on to plead with people to present Jesus as a Savior from sin, an amazing Redeemer, and a loving Shepherd. It's almost revolutionary to think on these terms. I mean, if you don't first "help" the lost know they are, at this moment, hanging from a thread over the fiery lakes of Hell, then how do you present their need? Many have grappled with this question. What is the best way to be Jesus to others? What can you say to logically introduce the salvation conversation? How do you get your foot in the door, so to speak? These are very important questions, and they are usually asked by people given the gift of a passion for the lost. But (yes, there is the but), I hardly ever hear talk of the Holy Spirit in these discussions. I am beginning to feel like the Church of Christ is a little reluctant to mention His involvement. Actually, I haven't heard mention of the Spirit in a long time at our church. And that is a whole other soap box I won't mention...for now. ;) Taking the story of Acts chapter 2 as a powerful example of Evangelism, I notice two key points. One, there was no mention of hell, just a testimony of Jesus' character and validity as the Messiah. Two, they did it through the help of the Holy Spirit. It wasn't them--in fact, they waited what must have seemed like a long time before they spoke to the people (the lost) because they had been told to not go ahead without the Helper. When was the last time I heard someone give the testimony of waiting to hear from the Spirit for the go ahead from the pulpit? It's been long enough. I bet the apostles had a very captivated audience, though. The timing of the Spirit is perfect. Still, wouldn't you listen to someone with fire burning out of the top of their head? I mean, I would at least watch to see if anything else caught fire. Like, just maybe, the hearts of the listeners.

Singing Mice and Birds Not Included

We just ended a day that never left the 50s! And it rained the whole day! It was a strange day to have in August because it really felt like fall. Tessa and I snuggled on the couch and watched Cinderella together. She hardly ever gets to watch TV, and it is a huge treat for her to get to watch a whole movie (all 76 minutes of it!). She loves to point out princess things whenever she sees them. I think she was a little enchanted with Cinderella and her animal friends.

When Anthony got home, he took his cabin-fevered family to the mall where we could run amok through the stores and go up and down all the escalators. I actually freak out about escalators. I keep having images of Tessa's foot getting sucked down through the iron teeth. Or a part of her clothing. I always have to hold onto her when we hop on one of those. She hates it and wants to do it all by herself, but that is one of those things I won't bend on!

We spent some time in the Disney store. Tessa enjoyed pointing out all of the princess gear to her daddy. A funny note: she calls the prince on Cinderella "daddy". And he doesn't have a goatee.

I picked up a hot chocolate for the ride home. It tasted sooooo good. Of course, I only drank half of it. I asked for a small, but I guess they only had one size which looked like large to me. When we got home, I put the half-full drink on the counter and went to take a shower. When I got out, I could hear sounds of tickling happening in Tessa's room. Anthony was changing her into her pj's for bedtime. I walked in and saw that her shirt was COVERED in chocolate. As was her face and neck. I guess I hadn't pushed the drink far enough back on the counter. Anthony said she "might" have had a drink of my hot chocolate. I looked down at Tessa and asked her if she had some of Mommy's drink. She said, very cheerfully, "YES!". I asked her if it was good, and she chirped out another "YES!". There was no shame in her voice or knowledge of wrong-doing in her eyes. Just a complete admittance of a very enjoyed beverage.

I am about to get off this computer to go watch a movie with the SO. We love our new TV--we are literally the last people we knew who hadn't succumbed to the huge TV urge. So it's still new and fun to watch movies in the dark. Bye!

Saturday In the Park

Well, we drove to Clement Park today for a little sit-and-watch-Tessa-play good time. There happened to be an event going on near the park. We must have got there before the crowds. There were two bounce-castles ready to use with only a few little girls on them. For $1 we could let Tessa go play to her heart's content. It was her first ever bounce castle experience. And boy did she love it! The only downside was getting her out so we could go eat lunch!

After she woke up from her nap, we went to Tiny Town. It was overcast, and we probably had a 50/50 chance of staying dry, but went for it! We rode the train first. As we were sitting on the train waiting to go, another train ran into us from behind. It was a huge jolt! The old guys who run the trains had a good laugh at the one who crashed into us and then started on their merry way. Tessa wasn't so sure it was all OK:

Then we strolled around the tiny houses peeking in and out of the windows:

After wandering in and out of the houses, we settled for a while in the playground where, if I remember right, Tessa learned to slide with her Memaw and Papa. Today's play time was mostly involving her Daddy:

And most of it was pleasant. :)

The rest of what was left of the evening after we got home was spent playing hide and seek and other fabulous 2 1/2 year old games. Daddy just put Tessa to bed, and now we are going to pretend to be grown-ups until we can't stay up anymore (which is in, like, and hour). Hope y'all are having a blessed time this weekend with your loved ones!

Hello Texas! Sure's good to see you again!!

We are back from our long trip to Texas. We left Daddy sitting in his cubicle at work and burned up the highway between here and Burleson. I think I listened to Peter Pan a few more times than a human should, but besides that, it was a smooth trip with no problems!

Once we got to Texas and I avoided not to faint in the heat and humidity, we were on top of the world. We had so much fun! Tessa played harder than usual, and was completely spoiled. I got a much needed break from having eyes in the back of my head, and I got to eat Blue Bell ice cream--the very best there is!

Here is some pictures of some of the fun:

Gone Baby Gone

About a week ago, our cat Diego escaped from the house on evening. He hasn't come back yet. We thought maybe the thunderstorm and the fireworks the following nights might have driven him into hiding. We have walked around the neighborhood several times hoping to see him. But we haven't seen or heard a thing. So this is what we put up near the mailboxes in the neighborhood:

It's been two days with no calls. It seems like the end of the line for Diego (or Diablo as my grandmother calls him). It's saddest when Tessa asks about him. But so far, she has contented herself with tormenting Kitty. She has been bitten twice. Where did that girl learn such stubborn ways?

Genesis 21:6

This evening Tessa was looking at Anthony's armpit hair with a puzzled expression on her face. After a few seconds, she pointed at the hair and said, "Daddy's dirty!" I had to laugh...and agree!

But Don't Touch My Hat

These last few weeks of the summer have been pretty fun. We took Tessa to the city pool for the first time. She actually had a pretty good time! She talked about it for days, and she even has a slight tan line! She has been outdoors as much as possible. She also has two completely skint knees (or as we like to call them--summer merit badges).

Anthony was out of town last week on business in D.C., but he brought home a present for Tessa. She was so thrilled to see him and talked nonstop the rest of the evening.

I have been playing around with painting. As in canvas. I actually really enjoy doing it more than I thought I would. And I found I had more "talent" than I thought.

Tessa started teething again. She is getting her two-year molars. (cringe) So far, it has only been crankiness and a few...uhhh...diaper...ahem...problems. That is why the following shots are of a near naked Tessa. Trust me, no more details are needed.

OK. Sorry. It's hard to pick just one. Tessa loves her cowboy hat. She wears it every time she goes outside. She also likes to dip it in the pool and then put it back on. You know--for a quick cool down.

Anyway, that's all from the Todd household. Hope your summer is going well!