Happy Birthday, Cutie!

Yeah! Tessa is two!

Anthony stayed late enough in the morning to be there to wake her up. We went into her room singing happy b-day. Anthony was holding a huge birthday balloon that scared Tessa right out of her footie pj's. She grabbed onto me so fast that she left a long scratch down the front of my neck. I asked her if she liked her balloon, and she said, "NO BOON!" It only took a few minutes though before she was trying to wrestle it into her crib. In fact, when we got to Women's Bible Study at the church, she told everyone she met that she got a balloon by running up to people and shouting "BOON!".

Anthony also bought Tessa two flowers. They are pink roses and Tessa loves to smell them, of course. She also got an Aquadoodle that hangs on the wall. After we put that up, her other two gifts might have been air. She drew and drew on that thing. And then she would get so excited about the whole drawing-on-the-wall experience that she would run into the living room screaming COLOR!! to us and then run back out again.

Tragedy struck right before dinner. Tessa had been playing outside and came running in for a drink. So I started to unzip her coat and inadvertently unzipped her skin on her neck, too. She cried a long time over that. You should be able to see the spot in one of the pics. Poor baby. That explains the puffy red eyes in the cupcake picture. She cheered up considerably at that point. You can also see her telling her Daddy to stop unwrapping her present and let her do it. I don't know where she gets that from! ;)

A Day Full of Hugs and Kisses

What a great day! I love days that are just easy. This was one of those stress-free days you long for in a Saturday. We went to the mall this morning together. Tessa loves malls (she is just like her momo (she says it like mom-moe)). One of her favorite things to do is throw money into the fountain. And I love how pennies are just as exciting as nickels! :) We happened to walk by a silk flower display. Tessa loves flowers. She calls them fluflies no matter how many times we tell her they are f-l-o-w-e-r-s. I think she figures those bits of information are mere suggestions for her to take or leave at her discretion. Anyway, she loves to smell flowers--even if they're fake. She always says, "Mmmmmm!"

Today was a day full of hugs and kisses because Tessa must have given Anthony and I a thousand. She is normally very choosey with her affection. She never gives what is asked for. But today, she constantly requested hugs and kisses by grabbing our pant legs and saying, "hugs". Each hug is usually followed by a kiss. So I thouroughly enjoyed the sweet affectations of my little angel today.

She also talked on the phone for the first time today. Usually, if you hold the phone up to her ear, she just freezes with a look of wonder on her face quickly followed by a quizical stare at the receiver as if there is someone in there she didn't know about. Today, however, she spoke to her Memaw (which I am sure Memaw treasured). While Tessa spoke, a look of surprise and delight came over her features--like a light came on and it clicked that there was actually someone there to talk to. Anthony and I watched with rapt smiles on our faces as we ourselves realized we were witnessing our daughter's first phone conversation. Firsts are so fun! And let me tell you, they are happening a lot around here.

One example of a first happened on Valentine's Day. We all went sledding together. Out of all the pushing, hauling, sliding, and spinning, I think Tessa enjoyed 5 seconds. She did let out a weak little "weeee" that quickly died out. Like the fun she thought she might have been starting to have. She learned the word "slippery" which she calls "shlippy". She also spent a lot of time being concerned that there was snow on her precious pink cowboy boots. What can I say? The girl loves shoes. Just like her momo. And so we come full circle.

Spiritual Stepping Stones

Recently, Tessa has been praying by herself. It came as a surprise to me, although I ask her every night if she wants to. She normally stares at me and waits for me to start. She loves to say "AMEN!" and then it's off to bed. Here in the last few nights, she has begun to actually pray herself. The only part I understand is "AMEN!", but I know the Lord knows what she is saying. It reminds me of 1 Peter 1:12.

And because I can't help myself, I am adding a clip here of Tessa counting. Daddy's pride and joy!!

Y'all have a great night!

Hunting for the Foochshu

Well, I had to get up in the middle of the night last night and do that parental duty of hunting for the foochshu. That is what Tessa calls her pacifier. We have no idea where it started and what got her calling it that, but it stuck. So here I am feeling around in the dark for this thing in the general direction Tessa is pointing. Eventually I turn on the light and look in every nook and cranny. I eventually found it in the crib with her. I'm still rolling my eyes.



In better news, we LOVE the play kitchen we got off ebay. I get to cook dinner and do whatever in relative peace. Here is a few "kitchen" moments:

You know, one of the greatest challenges I have lately is catching the fun stuff we see Tessa do on camera. She stops whatever she is doing every time I turn it on. So here is a video of Tessa loving her reflection self again. First, she is dancing and then she is...well, you'll see.

OK. To finish up this video clip extravaganza, I will post proof that Tessa might have inherited her father's singing ability. I present "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (if you listen closely, she actually does say the word spider at the very end):

Dinner Conversation

Growing up, our dinner table was always a place of conversation and laughter. That might have been due to the fact that there were three of us girls and my dad, but I like to think it was because we were such a charismatic family. So conversation at the dinner table is encouraged at our house. Although, we aren't sure what Tessa is saying most of the time. And sometimes she talks with her mouth full (but so does her dad--what can you do?). Here is a little snippet of Tessa talking with Daddy about her day:

I'm A Model, You Know What I Mean

We finally got to above freezing on the old mercury last weekend. It might have been 55 degrees! So we went to the playground. And Tessa played like she has never played before. In fact, she was so excited about being there that she was constantly saying what she was doing. Like, "Slide! Slide! Slide! Slide! WEEEEEEEE!!!" when she was running to go slide, and "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" when she was chasing a dog. Anyway, in the midst of her busy playground activities, she paused long enough for her adoring fans to get a few photo-ops:






Serious Play.















Snow Angel Jacket, Consignment $3; Striped Sport Leggings, Gymboree $8; Makeup and Hair by Todd Studios













I'm cute and I know it!!















Looking thoughtfully into the distance.

Weather the Weather

I just back from working out. Which is saying something tonight because the temperature is 3 degrees with a wind chill of -10 and falling. Unfortunately, my drive isn't far enough to get the car warmed up. Oh, and it's snowing.

Tessa and I both had fevers today. Tessa's was low-grade due to a cold. Mine was cabin due to a lack of anywhere to go. We made due by playing and whining and snuggling on the couch a lot. Tessa can totally out-whine me. We invented a new game today that I like to call the loud game. Tessa throws her head back and yells in an almost singing way, and I imitate her sound with my own yelling (I try to hit the same pitch as her and stop right when she does). This game entertained and tickled Tessa for about 10 minutes straight. She just couldn't get enough of the funny way it sounded for both of us to do that at the same time. There is no shame when you play with your toddler. You will go to great lengths to produce a giggle however undignified. Just my luck I happened to glance out the window as I threw my head back in a particularly lusty yell to make eye-contact with my neighbor's girlfriend. And after that was over, I had to ask myself, does smiling and waving in a friendly manner like nothing is amiss really make you look less crazy??

Still, I wasn't too worried. See, I happened to glance over into their house through the open window one night recently (our houses are really close together) to see the girlfriend in a very undignified position herself. And while she has no idea I saw her like that, it makes my embarrassing moment shrivel up and blow away in the hot wind of her prodigious faux pas.

On another note, did you hear about the guy that dove into the sewer after his wife's ring? It gets better. He stripped down to his underwear first. It gets even better. He didn't find it, so he came back that night with a wet suit and a strainer he made himself. Still no luck. Eventually, he hired a power vac truck to suck out the muck and dig around until they finally found it.

I was going to say something sarcastic and funny about that story, but I can't beat the story itself.

Well, ya'll stay warm!