Tessa at 4 months

At four months, Tessa:

• Rolls over both ways without help.  She still gets stuck rolling from back to front but is a pro at rolling from front to back.
• Is starting to play with toys and especially likes her discovery saucer and jitter lion.
• Has discovered her feet
• Can inchworm a little, but does it mostly accidentally.
• Loves to stand up with help.

Here are the pictures:

Sweet dreams, Little One.

Big smiles.

Delicious feet.

Blowing raspberries at the birds.

Our happy 4 month old girl.

Norah at 2 Years

At two years, Norah:

• is a wonderful big sister.
• is still an excellent eater.  She mostly eats with her hands but use utensils when she wants to.  Her favorite food at the moment is tomato.
• loves loves loves to color.  She positions crayons, pencils, and pens between her two fingers and thumb and makes deliberate, purposeful marks on anything she can.
• likes to cook for real and pretend & wants to taste everything, even raw onions (which she likes).  We cal her our "little chef."
• is babbling all the time.  Certain words come and go, but she's now consistently saying "Mom", "dow" (down), and  either "wa" or "wa-er" for water.  Every once in awhile we distinctly hear other words, like: twinkle, Tessa, this one, right here, and that.  We know we're not going crazy because other people, including teachers, notice this too but it's impossible to ask her to do it again.
• gets excited to go to school (physical, occupational, and speech therapies) three days a week and playgroup one day a week.
• is generous and likes to make sure everyone has what they need (shoes, glasses, purse, water bottle, socks, food) often sharing what she has.
• pretends just about every one of her toys is a phone.  Actually, not just toys - we've seen her talk on the shoe phone, the toast phone, and the smoothie pouch phone.
• still takes favorite books and toys to her reading spot.
• has a good memory.  She can find where she last put any toy and even reminds us not to forget things like a bag we packed (and put out of sight on the counter) ten minutes before leaving.
• is above the 97th percentile for both height and weight.

Here are some pictures of the birthday festivities:

Baking cupcakes.

Coloring.

Sharing her water with Tessa.

Getting to the bottom of a very big bag.

Making a wish.

Ready to dive in.

That was yummy!

Tessa at 3 Months

At three months, Tessa:

• Has huge smiles.  The best is when her smile is too big for her face and she has to scrunch up her whole body.
• Is talking a bit, and is most vocal when she wants to eat.
• Is getting better at taking a bottle.  We had a rough week or two - it turns out that she is picky about her position and the temperature of the milk.
• Rolled over from back to front (with help).
• Is very social and prefers to look out at the world, and Norah is her favorite thing to look at.

Our super happy girl. 

Phoebe has a new best friend. 

She's starting to grab and hold things. 

Her official 3 month picture.

Happy Halloween!

Here's a recap of all the Halloween fun we've been having around here:

We visited a pumpkin patch.

Did crafts at a neighborhood Halloween party.

Painted a pumpkin.

Our ghost family.

About to trick-or-treat.

Pretty  little ballerinas.

Sister time!

Photo shoot

Grandpa Ray is an awesome photographer.  A couple weeks after Tessa was born we got together and took these pictures.  Here are a few of our favorites.  There are so many great shots and it was hard to narrow it down to these - enjoy!

Norah and Tessa really weren't sure about this pose.

But this one was okay.

Tessa at 2 Months

At two months, Tessa:

• Smiles a ton.  Like, way huge smiles (see below)
• Is starting to coo
• Prefers to nap in our arms or the moving swing
• Sleeps really well at night
• Is struggling to take a bottle.  With Mommy back to work, we'll see how this goes
• Likes it when Norah and Mommy sing to her
• Has really pretty burgundy tints in her hair
• Doesn't love tummy time but can hold her head up very high when she does tolerate it
• Was in the 75th percentile for both height and weight at her 2 month checkup

And here are some pictures:

The official 2 month picture.

The other official 2 month picture.

Unsure about those lambs.

Playing with some toys.

Getting good-night kisses from Norah.

So stinkin' happy.

Showing off her tummy-time skills.