New trick!

In addition to being quite occupied with teething, Tessa has had time to squeeze in learning a new trick - pulling herself up to stand. She did it a week or so ago, but I thought it might just be a fluke since she had not done it since. But today, she finally got the hang of it, pulling herself up to her brother's chair and several times in her crib. (I have the feeling that this is going to make naptimes difficult for a while as she doesn't know how to get back down yet and just gets upset and screams!).

Old friends

This weekend we had a quick visit from some of our old friends (old as in we've known them for a while, not old as in age) Aaron and Rebecca. We spent lots of time with these two the Dallas days and now that we live so far apart (they've relocated to Nashville) we don't see too much of them. In fact, it's been 2 years since we've seen each other. Even though it was a short visit, we had a great time catching up - we miss you guys!

Crash and Burn

The other evening Isaac had his first really bloody accident. I was making dinner in the kitchen, John was playing with the kids in the living room, and Isaac came running into the kitchen, slipped on the wood floor and took a nose dive into one of the barstools, hitting the bottom rung with his mouth. I was sure that he knocked out his front teeth, but he survived with just a small chip in one tooth and a big fat lip. Whew! I'm so glad it wasn't worse!

In other news, we are just gearing up for our big vacation - we leave next Friday! Tessa got her first tooth last weekend (not much to see yet in a photo, but it is really sharp when I feel it in her mouth!) And we are getting ready to spend the weekend with some good friends who are coming into town to visit. Keeping busy as usual - that's the way we like it!

Wake up!

Most of the time, this is what Tessa is like when she wakes up. This is how John found her yesterday when she woke up from a nap. I started putting some soft toys in her crib so that when she wakes up she has something to play with. She even has a little rainforest music toy that she can push the button for music and lights. This makes things so much nicer on those mornings when she wakes up at 5:30. I can usually leave her to play by herself for 30 minutes or so to give us a little more snooze time!

Awww....

Even though there are moments where they drive each other crazy, these little moments make up for it!

Berries!

We're fortunate enough to live about a mile away from Berry Patch Farms, where you can pick your own fruits and vegetables. Right now, strawberries and rasberries are in season and today we took advantage of the beautiful August weather to get out and do some picking. These photos aren't the best - I forgot my camera so we had to take them from John's phone - but I wanted to post them anyway. Isaac had a great time picking....we just had a hard time getting him to sample the berries! He did enjoy them though when I made a strawberry shortcake this evening!

Busy girl

Now that Tessa is on the move she's discovering all sorts of new places in the house. Here she is pulling herself up on our bookshelves and even figuring out how to pull a book off the shelf. I have a feeling she is going to keep us very busy....

You don't even need water...

...to have fun in the swimming pool!

On the move

It's official. After weeks of rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, Tessa has figured how to crawl! Both her big brother's and the dog's worlds are about to change forever! For me this means that I'll have to make sure that I always lock the baby gates from now on and sweeping the dog hair from the floor is now a daily ritual! Hope you enjoy the video!

Checkin' out the animals...

John left this morning for a 3-day business trip to Florida and Isaac was pretty disappointed that he didn't get to go with his daddy. I think his exact words were "don't leave me daddy". So, since the weather was so beautiful this morning the kids and I packed up and headed to the zoo. Isaac had a great time. He walked the entire time and didn't complain or asked to be carried. He could hardly sit still while we at our lunch because he wanted to "see more animals!". Tessa was her usual easygoing self and hung out in her stroller and batted her eyelashes at every stranger that stopped to look at her.

This little exhibit was one of the first things that we saw. If you pressed these buttons you could hear all sorts of wild hyena sounds. Isaac loved it. (Maybe it was because it was louder than his sister when she is squealing.) He talked about this thing the entire time we were at the zoo and we had to come back to it at the end to try it one last time.

Just playin'...

I took this photo of the kids playing this morning and was amazed at how much Tessa has grown! When she was born she made Isaac look like such a giant! Now that she is really starting to "play" with toys her big brother has become very interested in all of her "baby" toys. When Isaac wants something that she is playing with, he will bring her another toy and do a little switcheroo to get the toy he wants. I can imagine this won't work too much longer and I'll soon be hearing "Mommy! Isaac took my toy!" This week, however, it will be a quiet week around our house as Isaac is heading to "Camp Colorado" with his grandparents and cousins this evening.