Happy Thanksgiving!

The Oliver Family has started off the holiday season well. We had a great Thanksgiving, spending time with each other and our family. I was off this whole week and we just spent a lot of the time hanging out with each other because starting this next week UPS will be in peak busy season. Here are pictures of our holiday weekend....

We decorated the house and put up our Christmas tree. Tessa was a big helper and is doing pretty good at not touching things. I think the presents will be another story!!

On Thanksgiving Day we went to Dan's parents house and had a yummy meal with all his family. Josh and Natalie were in Jasper and we missed them of course.

Tessa got to play with her cousin David and she just loves him. He is growing up so fast I can't believe he is already 9 and so tall and handsome.

Our baby girl

She is cruising everywhere and doesn't ever crawl

left to right (Tessa, Dan, Grammy, David, Popa, Courtney, Vic, and Derrick)

Tessa wouldn't try very much, but she did love the green bean casserole just like her Momma and Aunt Courtney! I swear this baby would eat veggies and fruit only if I'd let her.

This is our house all lit up. Dan worked really hard to get it looking so good. He was really proud when he saw cars driving by slowly to admire :)

This is the mantel that I decorated. It looks so pretty at night. We have to get a stocking for Tessa still.

Our tree

Before bed Tessa had to check out the tree again. It feels almost like this is our first Christmas not our 3rd. Having a child to share it with is so different, we are beginning our family traditions that we will hopefully do forever.

Little Miss Curious

Then on Sunday we had dinner with my extended family...22 people!!!! My cousin Courtney and her husband Blair hosted and it was so perfect. Tessa loved playing with everyone and seeing the baby Brady. All the pictures I tried to take were blury because I couldn't get her to sit still for a minute. I can't seem to get very good pictures lately because she is always on the move!!

New Things...

I haven't been very good with taking pictures lately; so I don't have any to put with this post but thought everyone might at least like to read about what Tessa has been up to lately. Sorry I promise pics soon!!
Well she is no longer crawling at all, if she drops or falls she immediately stands back up without pulling up on anything. She gets ahead of herself all the time but she really wants to run, I have to remind her to slow down!
We are down to 1 bottle at bedtime, but my friend Courtney just posted about her little guy liking the Nuk cup with a soft latex spout. So, yesterday I bought one and today she drank 7 ozs from it!!! This is a huge milestone because the most milk we've been able to get her to drink from a sippy is about 1 to 1 1/2 ozs. I think we might actually be able to take away the bedtime bottle. I just wanted to wait until I knew she would still get enough milk. She drinks everything else from a cup no problem...just another example of Tessa's independence!
Speaking of independence we have been beginning to experience Temper Tantrums...What the Heck!!! I thought that was a 2 year old thing. Well I was wrong! It started at the library, yeah the library, the quietest place on earth. She did not want to ride in the stroller so he arched herself back and slid to the floor crying and screaming. I have to admit it was hard not to laugh because it is really funny to see a 1 year old trying to tell you they really don't like something when they have no words yet, but I tried to stand my ground. Which included chasing after her and holding her while she shook her head back and forth and arched back. Adorable I know. Ever since the initial "tantrum" she gets mad and shakes her head (rather violently) and arches back about things like....putting on socks, drinking milk from a cup, leaving the park, riding in the car seat, not getting the phone/remote/laptop/cell phone.....you get the idea!! :)
On a different note :) we did a really fun thing today...we went to a Gymboree play and learn class. It was a group of about 8 babies her age and their mommies. We danced, played games, climbed things, and rolled balls. She was amazingly social and friendly to the other babies. She at times was running in circles because she was so overwhelmingly excited. The ages ranged from about 10 months to 13 months. Of course being the proud parent I am I have to tell everyone that she was one of 3 walking and the only one who clapped along and did the itsy bitsy spider with her fingers. I know everyone thinks their baby is amazing. :)
She is more and more acting like a toddler and not a baby. It is so much fun watching her learn and grow. We adore this little girl so much!!!!

One Year Update

Tessa had her one year check up today with Dr. Slaven. She is meeting or exceeding all the milestones. She maintained her weight and height. Here are the stats:

Weight: 19lbs 14ozs 31st percentile

Height: 30 1/4inches 85th percentile

She continues to amaze us daily! Here is what she is up to....

• -walking all over, she now prefers to walk instead of crawl
• -loves to say dada all the time, but wants her mama to hold her all the time
• -she understands EVERYTHING, literally
• -follows simple commands like, open, close, squeeze, stand, sit, go upstairs, take a bath, brush your teeth, get your baby, etc...
• -loves playing with her babies, she will push the stroller, feed them, rock a bye baby, kiss and love them, it is adorable.
• -loves to be chased around the ottoman and will crack up when you get her
• -dancing is her absolute favorite thing to do, she will dance to anything and sometimes does a crazy dance where she swings her head back and forth, it is hilarious
• -she is on whole milk and we are working to get rid of her last 2 bottles and drink milk in her sippy cup only.
• -taking 2 naps a day and sleeping about 11 hrs a night with a bedtime of 7:30
• -switched to a big girl car seat but still rear facing until she meets the weight requirement to face forward. Still not a big fan of the car seat.
• -she LOVES other kids, will break her neck to look at any kids in stores or restaurant
• -she is a really loving baby, gives kisses all the time and is so cuddly
• -she is both independent and needy which can be difficult at times
• -she will make a whiny face when she wants something, and continues to have a defiant streak. When I tell her no she tends to smile or laugh at me and when daddy says no she usually cries. So she is figuring out how to work us both we think.

I think that pretty much sums it all up. Being a parent is the most important job and the most fun job all at the same time. I wouldn't trade it for anything, and constantly feel so blessed to be able to spend so much time with Tessa and see everything she does. I think she learns or starts doing something new on a daily basis which is amazing to us. It really is difficult to remember what I used to do with my time before Tessa was here, she is our world in every way. This year has been both the greatest challenge and the most rewarding and we both know that there are only more wonderful years to come as Tessa grows up.

Polka Dot First Birthday Party

We had Tessa's party on Saturday. We invited family and friends and had a really great turn out. We were blessed to have such a beautiful day so people could go outside too and it wasn't as crowded. We had chili, cider, cake and cupcakes for everyone. Miss Tessa was happy and social with everyone but had to make sure one of her security people (me, Dad, or Grandma) were nearby. She had fun playing with the kids, it is really eye opening to how much bigger she is when she goes off in the other room to play with the "big" kids. She liked opening gifts, and tearing the paper off the boxes. She was showered with wonderful, fun, and perfect gifts from everyone...THANK YOU SO MUCH! The only thing that she was not into was the cake, it got on her fingers and she wanted it off and did not want to try it at all. So, after dinner that night we tried again with just Mommy and Daddy and I believe the pictures tell it all! :)
What a great way to celebrate our little girl's first birthday, with our closest family and friends!!
I didn't get to take any pictures during the actual party, Aunt Janelle was the photographer, but I do have the pictures of the decor, a couple of the birthday girl, and the cake eating! ENJOY!!

The theme was polka dots, in girly fall colors (pink, red, and orange)

Favors for the kids

This was the cake I made especially for her to dig into.

This was the sign on the front door I made.

We had balloons everywhere and she really liked them.

I ironed on the cupcake on her birthday dress.

She looks so tiny here. We are going to try to take a pic on the front porch each year to see how she grows.

All the kids playing together. You would think she didn't need any toys right? She was getting bored with her baby stuff and has been so entertained by the new ones!

Cake Time!!!

That face says it all!

STRAIGHT TO THE TUB

Then and Now!

Tessa Rose Oliver

November 6th, 2008

7lbs 8ozs 21inches long

After my water breaking at home after work, no contractions, induction, 12hours of labor (with an epidural) and pushing with 5 contractions she arrived at 12:26pm healthy and beautiful. This is where her story began and it has been the most wonderful and amazing one.

Today is the day that our baby girl turned ONE! It is so amazing how they grow and learn so much during their first year. I didn't take many pictures because I was busily getting ready for her party the next day, but we did get outside and spend time doing something she enjoys for a while and I snapped a few pics. She doesn't go to the doctor until the 12th, so I will do a big post then with her stats and all she is doing these days. So for today I am going to show a little from where we were 1 year ago just to reminisce.

Yes she does know how to climb onto her 4 wheeler and push the button to make it drive! She was craking up and making the construction workers across the street stop what they were doing and laugh! She just lights up the world!