The Oliver 3

Good Bye for Now

2011-01-08T23:01:00.002-05:00

To all of my faithful followers:

We are through blogging for now, we are as busy as ever and although I will miss the detailed family saga to look back at; I won't miss the guilty feelings about not updating! I have decided to print all of my blog into book form and have also switched to writing in a journal so I don't forget all of the things Tessa does and how she changes. :)

So, thank you for being a follower and maybe I will be back.

Whenever we are blessed with another wonderful bundle of joy I may have to being again so that little person doesn't get the second child treatment! No, I am not announcing we are pregnant just that another baby is in our future plans! :)

Love: Bri, Dan, and Tessa

Tessa Turns 2

2011-01-08T22:45:00.003-05:00

Our daughter is officially a toddler now! Not only is she 2 years old she is a little person with her own personality and opinions. She is such a great little girl; she is stubborn and opionated but so eager to please us!!

Weight: 25lbs 1 oz (29th %)

Length: 35 1/4 inches (86th %)

She is fully potty trained except for sleeping and doing excellent!

Sleeps all night...with PJ's on...and takes one nap for 1-3hours.

Picky eater, but still loves all fruit and most veggies. Our other staple are noodles and yogurt.

She switched to 2% milk.

Talking like crazy now...will repeat and say anything, putting 2 words together, but she does tends to drop the first letter of words.

She can draw a T and E

She counts 1,2,3

Loves Dora and Diego

Doing great with school and is always saying that she did that at "cool"

She gives the best hugs ever...she will run to you and just squeeze...love it

The list goes on and on...she is wonderful!!!

October 2010

2011-01-08T22:20:00.005-05:00

As everyone knows I have not been blogging for months now, but I am going to do a October recap of my favorite pictures and a 2 year birthday post because I feel like I need an ending point and it just didn't feel finished.

October was full of Halloween festivities and fun days at home!!

Tessa did great with school, loves to talk about it, and has really figured out the routine!

Tessa and Macie Both turned 2 on Nov 6th!

She picked out a pumpkin at Tuttle's Orchard

Her Pink Poodle costume made by myself!!

Her class party at "school"

She still loves fruit and RAW veggies. She is taking a bite out of a red pepper I was trying to cut up for a recipe!

My most favorite picture from October. What a little lady!

Cousins

2010-09-29T08:09:00.002-04:00

This past weekend our nephew came to spend the night with us! Tessa was so excited to have a sleepover!! David is so great, the sweetest kid, and so well behaved!! My favorite quote from the weekend...upon entering the guest room "I'm in heaven!"

I captured these adorable pictures before we left for church!! :)

First Day of School

2010-09-10T08:21:00.000-04:00

Tessa - 22 Months Old

First Day of School

Tessa had her first day of "school", she went to Child's Day Out at our church for 4 hours. She will be going every Friday for the school year!

I'm happy to say she did really well. I told her she was going to stay and play with friends while I ran errands and then I'd be back to get her, she said "yea, yea, yea." So I kissed her and left. I looked in the window and she was playing with a puzzle doing just fine!

The teacher said she only cried once when another little boy was upset, she can be so sensitive to others when they are upset.

So, we'll see how next week goes since she knows what happens! But so far so good!!

Being Silly

In her classroom, you can tell she is feeling a little nervous. We have shirt twirling and shy foot!!

Apple Orchard

2010-09-09T09:01:00.000-04:00

We took a trip to Tuttle's Orchard this week with Kendra and John Hunter, Katie and Macie, Katie and Addie, and Tessa and I. It was really fun and the kids loved it.

Tessa completely understood how to find an apple on the tree and pick it. She did really good with not picking too many and only getting good ones.

The fruit of her labor!

In the pail.

She was also a great helper with the wagon, she didn't want me to touch the handle!

We finished the trip with a Caramel Apple...yum

Notice the cute shirts...Kendra made them for the kids. too cute

Enjoying cider slurpees.

John Hunter, Addie, and Tessa

(not pictured...Macie ;() )

22 Months Old

2010-09-06T08:40:00.000-04:00

Tessa is quickly approaching 2 years old!! She is getting so independant with everything...she wants to dress herself (including picking out her outfit), pick out her own cup for drinks, wants no help with anything not even a finger touching her, buckling her carseat....just about everthing!

She loves to swing and hang on the bar...we lowered it and now she can reach it herself! She can go down the slides by herself. She now likes to jump off things. She will roll down the hill in the backyard....you probably get the idea that she is on the move!! She loves to follow her older friends and does a pretty good job of keeping up.

Tessa has a lot of new words and is repeating most things although they are still hard to understand when she says them. I am somewhat of her interpreter these days. Still uses a lot of her own signs for things, which get her point across well. Her most recent was turning her arms in a circle to have grandma turn the puzzle piece around. Her favorite word by far is.....NO....she says it about everything and to anything! Some nights we can hear her through the monitor...no, no, no, nooooo, no, no, noooooo.

She is such a character, and has the best sense of humor! Love her to pieces!!

Tessa's Neighborhood Friends

Macie (same birthday as Tess) and John Hunter (almost 4)

Saugatuck Family Vacation

2010-08-23T15:50:00.006-04:00

We took a family vacation to Saugatuck Michigan with my parents and Janelle and Matt. The week was the perfect balance between doing things and just relaxing. We went out dancing one night, painted pottery at "The Art Barn", golfed, swam, sang karaoke, went out to dinner, biked, visited South Haven's Blueberry Festival, Holland's farmer's market, and just spent great time together.

Saugatuck is a very artsy town, even the park has some art in it!

We rented a pontoon boat one day and road out to Lake Michigan where we turned around due to the crashing waves!! This was Tessa's first boat ride, she was pretty entertained. She mostly wanted to throw bread to the ducks (which she symbolizes by waving her arm in a throwing motion).

Tessa is really starting to repeat sounds and trying to say more things. One of her new words this trip was Matt!! He was so proud!

Grandma and Grandad's little girl

Enjoying her FIRST ice cream cone....she had one more before the week was over. It was pure delight!

Such a little lady

Breakfast in bed...another first.

We rode our bikes about 1/2 mile to town quite a bit. It was an easy way to get around, get some exercise, and Tessa enjoys it!

Tessa also turned 21 months while we were there. Like I said she is starting to put together more sounds, repeat some sounds, and really listen like she is figuring it all out. I think it will be true that she will just start talking in sentences one day soon.

She is constantly yelling "mama mama" and never really wants anything but to know that I'm paying attention to her. The other day Dan asked "Does she do this all day long?" my response "Do what? Oh that? Yea I don't even notice it anymore." :)

She is a really good swimmer, she swims in the big pool with just arm floats and DOES NOT want you to touch her AT ALL. Continuing with the independence.

Our challenges this month are...

1. Getting frustrated because she can't communicate with words, so wines or cries

2. Is taking her diaper off at night...Dan found her in the morning with jammies off, diaper off, and wet bed; smiling I'm sure! We try to use button onesies and pants as a barrier, this is very frustrating to her. We purchased pull ups today and we really are going to try potty training soon. :)

Still loves babies and really plays dolls with them feeding, rocking, talks to them, etc...

She starts child's day out in 2 weeks!!!

That's it for now!! Oh yeah, today she has started licking me like a dog! Wonderful huh? :)

20 Months Old

2010-07-06T12:07:00.000-04:00

Our little girl is growing so big! She is 20 months old!!!

We have so many laughs when Tessa is around, she is hilarious. I don't have any idea what I did with my time before Tessa was here, she is my joy, love, and entertainment!

I did a little photo shoot today to capture my little girl!

Here is an update of what Tessa is doing at 20 months:

the largest milestone....Tessa has learned how to pee in the potty!!! It is sporadic at this point, but probably sometime this month we're gonna try panties and see what happens!!
saying more words (although most don't sound like the real word) she has a "Tessa" word for: Dora, backpack, map, night night, lovey, there, that, mama, dada, zayne, cow, chicken, crab, cat, pig, alligator, hot, boom, Hunter (her neighbor friend)
has "Tessa" signs for potty, drink, swimming, rub her back
she LOVES to dance, especially to Dora songs, Zac Brown Band, and Michael Jackson :)
her favorite shows are Dora and Backyardigans
favorite foods: all fruit, corn on cob, butter noodles, milk, shredded cheese, yogurt. Many have described her diet as a zero calorie diet :)
she naps for about 2-21/2 hours and sleeps 11 or 12 hours a night. She has started to go to bed around 8:45/9 and get up later like 8:15/8:30
very independent about everything, always wants a choice about things
we've started counting 1-2-3 to get her to listen and make a choice about behavior; which is working
her favorite activities: SWIMMING, cooking, playing babies, and dress up
she can swim with her swimmy float all on her own, jumps in from side, goes under, swims in circles

I guess that's all for now, we are just loving summer!!

Summer Fun

2010-06-25T12:21:00.003-04:00

We are having a fun filled summer so far. We go swimming almost every day! I am going to take pictures of her swimming soon!

Otherwise we try to spend time outside without getting too hot! Here are some cute pics of Tessa enjoying summer!

Watercolor painting

Girly girl in her dress up shoes

I love this pose...booty out!

Tessa enjoyed a watermelon feast yesterday. I stripped her down to a diaper and let her go at it! It was dripping all over, she loved it, then straight to the bath!

Mouth full of melon :)

19 Months

2010-06-10T07:50:00.004-04:00

19 Months Old

Tessa is such a big girl and so fun at this age. Of course we get the whining and fits but we also have constant love and comedy too!

One of the bigger changes of late is we have taken away milk at bedtime. She was drinking it from a sippy cup but still it was time. I was talking with a friend at work about potty training and that is when I realized that we will always have wetting with sleep if she drinks milk to go to sleep; and it was also a sleep crutch. So, we bit the bullet and it is getting better. At first she would cry for it but we have now transitioned to her wanting to lay in her bed and have you rub her hair, back, leg, arm, belly... i.e. trying to drag it out as long as possible. :) So now when she fidgets around we say "night night" and leave the room which leads to crying but we go back in and rub her back; this repeats until asleep. Last night we were down to 3 trips in and 30 minutes....which was much much better, so we are making progress!!

She loves all of her friends so much....John Hunter (3) across the street (she says "unta", so cute) and her new friend 2 doors down Macy. Macy and Tessa are exactly the same age....THE SAME EXACT BIRTHDAY! The other day they were "talking" with each other and it was really cute! Both kiddos of course have really great Moms so I am pretty lucky too!

Some other little things:

she has decided it is fun to go down slides head first!
really good with fork and spoon and will only eat things on her own
can wash her hands on her own with her new step stool
new words Hunter "unta", boom, yea, shakes head "no" when asked question
dances with Dora and Hanny Manny theme songs....hilarious
can hold herself up in the pool with her float and loves to jump in off the side (even tolerates going under)

I know there is so much more, but that's all I can think of for now! We went and had pictures taken at JC Penny the other day so here are some of my favorites!

This was our absolute favorite!!!!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-06-03T07:51:00.003-04:00

We have been working on our garden for a few months now and wow has it worked! I've been wanting to post pictures but it seems like every day it looks better and better. But, we are starting to eat things so it won't look as pretty. (tear)

In April my Dad built us this awesome garden box it is 6ft by 16ft and makes everything look so organized, which I love!

I planted seeds the end of April for sunflowers, zinnias, cilantro, parsley, basil, collard greens, loose leaf romaine and green onions. And we also planted 3 broccoli plants in April. Then the end of May we planted green, red, yellow, and jalepeno pepper plants, 3 tomato plants, green beans and cucumbers from seed. We finally added one brussel sprout from my grandma.

This is the garden May 23rd

May 23rd, everything planted.

This is today June 3rd!!!

The sunflowers have grown taller than the fence and as you can see everything is growing wonderfully!!!

The beans (left) and cucumbers (middle) have come up from seeds. The tomatoes have all grown up about 2-3 levels on their cages and have flowers.

Zinnias (far left), Romaine (we are starting to eat), green onions, pepper plants (have flowers)

Cilantro (far left), collards, broccoli (eating this week!!) and our lone brussel sprout

I really love our garden and enjoy watching it grow, it is instant gratification at its finest, plus yummy inexpensive veggies!

May Pictures

2010-05-27T15:00:00.005-04:00

This has been a very fun filled and eventful May. Daddy has 2 weeks of vacation and we've been having some exceptionally hot weather! Here is a sampling of pictures from our wonderful month as a family!!

Tessa 7 months eating a banana

Tessa 18 months eating a banana

What an innocent little sweet heart

Bob the Builder exhibit at the Children's Museum.

It was amazing the difference in only a couple of months; she was able to do everything in the exhibits and understand what it was and how they worked.

Supermodel

Girly girl at the Barbie exhibit with Mommy

But still able to get dirty with Daddy!

Trip to the zoo. We took our friend Logan who is 4. Tessa looks up to him and wants to do everything he does...case in point!

These are pictures from the 80 degree weather days. I thought they were great because it is Tessa just enjoying life and the weather, no bows and cute clothes.

One of my projects...hang a coat rack for Tessa. It is really cute, just her height and she feels really big. I can just picture her little backpack and lunchbox this fall when she starts preschool.

Tessa and Logan playing play dough. She would again copy everything he did, but it kept them entertained for a long time.

Logan and the food he made me.

Tessa making food.

18 Month Little Lady

2010-05-10T14:54:00.000-04:00

We did Tessa's 18 month photo shoot on the beach in Florida. It was really sunny so she has her shades on, and considering she isn't a fan of the sand this was as good as we got. They can't be too bad when you have such a perfect subject for the pics!!

It has been FOREVER since I've done an update about the little one so here it all is!

Stats:

23lbs 7ozs 38%

33 inches 86%

(as you can see she is still long and skinny, continues to fit anywhere from 9-12 month clothing up to 24 month pants)

Sleep:

We have improved greatly since my last posting about sleep. We've found that the key is to get as much energy out of her before nap time and wind down with books and milk downstairs.

She is napping about 3 hours in the afternoon 12-3pm or 1-4pm.

Going to bed by 8pm and sleeping until 7am.

Eating:

She is a really great eater over all, she is like any toddler some days she is starving and others she just snacks here and there. We don't really force it just try to offer her things she likes, but still give a good variety.

Some of her favorite things are: buttered pasta noodles, guacamole, tomatoes, any fruit but especially grapes and blueberries, gerber fruit snacks, yogurt and yogurt smoothies, green beans, roasted asparagus, peas, and bananas.

She is able to use a fork really well and can scoop yogurt on a spoon and get it into her mouth without too much mess. She loves to drink out of cups with straws (real straws). When she wants a bite or drink she gets your attention and then points into her mouth.

Her favorite things:

-She has a very deep love for one of my baby dolls from childhood, it is a life size newborn doll almost as big as her. She makes it do everything from looking out the window for visitors, to checking to see if it has a wet diaper. When we go for a walk sometimes she insists on bringing it and that means she is either going to carry the lifesize doll or the doll will ride in the stroller and she will push...yes that means it is a VERY slow walk either way. :)

-she loves to play outside all day long, and really enjoys the playground and swing set. She will swing on her belly airplane style, climbs the steps and can go down slides on her bottom all by herself!

-We took the baby gate down off the stairs and she loves to sit on the bottom step and eat a snack or read books...always with her baby right there too.

-Her favorite show is the Backyardigans....she points and laughs at the TV when they start singing there theme song...the laugh has gotten louder over time and will NEVER get old to us.

Other tid bits:

-She is concerned about having a wet or "uck" diaper as she would point to it and say. She lays down to get changed. The pediatrician encouraged me to get a potty chair and start offering her to go potty. I am worried she is still a little young, but she is so smart I guess we will try it out and see where it goes?

-We continue to work on saying words. Here is her vocabulary...dada, mama, ane (Zayne), go, vroom vroom (car), that, there, fish sound, uck, and pig sound. She also waves hi and bye. She communicates really well, but we don't have too many words yet.

I could write forever about our little lady because she is continually doing something new and great. Although we are now in the toddler stage and have some meltdowns and fits, she is such an extremely happy little girl. I don't get much time to blog but that is definitely not because we aren't up to much; we are just up to too much!

Destin Trip

2010-05-07T08:51:00.000-04:00

We took our first family vacation in over a year in early May with Dan's parents. We rented a condo in Fort Walton Beach (Destin). It was our first time in this area of Florida and we really enjoyed it; not too busy and beautiful, very clean beaches. The condo we were at was just perfect...it has a zero entry pool perfect for Tessa and a toddler splash park, what more could you ask for. It also had a lazy river, beach, nature area, and our own private deck with a hot tub! Here are some of the highlights in pictures, of course I have a million more!

First time swimming since last summer...loved it...no fear!

Her favorite thing to say "huh?"

Her curls went crazy in the humidity, it was adorable.

There were tons of sting rays right along the bayside path just down from our condo. SCARY!

Bubbles!!

Some quick digging in the sand with Daddy, she quickly decided that the sand was "uck" "uck" and stayed on the towel with Mommy.

Here is an example of "uck" "uck", as some was on her leg. :)

Our sweet little princess

Dan and his Dad went deep sea fishing and caught a bunch!!

Lil ruffle bum

Hamming it up at the splash park. She doesn't mind getting her face wet at all which is great.

She loves to do anything that she thinks makes her "big"...like this.

I always love a feet in the sand picture...I love that we have a tiny pair to go with ours now :)

A little bit about sleeping!

2010-04-19T14:44:00.004-04:00

I was looking back through my blog posts with a friend who has a 4 month old because I was trying to recall Tessa's sleep habits. I have many times talked to friends when we were experiencing a set back from good sleeping routine i.e. "sleep regression" but I somehow didn't seem to post ANYTHING about it in my blogs! Maybe a subconscious way of forgetting it for the next round, or that little bit of you that doesn't admit that you have challenges as a parent...I don't know. So, for what it is worth when I go back to this and try to remember what happened the last time I did this Tessa had a sleep regression at 4 months, 8/9 months and now I think we're entering another at 17 months. They all were crazy hard for a few days to a few weeks, but then just went right back to normal again. Since this is my 3rd round of this I think I've learned to just do what it takes to get sleep for both parties and it will be gone before you know it!

My favorite "real life" resource has been http://www.askmoxie.com/. It always made me realize that MANY others have had the same exact experiences and you are not alone, nor is it anything you as a Mom have caused.

Here is an excerpt from her website that helps me feel o.k. when it comes to sleeping habits in kiddos....
"In general, I think sleep crutches of all sorts, from pacifiers to rocking to loveys, get a super-bad rap. No one has to bring their Mom along to college to nurse them to sleep. And so what if you have to sleep with a white noise machine? If it bugs you when you're 30 you can break the habit your own self, and leave your poor parents out of it. If sleep crutches are working for you as a family, then party on with them for as long as they work, and then figure out the next thing."

As you may have guessed Tessa is rocked to sleep with a cup of milk. We use blackout shades, white noise machine, and she has a lovey. I do have to remind myself some times that she will in her own time not want these things and be all grown up, so I just spend those hours of trying to get her to sleep or back to sleep enjoying her snuggles! :)

New Indie Sisters Blog!

2010-04-14T13:06:00.002-04:00

As most of you know my sister Janelle and I have been working on making bags. We started with a "shop" on Etsy.com but over the last few weeks have decided to take a more personal approach in a blog. After all, this is a hobby for us and we just weren't enjoying the formalities of using Etsy (although we still LOVE shopping on it).
By doing a blog we can write about other things we're working on, show new ideas, post sales, etc... so please check it out when you get a chance. We hope to have a "button" you can add to your own blog to help us get our name around, so stay tuned!

www.indiesisters.blogspot.com

Just send an email to indiesisters@gmail.com for any orders of bags available on the blog or for any custom orders!! We are really excited to try this and hope you enjoy. We will soon have a beach bag and another style of purse for sale!

Tessa's 17 Month Photo Shoot

2010-04-04T13:31:00.005-04:00

Wow, it is unbelievable that Tessa is 17 months old, but spend a day with her and you will quickly see that she is a toddler and no longer a baby! Many things are much easier at this stage with her, but it has also brought along some new challenges....

The fun side of 17 months:

watching her "mother" her babies. She dresses, feeds, snuggles, takes them on rides, etc...
she is communicating better...like pointing to things and knowing where and when she wants something
riding in the car is easier thanks to her new portable DVD player!
she loves to be outside and will play out there FOREVER
taking bike rides
watching her personality develop... so far she is very strong willed, social, funny, and a cuddle bug
i love love love when she fixes my hair, gives me hugs, swings spider style... she is able to show love in all new ways which is great!!

Here are the challenges :)

she doesn't want to be confined or buckled in ANYTHING!!!! including carseat, stroller, highchair, booster seat, shopping cart, or even held in your arms! This pretty much affect everything we try to do. :)
she loves to do things she isn't supposed to or allowed to do. Such as open and close the stairs gate and climb up and down the stairs. Open and close the screen door over and over and over (it is a huge step down to cement and really scares me)
stand on things and give you this smirk like look at me
wants to dress herself, brush her own teeth, and even sometimes put on her diaper!!
has the melt to the floor can't grab ahold of her temper tantrums :)

I'm sure you can see the trend.....WE ARE GETTING INDEPENDENT!! I've been told that toddler is an indication to teenager and boy oh boy we may have our hands full of a teen that wants to be older than they are, make their own decisions, and do things even if you say not to!

But here are some pictures of our adorably challenging 17 month old!

It is all about her babies. She took a walk all the way around the block (since we have stroller resistance) the other night carrying her baby that is almost as big as her!

They are buddies and Zayne is really great with her, but not so much the other way around...he gets beat and chased by toys, ridden, and used as a step stool.

This is my favorite shot even thought it isn't her cute face!

swinging "spider" style if you didn't know what I was talking about

Dying Eggs... with a 17 month old!

2010-04-01T13:16:00.003-04:00

I love doing things with Tessa that I recall from my childhood. One of those we did this week....dye Easter eggs. She was very eager to participate and was also very proud of the end product.

She immediately plunged the eggs into the dye cups...and that equals....

BLUE FINGERS!!!!

But she was so happy how could I stop such pleasure.

I could see her little mind saying "Mommy is really letting me hold these??"

She loves to run to the fridge and get them out to "show" people!

Birthday at the Farm!!

2010-03-26T21:54:00.004-04:00

I love my baby girl!

Happy Birthday to Mommy....the best present ever!

I spent the day with my sweet little girl for my birthday. We went to my friend Brooke's mini farm and saw the animals. We also made a fun birdfeeder craft, had a snack, and played with all the kids. It was a really fun time and we can't wait to go back once it gets warmer!

Tonight Dan gave me my birthday present....A BIKE!! I'm so excited and he even got a seat for Tessa to ride in! I'm going to have to practice a bit before taking her it has been a few years!

Baby Chicks and Ducks for Easter

My little farm girl

She was just quietly watching the horses eat...so curious.

Making crafts

Tessa loved this airplane rocker, she was giving everyone rides!

Rain Rain Go Away...

2010-03-25T21:33:00.001-04:00

It can be a challenge to entertain a 1 year old on a rainy day; especially one who adores playing outside! We spent most of the day in the playroom at our house. She has learned how to go down the slide on her bottom now so it is a who new experience. She also has found her loud voice so it involves a lot of screaming! It really is quite entertaining.

so big

As a way to help the hours pass we (I) decided to do a craft. I was inspired by my crafty friend Brooke, but there is only so much you can do with a 1 year old and scissors! So, for most of the holidays this year I have sent a custom card to the grandparents. Here is our Easter card...I traced her fingers for the bunny ears and she helped glue on the flowers. So fun and cute!!

I was able to squeeze in some cute pictures before she wanted the camera! When looking at these I realized what a little girl she is becoming and growing out of the baby stage.

I love her button nose

photo shoot over, now she wants the camera :)

Easter Festivities Begin

2010-03-20T09:37:00.001-04:00

Our church had an Easter Egg Hunt and breakfast this past weekend. Dan and I had a debate about having her wear her new Easter outfit, he said she shouldn't and I said she should, go figure. :) He was right in the fact that the other kids weren't dressed up, but we both agreed we were happy she wore it because it was SOOO darn cute!
Daddy teaching her how to throw rocks, oh my!

She loves to be outside all the time and she was so patiently awaiting the hunt; just staring out the windows.

I just love how she is so girly in her mannerisms, little dainty princess.

Carrying her basket like a purse, it was really cute.

She actually liked the Easter bunny, this was a huge improvement from Santa. She really doesn't know a stranger. All day she would just run off and visit with other kids and care less where we were.

This is her new princess outfit from Mamaw and Papaw, fits her to a T. She loves to try and dress herself and she is our little princess! As soon as she puts it on she smiles and starts spinning in circles.

We also went to Layton's 1st Birthday party which was really great. I know others took pictures so I just sat back and enjoyed!

No Good Excuses....

2010-03-15T21:12:00.008-04:00

I have no good excuses for why I completely skipped blogging in Feb and basically March. Here are a couple trys....once you get so far behind you don't know where to start, Tessa was sick with a sinus infection for 2 weeks in Feb and had her first round of Amoxicillin, Dan was on vacation in Feb for a week, we're trying to enjoy the nice weather we've been having, now that we are down to one nap I try to cram all the house work into that window of time and blogging doesn't get done, and lastly Janelle and I have been spending our extra time launching our Etsy site! Check it out http://www.indiesisters.etsy.com/

So, please forgive me and I will give you a quick rundown of events missed over the last month and a half!!! I will be better...PROMISE. I have such wonderful blogging friends to motivate me to do better!

These are pictures of Tessa at 15 months (Early Feb). She had 3 shots at her doctor appt. Had a great check-up. She walked right into the office, waving at everyone, cried with the last shot, then waved bye and we were gone!

Stats:

20 lbs 15 ozs

32 1/2 inches

This is my favorite 15 month picture

She loves to ride in my baby stroller when she is at my parents house. Those are also my babies from when I was little, so glad they kept them.

This is in the AM, she takes her cup of milk, sits on the couch, and watches some cartoons. Then the day can start and she never stops!

These pictures are more recent. I don't even know where to start with what she is "doing" right now. Every day is different and so incredibly fun and hilarious. Here is my attemp at summarizing a 16 month old.

EVERYTHING must be done a certain way, she points and directs everything from where you sit to when you take a drink
Her main word for everything is DaDa. She calls Dan dada and Me DahDah and Zayne Du.
other words...nini(night night), dat(that), der(there), done, nahnah(no no), and waves bye bye and hi
Her favorite thing is playing outside
She is getting better about trying new foods, specifically meat
We are doing one nap and with the time change moved it to 1pm and she's been sleeping 2-21/2 hours!! Yeah finally!!
She gets about 12 hours of sleep at night 8-8:30ish

I'm sure I'm forgetting a million things but those are the basics.

Our big girl enjoying the pretty weather

I took Tessa to the zoo on a Wed last week, it was empty and all the animals were out, she was so funny and really interested.

Very girly, doesn't want to have her hands dirty

This was our dinner experience, everyone has a pasta face picture!

Sleep.....or should I say... lack of

2010-02-01T13:21:00.003-05:00

O.k. well as many of you know Tessa didn't sleep through the night until 9 months!!! Then gradually got into a great routine of 2 daytime naps and would sleep at night from 7ish to 7ish....things started getting a little off around 14 months, so we worked down to 1 daytime nap and the same bedtime routine! Now.... after a couple weeks of an inconsistent nap routine and waking at night I've turned to the internet (my fave website askmoxie.org) and found that I'm not alone!

She has hit every "sleep regression" so far 4months, 9months, and now (should've known) 15months!! Here is what we've been currently facing:

Naping:

Some days she goes down perfectly and others she completely resists for up to 45minutes. Some days I've been putting her down for 1 nap and others 2, neither seems to help the nighttime sleep. She sleeps anywhere from 1 hour to 3????

Bedtime:

She is very opinionated about who is putting her to bed...she wants me and clings to my neck, but will give in to letting Daddy do it. We give bath at 6ish and then wind down/read books, then at 7pm we give her a cup of milk and rock her to sleep then put her down....she sleeps between 1hr and 5hrs then wakes up and needs put back to sleep. Usually Dan can get her back to sleep easily with patting her back if she wakes up early....but here is the bad part.... if it is midnight or after she has been awake from 1 to 4 hours while we try to get her to sleep! For me she can not tolerate being separated, as soon as I put her down she screams...and now Daddy's method isn't working either!

Today's Research:

Others have experienced these exact same issues around this age...and most found that by around 20-22 months it abruptly stops and they sleep great again!!! O.k. so that could mean 5-7 months of this....seriously?!? CIO (cry it out) doesn't seem to help she just won't give in...we've tried it for 2 hours!! We don't co-bed and she just plays if she comes in our room. So....a couple things I read I'm gonna try; having CONSISTENT nap time and not varying from day to day and establishing shifts in the night so that neither Dan nor I have to feel like we are at it alone and can at least get a stretch of sleep knowing the other is caring for her, and lastly just rock/pat/sing or do what it takes to get through this stretch in hope it goes back to normal sooner than later. If anyone who has been there done that recalls this time and has suggestions I'm all ears!!!!

I also always try to remind myself....."this is just a phase and she is a baby"

On a lighter note...in between the troublesome sleep she is the most adorable, loving, hilarious 15 month old out there. We just have a blast with her....so here are the pictures to remind me of this even if I'm awake to a screaming toddler from 10pm to 2 am....seriously this is no exaggeration!

We went to visit Matt, Janelle, and Rufus yesterday. Tessa loved Rufus and he loved her...she really tested his new doggie school training!! At times we weren't sure who was walking who!!

She thought she was so big (and so did we); she'd go off in the back bedroom and lay on the futon and peek out at us. This is the view we saw...full of mischief!

Little button nose, baby blues, and girly smiles

You can see the learning in those eyes

Watching Daddy take down the Christmas lights...she wanted to wear her hat inside while she watched. It is crazy how she can put 2 and 2 together!

Little Cinderella, cleaning the floors

She rides this bouncy horse all the time...it is really hilarious, and she will do it and then wait to see if you think it is funny or not....quite a sense of humor

Touchdown Colts!!

Testing out her wagon from Mamaw and Papaw from Christmas. It was finally warmish enough last week to try it out...we're going to get a lot of use out of this!

Germs.....

2010-01-23T20:07:00.002-05:00

have been a pest this month! For the first time in our little girl's life she's had to use her little immune system to the max. I will be the first to admit that I was WAY protective of her health when she was a babe, minimizing the passing around as a newborn and constant hand washing. And she was also given a huge boost by breastfeeding for most of the first year.
So, as she gets around more, plays with friends, and goes out for fun (like the Children's Museum) she is getting EXPOSED!!! Yikes! It kinda freaks me out a bit, but I know it will happen sooner or later. I can rest assured that she at least went the first year with 1 cold, no fevers, and has yet to have an ear infection....so I'd say that pretty great! Might just be my first lesson in the fact that I can't prevent/fix everything!

Well, a couple weeks ago she suddenly spiked a temp of 102 with chills and all, but never had any "cold" symptoms. When the fever went down she was playing and acting fine. After about 3 days the fever was gone and to my surprise she developed a rash! So where did I turn....the internet and I found out these symptoms are CLASSIC for Roseola! I didn't know that this is super contagious and very common in her age group. Rash went away and she was well!

Then yesterday she had some diarrhea and started getting diaper rash, so we went and got more Desitin. The pharmacist also recommended some antifungal cream twice a day. So after bath we put on her creams and off to bed. She woke up about a 1/2 hour later and had vomited all over her sheets, bumper, lovey, and pjs! So, stripped her down and got her back to sleep....then 4 hours later....diarrhea from head to toe....so we did the whole process over again! But, to add to the mess the new antifungal cream literally burned her bottom, she was fire red and couldn't tolerate being wiped AT ALL, so I had to give her a "bottom bath" in the sink! At this point Dan said he thought it would be good if I'd stay home from work because he wasn't sure how to handle her first GI bug on his own; plus he knew I'd worry all day!!

Today she was normal Tessa, except not too interested in food. We did no milk or juice, just pedialyte all day. And bland foods, so no surprise she didn't eat much! It appears to only have been 24 hours and back to normal....darn germs (Children's Museum we think)!

Children's Museum

2010-01-20T20:36:00.005-05:00

Today Tessa and I planned on going to the Children's Museum for the first time; and we had a wonderful surprise...Dan got the day off too!!! So, after Tessa's nap we packed up and went downtown. We thought she would love it, but she did even more than we could've imagined! She was so comfortable and would just run off and play without even worrying about where we were! I know I know we think she is great but there were so many other parents who thought she acted much older than she is and every time I thought a baby was her age they were usually about 4 months older. That's enough I know but you can't help but be proud of your kids!! Here are the pics...they speak for themselves!

First stop...dinosaur dig

Went right off to try it out, no reservations

Mommy and Tessa running the Barbie office. She'll have to learn from the biggest Barbie fan.

Walking out on the runway, dressed up...it was too cute

"Hi" Daddy

Another lesson from the Barbie lover...Aunt Janelle will have to help teach her the rest!

Taking Daddy for a drive, look at the face...priceless

And another...she is such a character!

Here she was trying to yell at some kids to come back.

The Playscape was the VERY best part. It is made for kids 5 and under, so it had all the things she loves to do. It was perfect, she could've played for hours. This is where she really took off, playing with kids, finding toys, climbing, running....all while we tried to follow her around since she didn't even notice us being there.

Sand

Water

We finished the day with a carousel ride, and she had played so hard she was about to fall asleep.

We will definitely be returning again soon, what a fun day!!!

Pure Joy....

2010-01-06T20:33:00.005-05:00

This is how I describe my life with a 14 month old! Every day is full of discovery (for both of us), laughter, and love. Who knew that in a short 14 months your tiny little baby would be so smart, have a sense of humor, and have the sweetest heart. At 14 months we definitely have our struggles, but they are truely minor compared to all the pure joy! Here are some pictures and what little Miss is doing these days....

Weight 20lbs

Height 30 inches

(on our home scale, so probably not too accurate)

still wears some 9-12 month clothes, but mostly 12-18 month for the extra length

Sleep is different every day...for a while we were consistently getting 12-13 hours at night and about a 2 hours nap during the day. But I believe we are in some serious teething right now so some days we do 1 nap for 30 minutes (yikes!) and other we have 1 or 2 naps totaling about 3 hours. She has had a couple nights where she woke up and struggled to get back to sleep, but she's had fevers off and on with her teething.
She has really made progress with eating; she has always been an opinionated eater, but is now much more willing to try new things. She is finally eating some chicken and lunchmeats. Some of her current staples are ANY fruit, steamed peas, mac n cheese, mini ravioli, nutrigrain bars, and mini lunchables.
She is doing great with her cups, about 12-15 oz whole milk a day, 1 cup of diluted juice, and water. She would drink more milk if I'd let her but she needs to eat more of her calories not drink them. :)
Some of her favorite things to play are...baby dolls, cooking on her kitchen, vaccuuming, obsessed with the dog and giving him his toys (squeak, squeak, squeak all day), cleaning the floor and everything else with a dish towel, and coloring with crayons and in the bathtub. She dances all the time still, but she now does her feet really fast like a clogger and drops her booty, which are both really funny!!
Speech is pretty minimal, still a lot of uh and eh but she gets what she wants and needs so why say anything else, right? She says Dada constantly and pretty much for both of us even though she can say Mom too. She clicks her tongue for Zayne like she is calling him. I think she is starting to say snack and night night. Also, continues to say Done for everything. She doesn't say the word No, but shakes her head no. The more she communicates the easier it is to please her and attemp to reason with her. :)

We of course think she is wonderful in every way, the smartest baby, and adorably cute. She will even do a little girly giggle now....melt my heart.

I was trying to take pictures of her static hair!!!

I put this one on here because it doesn't look like my baby at all. Weird huh?

Of course, fit because she couldn't have the camera. So now not only does she move around too much to get pictures, she cries because she wants the camera.

Here are her bathtime pictures (per Janelle's request). This is one of her favorite parts of the day. When we ask her if she wan't to take a bath she runs to the stairs and starts pulling at the gate!

Her mechanical tootbrush, best idea ever!! I can get her teeth cleaner because I don't have to try to scrub I can just hold it on them.

Very independant

"Mommy, can I please have the camera?"

"Not just for one second?"

"Fine then you won't get any pictures!"

Oh the joys of our little girl!

The Oliver Christmas Festivities

2010-01-01T15:58:00.007-05:00

The 2009 Christmas festivities have come to an end. We again had a great holiday and had a chance to visit with all of our family. We can see that each year will only get better as we see the joy of Christmas through our kids eyes.

This year our events were spread out over 2 weeks, so Tessa just thought you get up, drive somewhere, and you tear open paper and surprise...toys!! She was quite the professional at opening gifts; tearing little pieces and even puting them in the trash bag. She was of course completely spoiled by everyone; and we were all so thankful for everyone's generosity! We tried to mostly take videos of her opening gifts this year, but I do have a sprinkling of pictures from the events...enjoy!

We thought she looked so grown up here!

Daddy's Girl

Mommy's baby

Her first experience "out" in the snow!

Merry Christmas!

We turned her carseat to face forward this month. Even though she looks all but thrilled in this picture she really does seem to enjoy the car rides a bit more.

Tessa and Aunt Janelle

(this was our table when we were little)

Christmas outfit #1

My Dad's Family Party

Christmas outfit #2

My Mom's Family Party

She really knows how to have fun, even all dressed up!

Mamaw, Jerry, Papaw, Grandma, Mary

Opening gifts, one shred at a time

Christmas Eve

Mommy and Tessa went to church, and Daddy was home from work when we got home!

Playing with some of her new toys....she is seriously all girl!

Christmas with Grandma, Grandad, Janelle and Matt

@my parents' house

Tessa is really into "dipping" so appetizers were her fave. Behind her is her new playset from Grandma and Grandad

We hosted brunch at our house for Dan's family. Tessa had a blast with all her new toys.

Our nephew David is getting so big and growing up fast. We got him a digital camera and he was taking pictures of EVERYTHING. Tessa loves him so much!!!

Christmas is not complete without writing your thank you cards!!!

We begin our next year of excitement, fun, and love. Happy New Year!!

Catching Up Before Christmas...

2009-12-17T20:54:00.005-05:00

Well, I am definitely behind on posting since Tessa's birthday! Many things are easier now that Tessa is 1, but it also seems to have its challenges. She is still changing so much every day. She is not saying much except uh, uh, uh but it is working for her because she manages to get everything she wants!! I am not exaggerating when I say she understands EVERYTHING...even things I swear I've never even said to her before!! We've switched her car seat to face forward and she seem to appreciate this. I am busily trying to find new and interesting things for a 1 year old. Our newest adventures include coloring, doing laundry, and doing group activities at the Fishers library. I don't know if I've already said this but she is completely off the bottle at this point. We have transitioned to 1 nap, which works really good some days and others she is exhausted. She is completely obsessed with babies and cooking. It is so entertaining to watch her play, she has a huge imagination and you really see it when she is playing. It would be great if she could learn a few words because she knows exactly what she wants, but gets frustrated with us when we can figure it out fast enough...which eventually leads to a tantrum, but we'll figure it out soon I think! We're all ready for Christmas, just loving life and every day as our happy little family! Enjoy the pics from the last few weeks....

We went and visited baby Gabe again!! Tessa loved holding a REAL baby!

He is growing fast...what an innocent face!

Our friends Becca, Shelly, and Layton came too. Here are all the kiddos, how sweet.

O.k. so I said that Tessa loves to cook, well it borderlines on obsession! She will be in the playroom and if the oven beeps here she comes rushing down the hallway. She will open the drawer with the oven mitts, go stand in front of the oven, and uh, uh, uh, until you check it!!! Here is the play by play in pictures :)

One way to entertain a 1 year old; make a craft! We made an ornament for the tree and it will be fun when she is older because she will be able to see how tiny her hands were! She did have a little help :)

Tessa's buddy Cole came over to play for a couple hours. This was just too cute and innocent!

And last but not least we had our first visit with SANTA!! We had our annual Christmas get together will all my wonderful work friends and our kiddos and we were so surprised when Santa showed up! They were all completely terrified!!! So we got the classic first pic with Santa...screaming! Or in Shelly's words "Bri, take her she isn't breathing!!"

Poor Santa didn't get much love!

We also tried to get a picture of all the kiddos. Here are some of the best ones (it was a challenge)

(Mya, Tessa, Ayden, Gabe, Layton)

(Adelyn, Mya, Tessa, Ayden, Gabe)

I think I'm also required to tell of my Mommy mess up this month!!! I locked Tessa in the car at Kroger! Wait, before you judge let me tell you the story.... I went to the grocery with Tessa and as usual she was beginning to get over it by the time we were loading the car so I let her play with the keys while I loaded the trunk. Just as I closed the door my brain said "I hope she didn't push the lock button"...and of course she DID!! O.k. yes instant panic, so what did I do...call my Mom. I obviously wasn't very rational because by the time she got there and I went home to get my spare key it was going to be way too long. So I stood there in 28 degree weather in a t-shirt and waited and cried (only once) Then I thought "maybe I should just call the police to come and unlock the door" and someone was watching over me (a bit late) but as I turned around there was a policeman driving through the parking lot. I waved him down and he began to tease me about locking myself out, but after I said I locked my 1 year old in there he slammed the brake, jumped out, and had the doors unlocked within a couple minutes. I called my Mom and told her we were all safe, and she followed me home to entertain Tessa while I put away the groceries and chilled out. So....lesson learned keys are not a toy!

Callie is Here!!!

2009-12-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

My good friend Julia and her husband JR welcomed their baby girl today!!! After a few unexpected weeks on bedrest Callie was delivered by c-section because she was breech! This girl is full of surprises for her Mom and Dad, the final surprise was she was 18inches long and weighed in at

9lbs 1oz!!

Both Mom and baby are doing great, minus the pain of a c-section; and Daddy was beaming from ear to ear and holding her every time I visited their room :) They were planning to go home Thurs...here is their address in case you want to visit or send them a card....

8935 Jaywick Dr Apt 206

Fishers, IN 46037

She looked so sweet in her bow!

She was the most alert newborn ever!!

She also has the most full beautiful lips

One Year Photo Shoot

2009-12-03T21:23:00.005-05:00

My friend at work Megan Doddridge came over to our house and took 1 year pictures of Tessa. She did such a great job!! As I've mentioned before I've been having a hard time getting good pictures because Tessa is always moving around so much and I'm not fast enough or my camera isn't; so it is so great to have some AWESOME pictures of her now. Enjoy!! (This is just a sampling of some of our favorites)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T21:36:00.001-05:00

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...

2009-11-25T16:11:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-12T21:54:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-11-06T10:31:00.002-05:00

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!

Halloween Fun

2009-10-31T10:08:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting but we've been busy celebrating a first birthday at our house!!! Tessa enjoyed her first Halloween this year even without getting to try the candy. She was a pink leopard. She got to see her friends and some of her family, and of course everyone thought she was so cute. I think her favorite part was handing out the candy to all the kids, she would put it in their bag and then shake more at them as they left to try to lure them back! She understood that each time the door opened there would be another kid, and as you know she is obsessed with kids right now!

I thought this look was funny..."what? I wasn't doing anything!" Grandma said she was trying to figure out why all the kids like this stuff so much!

Aunt Natalie and Uncle Josh - they still have the spirit!!

Great Grandma Henderson sent her a Halloween card and for some reason she thought it was really funny. I was able to capture a picture of her laughing at it. If that doesn't make you laugh who knows what will!

Mommy and Daddy took her to the Headless Horseman at Conner Praire to meet up with Grammy and David. It was a pretty nice night and we were so happy Daddy could get off work and go with us! Tessa's favorite part was seeing the baby animals and watching all the kids!

Tessa's and Mommy's friends Abby, Ella, and Cole had a Halloween play group a couple days before the actual day. It was a fun chance to dress the kiddos up an extra time. Abby had cookie decorating, lunch, and good bags for all the kids. We love to go to this so Tessa can play with some other kids, she really enjoys it!

If you haven't been around her lately this is her favorite whiney face to make. She will just hold her mouth like this and OAHHHH away. It is actually really funny, but maybe laughing encourages it!!! Anyways, it looked so funny when she was in costume because it looked like she was roaring or growling! I'm telling you this girl is hilarious in so many ways!

Fall on the Monon

2009-10-25T20:48:00.003-04:00

Today we went to Janelle and Matt's house in Broadripple for brunch. We also got to meet their newest addition RUFUS!! He is so adorable and seems to be a perfect fit for them. They like everyone else didn't plan on getting a dog so quickly, but this just seemed to be fate for them and Rufus. They have a great story of how they were connected to each other!

Once the Colts game started us ladies thought we would rather go to the park by the Monon. We were so pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous fall weather today and happy to get some fresh air before winter begins! Tessa and Rufus were in heaven. He got to run around and sniff everything and Tessa got to see kids, go on the teeter toter, walk, swing, and explore. She is so curious and independent, it is really entertaining to watch her. She was screaming and laughing at everything. She is also Miss Social; everyone she sees she must go right over to say "hi" and also gives them her little piggy nose face. If you've been around her lately you know exactly what I'm talking about! It was a great day spending time as a family and enjoying Fall.

Janelle and Rufus (First Halloween)

Little mind at work

She was playing "monkey in the middle" and kept escaping to the other side when you tried to grab her! You can see the mischeif in her face!

She loved this teeter toter! She also loves her Grandma!!

Skeletons...

2009-10-24T21:08:00.000-04:00

I guess skeletons aren't scary for a 11 1/2 month old. She danced with him, hugged him, and even was giving him kisses. I bet this will be different by next Halloween!

Amazing Mommas

2009-10-18T15:10:00.001-04:00

I am actually going to blog about something besides Tessa, I know shocking right?

In my field of nursing we are constantly working with families who have suffered with infertility and who are trying to cope and learn how to take care of a preemie. I always try to be compassionate and understanding for them, but can't truely relate on a personal level.

Well, this is changing somewhat....

although it is not me directly I have both a friend and a cousin experiencing these things in their life. Hopefully you guys don't mind me talking about you!

My friend delivered her adorable baby boy last week when she was only 32 weeks in her pregnancy. After weeks of worry and praying Gabriel entered the world at 3lbs 14ozs, and in just one week is growing and make amazing progress. I think he has been listening to his Mommy at work so he is a pro at all this preemie stuff! He is a very lucky little boy to have a Mommy and Daddy that took such good care of him both on the inside and out and will get him strong so he can come home soon!

Gabriel Wetherbee Johnson

(I stole his picture from his blog)

At the same time my cousin and her husband have been enduring the challenges of infertility. After multiple procedures and painful tests they are doing invitro. They implanted their eggs this past week and are now in the waiting process to hopefully get the + pregnancy test! You hear about people having these procedures done, but I don't think I really ever realized the pain, emotions, and dedication that this process takes. She has to get a shot every day with a HUGE needle for up to 16 WEEKS, and is on multiple prescriptions. Again, this is one lucky baby to have a Mommy and Daddy who already had such great love for them that they would go all measures to welcome them into the world! They are always so positive about everything and I am amazed at their strength and courage! I absolutely can not wait to hear the news of a baby on the way and maybe even two!

I know weird pic, but this is my cousin (on the left) drawing up her shot. I can't imagine this every day!

Doubled....

2009-10-17T15:01:00.000-04:00

The other day while I was again switching out clothes for a bigger size I came across Tessa's newborn clothes. I started to go through the box and reminisced about when she was so tiny and how different things were compared to now. I remember how sweet, completely dependent, and sometimes challenging a newborn can be; but also am beginning to think about the fantasy of having another newborn in our house. Although it will be challenging in different ways (Tessa running around) it will be just as amazing. And hopefully I will get to use all these cute clothes one more time. :) Don't get the wrong idea though... it will still be a bit before we have another!

So...this is the reason for the title Tessa has DOUBLED in size based on clothes!! Here is a pic just to emphasize :)

Big Fun for an 11 month old...

2009-10-15T08:48:00.000-04:00

"I think this is how you get up here?"

"O.k. now I have both feet off the ground!!"

"Mommy always tells me to sit, but now I can do it all by myself!"

"What are these for? My thumbs look funny!"

"But I think are pretty fun anyway!"

How entertaining it is to watch an 11 month learn something new atleast once a day if not 10 times, her mind absorbs everything you say and do! I try to capture everything because time flies by!

11 Months Old

2009-10-06T20:32:00.000-04:00

I just finished putting my beautiful, funny, independent, ADORABLE baby girl to sleep and was thinking about how much she has changed over the months as she drifted off to sleep in my arms.

Here is what our girl is up to these days....

-She has started to take some steps!!! She is taking up to 8 steps at a time and it is so unbelievable! We estimate that she will be walking pretty good in another week.

-She can crawl at lightning speed

-Loves to be chased and for you to "get her"

- Will rock her baby and sing to her

-Loves to chase the ball and will throw it and try to bounce it

-She loves to get into the toilet paper and eats any paper she can get her hands on

-We are down to nursing once a day in the morning, so still on track to wean around a year.

-She can understand EVERYTHING, you ask her a question and she will answer with actions. some of her faves....Do you wanna....go get the mail? take a bathtub? go "night night?" Where is your....baby? doggie? ball? Are you all done?

-taking 2 naps a day usually around 9 am and 2 pm

- we just started to introduce some Vitamin D milk in her sippy cup with her snack and dinner. She atleast takes a couple drinks of it. She wouldn't drink formula from a cup AT ALL.

- As far as talking. She is saying most of the usuals mama, dada, doggie (dgee), ball (ba), all done (a da). But also what I have noticied is she is repeating the cadence of what you say. She makes noises that immitate how you just said something.

She is just a bundle of energy, has SOOO much to say, the happiest and most loving as they come, and brings a smile to my face every hour of every day! I'm definitely at the point where I don't remember what I used to do with my time before she was here.

Only about 3 weeks until she is one year old and the preperations are in progress for her celebration. I just recently started looking back at my blog entries that were the same date a year ago. Here is a pic of us then...

And here she is now!!! I can't believe what a big girl she is. It is getting much harder to take pictures because she is on the move so I was chasing her all around trying to get these! :)

Standing all alone. Her balance is really good now.
(she kept picking mums and trying to eat them)

This look is priceless, she is always so aware and so curious and this just captures it perfectly!!

John Deere Girl

2009-09-19T21:32:00.003-04:00

We went to Ryan and Kala Merrel's wedding tonight, it was at Spaulding's parent's house. His parents own Reynolds John Deere in Fishers and so we of course had to have a little photo shoot. I got some good shots of her on the tractor and then some that look pretty professional I must say! :) We also finally had a family pic taken!!!

Honk the horn

I love that mischievous smirk

I really like the angle of this shot

Dan was trying to get her to smile so he is kinda making a silly face here, but we'll take what we can get when she will look at the camera! :)

Photography

2009-09-10T11:49:00.003-04:00

Since Tessa was born I've been taking a lot more pictures than before. When you have such a perfect subject it is an easy thing to do. I've always had an artistic eye but have never really tried anything with photography. So over time I've learned about lighting and angles and such through trial and error. Dan bought me a new camera which I love when she was born and so this is now somewhat of a new hobby. I decided to try some new things the other day and here are the results. I did some more artistic photos, not just her adorable face, but I did throw in a few of those too! Enjoy!!

10 Months

2009-09-06T10:33:00.000-04:00

Tessa is now 10 months old! We are actually feel like we can begin the count towards 1 year old, it just doesn't seem possible!! I will try to tell you the highlights of Tessa at 10 months but I'm sure I'll forget something...

-crawling fast and likes you to chase her or she will chase you

-pulls up on anything and everything and will go from one object to another without holding on, still too timid to take any steps but working on holding onto 1 finger of mommy or daddy and walking around

-loves to climb the stairs and is really fast, so we now have a gate

-still really fiesty and wants things her way right away :)

-eating 3 meals and 1 snack

-will drink water good from a cup but still working on milk

-still nursing morning and night, but no more during the day, kinda sad, we're working on gradually weaning her by around a year

-love love loves Zayne, and he is so tolerant of her battings and tail pullings

-is showing interest in her baby doll

-but also loves to chase a ball around and bounce it

-has sooooo much love, constantly giving kisses and giving love "hugs"

-want to talk so bad, but still mostly jiberish

-says dada, mama, ba (ball?), ah ooo (thank u?), and gee (doggie)

-holds her arm out most of the day saying uh and point at things she wants you to get her

-sleeps through the night in her bed (usually 8pm to 6am)

She is changing so much and growing into a little toddler. We love her beyond words and think every thing she does (new and old) is just great and adorable.

Here are her 10 month pictures and also as you see her first Notre Dame game!

"touchdown"

giving Mommy some "love"

Watching Daddy and Helping Mommy...

2009-08-31T10:27:00.004-04:00

This weekend when the weather was so nice out we had the patio door open and just the screen closed. Daddy was outside mowing the grass and this was keeping the attention of Tessa. But, because our very inquisitive daughter is able to pull up on ANYTHING including walls and screen doors I put her in her high chair and pulled it over to the window. She was pulling the screen over and this would have lead to a tumble down 2 cement steps, not a great idea.

I was able to keep her in one place though for about 20 minutes and she even ate a pretty big snack, so it turned out to be a great entertainment to watch Daddy. I captured some great faces as she studied him!

There he is!!!

Today as I was snapping green beans to put in the crockpot, Tessa wanted to help. So, I put her next to me on the counter and this is what happened....

My daughter who is EXTREMELY opinionated about her meals wanted to eat raw green beans...sometimes you just never know. :) We'll see if she eats any tonight once they are cooked, doubt it!

She also flung them all around, it was entertaining for both of us!

August 2009

2009-08-26T10:50:00.004-04:00

I can hardly believed that August is almost over already...so I'm posting pictures of some of the main things that we did this month! It was eventful which is probably why it flew by!

Dan and I took an overnight trip ALONE to French Lick. It was a really fun time and nice to do adult things like go to dinner at 7:30 and go to the casino. Tessa stayed with Grandma and Grandad and had a fun time too. She slept in their crib and did awesome! We were really excited to see her though... one night was enough for now!

The hotel has amazing architecture, it is hard to believe it was built in 1901.

The Lobby!

We spent the day at the pool lounging around

Going to dinner at the Steakhouse

The next weekend was our annual NICU reunion where all of our "graduates" can come back and visit with the nurses and doctors. It is always amazing to see how much everyone has grown and how well they do. This was my first year to take Tessa and it was fun to let her meet everyone I work with and also for my patient's families to see that I now have my own baby! It was a really hot day so I didn't take many pics...but of course a few of Tessa.

She ate her first popsicle, it was so hot out!! Not too sure at first.

Then she thought it was pretty tasty!

After the reunion we had dinner at Dan and Georgina's for big Dan's birthday. We grilled out and just visited and hung out. It was good to see everyone and Tessa had fun playing with everyone. She loves her cousin David!

Grammy bought her some bananas and Aunt Natalie was feeding them to her.

Another thing we did this month was go to the State Fair, but I was so bummed...I forgot my camera. We did the traditional visiting the animals and eating fair food. Again it was a really hot day but Tessa was a trooper; we felt bad it was the first time she was sweating!! I think next year she will like it even more, she was a little overwhelmed with all the activity! It was a really fun week to have Daddy on vacation we spent lots of time as a family.

New Edition....

2009-08-17T10:37:00.000-04:00

Brady Simpson arrived a couple weeks ago and we finally got to go and meet him. Like his brother Dominic was he is such a beautiful baby. Everyone seemed really happy and like they were adjusting well. Tessa was more interested in all the "boy" toys around there than the baby. Jonda is breastfeeding and I am really proud of her I know the commitment it takes, but is so good for Brady! Can't wait to see him grow.

"Is it o.k. to touch??"

Dominic, Jonda and Brady, and Tessa

9 Months Old!

2009-08-06T20:24:00.000-04:00

It is truly hard to believe that Tessa has been outside the womb with us now as long as she was growing inside. The amazing ways she has grown and changed surprise and entertain us on a daily basis. She is a smart, funny, happy, and fiercely independent little girl. Here are some things about her...

She is still breastfeeding but we've started to do one to two feedings a day in a cup
She drinks from a straw sippy cup
She pulls up on everything and can cruise around the couch and ottoman
She can walk/run around holding onto just 2 fingers. And even then tries to pull her hands away. She is on the move!
She unfortunately knows how to climb stairs
She loves baths and swimming in the pool, doesn't mind water in her face
She is eating three meals of solid food a day plus a snack or two....every day is different and challenging in this regard. Some days she loves to eat and will eat everything and others she gags on everything even things she ate the day before! It is really pretty funny to watch, she will look at the food and then either open up or scrunch her nose and push it away. Her faves are banana, yogurt melts, yogurt, goldfish, PBJ, applesauce, and cheese
We are thrilled to say that at 9 months she is sleeping through the night 8pm to 6:40am and is able to put herself to sleep on her own. This took a little sleep training but we knew she could do it. She also takes 2 naps a day.
She says mama, dada, and is starting to repeat other things like all done. She would love to talk because she has a lot to say and knows what she wants, so mostly we hear a lot of "eh"
Still only 2 teeth on the bottom but is constantly chewing, she loves to brush her teeth and gets really excited when we turn on the sink in her bathroom
She loves her brother Zayne and he is really great with her and may be beginning to like her since she will give him food from the highchair.

She had her doctor check up on her birthday and as we thought she is smart and remains physically ahead of the game. She did have a few surprises though...

She weighed 17 lbs 10 ozs (29%)

this was a drop from the 75th% to 29th% she gained 15ozs in 3 months; so we are watching her weight a bit closer. everyone always said she was petite and I thought they were crazy but I guess not. She just doesn't have much baby fat and is soooo active all the time.

She was 28 3/4 inches tall (85%)

Here are the pictures I took for her 9 month photo shoot....we went by the lake and the fountain in our neighborhood. These are some of my favorites.

Her lovey blanket, that she truly loves.

Of course she would try to climb the fence.

Swim Buddies

2009-08-05T20:11:00.000-04:00

We had a baby sprinkle for Katie just a few weeks before the arrival of her baby girl. We had a picnic at the park in my neighborhood and then went swimming. The kids all had fun playing and us Moms had a good time chatting about everything.

We will be adding 2 more babies in December and with the plans of the other girls our book club group is quickly become a play group. How fun!!!

Tessa trying out her new shades!

Tessa with Erin...she is a natural and hopefully will have a playmate on the way!

Movin' and Shakin'

2009-07-18T10:41:00.000-04:00

Tessa is really on the move now. She has been "army crawling" for a while, but now she can really get around. She is up on her knees but still drops down when she wants to go fast. We also switched out the coffee table for our old ottoman. It is huge so we thought it'd be too big for the living room, but as we've quickly found out Tessa rules this house and it is better for her :) She pulls up on it and carefully makes her way around. She still tumbles down but is getting more graceful. She thinks all these new adventures are really great and is always laughing at herself along with us. The personality just gets better and better and a little stronger with each month too!! We have an independant girl who thinks she is so big!

The only problem we've found is with all this new mobility she willl stand up in her crib and is fighting sleep a little more. From what I've heard this is pretty common and like everything else it is just a phase and it too will pass soon!!

caught her up on her knees

swing time

holding Zayne's leash on a walk

standing by the ottoman

Just playin with the toys, she will play about an hour or so by herself in the living room while I try to get stuff done! She is such an awesome baby!

Janelle and Matt's Wedding Weekend

2009-07-11T10:27:00.000-04:00

I have only a few pics from the awesome wedding weekend! I had my camera but there was usually to much going on to stop and capture them....I guess that's why you hire a photographer! I am so disappointed I don't have one of Janelle in her dress, she was stunning! Of course I did get a pic of Tessa at each event of the weekend...figures huh!?

Tessa and Mommy in our "pretty dresses"

All the bridesmaids getting our pedicures before the wedding!

Tessa and Uncle Matt at the rehearsal (he's so silly)

Daddy's girl at the rehearsal

The bride to be Aunt Janelle at the pool party on Friday!!

My Baby is 8 months old!!

2009-07-09T10:06:00.004-04:00

Tessa is 8 months old and on the move and getting a little personality!

We can't believe how times flies!

smooches for Daddy
loves trying to "walk" and "run"

ALWAYS smiling and happy

Zayne and Tessa are buddies!!

Crawling all over the place.

Happy Birthday Grandad!

2009-07-05T10:14:00.000-04:00

We celebrated my Dad's birthday today at our house. Dan grilled ribs, which were amazing. We ate dinner, the guys watched some golf, then we all took a walk down to the park in our neighborhood. It was a lot of fun!

Look at those muscles

Grandma is her buddy

Happy Birthday Grandad!

The Oliver Family

Happy Fourth of July 2009

2009-07-04T10:03:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately the 4th was my holiday to work this year...not too bad I guess since Tessa's asleep by 8! :) Daddy's job today was to get pictures of her in her "4th of July dress". I think she looks a lot like him in these...good job Daddy!

Those funny moments...

2009-07-01T16:43:00.002-04:00

Those funny moments with an almost 8 month old sneak up on you constantly! I am not exaggerating when I say that every day she is doing something new and funny. She is crawling around so fast now and I seem to always catch her in her mischief around the house.

Another funny example is today in the car I had on music and she's always loved to dance. Well, when one song came on that had a pretty good beat she was dancing the whole time. Just shaking her head back and forth in pretty good rythmn I must say...I was cracking up!

She is such a HAPPY baby all the time I couldn't ask for more...what a joy in our lives!!

We tried the jumper again today and this time she was bouncing all around and laughing. The pictures don't capture it like the video I took.

She crawled into the dining room and was looking at herself in the mirror that isn't hung yet. She was hitting it and doing her little squeal it was so cute! Then of course the camera came in the room and it was all she could pay attention to. This baby doesn't miss a thing!

Tuesdays with Mamaw and Papaw!!

2009-06-30T16:31:00.000-04:00

Every week since Tessa was only a few weeks old Mamaw and Papaw (my grandma and grandpa; Tessa's great grandparents) have taken the time to drive an hour each way to visit with us. As with most people Tessa was leary at first and mostly wanted her Mama, but now it is a completely different story!! She will spend the whole time playing and laughing with them and not even care if I'm around. The other day she crawled right over to Papaw and wanted to be held; for those of you that know her she is usally timid of men but not her Paps! We love and look forward to their visits. It means so much that they want and are able to take the time to get to know Tessa...it has really made a difference in what she thinks of them.
It's true love on both ends!

Papaw got down on the floor to help her practice standing up.

She was giggling and cooing the whole time they were reading the book. I tried to sneak in a photo but everytime she saw the camera she was in a trance.

Just an update...

2009-06-24T15:27:00.002-04:00

Tessa is growing up so fast it seems every week or even every day she is doing new things! She can sit on her own and play for a long time then turns to her belly and army crawls all over the room. She finds everything that she shouldn't have and rushes right over to get it. Atleast I can still beat her there for now. :) She will roll all over the room too to get to things. She can make some of her toys work on her own by pushing buttons and stuff. Her favorite toys are the ball spinner and the black kitchen spoon. Her favorite song is Wheels on the Bus, especially sung by Grandma. She will eat anything pretty much, she can now pick things up and put them into her mouth no problem; even slippery banana pieces. Her newest skills are clapping when you say "yeah" (or when they clap on the Tyra Banks show) and giving kisses. They are the open mouth kisses or sometimes she will just lean in a let you kiss her; melts your heart. I know this is running on but just yesterday she has begun making a noise like a donkey and it is so funny. My baby is growing up so quickly and she is so happy all the time, we love her so much!

Monon Center

2009-06-22T15:19:00.000-04:00

Mya, Ty, and Nolan

My group of friends from work all got together for lunch and then we went to the Monon Center in Carmel to swim. It was so much fun, I love these girls and all their kids are so cute. They give me great advice about Mommy stuff and the others are just starting out their families and that is so fun to watch and remember all the different stages from getting pregnant to watching that belly grow to meeting the little baby. I hope that we remain friends for a long time and that our kids all can grow up as buddies.

What a big girl sitting by herself and splashing.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T15:05:00.000-04:00

Taking steps with Daddy

Tessa and David

Tessa and Daddy celebrated their first father's day together! On Saturday Dan's parents, sister and her boyfriend, and David all came over for a cookout. We had a good time and Tessa was so happy to see her cousing David, she gets so excited to see him.

On Sunday we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then packed up for a pool party at my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jerry's house. I didn't get any pictures because I was in the pool but Tessa had her first pool swim. She was o.k. with it but then got a little splashed and she was done. They put in a really nice pool so I'm sure we'll be back this summer to swim again! When we got home we hung out as a family and relaxed. Just what Daddy wanted!

We are so blessed to have such loving and devoted Daddy and Husband in Dan. He is there when I need him and does so much with Tessa. I can see the bond between them grow stronger with each month, it is the greatest thing ever!

David wanted to join her at bathtime, she could watch him for hours.

Tessa and her Popa; she sat just long enough to get a picture.

Tessa helped Daddy open his present.

She opened like a pro, it is going to be fun at her birthday and Christmas this year!

Teeny Bikini

2009-06-17T14:59:00.000-04:00

One of Tessa's 4 bathing suits is a bikini. :) I know a little ridiculious for a baby to have that many suits and have only been to the pool 3 times. Well, on one of these hot June days we've been having I decided to go out in the backyard to her hippo pool Grammy bought her. We stayed in the shade because there was just too much skin to cover in sunscreen! She loves the water and that black spoon just might be her favorite toy...figures huh?

That is her swingset in the back that the people left for us, she'll have a lot of fun on it someday!

Toothbrush Time

2009-06-16T14:51:00.000-04:00

Tessa has had her 2 bottom teeth now for about a month. So, we finally went out and bought her a toothbrush and baby toothpaste. She opened right up for the brush and like all kids wanted to suck on it after brushing. We are trying to start the habit of brushing in the morning and at night now. So far she loves it and doesn't complain! We think she is about to get some more teeth because she is chewing on everything and drooling again. She also seems to be a little more clingy and wants to suck more when the others came in...otherwise it doesn't seem to bother her too much. She is such a happy baby and teething doesn't seem to change that!

Of course she would want to do it herself!

Look at how long and thick her hair has gotten too!

Janelle's Bachelorette Party

2009-06-13T14:42:00.000-04:00

We had Janelle's Bachelorette Party a couple weekends ago and it was really fun. We had 2 connecting suites downtown that we decorated all up and had a pre-party in. We opened gifts which were really embarassing for Janelle at times and hilarious to all of us. Then played a game and had some great laughs. Then we went to dinner at Adobo which was awesome, service was fantastic and the food was great also! We then went to Howl at the Moon a piano bar in Indy and finished up a dance club. Overall it was really fun and I think everyone especially Janelle had a good time.

"Butt Cookies"

Embarassed Janelle! :)

P.S. This was my first full night away from Tessa, and I am happy to say that she and I both did just fine. She and Daddy got to hang out and had a fun time.

First Zoo Trip

2009-06-04T09:29:00.001-04:00

Dan was on vacation this week so we went to the zoo. It was one thing that Dan said I couldn't do with him, he wanted to be there for Tessa's first zoo trip. We also had our nephew David spend the night and he went with us, it was so much fun! Almost all the animals were out because it wasn't very hot it was great! We were amazed at how much fun Tessa had, she would look at the animals and get all excited; kicking her feet and twirling her hands. We timed it between naps and she did awesome! We went ahead and bought a family membership so I'm sure we'll be taking many more trips this year!

She thought the carosel was so much fun, we were cracking up at how she grabbed right onto the bar like she knew what to do. She is a character sometimes! She was stealing the attention of everyone, they weren't even watching their own kids :)

We had so much fun with David, he is such a great kid and so much fun to have around!
Getting excited while looking at the monkeys! Daddy and Tessa

Feeding the giraffe

Showing her the sharks, you can actually pet them!

7 Month Photo Shoot (a little early)

2009-06-01T21:59:00.000-04:00

Look really close and you can see her 2 bottom teeth!

My favorite shot, she is such a happy baby!

Janelle's Bridal Shower

2009-05-30T21:49:00.001-04:00

Janelle had her last bridal shower this weekend. It was given by our Aunt Kathy, Aunt Mary, Cousin Courtney, Cousin Lindsay, and Mamaw. Courtney's house was just beautiful and perfect for the occasion! Janelle had lots of good friends and family there and we enjoyed many laughs the whole day long! Tessa was really good, she went without a nap but stayed happy for the whole thing. She even let some "strangers" hold her which is a big accomplishment!! I can't believe how grown up she looks in these pics.

This pic shows how much Tessa, me, and my Mom all look alike!

Sitting all by herself

Every bride needs a Coach wristlet!

What a cute beautiful bride.

New House Update!

2009-05-28T21:43:00.001-04:00

We have all settled in awesome at the new house, in only a few days it was already feeling like home! We've officially closed on our old house which is a huge relief and now we only own 1 house which is good. :)

Tessa is loving her new bedroom. She's taken up to a 3 1/2 hour nap, and for those of you who know her this is amazing. I was lucky to get 1 hour from her at the old house. I think being upstairs and away from the main living area is the biggest reason, but I'm loving it and she is finally getting the rest she needs.

The other child (Zayne) is also settling in pretty well. He had to get used to the stairs, the first couple days he would go up and down every time we did, but now he will only go when necessary. We are taking him to get his nails cut and get plastic tips put on them because he is scratching our hardwoods.

We are so happy to have the space we have here, the neighbors have all been really friendly, we will be able to go to the pool this summer and hopefully Tessa and Mommy can meet some new friends!

Look What I Can Do....

2009-05-21T13:19:00.005-04:00

We've been really behind on posting pictures...as many of you know we are in the middle of moving to our new house so it's been a bit busy. Tessa is growing and changing as usual so before we officially move tomorrow and don't have internet for a few days I wanted to post some pics of her around 6 months old doing all her new big girl things!

Over the last couple weeks she is learning all kinds of new sounds, no official words, but I bet we'll hear something by 7 months!! She has this soft little raspy voice and she'll say ahhhh, it melts your heart! She will mostly only say it to Zayne who could care less though. :)

After her 6 month check-up we were given the o.k. to start trying a sippy cup. She knows right where to bring it, but not too sure how to drink out of it.

At first it was mostly just a teether, but know after a week and a half she will suck it if you show her how to first. Right now I've just been putting water in it and she'll pretty much spit it out.

She is still in love with her walker...we put it on the wood floors and she makes her way all around the room. Her new favorite thing it to get close enough to something and grab it. She will dance back and forth and get really excited. Here she is trying open a mother's day present. :) And also if you take something away from her that she wants she will growl and then throw a tantrum.....we are in for it I can tell. :)

She has tried most of the baby foods in the jar and we are now moving to Stage 2 foods. We've also been experimenting with some other things here and there. Dan finally found teething biscuits which she is a big fan of....but they're very messy and she has to go straight to the tub afterward. The other day I was eating a banana and she was so focused watching me, so I broke it in half and let her have it. I thought maybe she'd just hold it or lick it....

well.....

She immediately bit off a big hunk and looked at me like "what? I already know how to do this Mom!"

(she has a little cold, so her eyes are puffy and her cheeks are red here)

We've been consistently working on tummy time and sitting up and she is making major progress....it just shows if you give it a little attention on a daily basis they will learn it quickly

Today she was doing this....pulling her legs all the way up and pushing on her hands. She still has to put her face down on the floor when she does it, but then she'll straighten out her legs and inch forward!! Yeah!! She moved a good 2 feet across the floor doing this. I will try to catch a picture of her sitting up because she can do it on her own now for a little bit.

So, I will post again as soon as we get internet back up and I have a chance! We can't wait to have visitors at our new house!

6 Months Old

2009-05-06T21:14:00.000-04:00

Tessa is 6 months old today. We had her doctor check-up this morning and everything is great.

She weighed in at 16lbs 11 ozs (75th percentile)

She is 27 inches tall (90th percentile)

The doctor said that she is acting more like a 9 month old developmentally than a 6 month old. :) She can roll from both ways, sit with a little support, and pull herself to a standing position by holding onto only 2 of your fingers. She said that she'll probably be walking into her 9 month appointment. Yikes!!

Her favorite things to do are "walk" around in her car walker, dance dance dance all the time, eat, pick up toys and throw them down only to pick them up again, and take walks in her stroller with Zayne. She is completely in love with him, her face lights up whenever he walks into the room. We have also been dealing with some stranger anxiety; she knows her Mommy and Daddy and definitely has a preference for us. She also doesn't want for me to leave her sight during the day, not even to go around the corner where she can't see me.

We have some new things to work on now that she is 6 months old. We are going to try to drop her night time nursing sessions (only 1-2) and work on trying to get her to go to sleep on her own :) We are going to start adding in a lunchtime meal and space out nursing sessions to 4 hours during the day. Otherwise we're right on track!

Avocado

2009-05-03T21:45:00.003-04:00

We've been working on solids over the last few weeks and Tessa is loving it. We haven't found anything she doesn't like yet. We started with oatmeal, rice, and stage 1 baby foods; her faves are peas, apples, and sweet potatoes. Then over the last week we've been letting her get her hands on some other things. She will be 6 months this week and so she can begin moving onto new flavors and textures. She has chewed on a chuck of a baguette, celery stick, and a cucumber slice. We've also used the little feeding bags with bananas and in these pictures she is eating an avocado in the bag. Messy...but she LOVES IT!

Spending time with Daddy

2009-04-30T21:31:00.000-04:00

These are some of those special moments you want to freeze in time, so I did the best thing possible and snapped a few pictures. Tessa just adores her Daddy, she thinks he is so funny and will always give him a giggle. I love to see both of their faces light up when they spot each other...adorable.

We play with her on the floor and read books laying down like this. She loves it so much.

She will listen and then look over at you and just study your face and hit you a few times too :)

She gets so excited and kicks and moves her arms bach and forth.

She is watching basketball with Daddy, she is really focused on it.

She snuggled her way into the perfect little spot!

Pigtails

2009-04-30T21:20:00.001-04:00

Tessa's hair is long enough for pigtails, she is only 5 1/2 months old!! She looked so cute and grown up in them we had to take some pics. She is so smiley all the time, here are some of the best ones!

Mommy's Big Girl

All smiles for the camera

Reminders....

2009-04-27T21:10:00.002-04:00

I don't usually use this blog as a source to talk about my feelings but this seemed like too big of a reminder about the important things in life, which probably all of us could use. It sure brought me back to reality.
Well, as I approached this weekend I was, for the first time, starting to feel like I was ready for a break. As fun as this age is with Tessa it is much more time consuming and is difficult in new ways. She is teething, trying to sit and crawl, not sleeping well, and has some major mommy attachment going on. She would be perfectly content to just sit with me and chew on my fingers all day :) Prior to this weekend at work I thought that was a difficult thing.
So, Saturday I cared for an infant who is only 3 days older than Tessa and is on a ventilator and is fed through a tube. This was reminder #1 of how great my life is with a healthy, vibrant, and growing baby. I went home exhausted and praying the next day would be better because I thought I couldn't handle another day like that.
The next day I had a very busy assignment with a baby who was very sick and needing lots of tests to find the source of the infection. I then had a brand new 28 week baby who I admitted to the unit who was put on a special ventilator and had to have CPR at birth to bring her around. She stabilized as the day went on, only to need to have CPR again right at the change of shift. While we did chest compressions her mother just sat there and cried and cried. So, even though my back was killing me, my brain was exhausted, and I didn't get to see Tessa all day. I hugged this mother and all I thought was "wow my life is good, and I am so thankful that god has blessed me with everything I have because no matter how bad my day seemed before now it doesn't begin to compare to what this mother is experiencing."
I spent my day off today not worrying about packing boxes or doing dishes, but letting Tessa sit on my lap and chew my fingers.....life is good!

Cutie Patootie

2009-04-20T21:45:00.003-04:00

I am barely holding her arm here, otherwise she is sitting on her own.

We are learning to sit up and getting better every day!

Her favorite Easter toy from Mamaw and Papaw!

Her favorite Easter toy from Grammy and Papa!

I took some pics today of Tessa just because she is so darn cute. Everything she does I wish I could capture a picture of. She is so fun and always doing something new to catch my attention. She just learned how to do raspberries with her lips, she will watch us do it, then study really hard, then you see her squish her lips together, and ta da she will blow rasperries at us. This is the first thing she has immitated, so fun! She is a BUNDLE OF JOY!

Tessa's First Easter

2009-04-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

We started the day by going to church. I left her in the baby room for the first time which does not seem like a big deal, but for me it was. Dan said he was suprised I didn't cry (I think that is a bit extreme). But anyways, we were in a hurry so we just took her in and told them to get me if she was upset because she might get hungry. Well, as soon as church was over (o.k. a few minutes early) I left and went to get her. Of course down the hall from the room I could hear her crying hard!! Break my heart...we'll see when we try that again....never :)

Then we went to my parents and had lunch. We had chicken piccata which is not traditional for my Mom, but was sooo good. It was a nice change and good because we were going to have ham and traditional food later. She also made chocolate brownies from scratch and they were probably the best thing I've had a in a long time!!

We finished the day by going to Dan's parents where we ate and did easter eggs. This was Tessa's first time to see an easter egg and of course her first thought was....straight in the mouth! It was a little chilly but we went outside to let her pick up a few eggs, it didn't last more than 10 minutes as you'll see in the last pic. David and his friends had an egg hunt and were so excited to get money on their eggs. Tessa got some new toys from Grammy and Papa and Aunt Courtney and Vic....she loves them all, Thanks!

Hickory Furniture Designs

2009-04-08T10:04:00.001-04:00

Thank you to everyone who is thinking and praying for my family after the fire this week. If you didn't hear my Dad's furniture company burnt down on Wednesday. It was scary and sad but everyone is o.k. and they are already in the process of rebuilding. Love you all.

What a Doll

2009-04-06T09:51:00.001-04:00

Tessa Rose Oliver: 5 Months Old

Tessa is officially 5 months old today! It is hard to believe that time is going so fast. I was talking about how she is growing up so fast and Dan reminded me she is only 5 months old. Her new "skills" are cooing and gooing constantly, she likes to ride in the car now, she will now stand and hold onto your hands like before but she bounces and sticks out her booty (we say she is dancing), and she giggles when you play with her. She has begun sleeping pretty much through the night. Some nights she goes from 8 to 5:50 or 6 and others she will get up once in the night still. I'm not complaining at all this is heavenly. :) As you know we started cereal a few weeks back and today we added in our first other food. We started with sweet potatoes and she loved it. I didn't get any pics but took some videos. Also, today I saw her roll over from her belly to her back 2 times. I grabbed the camera but she of course wouldn't do it again, so we will wait and try to catch it! Like I've said before every day she is doing something new and amazing.

She was standing against the fence on her own!!

Moving Up

2009-04-02T14:37:00.002-04:00

I have to apologize for the delay in posts, but it has been crazy around here! We are all doing great and Tessa is just growing and changing daily! Our big news is that our house sold in 13 DAYS, so we were on the hunt. But after a few offers and negotiations we've found a great house with a lot of space and we officially got it this past Monday. We don't close and move until May 20th, but there has been a lot going on needless to say. We will try to do better, but I have a feeling with packing and moving it may get even more difficult.

First Solids!!

2009-03-20T14:26:00.000-04:00

After much debate and talking with my other Mommy friends we decided to try some oatmeal. We are starting with about a Tbsp and mixing it with breastmilk. We had decided that if she didn't seem to enjoy it we'd just stop and wait longer. Well, she was grabbing the spoon and bringing it to her mouth. She also kept leaning forward in her bumbo seat to get at it. We always knew that she loved her food. We're still breastfeeding as her nutrition, but just using the oatmeal as practice for eating other foods in the future.

I'm not sure why it was such a debate for me; I guess as a new Mom you just want to make sure you're doing the best thing possible. I think also it is a little bit like she is growing up too fast I can't believe we are already entering this stage.

I am writing this post after the fact and now I am completely happy with the decision and Tessa has seemed to do just great with it. There are days that we don't give it to her and she doesn't seem to mind. We are just being flexible with it and it seems to be working. Probably in the next month or so we might start to introduce some other foods. :)

She definitely needed a bath after all of it, she was a mess. I think she had more on her than in her belly! :) Zayne is always very curious during bath time.

Deep Conditioning

2009-03-20T14:22:00.002-04:00

I read somewhere that for a dry scalp you can do a deep moisturizing treatment with olive oil. Well, Tessa told me she was sick of me picking at her scalp so we tried this instead. Olive oil all over, sit for 15 minutes, then wash out. Her hair was a little greasy for the next day but it seems to have helped.

What a trooper!

4 Month Photos

2009-03-13T14:14:00.000-04:00

I really did do a 4 month photo shoot like every other month, we've just been too busy to get it on the blog! So, here is our little doll baby posing for the shoot. At 4 months she is still drooling and chewing on everything. When she gets excited the fingers go right in her mouth. She is standing all the time while holding onto your hands and just laughs so much about it. She is getting better and better at grabbing her toys and of course she must taste each thing. We are loving all the changes we see in her each day, and constantly find each other just staring at this little girl in amazement. She is such a joy in our lives.

This is my favorite, just captures her at this age!

House For Sale

2009-03-10T15:56:00.000-04:00

We didn't think we had enough on our plates right now so we've decided to put our house on the market! :) Actually we can see that we will be eventually outgrowing our house as our family grows and thought that we should try to take advantage of the current low interest rates. We'll see how this process goes with a baby and a dog. We won't be looking at new homes until this one is sold so it could be a while. If you know anyone in the market send them our way! :)

4 Months Old....Already!

2009-03-09T15:49:00.000-04:00

Tessa had her 4 month doctor appointment today. She is meeting all the milestones great, the doctor was very pleased. She did notice that one leg has a crease that isn't on the other, which in rare cases can be a sign of a hip problem. So, we had to go get an xray taken of her hips. But, since her bones are not ossified all the way we couldn't quite tell if everything is o.k. We are going next Wednesday to have a hip ultrasound which will tell us for sure, so keep your fingers crossed! We'll update next week.
Ironically we went for a well visit, but just this morning I noticed that she was stuffy and that when she sneezed it was productive. So, unfortunately she has her first cold. As a Mom I am realizing that everything seems to somehow feel like your fault even when you know it isn't. So, I question how she got sick and I'm guessing maybe play group with the toddlers?? Who knows really, I'm sure she'll get over it quickly enough.

Here are the stats at 4 months:

Weight 14 1/2 pounds (54%)

Height 25 1/2 inches (90%)

Play Group

2009-03-05T15:47:00.000-05:00

Tessa and I went to play group at our friends The McGrath's house this week. The kiddos ranged from 2 years old to 1 month old. It was our first time to attend and as always it is nice to talk with other moms and Tessa really liked to watch the other kids. She is so interested in the things going on around her.

Vacation to Florida

2009-02-24T14:54:00.002-05:00

We took our first family vacation to Florida!! We stayed at my grandparents house which was great! We had all the amenities necessary to take care of a baby right there. My parents went with us which was a huge help too! We had beautiful weather the whole week. Tessa was a big fan of not needing blankets and socks all the time! She didn't love the sun in her eyes but would wear her sunglasses and then was happy!

The only bad thing was Thurs Dan, my Dad, and I got food poisoning we aren't sure where we got it, but boy was it rough. My Mom was taking care of all of us, at night I would feed Tessa and then she would put her to bed, I don't know how I would've survived without her!

A little bit after we got back in town my grandparents sold their home there so we won't have any more trips to their house. I am glad Tessa got to go there once because we have a lot of fond memories traveling and staying there!

Here are a sampling of pictures from our trip!!

Swimsuit from Mamaw and Papaw that was waiting for us on the bed! So cute!

Her favorite toy!

We went to see manatees, this was in the museum. Tessa is so interested in everything she sees, it is so cute!

Dinner by the bay

Grandma and Tessa

At the pool in her shades.

Looking at the pool, too cold for babies but not for daddys.

What a ham

This one looks a lot like Mommy at this age.

Sleeping at the pool.

She cracks up at herself. Check out the water shoes.

Daddy's girl. Enjoying her first taste of sunshine.

On the airplane. She nursed for take off and landing, and did awesome.

Driving

2009-02-23T15:40:00.001-05:00

Tessa got her Christmas present from Grammy and Papa this weekend. We can't believe how much she already loves to stand up in it. She loves it, not to mention it looks so cute!

It's Official

2009-02-16T14:48:00.003-05:00

I am officially switching to a part-time position at work. I will now work 2 12 hour shift per week instead of 3. I know it seems like I already work part-time but I did technically work full time hours, just squeezed into 3 days; so I was barely getting to see Tessa the days that I worked. It has been nice to get out of the house and have a little "me" time, but I definitely want to be with her as much as possible. Because I do love my job, I think cutting back a little will help me continue to love it the same as before. Then at the same time I will feel like a stay at home Mom, so the combination is really ideal. I am so lucky to have the ability to do this and also that I have such a loving and supportive husband!