First Steps

I have been expecting Tessa to walk any day for weeks...maybe months! She has been taking one or two steps for awhile, but then plops down to crawl away. Much faster, much easier, much more comfortable. But yesterday morning she moved up to 5 steps, then yesterday afternoon she took 8. She hasn't beat that record yet today, but she has been trying. I will try to get a video soon, but it is hard to be ready at any moment!

My Review

Originally submitted at All Childrens Furniture

Good enough to eat

By Sushi lover's mommy from ABQ, NM on 5/29/2008

 

5out of 5

Pros: Good Value, High Quality, Durable

Best Uses: Pretend play

I got this for my daughter's 4th birthday and she loves it. Sushi is her favorite food and it comes with all of her favorites. It even has wasabi, ginger, and a soy sauce container! The pieces have velcro so she can cut them apart and stick them back together. It is so cute and she loves playing with it.

(legalese)

Tessa's invite

Sophia's first Build-a-Bear

Actually, it is a triceratops- her favorite! Auntie Leslie, Uncle Nelson, Nolan, and Mylie sent Sophia an un-stuffed Triceratops for her birthday. Last Friday we went to Build-a-Bear to get it stuffed. It was a lot of fun! Sophia wanted to make a voice for her triceratops, so she recorded herself saying "HISS, HIss, Hiss, hiss, hiss." (In case you don't know, triceratops say "Hiss." We read it in a book, but I don't know how the paleontologists figured that one out!) Then she stepped on a pedal that made the stuffing fill up her toy. She then picked out a heart, put it on her head to make it smart, her elbow to make it funny, and did several other cute things. The people at this store have a great routine worked out for the kids. Sophia was so excited so couldn't stop bouncing up and down. Tessa was actually pretty excited too.




Sophia brushed her new triceratops, picked out a new outfit (she got a cute shirt and pants with hearts on them from Auntie Leslie, but she wanted her triceratops to be Sleeping Beauty sometimes too.) Then she found a baby triceratops, and since she is in love with everything baby related, she really needed that too. Next, she gave them both names...Heartie is the big triceratops and the baby is Mellissa. Or sometimes it is Allissa. I'm not sure if she keeps changing her mind or forgetting which she picked.
On the way out of the mall, she took her new friend Heartie on the Merry-go-Round. Baby Tessa and baby Mellissa watched from the stroller with Daddy.

Sophia's simile

Well, not her first, but definitely her most memorable in my eyes!

Her barrette was hanging out of her hair, so she pulled it out and handed it to me, saying,


"It was drooping like a baby's diaper!"

Sophia and Tessa enjoying their food...and water

the last day of school

Sophia really enjoyed going to preschool for the last few months and their class did a little presentation for the parents on the last day. They sang a few songs and shared cookies that the class had helped make during the previous class. Then they gave us all their projects and pictures from the school year. It was very cute. I have several videos of the songs and here are some photos also...

We had lunch at Federico's afterwards, Tessa gave Chuck a kiss goodbye, and Sophia stuck her tongue out for the camera!

Happy Mother's Day!

We spent Mother's Day at the zoo, where the NM Symphony played a free concert. We had a picnic in the grassy area while listening to the music, then walked around and saw many of the animals. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed it. I think the zoo workers told all of the animals to be on their best behavior because the giraffes were all eating next to us, the elephants were all up close playing, the rhino was rolling around in a mud puddle, and the hippopotomus was playing around with a ball. We never saw so many of the animals alert and having fun.

Since it was such a hot day and we all wanted a treat, we got some Dippin Dots...and let Tessa have her first taste of ice cream! Even though you can't tell by her expression in the picture, she loved it and wanted more and more. She even reached into the bowl and grabbed out a cookie piece before I could stop her...so now we know she likes oreos too! But I don't plan on letting her have any more of those.
We were all worn out on the trip home, but only Tessa got a nap!

Goodbye Tutu!

Tutu left Sunday morning and we were all sad to see her go. Especially Sophia, who cried and wouldn't let go of her Tutu at the airport. Luckily for me, I stayed home with Tessa so it was Chuck that had to pry Sophia's arms off of Tutu's and put the distraught girl back in the car.We went to the park that afternoon to take our minds off the sad departure. Here is Tessa playing her favorite game, "How big is Tessa? So big!" To which Sophia always replies, "She's not really that big, you know." And a picture of Sophia giving us a show on the stage. She learned to bow very deeply in ballet and takes every opportunity to use it now. Even after her preschool class sang for the parents, Sophia was to only only to give a big, dramatic bow at the end. It was very impressive!

Following in the footsteps of her delightful, yet mischievious, sister, I present-

TESSA versus THE WALLPAPER BORDER!!! See the victor wave to her fans...

T minus one month

Tessa's first birthday that is...and technically only 3 weeks now. We're ready to party again!

Actually, we did quite a few new things for Tessa's 11 months. The night before she had her first taste of fish, grilled salmon, and loved it. Sophia thought it was pretty good, too.





Then we went to the mall on her "birthday" and she rode the Merry-Go-Round for the first time and got her ears pierced! I started to wonder why I was putting holes in my poor baby's ears as I sat in the chair, restraining her arms and head. But then the lady said she was done, and I looked down at Tessa. Her face wrinkled up and she looked at us like she was thinking, "What did I do to you to deserve this?" But after a quick complaint, she was fine. Remembering Sophia's first lollipop after her ears were pierced, I had brought a baby cereal bar (not quite big enough for a lollipop!) to distract her afterwards, but she didn't even need it. I gave it to her for a treat anyway, and yes, now cereal bars can be added to her list of the many foods she enjoys.


Here, a view of one earring...unlike Sophia, Tessa's earrings match each other.

Breathing better, ballet, and bubbles

I thought I'd put in one more photo of Sophia on Oxygen to show how sad and sick she really was just two weeks ago. Such a different girl from today!

Now on to better things! The doctor said she should miss the week of school and her ballet class, but she was able to participate in her recital on May 3rd. She was wonderful, not that I am partial or anything. All the girls were wonderful, really, and it was a fun show to watch. Sophia came to sit with us at intermission and loved watching the big girls dance, especially her teacher's assistant. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed inside the theatre. Here are a few from before the show started...Sophia with one of fellow dancers, a few of her posing, and one we snuck of Tessa waiting for the show to start. It was right at her naptime, so she wasn't very thrilled with being in the theatre, but she did enjoy watching some of the dances. Not sure if she knew that was her sister up there or not...

Oh, and the bubbles...just some sister fun in the bath, with a bottle of bubbles...

Sophia's birthday party slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It was a great party, even if Sophia wasn't at her best. Her friends Sydney, Mia, Natalie, Ethan, and new friend Cameron were there. First they colored dinosaur pictures. Then they played fun games, like crawl through the dinosaur cave until the music stops, pin the horn on the triceratops, and dinosaur noises. Then we ate T Rex ribs, pteranadon wings, carnivore food (meatballs), herbivore food (salad), dino dip with chips, and prehistoric pasta salad. Then we were going to eat cake but it was stolen by a T Rex! Fortunately, he left notes that we followed around and eventually found the cake! Sophia received some wonderful gifts from her friends and had a good time. Baby sister Tessa thought we should have parties everyday!

Happy Belated Birthday Sophia!

For Sophia's birthday, she chose to bring popsicles and juice boxes to school. She was Very Important Turtle for the day, meaning she rang the bell every time they changed activities and she was the leader for the class. She also received a "birthday girl" pin and helped make a special birthday crown for her to wear. Tutu, Tessa, and I picked her up after school and took her to lunch. Her choice? Sushi! (That is always her choice of restaurants, given the opportunity.) She had tamago(scrambled egg), ikura (salmon roe), maguro (tuna), sake (salmon, not rice wine!), and several mixed rolls. Afterwards, we went to Cold Stone Creamery for her free ice cream...vanilla with gummy bears.

Auntie Pam (Pammy for short, according to Sophia) came up that afternoon for more birthday fun. She and I went to pick up the balloons for the party and left Tutu and Sophia to nap on the sofa. However, Tutu was the only one sleeping and sneaky Sophia crept away and opened her presents! Daddy came home from work to find her at the dining room table, opening everything! She re-opened them once we were all home...but I suppose it wasn't quite as exciting the second time around! She got several movies (Land Before Time, Milo& Otis, The Wonder Pets Save the Dinosaur), a bubble wand, hair accessories, and bracelets from Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Michael. A cute Japanese shirt and cookies from Miss Bethany, Mr. Chad, Abbey, and Elliott. I gave her a wooden sushi set and a doll cradle and her Dad gave her a Dora and Diego movie and a Dora bike. Her elbows were hitting the handlebars of her trike, so it was time to move up. She hopped right on and started riding around. It was a good day, and I tried not to get too upset with her for opening the presents prematurely.