Dec 9, 2008

Yum-o!

Hopefully you know who I'm talking about by the title of this post. Rachel Ray was at Cool Springs Mall today signing her new book, 'Big Orange Book' at Williams Sonoma. I got there about 1pm and left the mall at 3pm...not too bad! She looked as you might expect - very petite and super-cute! I was surprised that she wasn't in a more bubbly mood, but I guess when your signing 1500 books in a 3 hour period there's not much to be chippery about. It was fun and I'm glad I went. Taryn's 1st book signing experience = A! This picture was taken after she signed my book.

Nov 26, 2008

Randomness

After I got married, I couldn't watch Father of the Bride without balling my eyes out!

After having a baby, I can't watch Father of the Bride Part II without balling my eyes out!

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Nov 21, 2008

Ekkk!

Tessa now has one of her top teeth!! Yay!! The bad thing is she has taken a liking to grinding them. The noise is horrible!!!

Nov 11, 2008

Cabin Trip!!

This past weekend, we went to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area and stayed at a cabin in the mountains with some good friends. This was our 2nd year to do this and I look forward to it everytime. It's so nice to get away with such great people and just have fun and relax. These are a few pictures of the cabin and the beautiful foliage. It's gorgeous in Tennessee in the fall!!

This is our porch. It's huge!!


The view from our porch.



My sweet baby Tessa.


This picture makes me laugh. Look at those teeth!


Tessa and Ethan - cute babies!!


Look at Ethan's little grin. What a funny expression!


The two T's.


I am so blessed to be surrounded by people who love and support me. This group of girls is totally awesome and I cherish their friendships. They have been an amazing encouragement to me and I look forward to how our friendship will grow and strengthen as we multiply!! :)


Sorry this one's a bit off center. It was very entertaining to see all the dudes set up the cameras, press the timer buttons, and run to be in the picture. I'm just glad nobody broke anything!

Tessa Creeping

Here is some video of Tessa creeping...not quite crawling. Please pardon my abnoxious laughter in the background. I'm trying to egg her on with my laughing. :)

It's fun and scary at the same time that she's getting more mobile. Time to baby-proof the house!!!

Nov 2, 2008

Happy Halloween!!

We made it through our 1st Halloween with Tessa and she was the cutest ladybug I've ever seen!! I'm not just saying that because she's my daughter either!! Jim's mom came over to hang out with us, and of course we were back and forth to the door with all the trick 'o' treaters. I always love seeing the kids and trying to guess what they're dressed up as. There can be some pretty interesting costumes! We didn't have as many kids come by as in years past, but we still had a lot. Here are some pictures of our little 'good luck' charm. Ain't she cute?





Oct 12, 2008

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch with some friends on Saturday afternoon. I'd never been to anything like it and it was so fun! There were pumpkins everywhere (I guess that's the point)! Tessa had a great time checking everything out and was able to meet her new BFF, Ethan!! We're already trying to plan their wedding. I've told Tessa it's okay to go for younger men...her mommy did!! :) What's a few months, right?
Enjoy the pics.







Sep 24, 2008

Grammy's Visit

My mom came to visit this weekend for Tessa's big dedication. It was a super-short visit, but a great one! I was so glad she got to have some time with little T. Here are some pics from the visit. There are some stunning ones of our sweet baby girl!



Sep 22, 2008

Little Surprise

We have a tooth!! Check this out...she got it about a week ago. I think she really wants you to see it. Look at this face she's making!!

Baby Dedication

Tessa was dedicated yesterday at our church in Brentwood, TN. It was a special day for me and Jim (and Tessa, but she won't remember!). My mom drove in from Houston and Jim's mom was there as well. Of course I wanted Tessa to be the happy baby she usually is, and being that she was having a more fussy day than normal I thought we were doomed. She was great! After the service we went home and had a yummy meal prepared by my mommy....she's an excellent cook! :) Here are some pictures from the day!


Sep 9, 2008

Good Eats

While on our litte vacation, Tessa tried 2 new foods. They were both a hit!

Apples...















and prunes (these look so much like chocolate puddin')

Labor Day

These pictures were taken on Labor day. What a wild bunch!!




1st Big Game

While we were in Pittsburgh, Tessa went to her 1st baseball game. Once we got to our seats, she was worn out!! She took a nap shortly after we sat down. It's crazy how she can sleep through a lot of that noise! Here she is with her daddy. Oh, by the way for all of you who are wondering, our seats were in the shade and we had sunscreen on her!

Meeting the Great-Grand Parents

Tessa experienced her 1st road trip over Labor Day. We went to visit her great grandma (GG Dobbie) and her great grandpap in Pittsburgh, PA. Added bonus...her pap pap was there, too! It was such a great weekend being with family and I loved everyone getting to meet little T. I think it's amazing that she met her great-grandparents!! How cool is that?? Everything went better than I could've imagined! Tessa did great in the car for over 10 hours each way and was excellent meeting all my crazy family members. Check out these pics...















Getting some lovin' from GG Dobbie
















Having a good laugh!
















Me, Tessa, and great-grandpap
















How sweet does she look in this photo?? Angel!! :)

Aug 19, 2008

First Word



Here is video from Tessa's first word...da da da da da... Last Thursday I picked her up from daycare and heard her saying this. Although she doesn't know what she's saying, Jim likes to think she does. :) It's so crazy how these little things are so exciting!!! Enjoy the video and ignore my annoying voice (I sound so weird on video)!!

Big Day!

Tessa is 7 months old today!!!

Aug 6, 2008

Gone But Not Forgotten

A couple weeks ago Tessa switched day cares. It was a tough decision because we were very pleased with the care she received. Seeing these ladies everyday for 3 months (I went at lunch), we developed a sweet friendship. We had such a great time talking and laughing about stuff. It was so tough leaving and I will miss seeing them. So will Tessa!

Here are some pictures from her last day with some of her new friends. We started taking the pictures below and she just lost it!! I think she knew she was leaving...what an advanced baby! :)



Yellow Veggies

We've begun the world of veggies with Tessa. Here she is having her 1st bites of squash. This was at the end of July. If she's anything like her mommy and daddy she will like anything and everything!!















The pictures below are from last night. She had sweet potatoes and couldn't get enough!! She loved them (even though it looks like she is spitting them out in the bottom pic)! She's getting used to this veggie thing! It's so fun to see her reactions to all this new stuff.


Introducing...

HARVEY THE HIGHLANDER!!!



Can I tell you how nice it is to have more space going to and from work? I love it! I love it!! I love it!!! Between all of our bags the Altima was becoming a low-rider! And how about the name? Pretty nice, huh?

Jul 31, 2008

Can Anyone Relate?

I eat breakfast...still hungry.
I have snacks...still hungry.
I have lunch...still hungry.
I have snacks...you guessed it...still hungry.
Guess how I feel after dinner?

Jul 23, 2008

Yummy Cereal!!

That time has come. The time when Tessa can no longer survive on milk and milk alone. Well, she could, but it sounds so much more dramatic when said like that. Tessa had her first bite of cereal on Tuesday, July 15th!! It was a fun experience! I especially loved it when her arms were flying around and hit the bowl throwing the cereal overboard. What would I rather do at 6 in the morning?? Here is a quick video of her feasting on this yummy goodness called rice cereal.



I forgot to tell you guys we had her 6 month appointment about a week ago and she is still going strong in the weight category. She is 17lbs 12oz and in the 90%. Surprisingly, she didn't shed too many tears after getting her 3 shots this time. What a gal!!

She is becoming much more vocal these days and poor daddy can't get a word in edgewise. Between me and her, well, you guys know!! She's doing better at sitting up and can do pretty well on her own for a while before falling over. What a joy she has been to us thus far!

Jul 17, 2008

Saluting Sandy

I knew the day would come when I would have to say goodbye to a good friend. My parents introduced me to Sandy back in 1998 and we quickly became close pals. Having made countless trips from Nashville to Houston and back, I knew I could always count on her to get me from one place to the next safely. We enjoyed jammin' to the tunes, fill-ups under $4, honkin' at the boys...no, not really! I was always amazed by how well she aged. Not bad for 12 years old, huh? She will be sorely missed! Honk, honk, Sandy! Honk, honk!















I'll show you pictures of the replacement when we get it...won't be long! What will his/her name be??

Jul 13, 2008

Big Saturday

Yesterday was a big day for us. Tessa had her 6 month pictures and they turned out great! Jadie (the photographer) did an outstanding job as usual! Our appointment was at 10am and I was hoping T would take a nap before then...of course she didn't. The first part of the photo session didn't hold too many smiles from our little princess. She wasn't crying, but she wasn't 'showing us the gums' either. It didn't help that it was really hot and sticky outside. Jadie was patient enough to let her take a 15 minute power nap and then she was ready to go! We got some good smiles after that! Click here to see the slideshow.

Last night, Emme (Jim's mom) watched Tessa so Jim and I could go out to dinner and a movie in celebration of our 7th wedding anniversary. The big day is on Monday! We went to a yummy italian place called Mama Mia's and had an excellent dinner. We looked into amovie, but there weren't any we really wanted to see...so we went to see one anyway!! How many chances do you get to go to a movie 6 months after you have a baby?? We went to see Hancock and I thought it was pretty good. I liked that it was a different idea for a movie. We had a great evening and are so appreciative to Emme for watching T. It's so nice having family in town!

This morning Tessa slept until 8:40am!! Can you believe it? Her last feeding was around 9pm and she slept until 8:40am! Did you hear that?? Okay, I'll say it a third time! 8:40am! Wow! How nice was that?? I loved getting more sleep, even if it was for just one night.

Jul 10, 2008

What You've Missed

Since the last post...
*I've turned 30
*Tessa's turned over, had her 1st ear infection and turned 24 weeks

We had family in town from Texas over July 4th. Here are some pictures from our visit.


Daddy and his twin





Aunt Melanie





Cousins Cole and Caitlyn - Tessa loved these guys. They were making her laugh all weekend. It was so sweet.

Jun 26, 2008

Elevator Follow up

I get on the elevator 4 times a day to get to and from my office. I'll give you one guess at which elevator door opens every time I push that button now.

Jun 24, 2008

I'll Take the Stairs

I was coming back from lunch today and stepped on the elevator to go to floor 2. The doors closed and they didn't open on floor 2. In fact, they didn't open at all! I was stuck between floors. I felt like I was in Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Twenty...one of those movies. I remained calm as I pressed the HELP button and it wasn't long before Belmont Security arrived. Boy, I felt better!! :) They pried the doors open and I hoped to see a large group of my peeps standing by applauding. That didn't happen. I was only in there about 15 minutes, but it felt forever. In case I ever get stuck in an elevator and don't make it out, I just want you all to know I love you!!

Jun 17, 2008

Happy Father's Day!

We had a fun day on Sunday for Jim's 1st Father's Day minus Jim mowing the lawn. :) I told Him I would do it if he could find a way to feed Tessa. Well...he mowed the lawn!! Anyway, we spent some time with Jim's mom and dad around lunch time and then we took Tessa to the swimming pool!! Her first time there and she was a total pro!! She was kicking her feet and taking in all that was going on around her. Here's a short video and some pics from our special day!!









Give me those glasses, daddy!



Got 'em!