Tiny Dancer

Check out Tessa's first dance moves. She loves this musical toy!!

Tiny Dancer from courtney on Vimeo.

Little Italian Girl

Tessa's Italian roots are beginning to show through. Not only does she love pizza, but we recently discovered that she is crazy about spaghetti. She can't stuff it in her mouth fast enough and she probably eats as much as Calder does in one sitting (if not more!)

Spaghetti Girl from courtney on Vimeo.

Fall Fun!

These pictures are from a few weeks ago, when our yard was still covered with a blanket of leaves. I absolutely love fall, but I am so glad that the raking is done for this year!

Calder was having a blast tossing the leaves into the air and running, jumping and sliding through the yard.

I love that you can see her 2 little teeth in this one!

He's A Nut

Here's Calder performing one of the songs he learned this fall at preschool. It goes like this:

I'm a little acorn brown, lying on the cold cold ground
Everybody steps on me, that's why I am so cracked you see
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut!

I'm a Nut! from courtney on Vimeo.

Harvest Festival

Calder and Tessa's school hosted a Harvest Festival a little over a week ago. Dave and I were both able to go and join Calder's class for the turkey lunch!

Ready to dig into the cranberry sauce. I think he had 3 helpings! But no turkey, of course!

The cookies I made for the party. I can't take credit for the idea though -- I found a picture of them online!

The class made a giant turkey using their handprints as the feathers. Written inside each handprint was what the child was thankful for. Most children were thankful for their moms or dads or other family members. Here's Calder's handprint:

Calder poses with his wonderful teacher, Ms. Katrina.
And, his other wonderful teacher, Ms. Katie.Tessa takes a break from gazing out the window!

Sibling Playdate

Baby Loves Pizza!

Tessa had her first taste of pizza a few weeks ago. She loved it -- just like her brother loved his first taste!

What makes Tessa smile?

1. Yogurt. She nearly jumps out of her high chair as soon as she catches a glimpse of the container.

2. Lucky. Poor little guy is constantly on the run from her grabby little fingers.

3. Calder. She truly, truly loves her big brother. And he truly, truly loves her back.

4. Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars. On second thought...these probably make her cry more often since they are always being taken away from her.

5. Noses, mouths and chins. She's completely fascinated with them. And she wants to eat them.

6. Looking out the window. Hands down, it's her favorite thing to do right now.

At 10 months, Tessa has 2 teeth, can get into a sitting or standing position on her own, crawls on all fours, can crawl up 2 steps, cruises for a few steps, says mama (!) and dada, and loves to give wet slobbery kisses -- right on the mouth. :)

Michigan

Here are a few pictures from our recent weekend visit to Michigan. We recently bought a new point and shoot digital camera for times when we don't want to lug around the DSLR. We took that camera on this trip, and after seeing these pictures, I promptly returned it! Maybe I'm a bit spoiled by my Nikon, but these pictures came out unbelievably bad. I'm hoping to get a good deal on a different one on Black Friday! :)

Little Baby Parts

I know that someday soon, I'm going to blink and Tessa won't be a baby anymore. So, I try my best to savor each moment with her at this adorable age. I find myself studying her every detail, hoping that I'll never forget her soft skin, pudgy rolls, pink lips, dimpled elbows, tiny toes and that sassy little tongue. A few weeks ago, I convinced her to pose for these pictures so I could capture all of her perfect, precious little baby parts!

Sick of Pumpkins Yet?

I promise, these are the last of the pumpkin pictures -- for this year! All in all, we made 5 pumpkin patch visits this year! It would have been 6, but one got rained out. It's my favorite time of year, so I tend to go a little overboard!!

Have you ever tried taking a picture of 4 kids under the age of 4? Pretty much an impossible task.

Tessa was perfectly content until the mean mommy came along and took the car keys out of her hand...
King of the Pumpkins!
Mom's helper!

The Sweetest Kiss!

Aunt Vandana has the best dress up box!

Weekend in Dallas

My friend, Niki, moved to Dallas a year ago, and I finally made it down there for a visit. Tessa came along and we had a fun mommy-and-me weekend!

Her first flight was a success!! She did amazingly well both ways. And it didn't hurt that we sat next to baby-friendly women on both flights. Although, I was frustrated and annoyed to learn that airlines no longer allow you to board early when traveling with young children (at least American doesn't).
The Dallas Arboretum was having a fall festival, so we decided to check it out. It was crazy cold for Dallas (low 50s), but the Arboretum was so pretty and decorated really well for fall!

My little pumpkin!

Hangin' out with Aunt Niki!

It was fun to show Tessa the Women's Garden at the Arboretum. It's the very spot where Uncle Sean and Aunt Vandana got married -- 7 years ago!

Big pumpkins, little girl.

Vandana's brother and sister-in-law live in Dallas and they have a 1 year old little girl. So, they were nice enough to let me borrow tons of baby gear and toys, which was a lifesaver when it came to packing! Here, Tessa shows Uncle Sebastian how the toys work!

Pittsburgh Pumpkin Patch

During our visit to Pittsburgh last month, Calder and his cousin Madison had a great time at a local pumpkin patch!! What a busy afternoon!

First up? Pony rides!
Driving the "Cool Bus"Bike racing!
Hay fights!
Then onto face painting! This was Calder's first-ever face painting. To my amazement, he sat completely still! He ended up choosing a ghost and a bat.
And, a ghost and a witch for Madison!
Last, but not least, a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to choose their own pumpkins.
Even Tessa got in on the pumpkin action. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of baby Olivia since she was snoozing almost the whole time!