Happy Holidays

Tessa and her boyfriend, Ben

hiking on the coldest day this year in Colorado Springs!

4 Generation shot!

Well, Miss Tessa is 9 months old and is doing wonderfully. I just thought I'd post a few more photos and a cute video I took today. She has another check up with her Ped. Tuesday; she's been eating quite a bit better, so I think her weight gain won't be an issue this time! She has started liking to eat what we're eating better than her baby food, so we've been letting her experiment. She loves crackers and bits of tofu, but she wants to feed them to herself. We're staying in Colorado for Christmas this year. We're spending Christmas Eve with Grandma Karen, Grandpa Michael, Uncle Kiahi and Aunt Anne at Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Bob's house this year (with all of the cousins, of course), it will be a blast, I'm sure. We will then be spending Christmas Day with Grandpa Terry and Grandma Nancy, as well as all of the uncles, aunts and cousin, Alex. Tessa and I leave for Mexico to meet up with my family on January 2nd for a week. We will miss Daddy, of course, but are excited to lay on the beach and play in the pool!
Happy holidays to you all!
Love,
Lindsay, Jesse and Tessa

Big Girl!

Stephie and Andy
Tessa and Tessa
Uncle Michael
Great Uncle Lee
Joy just loved little Tessa
Uncle Charlie. Nice headband, hey? :)


Uncle Jake and Tessa's cousin, Alex, born November 20


We had a great time in Minnesota--Christina's wedding was beautiful and she was a gorgeous bride! Great Grandpa Ownie, Uncle Lee, Stephie, Andy, Brady, Janelle, Kirk and Janelle's Mother all came from South Dakota for Thanksgiving. 27 people (including the King's and the Mozingo's) came over for the big feast--we had a housefull! Tessa got to meet Tammy's new baby, Mason, and spent quite a bit of time with Owen (Jessie's boy).
Tessa has quite the personality these days...she mimics us, babbles up a storm and even throws mini fits! She started crawling a couple of weeks ago and has figured out she can get what she wants by crawling to it. She is actually eating fairly well these days--she likes sweet potatoes with butter, fruit, yo baby yogart and her new favorite is mac and cheese. Her Pediatrition says if she keeps eating well and takes a couple of ounces of Pediasure a day, she should gain decent weight. Maybe we'll get to see what it would be like to have no medical worries for a while! She so sweet and gets cuter by the minute (however that may be possible:).

Scottsdale Photos

Ema Karen with the girls. Tessa was very busy emptying Great Papa's vegetable basket!


Great Papa

Nana Lola with her girls
At the Phoenician pool



Papa Kent

Tessa and Gracie
Tessa and her friend, Gracie enjoying bath time together!

Just wanted to post a few photos Papa just sent me from Scottsdale last week. Tessa took her first crawling "steps" 3 days ago! I was so excited I was clapping for her, and she started clapping back! She lunges forward, takes a few crawling movements, then falls on her tummy. She can then push herself back up to her hands and knees and sit back up if she chooses to do so. She has been working on her "downward dog" yoga pose as well.
Tessa is still gaining weight very slowly, so the doc wants us to push solids on her even more and give her Pediasure as a daily supplement. He's not too worried about her yet; she is definitely not failing to thrive, the little girl has more energy than Jesse and I combined, I think! :)

My first vacation...

Maya!


Great Papa

family shot at the beach in San Diego

Tessa's first Broncos game

5 generation shot we've been waiting for!!

Well, Tessa is officially a jet-setter. She loves to travel and is nothing but a chatter box on the planes. We had a great time visiting all the family in San Diego this past weekend! We stayed at Aunt Deb and Uncle Bob's beautiful home in San Marcos and got to see cousin Jennifer, Great Grandma Sharon, Great Grandpa Dick, Great Great Grandma Powell, Uncle Josh, Grandma Karen, plus we got to spend some time with Maya. Tessa took her first trip to the beach--she loved the sand, but not the ocean so much (it was too cold, I think). Tessa and I then met Nana Lola and Papa in Scottsdale and stayed at the Phoenician, which was the most fancy, pretty resort I've been to yet. We mostly hung out at the pool. We went up to have dinner with Great Papa and Grandma Karen Monday night, but other than that, we just relaxed in the sun! What a great trip!

Happy Halloween!

Well, Tessa is now 7 1/2 months old. We had her in her Halloween costume for a whole 5 minutes or so before she let us know she was ready for bed. She has been pulling herself up onto things and can stand unassisted holding onto the coffee table or my neck skin (she's a great pincher these days:). She lunges forward from the sitting position to grab toys and takes a couple of "steps" with her hands, but then falls on her tummy. She can kind of scoot around the floor a bit, but isn't quite crawling. She cut her first 2 teeth a few weeks ago now and since teething began, she hasn't been sleeping at night very well at all. For almost 2 months now, she seems to wake every two hours and wants to nurse (or comfort suck). We aren't into the "cry-it-out" method, so I'm just hoping it stops someday. We bought a Baby Sleep Book by Dr. Sears, who is all about attachment parenting, day and night, so hopefully we'll find some useful tips in that! Wish us luck, we're tired! :)
We've got a couple trips planned this month...Tessa and I are flying out with Grandma Karen to San Diego on Thursday for Great Great Grandma Powell's 95th birthday! Jesse flies out on Friday night with Uncle Josh, so it should be a party! Great Grandma Sharon will be there as well, so we'll finally get to have that 5 generation photo taken! Tessa and I fly from there to Phoenix on Sunday to visit Nana Lola and Papa at the Phoenician in Scottsdale for a few days! We are all then going to Minnesota for Thanksgiving and Christina's wedding! The weather here is still fantastic--it's been in the 70s and sunny, so we've been getting out to walk quite a bit. We officially started the Gymboree music class on Tuesdays--I think Tessa really enjoys the tunes and instruments. She has also discovered how loud her voice can get and loves screaming for joy!

7 Months next week!

getting ready to crawl...?

swimming!

Papa and Nana Lola

swim class
Waldo Pass Trail

Our little hitch hiker!

bubbles with Papa Kent

Uncle Josh

Tessa loves the drum!


...And the laptop!

Grandma Karen and Grandpa Michael

Is she not the cutest thing!?!



Where to begin...Tessa has been doing great! She sits on her own and lunges forward for toys, rocking on her hands and knees before she falls on her tummy. She's not crawling yet, but I bet it won't be long! She loves pulling herself up to a standing position; she's so proud when she stands on her own! We officially started her music class at Gymboree this week. She loves playing with other babies and learning about music! She has been in swim classes for a few weeks now--she loves the water, but hates the shower at the end of class. Her teacher says she is a natural; she kicks her feet and paddles with her hands at the same time and is not afraid to float on her back with her ears in the water. We are still doing the See Mommy Run stroller walk on Friday's with Mona, Avery, Alexis and Harlin. The weather has been fairly warm around here, but we're getting really excited to put our Colorado Ski Passes to use this winter! Tessa just got her first snowsuit and is ready to snowshoe and cross-country ski with Jesse and me. We've also been getting out on a few hikes and a couple of camping trips before the snow falls. She has been doing a bit better with her solid foods, though all she really likes is fruit (pears in particular). That's fine, she doesn't have to try anything else just yet (her Pediatrician says she needs to gain more weight). She just got over a UTI and cut her first tooth, so there have been many, many long nights for Tessa and I. We tried moving her to her own bed a few nights ago (pack-n-play in our room), to see if her every hour waking pattern would improve, and it did! She must have just needed her own space. Boy, is she a big girl!
Papa and Nana Lola came to visit from Minnesota two weeks ago. We had a great time, of course! Grandma Karen and Grandpa Michael were just here last night for Jesse's birthday and took us out to dinner. Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Terry had a barn party to celebrate their 20 year anniversary this past weekend--it was a hoot! They had a good bluegrass band, good beer, good food and good company (probably 100 people showed up to celebrate)! We are all going to San Diego in a few weeks to visit Great Great Grandma Powell for her 95th birthday! Tessa and I are then going to stop in Scottsdale, Arizona to meet Nana Lola and Papa (Papa has a anesthesia conference at the Phoenecian) and we can hopefully see Great Papa and Great Grandma Dianne as well. Then, it's off to Minnesota over Thanksgiving to see family and for Christina's wedding!

Almost 6 motnhs old! Can you believe it?!

Well, not too much to report here, just wanted to post some new photos. Tessa has been sitting up by herself for a couple of weeks now and can hold the hands and knees position for a few seconds at a time. She always has a lot to say and has mastered the girly high pitched screaming! She's still drooling like crazy, but no teeth yet!
Tessa and I keep busy during the week. Monday's we've been alternating Mommy and me yoga with Baby time at the library. We met with the neighborhood mom's playgroup last week as well as the C-Springs West Side Mom's playgroup in Old Colorado City. Every Friday morning, we meet with Tessa's friends, Avery and Harlin for coffee before our 3.5 mile stroller walk along trails in Monument Valley. Last week, we had lunch with Aunt Kimmy, Cousin Kelsey and Brandon before our afternoon movie. Thursday night, we went out to the ranch for paninis and soup with Jesse's dad, stepmom, Uncle Jake and Auntie Jenni. Jake and Jenni's baby boy, Alex, is due in December. Tessa can't wait to meet her cousin!
This weekend, we went camping. We went on a hike to a beautiful lake by Pikes Peak near Woodland Park and then finally found a great camping area only 45 min from C-Springs! Tessa loved the campfire and really just loves being outdoors! Tessa and I didn't sleep very well--we have to perfect our family tent camping technique-- but we are so thrilled to have found a great place to camp!
Cheers! Hope you all have a great week!
Lindsay

This video is from a month or so ago, but she still loves her Jumperoo!

Big girl, Big travels

She's not so sure she likes the pool in this one!

Great Grandma Maeger came to visit about a month ago now
Tessa's first time in a swimming pool (last month) at Grandma Nancy's country club

family photo at the ranch

some of Tessa's first friends: Gracie and Benjamen




We took a family road trip to the mountains this weekend; it's SO nice to have that freedom to travel up there, now that her little heart is healed! Sunday was Grandma Karen's birthday, so we headed up to Rifle Friday evening after Jesse got off work. Tessa did very well in the car for the 4 hours it took to get there! We celebrated Saturday evening at Base Camp Cafe (Karen, Michael and Dan's restraunt in Rifle) with Great Grandma Sharon, Great Grandpa Dick, Grandpa Michael, Uncle Josh and two of Josh's friends from Jackson Hole. Sunday night, we met up with some of Jesse's high school friends at a pizza shop in Carbondale. We took basically all day Monday to drive home after another great skillet breakfeast at the cafe. We stopped to visit with Great Grandma Sharon in Aspen and walked around downtown for a bit, then headed up over Independence Pass. Jesse showed me around his old stomping grounds on our way out of town. It sure is beautiful up there!
Tessa has apparently been on a growth spurt these past few weeks. We went into the Pediatrition today for a shot and weighed her in at 13 lbs 8 oz! This would make sense, for she has been a restless sleeper these past few weeks--waking every 1.5-2 hours to nurse. Last night was a good one, so lets hope that trend continues so I can get some more rest!
Tessa has been very active lately. She loves her new Jumperoo and is getting into everything! She is very interested in everything Jesse or I do. She gets better at sitting up on her own every day and is starting to like eating her organic rice cereal.
Go to: www.sewellphotography.com/tessa to see a slideshow of photos from the photo shoot in Minnesota.