Last Day of School

Tessa has already completed a whole year of school!  Here she is all ready for her last day.  She is holding the picture she painted for her teacher and a little teacher's gift.  The school divides rooms by animals and she has been in the turtle room this year, hence the turtle painting.  In her left hand she is holding a card we made that says "Thanks A Latte!" and hold a Starbucks gift card.           

Parents were invited to the end of the year picnic on the playground.  I snapped a few shots of Tessa with the wonderful Mrs. Vaughan.  We could not have asked for a better teacher for this critical first year.  She did more than just teach my daughter, she loved her and prayed for her too.  Mrs. Vaughan is just as sweet as she looks and Tessa absolutely adores her. 

Each school day Tessa would bring home her green folder and we would look at her things over lunch.  She did the cutest crafts, painted beautiful pictures and had lots of papers with stars and "Good Job" written on them.  I am bragging because I am so very proud of her.  

Part of the curriculum was to learn to recognize and write each letter.  Each week Tessa came home with a crafty letter - a for apple, b for bus, c for cloud etc.  

They also worked on fine motor skills like cutting, coloring, gluing, and painting.  They learned about numbers, sequencing, shapes and colors too.  Tessa's favorite activity is painting and she had plenty of opportunities to paint at school.  I, of course, have kept all of her work and have an overstuffed portfolio of her masterpieces.  My favorite is the Noah's Ark picture complete with animal crackers.  

 

Congratulations on a fantastic first year!

Mother's Day

It just doesn't get any sweeter than this Mother's Day song.  Tessa sang this during her school program but I wanted a version with just her precious little voice.  Daddy was off camera cueing her, but she wanted to do it all by herself.    

We took it easy that morning and slept in.  We never seem to do that anymore, so it was a special treat for me.  Ryan and Tessa even made me pancakes.   

Our Mother's Day tradition is to go to the Westin downtown for lunch.  

They do a beautiful buffet and make fabulous Bloody Marys.  The fact that none of us have to cook is a present all on it's own.

 

I love my daughter, my mother and my grandmother so very much.  As Nanny is rapidly approaching ninety we are seeing many changes in her.  My mom is amazing, sometimes taking care of both Tessa and Nanny at the same time.  We joke that the women in our family live forever, but it may not be as long as we think.  I'm grateful we were all together for this Mother's Day.  

 

My sweet baby tells me she's not a baby anymore, she's a kid.  She's right, but I tell her she will always be my baby and I will always love her.  This beautiful child made me a momma and that is what I always wanted to be.

  

Mother's Day Program

On Friday Tessa's class had a special Mother's Day program and it was precious.  Hanging on the wall outside her classroom was this portrait of me.  How fun to see yourself through your child's eyes, especially since she says I am happy and sweet!  The statement that I like to write letters surprised me.  But, as Ryan pointed out, if you count e-mail, blogging and Facebook in addition to the real cards I send, then I do "write" a lot of letters.       

Tessa made me a jeweled crown and cut out a paper corsage for me.  As a side note, she has wanted me to wear the crown all weekend.  When it kept falling off my big head, I told her I needed to pin it on.  She rummaged around in the drawer and found a chip clip, which I dutifully used.  It worked surprisingly well to hold on my crown, she's so smart.

The kids had been working on special songs for the moms.  I knew my child couldn't wait to perform because I had been getting previews all week.

Tessa, Gamma and I sing this song together a lot so it was extra special to see her sing it with her class.

After the singing, Mrs. Vaughan read a story and then we had cookies and lemonade.  Tessa made this hand print place mat and beaded picture as my gift.    

Mrs. Vaughan had interviewed each child and listed the things they said about their moms.  The list really made me laugh.  Tessa thinks I am 5 years old, that my favorite TV show is Mickey Mouse, and that my favorite restaurant is McDonald's.  She also says I cook the best steak.  One poor mom was listed as 80 years old, glad that wasn't me!  But the part that melted my heart is that she told her teacher that I always say "I love you!"  Sniff, sniff, I do love her so very much.

Berry Patch

Have I mentioned that Tessa loves strawberries?  And here in South Carolina, it's berry pickin' time again.

This farm is great, it's close to our house and cheap.  If you bring your own bucket it's even cheaper.  And since my child can eat her own weight in strawberries, this matters.  It's even ok to eat as you pick, which you can see we do.

This year Ryan went with us.  He is an awesome strawberry picker, he filled our buckets in no time.  I didn't have to do a thing except take pictures and watch my two loves enjoying themselves.      

Ryan would hunt and search to find the prettiest berries for Tessa.  She is convinced her daddy picks the best ones.  They would blow the dirt off and eat them right there.  These are the moments I don't want to forget.

Gamma's Birthday

Gamma's birthday week was full of fun.  First we had cake, and more importantly icing.  Tessa wanted to decorate the cake with the Chipettes, but we opted to have them on the side. 

On Gamma's real birthday, we headed to Dupont State Forest to see waterfalls.  I could say we hiked, but really it was more of a leisurely stroll over the river and through the woods.  The weather was gorgeous, cool and sunny just like my mom likes it. 

Posing by the first waterfall, Triple Falls. 

Thanks to a fellow hiker, we have a group shot.   

This trail is great because you can climb down to the riverbed for an up close view of the falls. 

Then we moseyed on down the trail to High Falls.  Seriously, we weren't going anywhere fast with Tessa stopping to look at something or dig in the dirt every five seconds.  But we were in no hurry and she was happy.  On the return trip, we had to laugh every time we spotted her "tracks" where those little fingers had scooped up sandy soil.

After admiring the falls from here, we took the trail down to the base of the falls.  Tessa entertained herself by throwing sticks in the water and watching the current carry them away.  Seeing her precariously balanced on rocks and then bending over the water's edge gave my heart a big jolt.  She was so intent on grabbing sticks that I was afraid she would topple right into the water and be swept away.  So, we moved to safer rocks where she took her shoes off and dangled her little painted toes in the freezing water.   

This is such a sweet picture with Gampa.

Tessa is saying "Hooray for Birthday!"

She sure does love her Gamma.

Yep, we live in a beautiful area. 

After our trip it was home for chocolate pie and champagne.  The next day, for the birthday finale, we all went out to eat.  Happy Birthday!