Tessa Turns Six

It seems like just yesterday this little sunbeam brightened our world for the first time, but that was actually six years ago!  Tessa is growing into a beautiful little lady.  She is sweet and sensitive with a big compassionate heart.  On occasion, she can give me plenty of sass, but usually she is well behaved and polite like the princess she is.     

Her new favorite thing to do is play games on the Disney Jr. website.  Her favorite shows are Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins and Jake & the Neverland Pirates.  It's a tie between the princess Barbie dolls and her Lego Friends which toy she likes the best.  Her favorite color is still red and her favorite foods are still strawberries and pizza.  When she grows up, she wants to be a painter at Disney World.  We love you precious girl.  Happy Birthday!

       

Birthday Party

Tessa wanted an Ariel birthday party this year.  So we had a photo shoot in one of our favorite Ariel costumes.  She makes a beautiful mermaid.

I used one of the pictures to order a personalized invitation off of Etsy.com.  We had a tense day when the listing was removed and I was afraid I would not be able to purchase this invitation.  But, not to worry, after chatting with the shop owner she assured me the invite was still available.  She had only taken it down because Ariel is such an "old" princess and she didn't realize how popular the mermaid still was.  Ariel can't be "old" I remember when her movie came out!  The finished invite is super cute.

This was our first birthday party we hosted outside of the home.  It was so much easier, why have I not done this before?  Our local gym has a great set-up for parties.  They provide this room, table cloths, all paper products and two people to entertain the kids with all sorts of games.  Of course, because I am me, I felt the need to add to the decorations so it would be Arielesque.  Ryan and my parents were great blowing up all these balloons and hanging the streamers.

And we couldn't have a mermaid party without some sort of water so we opted for the addition of a huge water slide.  This was optimistic on our part because it feels like it has rained every single day this summer.  We crossed our fingers, hoped for the best and got lucky.  The rain held off until the end of the party so the kids had plenty of time to slide. 

Hugs for the birthday girl.

These sweet girls all took a break from sliding so I could snap a picture.

Birthday hug from our BFF.

As it started to rain, we headed inside to change into dry clothes and have cake.  This year, Tessa's guest list was so long that we had cake and cupcakes too.  The birthday girl had both, of course!  

Quick picture of Momma with the birthday girl.

And then one of Momma, Daddy and the birthday girl.

And Tessa got to put her handprints on the wall of fame.  She chose to have her hands painted rainbow colored.  I am still amazed that none of the paint ended up on any of the partygoers because they were all crowded around Tessa while this was happening.

After eating cake and handprinting, we still had a few minutes to play games.  We did hula hoop musical chairs which is such a cute game.  It's like regular musical chairs where you take away one hoop while the music is playing, and then the kids all scrambled to be standing inside a hoop when the music stopped.  Whoever was left without a hoop had to step aside.  But, the consolation prize was that the kicked out kids got to hula hoop with the removed hoops so everybody had fun.  Tessa is developing a competitive spirit and beat out all but two of her friends. 

Before we knew it, the party was over and it was time to hand out party bags and say good-bye to our friends.  This is the only trick to having a party at a destination, when your time is up you really have to move out quickly.  We actually knew the boy having his party right after ours so I tried not to take too long.  Of course, both party groups ended up standing around and chit chatting.

The five of us went out to an early birthday dinner at a new Tex-Mex restaurant, Chuy's.  We have a sad lack of decent Mexican food here so, we were glad to see this Texas based chain moving into our area.  It was yummy, even if I couldn't have a margarita.

Then we came home so Tessa could open all of her wonderful presents.  This is one happy birthday girl!

Big Sister

We told our parents very early but waited until after our 12 week ultrasound to tell Tessa.  She is so excited to be a big sister.  We take pretend trips to the grocery, on our magic carpet of course, to get the baby milk and other baby essentials.  She hopes it's a girl and, if it is, she wants to name her Jewel.  She is going to be a fabulous big sister!

SURPRISE!!!

I am pregnant and due January 8th!!!  This is a total surprise after 11 years and multiple failed fertility treatments.  We thought we had moved past the baby phase of life and were more than content as a family of three.  But apparently God has other plans for us. 

 

I cannot even describe the shock I felt when I saw "pregnant" on my at home pregnancy test.  That had NEVER happened to me before.  I dropped Tessa off at school and went straight to Target to buy more tests and pre-natal vitamins.  Sure enough, both of those tests were positive too, apparently I am really carrying a baby.  I texted Ryan to meet me for lunch and he knew something was up.  We have lunch dates, but we usually plan them in advance.  I just didn't want to tell him over the phone.  Of course I burst into tears and babbled out the news as soon as I saw him.  To say he is thrilled is a major understatement.  In fact, he recovered from the shock much more quickly than I did.  He brought me home roses that day. 

So, for those of you that have done the math, I was pregnant for our beach vacay and Disney Day, our trip to Texas and our cruise.  I've got the green light from my doctors to go to France with Ryan this fall, although I will have to come home sooner than expected.  This baby is going to be one well traveled kid even before he/she is born! 

Thankfully, I feel really good and am having a fabulous pregnancy.  As long as I keep something on my stomach I don't get nauseated.  In fact, the only "morning sickness" I had was when we got up super early to go to Disney back in May, and even that wasn't bad.  As for cravings, I have wanted fruit and peanut butter more than anything, but not together.  Peanut butter toast in the morning and fruit the rest of the day.  Eggs and any kind of bread have also been high on my list lately.  Caffeine withdrawal was rough, but short lived in the scheme of things.  I had the worst headache of my life the day after I found out I was pregnant and it was directly related to a lack of Diet Coke.  I now have one precious Diet Coke a day and no more headaches.  Since I wasn't sick, I started putting on weight immediately.  If you look at the Houston picture with Chris and Kristin where I am wearing the blue and green dress you can see my baby bump.  I am still exercising, with my doctor's permission.  I am so very tired all the time though.  Even Tessa noticed, asking me "are you laying down AGAIN Momma?"  Apparently twelve hours of sleep at night is not enough for this pregnant Momma, I take a short nap each day too.

The advantage to being 35 and pregnant is that you get an extra early ultrasound.  Our first was at 8 weeks where the pregnancy was confirmed, we could see a heartbeat and everybody said a prayer of thanks that it wasn't twins.  The baby looks like a little gummy bear, a healthy little gummy bear.  My most favorite doctor was out of town, so I saw one of his partners.  She is wonderful and was actually the perfect doctor for me to see that day because she had a baby after turning 35 and her kids have a big age split too.  I'm pretty sure I was still in shock sitting with Ryan in the doctor's office and thinking about baby names.

Our second ultrasound was at almost 12 weeks and we got to see the baby do a nifty little spin with arms and legs spread eagle.  That was the most amazing thing, to see our baby moving.  After that, he/she curled up and went back to sleep and no amount of prodding my belly could produce motion again.  Both ultrasounds look great with everything as it's supposed to be.  The heart rate is high so that means it is a girl, according to the old wives' tale.  But, I have been feeling so good that according to another old wives' tale, I must be carrying a boy.  Who knows?!?! 

We are now that cliché, having a biological child after adopting.  No, we weren't "trying" and we didn't finally "just relax," it's God's timing.  He chose to bless us with another child and we are thrilled.

Cruise

While Ryan and Frank were fishing, Paula, Heath, Tessa and I cruised to Mexico from Galveston.  On departure day, we arrived nice and early and were lucky because our stateroom was ready.  So, we dropped our luggage and headed out to explore the ship.  The party was already getting started with the bars open and the music playing.  Tessa danced on the deck while we waited to set sail.  This ship had lots of fun things to do, including a three story waterslide.  The slide was probably Tessa's favorite part of the whole ship.  I would park myself in a nearby lounge chair and watch her slide down and then race back up the stairs to slide again.  Her beloved Ariel doll would often slide with her, but sometimes she talked the lifeguard into sending Ariel by herself after Tessa had launched down the slide.

One of the nice upgrades to our cruise was anytime dining.  Each night we had a private table in the main dining room.  The food was delicious, better than any of us expected.  We had lobster, escargot, filet mignon and yummy pasta dishes.  The kid's menu kept Tessa happy, especially since she had ice cream for dessert each night.  The breakfast and lunch buffets were huge, plus pizza and ice cream were available 24 hours a day.  One or two days, Tessa ate an ice cream cone while we went through the breakfast buffet line.   On vacation why not have ice cream before breakfast? 

Our first stop was Progreso, a little town on the Yucatan peninsula.  We opted for the excursion to a nearby all-inclusive resort.  We rode a bus through the sketchy part of town and were deposited at this pretty resort.  We headed to the beach area first and Tessa wanted to kayak.  We climbed right in to a double kayak and paddled around in the shallow water.  Then we walked along the beach looking for seashells.  Unfortunately, the bugs were really bad so we decided to move to the pool area.  We made multiple trips to the buffet, with me eating more than my fair share of flautas, so yummy.  Tessa made me laugh with her fruity drinks.  There was also a children's pool with a slide where Tessa and Heath played.  On the drive back to the boat, both Tessa and I fell asleep. 

We missed the memo that it was formal night.  Oh well, we still were able to get our picture taken in front of the boat backdrop.  I think it turned out great.  That was the only night we had to wait for a table at dinner but it wasn't a problem.  The kids and I just walked over to the pizza place and had an appetizer.  As an apology for our wait, Carnival sent a dessert tray to our room.  Tessa was in heaven with the chocolate covered strawberries. 

We took our own pictures on the main staircase.  Look how happy Nanny Paula is with her two grandkids.

After a stormy night that had our boat rocking like crazy, we docked in Cozumel.  Nanny Paula and Heath wanted to explore the town so Tessa and I went on an excursion just the two of us.  While we waited for our tour guide, we hung out at this cool portside area.  We shared a delicious pineapple fruity (non-alcoholic) drink that I thought was part of the tour package.  Good thing I had money when the bartender said "seeks dollah."  Oh well. 

We went to the national park Chankanaab which was awesome.  There were beaches, lagoons, dolphin swim areas, recreated Mayan villages, a pool and a beautiful restaurant with a buffet.  Most of our group headed off to snorkel.  Unfortunately, kids under eight weren't allowed to snorkel.  So, Tessa and I watched people swim with the dolphins.  It looked so fun, this is something Ryan wants us to all do together someday.  We explored the Mayan village and then cooled off with a swim in the gorgeous blue waters.  I talked Tessa out of kayaking again because the waves were bigger here.  As we moved away from the small sandy beach, I realized why kids aren't allowed to snorkel.  Most of the shore is made of rocks that are crazy sharp.  It's so steep that you enter the water using stairs cut into the rock.  I did get in the water though and, at Tessa's request, went under and got my hair wet.  Even without a snorkel I could see tons of beautiful fish all around me.   

There was a sea lion show that Tessa and I got a big kick out of.  There were several sea lions that came out and did tricks but the best was Rocky.  He even danced to the Rocky theme song.  After the show we were allowed to line up for a kiss from the baby sea lion.  Tessa sat perfectly still for her smack.  I went next out of curiosity.  The whiskers are tickly and she smells like fish but now we can both say we have been kissed by a sea lion. We spent the rest of our day at the pool before taxiing back to the boat.

That night, we went to the magic show.  We were all entertained, it was pretty impressive with special effects including pyrotechnics.  The next day was another day at sea.  Tessa spent most of her time on the waterslide.  We did take advantage of the onboard children's center.  Tessa is so social, she had a great time hanging out with other kids and I had some downtime.  On the last night, we three girls went to the New Orleans style show.  It was very good with the type of singing and dancing I really like.  Tessa is so grown up now, it's a pleasure to travel with her.  We docked safely back in port, thankful not to have lost power and been left drifting in the gulf.  Not that anyone really expected that to happen again.  I'm lucky to have a mother-in-law I get along with so well.  Thanks for the trip, we had fun!

Houston

Before and after our separate trips, we were all together at Frank & Paula's house in Houston.  Tessa was thrilled when her cousin Heath arrived from California.  We went out for pizza and these two entertained each other.  Heath is a great kid and he was so patient and sweet with Tessa.

We were visiting between the two kids' birthday so we had cake for both of them.  I can't believe Heath is fourteen!  Then again I can't believe Tessa is almost six!  Needless to say, cake is always a hit and we had fun celebrating together. 

We had a fun date night with two of our favorite people, Chris and Kristin.  We drove by the house they are in the process of buying and it is beautiful.  I can't wait to visit again and see what they do with the place.  Then we went out to a Brazilian steak house and attempted to put ourselves into a meat coma. 

With temps over 100 we spent lots of time in the pool.  I personally love the heat and was quite content floating in the pool each day.  At the end of our trip, Ryan's sister Heather joined us.  It was a bonus to get a chance to catch up with her too.

Whale Channel

Ryan and his dad went fishing again in British Columbia, Canada.  This time the lodge was docked in Whale Channel.  True to the name, they saw lots of humpback whales.  They even got to see them bubble netting.  Here they are suited up and ready to fish. 

Frank caught a prize winning fish on the very first day!  This salmon weighed over thirty pounds making it a tyee.  It was fairly early in the season for salmon so this was a big deal to catch such a big one.  The tall guy on the left was their guide Clint, who's nickname was Bumpneck (after a rare type of salmon).

Ryan tells me the scenery is unbelievable, that pictures really don't do it justice.  Maybe someday I will see Canada, cold places just aren't very high on my list.  But, this sunset is beautiful.  I think Ryan said the sun didn't set until after 10pm.

Each morning they set out fishing with the sunrise at 5am.  They fished as many hours as they possibly could, stopping only to eat and sleep.  The lodge provided plenty of gourmet food for all the hardworking fishermen, from prime rib to lobster and lots of fish in between.  Even though Ryan packed big lunches each day, a snack boat would swing by with more food just in case someone was still hungry and didn't want to stop fishing.  Here you can see the morning fog just starting to lift.  

And wow does it look gorgeous once the fog lifts.  Ryan says the water is clear and very deep even this close to land.    

Ryan and Frank caught plenty of fish.  I now have over thirty pounds of cleaned, cut and packaged fish in my freezer, and Frank went home with even more.  There was halibut, black cod, lingcod, and of course, salmon.

Here's a picture of the fishing lodge, where it is docked against the shore.  It gets moved later in the season as the salmon run closer to the river inlets.

This was their fourth trip, and it is always a real treat.