We had an ice cream sundae bar, ice cream cupcakes and a cake decorated with an ice cream cone. 
There were ice cream games, ice cream balloons and ice cream aprons so they could get messy with their sundaes.
Ryan scooped out lots of fun. It's hard to tell who liked the ice cream bar better, the kids or the dads. 
We played put the sprinkles on the ice cream cone. The finished product is so cute I plan to display it in the playroom.
Our ice cream pinata was hysterical. It refused to break, even when we brought in the big kid as the ringer. The kids loved hitting the pinata and everyone got to take extra turns. Ryan and I both took a swing at it too before resorting to a utility knife.
Group picture. Might have had better luck getting them to sit still if I had tried this before I pumped them all full of sugar.
Time for cake! We had the cutest little ice cream cone candles but Tessa does not like fire so the candles were quickly removed. I think we scared her with the mini bonfire on Daddy's cake a few months ago.
And then we opened presents. I love that our friends bought princess stuff, Tessa was so excited to see all her favorites.
OK, I will admit that I really like the princess stuff too.
She took a break part way through present opening to sit down and read some of her new books. It's wonderful that she is such a reader.
What a party! Thank you to everyone for making it such a special day.
On the last day, Tessa spotted me in my class while her class was playing at the playground. She usually does very well with separation but once she saw me, she refused to return to her class. So she stayed with me in the storytime room. Here she is sitting like a big girl with my kids. Precious! 
Tessa was very excited to receive this new stuffed animal. Yes, she gets presents for 4th of July and pretty much every other holiday too.
Meet Pongo, the daddy dog from 101 Dalmations. He and Tessa are reading a book together. I just love watching her pretend with her animals.
We are very much a Momma's girl these days. She is always wanting me to carry her, hold her, play with her, dance with her, read to her... I wouldn't want it any other way.
Have I mentioned how much she likes ice cream?
And what's more American than baseball? On Friday night, we went to the Greenville Drive game. Tessa had a good time, as long as the Chick-Fil-A cow stayed away from us. She has developed an intense dislike of this particular mascot. She spent half the game shaking her little head and saying "No Cow!" Funny, since she loves Chick-Fil-A nuggets. Despite the cow, Tessa was happy to stay for the duration of the game. We even hung around for the post game fireworks which were pretty impressive. Happy 4th of July!
Of course, the presents are really all for Tessa.
Even though Tessa hadn't been feeling her best she didn't miss a chance to snuggle with her Daddy and tell him Happy Daddy Day.
The pirate theme is cute and Tessa crawled over, under and around the pirate ship. I liked floating on the lazy river where we would get hosed down by the water cannons. Tessa liked watching Daddy ride the big slides and make big splashy landings.
We took a break from the water and had a picnic in the park. Then it was back for more splashing fun. 
How 'bout ... is one of Tessa's new favorite phrases. Can't you just see her saying "How 'bout a ride?"
We played in the patio pool and ventured up to the neighborhood pool. 
We visited the downtown farmer's market and Touch a Truck. The kids drove the trolley and an electric police car. The fire engine honked at us, the ambulance had lots of cool things to investigate and B even got to sit on a huge tractor. Then, to cool off, we headed to the splash park across the river. They loved the disappearing fountains. 
Tessa was so cute, if I do say so myself, that a local artist requested my permission to allow her to be a part of his portfolio. 
With summer in full swing, we spend most of our days at the pool. We love having friends join us. Tessa is a little fish and loves to jump off the side into my arms. She floats in her Ariel ring all by herself and is learning how to swim. Since I don't use floaties and Tessa has no fear, we have had a couple of underwater experiences. She does great, holds her breath and floats.
It's hard to say who was most excited to be there. Tessa ran onto the balcony, jumped for joy and kept hollering "BEACH!!!" She could hardly contain herself while we changed into swimsuits and, of course, took pictures.
Our days were spent playing, swimming, relaxing and just soaking up the warm Florida sunshine.
I loved letting the waves lap at my feet while sitting on the sugar white sand. 
Occasionally Tessa would lounge in her very own beach chair. 
Walks on the beach, photo shoots and trips (yes plural) to Whataburger made me a happy girl. 
We took a sunset dophin cruise one evening. I was thrilled to see so many dolphins swimming and jumping with the boat and these two were excited to "drive" the boat. 
One of Tessa's favorite things to do was throw sand or shells into the surf. She would gather handfuls and wait for a wave to crash before sending things out to sea. Absolutely adorable to watch her darting around at the water line. 
Picking up a seashell. 
We were lucky to visit before any oil damage occurred. The beaches and water were pristine. A thoroughly enjoyable vacation. 
I cannot seem to put my Mother's Day joy into words so I'll let our happy faces tell the story.
