100th Day Party

On the 100th day of school, Tessa was to dress like she was 100 years old.  I dressed her in beige with plenty of jewelry and saggy pantyhose. Then I added some bright make-up and baby powdered her hair.  A purse, Kleenex and prune face completed the look.  She makes an absolutely adorable elderly person.

 

 

 

 

Winter Gathering

December is full of so much hustle and bustle that Ryan's department at work has chosen to put off their Christmas party until January.  It was planned for Friday night but, thanks to the winter storm, it was pushed back to Saturday night.  Tessa spent the night with my parents and we checked in to a hotel within walking distance of the party downtown.  I have previously been too practical to spring for a hotel in my own town but Ryan was able to get a room for free and we thought it would be fun.  It was so much fun.  We checked in early and walked to a nearby tapas restaurant The Lazy Goat.  Then we made our way down the street to Zen where the party was.  Ryan works with great people and it was fun to talk, laugh, dance, eat and drink with them.  After the party closed down we passed up offers to join the after-party.  We're not used to this much excitement in one night anymore!   

Puppy Pawty

For her half birthday, Tessa wanted a Puppy Pawty.  As luck would have it, our very own puppy's birthday is in the same month so I did a combined party for my girls.  We invited some of our best friends and everything had doggy flair but I drew the line at including any other real dogs.  For months Tessa had graciously been inviting every dog she met while on a walk, in a pet store, or just up and down our street.  But when the time came for real invitations the girls were asked to bring only stuffed dogs to the party.     

 January is such a dull month so I was excited to have a party to plan.  I set up this doggy ear station where the girls could glue spots on their ears.  Those ears were attached to headbands so the girls could wear the floppy ears.  There was also a craft where they could transform a paper bag into a puppy puppet.

I painted noses and freckles on people, moms too!  What a great group of moms to let me do this to them.

With the ears and the spots we had the most adorable litter of puppies.

The play dog house was a big hit and I love the pictures of my puppy sticking her head out for a pat.  

 

After playtime, it was chow time.  Snacks of the day included Pup-Corn (popcorn and kettle corn), Doggie Bones (cut-out peanut butter cookies), Puppy Chow (peanut butter and sugar coated Chex Mix), Kibbles and Bits (snack mix) and a Dog Bone Cake (white cake) decorated with Paw Prints (cut-out sugar cookies).  All the foods were dog friendly and Anabelle was happy to eat anything that hit the floor.  I even used dog bowls as serving dishes and plates. 

We lit the candles on the cake and  everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Anabelle with the girls adding adorable barks and howls at the end of the song.  Precious.

We had time for more games after we ate.  The girls played Puppy Bingo, using dog bones as their card markers.

Both of my girls had a wonderful time at the Puppy Pawty!

Loose Teeth

One day I looked at Tessa and noticed the gaps in her teeth (she has beautifully spaced out baby teeth which hopefully bodes well for our orthodontic future) had changed.  Her bottom teeth all of a sudden looked crooked.  Much to my surprise, when I examined her more closely I saw both front bottom teeth were very very loose.  Apparently my baby was ready to start losing teeth!  I didn't worry, ok maybe even went into denial that she was growing up so fast, and left those teeth alone.  Imagine my surprise when her permanent teeth came in before she lost those baby teeth.  She had two rows of teeth which Ryan thought was hilarious.  He compared her to a shark!  If you look closely you can see the permanent teeth behind the baby teeth.  

In a panic I called my dad and he calmly told me it would be fine but that I needed to wiggle those baby teeth out.  So that night while Tessa was in the bathtub (in case she bled I didn't want to ruin any clothes) I tried to yank the loosest one out.  I gave it a good tug, felt it pop but the darn thing was still holding on by a string and Tessa was done with the whole process.  She was so precious asking me not to "bite" her again I didn't have the heart to force it.  I then explained that she should wiggle it herself because the Tooth Fairy pays extra for do-it-yourselfers.  Sure enough, the next day at school she popped it out no problem.  So her first tooth came home in a little baggie and Tessa was quite proud of herself.  Everything happened so fast that I didn't have any cute Tooth Fairy stuff so her money, including the extra dollar for pulling it herself, arrived in this little thank you note.  

The second tooth came out the next day while she was eating an apple.  We never did find that one but the tooth fairy made a return visit anyways.  And Gampa was right, her new teeth moved right into position and her smile is beautiful.  This milestone passed rather easily but please let's not lose any more before we go to Disney World. 

 

Adventure Guides

Ryan and Tessa signed up to be in a father/daughter group called Adventure Guides.  (When I was little this was known as Indian Princesses but that name doesn't fly in today's PC world.)  It is organized through the YMCA and there are lots of fun activities geared toward father/daughter bonding.  This night, they were off to a chili cook-off with indoor swimming and square dancing.  Tessa LOVES these special times with Daddy and I get a little alone time.        

Ice Skating

During the winter, there is an outdoor ice rink set up on Main Street.  On Saturday we decided to give it a try.  I hadn't been on ice skates in over a decade and it's not like I was ever a great skater.  Tessa had never skated before.  There is a very nice indoor rink in town that offers lessons and little walker things the kids can use while learning to balance on skates.  Why would I do it the easy way?  Ryan sweetly offered to stay off the ice and take pictures of us.  Hmm.  Tessa and I wobbled around, got our balance and finally got brave enough to let go of the wall.  Once we got the hang of it we did okay.    

We convinced Daddy to join us on the ice and then Tessa really got brave.  Ryan is so much stronger than I am, he was better able to support her.  By the end of the day she was holding his hand and skating almost by herself.    

Of course, we had the inevitable falls.  But she thought it was hilarious and even tried to make ice angels.  I don't personally like to be wet and cold, so I'm glad I didn't fall.  When our ankles got too tired we quit and had a cup of hot chocolate. 

Then we strolled down Main Street to see all the trees that were still set up from the Festival of Trees.

Playing with Toys

Did I mention what an awesome gift Lego Friends are?  I'm totally impressed with Tessa's ability to put these things together.  She happily reads the instructions, sorts the pieces and then builds.  It's amazing how little help she needs. 

 

Check out this amazing Lego house!  It can be rebuilt into a tall skinny townhouse but we opted for the suburban version. 

And while we have so far preferred riding a scooter over a bicycle, this new bike may change our mind.  We have so many hills around our house that Tessa can get up some speed in no time.  We are currently working on braking so she can ride alone on the hills.   

Christmas Day

Oh the magic of Christmas morning!  We were up bright and early because someone was excited.  Look who likes her new princess bike.

After opening stocking stuffers, we video called Nanny and Pa.  I just love that they get to participate in the fun of Christmas morning even though they are in Texas.   

This present made me smile.  Tessa and Ryan had made another trip to the paint your own pottery place.  I loved my first tea cup so much that they made me another one.  We called this my "super secret present" because Tessa let the cat out of the bag weeks before Christmas when she reminded Daddy they needed to go pick up my cup.   

You know you are growing up when you start getting gift cards.  Then again, you know you are a kid when you look at it and say "What's this?"  Ha!  I had to explain the gift card concept to Tessa.  I told her that she could use that card to buy stuff at Disney World. 

Hooray!  Now that she gets it, she is super excited.  When she opened the princess card that matches this Mickey card and she was over the moon.  We can't wait to go to Disney World!!!

Best.Gift.Ever.  I never dreamed that Tessa would be so enthralled with Legos.  My parents gave her several sets of the pink girl Legos, and we now have a new favorite hobby.  From a mom standpoint it has great developmental and educational benefits - reading instructions, using small motor skills, practicing patience and so on.  From Tessa's standpoint, it's just plain fun to build a town where these cute girls live and play.  Thank you G&G!  

Present opening took all day long, reminds me of my childhood, so we took a break to eat.  I didn't do anything fancy, just a basic turkey and fixin's but it was yummy.  I love my family.  Merry Christmas!     

 

Christmas Eve in Germany

Our country for Christmas Eve this year was Germany.  Tessa is all dressed up and ready to head over to G&G's house.  But first, I had her pose in front of her little tree she decorated.  She is wearing a beautiful peacock blue dress.  We used lots of peacocks in honor of the ones found in King Ludwig's castle.    

Lubkuchen is German for gingerbread cookies.  To keep up the theme, we took our gingerbread house to G&G's - think Hansel and Gretel.  Those of you that were at our friend's gingerbread play date may notice our house looks a little different here.  I couldn't go to the play date (notice there are no pictures) but Ryan was able to take Tessa and drop her off.  She had a great time playing and eating candy, but not much candy actually made it onto the house.  It was very sparsely decorated.  I had been sad that I missed the event because I actually like making these sweet houses.  So, another day, I whipped up a batch of icing and Tessa and I remodeled our house.  We had a snow covered roof made of cut in half marshmellows, and red brick sides made of jellybeans plus snow people and even a snow dog in the green sprinkle grass.  Two rounds of fun with one gingerbread house, yay!  It was actually the second gingerbread kit that I bought because Anabelle had managed to snag the other one off the dining room table and ate the whole thing, cardboard box and all!           

Once we arrived, we took pictures in front of G&G's peacock bedazzled tree.  Isn't Tessa just so sweet with her Gamma?

Precious picture with both G&G.

We set up the tripod to get pictures of all of us. 

Nanny was more than a little confused by everything.  I helped her get dressed because she is having trouble picking appropriate clothes these days.  I am so glad we captured this one with her smiling. 

Back in the day, my grandpa was stationed in Germany and my grandma joined him there.  While in Germany and after almost a decade of marriage (sound familiar?) my grandma finally had a baby - my mom.  These were some of Nanny's happiest times.  I have heard stories about Europe all my life but not just stories about the awesome palaces and gardens they visited or the parties they attended.  Also stories like how she made extra money selling American cigarettes to the locals and how she almost burned the apartment building down because she was having so much fun playing with my mom that she forgot she was frying fish.  So, while Ryan and my parents worked hard cooking dinner, I enjoyed watching old slides of Germany with Nanny.  My parents transferred the slides to DVD format so we were able to watch them on TV.  My grandpa was quite the photographer and the pictures he took are breathtaking.  So much of Nanny's memory is gone but, on this night at least, she remembered and it was sweet.       

And speaking of dinner, wow, what a meal!  After much deliberation, the menu was set with sauerbraten, beets, spatzel, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and rye bread.  The sauerbraten was marinated for three days before being wrapped in bacon, browned and slow cooked to deliciousness.  Ryan sampled several different German beers, hefeweizen types being his favorite.  Only Nanny can drink the super sweet German wine, the rest of us had imported wine.

For dessert, we had Black Forest torte and apple kuchen.  The torte was courtesy of Strossner's, no sense in trying to improve on something they do so well.

The apple kuchen is a recipe given to my mom by a coworker years ago.  I had never made it before but lately I have been ambitious in the kitchen so I decided to give it a try.  As you can see it takes a lot of apples so that makes it healthy right?  It was wonderful if I do say so myself.  A cake with no icing is perfect for me, will definitely make this again.

Ah, finally we move on to presents, all for Tessa of course! 

Anyone know which princess is German?  Snow White!!!

I love this Winter Snow White doll, she is so pretty in the white dress.  Tessa is modeling her new Snow White costume and she is beautiful. 

And we have a new Snow White nightgown which we wore home late that night.  We left cookies for Santa and Tessa headed off to bed. 

"Santa" had a lot of work to do before we could go to bed too.  Sweet Anabelle was completely worn out. 

Merry Christmas!  Frohe Weihnacht!