Three and a Half

Happy Half Birthday to You! Happy Half Birthday to You! Happy Half Birthday dear Tess-ah ... Happy Half Birthday to You!!!


Where has the time gone? Surely this adorable little person dancing around my legs chattering nonstop can't be my sweet baby! After all, my Tessa was just born yesterday .... wasn't she?!

Apparently not! This bundle of energy wasted no time digging in to her Cinderella cake and tearing open her presents. I barely had time to snap a few pictures before the princess laptop (thank you G&G) was out of the bag and the cake was stripped of icing.


Tessa is just as sweet and pretty as the princesses she so adores. Her spontaneous "I love yous" make my heart skip a beat and her sincere little love pats, hugs and kisses just make my heart melt. I give thanks every single day that this beautiful little person is my daughter.

Gymnastics

After much deliberation and overanalyzing, I decided Tessa's first official activity would be gymnastics. She is fearless and loves to bounce so gymnastics beat ballet in my internal debate. Never fear though, dance lessons are in her future. We went shopping and found some of the most adorable leotards. Because it's all about the clothes, right? Here she's modeling one and saying
"TA - DA!!!"

On the big first day, Tessa marched right into the gymnasium with her new teacher without so much as a glance back at Momma. The preschool area has mini rings, a balance beam and floor mats. The girls made several circuits here before moving into the big gym.

I'm pretty sure Tessa's favorite part was the huge trampoline. She hopped the length of it several times. But the "pit" was also super fun. From the parent viewing area I couldn't see the big foam blocks in front of where Tessa was jumping. I just saw her bounce and then dissapear down a hole. I laughed when she popped back up out of the "pit."

My hope is that this will be a fun way for Tessa to learn not only coordination and strength but how to listen and follow instructions too. My darling was a little distracted by the cheerleading group doing a floor routine. In her defense, I was watching the big girls too and they were pretty good.

Walking back to the preschool area she spotted us in the upstairs viewing room. She gave a happy little wave and hollered "Hi Momma! Hi Gamma!" That radiant little face and loud voice made me wonder if cheerleading is in our future. Day one of gymnastics was a huge hit.

Snow Days

We had yet another snow storm this week. I am not a winter person but apparently Mother Nature didn't get my memo. Sunday night it started snowing and didn't stop until Monday afternoon. Ryan was supposed to drive to Alabama but wisely cancelled his trip. Here my energetic husband is shoveling the front walk.

I dug out the ski clothes and we bundled up to go outside. Because I am still in denial that it can get so cold in the South, Tessa has no snow clothes. Here she is sporting a beautiful ensemble consisting of old ski socks worn as leggings, rain boots, Daddy's hat and my ski coat. Lovely, I know. Can you believe how deep the snow is?!?!

Tuesday was a particularly unpleasant day for me, I was scheduled to work and be on call for emergency surgeries. No matter that the entire town was shut down because of the storm, my hospital decided it was business as usual. Elective surgeries were still posted, so I had to make an appearance and then be available all night. Ryan picked up my mom in his 4 wheel drive truck and brought her over to watch Tessa. Then he took me to work where I ended up spending the night with my call buddies. This was my first night ever to spend away from Tessa. No fun.

So when I got home on Wednesday, we played in the snow and made up for lost time.

We do not own a sled (part of that denial thing) so I pulled out the Tinker Bell boogie board. It works pretty well as a makeshift sled. Tessa thought it was hilarious to slide down our hill. Then we would trudge back up and do it all over again. One time we spun around and went backwards and several times we flipped over and landed in the snow. Note to self, it's hard to steer a boogie board. But that's all part of the fun right?

My Little Girl's New Room

The Grove Park Inn

Our annual after Christmas trip this year was to the Grove Park Inn. With snow still on the ground but temperatures in the fifties we were able to enjoy both the huge fireplace and the beautiful grounds.
My mom has been coming to this hotel for her entire life, first with her grandparents, then her children (can you see me?), and now with her grandbaby. Look at how nothing changes but the cars.
The hotel is beautifully decorated for the holidays. We wandered around looking at all the Christmas trees before relaxing with a drink from the bar.
At Christmastime they host a gingerbread decorating contest. Some of these were done by kids! My personal favorite is the Faberge egg, but Santa at the spa with tiny cucumbers on his eyes was a close second. Who thinks of these things?
The Blue Ridge Mountains are breathtaking from the back porch. Ryan, Mr. Never Stand Still, actually requested that we just sit and enjoy the view.

One of the fireplaces was set up as a photo-op spot. Music to my ears. Everyone hopped in the sleigh for pictures. My favorite is Tessa riding the reindeer.

While we had planned to shop in Asheville, there was so much to do here that we never even left the resort. Happy New Years!

Let it Snow

While Tessa's been singing "Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell, tinker all the way..." all season, on Sunday we changed our tune to "Frosty the No Man..."
We really did have a White Christmas, the snow was beautiful. The day after Christmas, the three of us bundled up and headed outside to play. We made a snowman and Tessa announced he should go on the deck. So Daddy carted the heavy snow up the stairs and we parked our snowman where we could see him from the kitchen. Since he looked lonely, we made a snow dog too. Our snow dog went crazy chasing snowballs. Puppy's got ups! Oh the happy sounds of my daughter and husband laughing while the snow was flying.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was sweet and slow paced at our house. Tessa slept late and then snuggled in bed with us. We probably won't get that luxury again next year. When we finally did get up, she looked over the balcony and said "Presents, look at all the presents!" I just treasured the look of wonder on her little face.
Tessa opened her stocking while I made breakfast casserole. We video called Ryan's parents so they could see her open presents too. When she opened the new princess play tent it literally took up the whole office. The package says it's big enough for six little girls and I believe it. Tessa promptly moved all of her dolls inside and started playing.
My parents came over around lunchtime and my grandma came later that afternoon. We opened presents slowly so it ended up taking most of the day. I loved how Tessa played with each toy before moving on to the next present. We saved the Big One from my parents for the very last. Her very own Cinderella Castle. It looks just like the castle at Disney World and it comes stocked with every princess, prince, horse, carriage, furniture and more. She LOVED it.
It had started snowing earlier in the afternoon and by the time we sat down to dinner there was serious accumulation. My first ever white Christmas. Tessa played and watched a movie while we feasted on prime rib. Just as we were finishing up, my phone rang. Someone needed emergency surgery on Christmas day, sigh. Aside from the working part, it was a wonderful holiday with my loved ones. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve in the Holy Land

In keeping with tradition, our Christmas Eve celebration was based on the customs of another country. This year that country was Israel, the birthplace of our Lord and Savior.
G&G did a beautiful job decorating their house all in blue. We mixed in many Hanukkah traditions, including a menorah and a Hanukkah bush. The food was absolutely delicious - lamb and latkes, sufganiot and Sabra and so much more. Even the wine was kosher! Jewish people are known for ordering Chinese food on Christmas so we had some of that too.
Jewish books, games and scarves made for fun presents.
My little "Jewish" American Princess received a Disney Girl doll who came with a completely stocked wardrobe and pony! Oh how we love the princesses!
A Very Merry Christmas Eve!

Gingerbread Playgroup

Our mini gingerbread houses were such a hit last year, that I opted to do them again this year at our playgroup party. I really tried to let Tessa decorate the house herself, a challenge for this ocd mom. She was most interested in eating the icing off of her house. Tessa took it literally that these things are edible. We ended up with one very cute red roof inn and one totally mangled house, but she had fun.

These sweet girls had fun too. So serious with their decorations. We had sprinkles flying everywhere!

And while the girls worked hard in the kitchen, the boys chilled out. Typical right?