Tessa - 8 Months Old

Weight:

16lbs

Clothing Size:

Tessa is wearing anything from 6-9 months clothing

to 6-12 month clothing (depending on the brand).

She definitely had a growth spurt!

Eye Color:

Blue

Hair:

It's getting lighter and lighter.

Still has that hint of Strawberry Blond!

Teeth:

We have tooth #2!

This one was a bit more painful popping through but Tess did great.

She ran her first "teething" fever last night (100.5 degrees)...

boy was that a nerve wracking experience for mommy.

Daddy did great at helping out though.

He cooked and cleaned so that I could snuggle Tessa all night.

Other than being more cuddly and going to bed a few hours earlier,

she didn't seem to be in much pain.

Babies are so tough when it comes to fevers.

Last time I ran a fever of 100.5, I thought I was going to die. ;)

Movement:

She has got the hang of moving forward now.

She's not up and crawling on all fours yet,

but she is pushing with her feet, face planting,

then dragging back up with her arms...

SO cute to watch!

Talking:

She loves repeating the same words.

This month it has been all about the...

Lalalalala

Babababa

Mamamama

Nananana

Dadadadada

She does seem to say "Mamamamama" whenever she is wanting something though.

For example, when she is starting to cry or is protesting about something

and wants me to pick her up.

She will then start to repeat: Mamamama

Could she really be calling for me??

Is it too early for that??? 

Playtime:

Tessa loves it when you sing to her, especially if the song has hand motions.

She LOVES "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" or when I use sign language while singing ABC's.

She is now beginning to think that EVERYTHING is a toy.

Things like the computer, the phones, paper, wipes, remotes,

chunks of wood from the fire wood that we have missed picking up off the ground...

you know, anything that is NOT TO BE PLAYED WITH! :/

This of course means that I now go around the house

meticulously picking up every item that could possibly be dangerous.

Sleeptime:

Like I posted a few months ago, I have come to terms with Tessa not sleeping through the night.

She is still going to bed anywhere between 6-7pm

and she will still wake up every few hours at night to nurse.

But what has thrown us for a loop this month

is that it has become a bit harder to lay her down to sleep.

We will rock her to sleep and then begin to put her in her crib.

But the MOMENT her body hits the mattress,

she will jolt awake and begin to whimper and cry until we pick her back up.

Some nights we will try to put her back to sleep in her crib 4 or 5 times

before we eventually bring her into the bed with us to finish off the night.

Nap-times are not any easier either.

She will take two naps a day

(one in the morning and one in the afternoon).

She will fall asleep quickly and stay asleep when we place her in her crib.

The only hard part (and this is really hard on this mama)

is that her naps are maybe 20 minutes... 30 minutes is a good day.

Some days I can handle it fine, other days I just need a bit more "regrouping" time.

A few weeks ago a miracle happened...

We went out on a walk and she fell asleep about 10 minutes before we returned home.

I left her in the stroller to finish her nap and thought to myself, I'll take a nap too...

Since I figured she would only sleep another 15 minutes.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up and it was an hour later!

She slept for over an hour!

I took an hour nap!

After I (of course) checked to make sure she was still breathing,

I didn't even know what to do with myself.

Seriously, it was a miracle.

 

Meal Time:

Tessa has tried a few new things this month...

Chicken (she was kinda skeptical at first)

Goat's Milk Kefir (she LOVES it mixed with sweet potato)

I also gave her a bit of a pickle I was eating, she surprisingly liked it.

Her favorite food by far is the Fish Roe,

she gets so excited when I feed it to her and she will keep demanding for more.

 

Tessa's Favorites:

Tessa loves watching the washer and dryer.

Whenever I carry her into the kitchen she will keep her eyes glued to them.

She will even wrench around backward if she is in my arms to try and watch them.

Because I know she loves them so much, whenever I know a load is going,

I will make a little "play spot" with toys, so she can go back and forth

between watching the washer and dryer, and playing with the toys.

Mommy's favorites:

She is beginning to get more interested in books.

Before she would just want to grab at the book and play with it,

but now she will listen for a while, then she will look up at my face and watch me read,

then look back at the book again.

I love to see her face as she looks at me with wide eyed wonder.

Emily McDowell Illustrations

Wouldn't you just love to receive one of these
beautifully witty greeting cards?!
I know I would.

I am both loving and cracking up at these
hand lettered and illustrated cards by the talented Emily McDowell.
Here is how she describes her art work...
"My work reflects our shared human experience,
in all its different, messy forms,
and is based around universal, relatable truths."

52 Weeks in a Year Series - Week Six

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Tessa gave us a little Valentine's Day gift today... she began to "scoot" forward!
It is so cute to see her try so intently to crawl with every scoot and face plant into the carpet.
It's now only a matter of weeks (or days?) before she is fully up and moving.
I'm pretty sure that the reason Tessa started scooting forward today
was because we had a "Mom's playdate" with a few friends
and one of the little girls that came (who is a week younger than Tessa) was scooting forward.
I think Tessa saw her and was able to figure it out by copying her.
Do babies even do that? Copy each other in milestones?
Either way, it was such a wonderful Valentine's Day Milestone!

I had another Valentine's Day surprise...
Micah cooked dinner for me!
You may not know this but my hubby is a fantastic cook.
He made Fillet Mignon, mashed potatoes,
and amazing green beans that were cooked with bacon and drizzled with maple syrup!
I think we need to make it a rule that he cooks at least one meal a week for me. ;)

Have a lovely weekend!

Valentines Baby Girl Ideas

I am one of those suckers for Valentines Day.
Well, to be honest, I am a sucker for any holiday.
I don't know what the Mr. and I will be doing on the 14th yet,
but I'm sure that if we do go out, we will be bringing Tessa with us.
(she's going through that mommy phase right now)

How cute is the idea to make a little Valentines package for your little loved ones?!
These are a few of my "dream" items that would be in Tessa's gift.

Baby Gap Dress
Hear of Hazel Headband

Counting Kisses Book

Whitney Norko Moccasins

Cloud Pillow

Suzette the Fox Knit Dolls

52 Weeks in a Year Series - Week Five

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Out of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen is turning out to be our favorite.

One of the main reasons is because it is the brightest and sunniest room in our house.

And it has been gloriously sunny here these past few days.

But with the winter sunshine comes two thing...

 1. The bitter cold. I'm not even joking, yesterday morning it was -22 degrees outside.

 2. We do not go outside. And after being coped up for a few days, we NEED to get out of the house.

But the closest thing we will get to being outside is the sunny warmth

of the winter sunshine pouring through the kitchen windows.

In other news, Tessa has been growing and changing like a weed!

I feel like her little personality has been getting more and more distinct
and it's so fun to see who God has created her to be.
One thing that I have noticed in the past week is her curiosity.
It's out of control!
She wants to touch everything, see everything, taste everything.
She will start at one end of the room, roll all the way over to the other end to check something out, then roll all the way back again to play with a different toy.
I have a feeling that once she begins to crawl were gonna need one eye on her at all times.

 Have a great weekend!

Bla Bla

When my Mom was here to visit me a few weeks ago,

I took her out to do some tourist-y shopping!

I always find it fun to be a tourist in your own city at times, don't you?

We bundled up in our winter jackets and boots,

put Tessa all snugly in her stroller,

and with coffees in our hands we strolled in and out of each store.

We stopped to have a crepe for lunch at one of my favorite little spots.

I think it will be a little tradition of ours whenever my Mom comes to visit.

To my surprise I even discovered the cutest (and new to me) baby boutique!

They had so many of my favorite brands, like Zutano and Aden and Anais...

I was in baby supply heaven!

While I was there I was practically drooling over everything by Bla Bla.

Especially the Apple Tree Mobile... I die!

I think about going back to buy it all the time.

Bla Bla also makes the most beautiful knit dolls in so many fun designs.

Here are a few of my favorites...