Two Months!

Tessa, you are already two months old! It has been an incredible month and you have already changed so much!
• You have started to take short naps in your swing or bouncer! This is really new, and Mommy is so glad that you are starting to take some naps during the day.
• You love your Moby wrap and sleep really well when Mommy or Daddy holds you close in the wrap. It automatically calms you down.

• You went to the zoo for the first time this month.

• You have started to coo! We have short conversations throughout the day.
• Your favorite place in the house is on your changing table. This is where I take a lot of pictures and we have a lot of our conversations. I often bring you there just to make you smile!
• You rolled over from your front to your back for the first time yesterday!

• You went on your first long car ride (to Ventura) and were excellent! I think you’re going to be a great traveler.
• You went to your first Padres game! You slept until the 7th inning stretch. You really love being outdoors!

• You smile and laugh with Mommy and Daddy now! You are even getting used to the camera and have let me take a few pictures of your smile!

• You make your Mommy and Daddy proud every day!

Rolling Girl

Yesterday, at Tessa's check-up, her doctor recommended putting a rolled up blanket underneath her during tummy time, since she tends to hate tummy time! So, this morning, I did just that. Not only did she enjoy the early minutes of tummy time more, she also rolled over! We've been practicing that for about 3 days now, and she did it on her own! I'm so proud!
I caught it on video! You'll see how much she really does not like tummy time at the end of the video.

Two Month Check-Up

Tessa had her two month well baby check up yesterday. She had to get three shots and one oral vaccine. Luckily, our appointment wasn’t until 4 in the afternoon, so Ryan was able to join us! It was so hard on me when Tessa got her shots! She did really well, though. She only screamed a little. When we took her home, she was pretty fussy, so we gave her some acetaminophen and walked over to get some frozen yogurt. By the time we got home, she was asleep and slept until 2:15 this morning! She’s such a great sleeper at night!
She got a blue crayon band-aid and a pink camouflage band-aid!

Here are Tessa’s 2 month specs:
Weight: 10 pounds 12 ounces – 50th percentile (this means half of two month old baby girls weigh more than her, and half weigh less)
Length: 23 inches – 75th percentile. She’s a tall girl! Not surprising if you remember this sonogram pic:

Tomorrow is Tessa’s two month birthday, so my mom and I bought her a cute little outfit for her picture. I’m excited to compare last month’s picture to this month’s and see if there’s much of a difference at all!

Tessa's Letters

 

My very talented mom painted these letters for Tessa's room. Aren't they adorable!
T - turtle with a tutu
E - entertaining elephant
S - skateboarding snail
S - soaring seagull with a scarf and a sailboat
A - ant

Since we live in earthquake country, we have to figure out how to safely hang them above her crib. My mom's idea was to attach ribbons to them and hang them from a curtain rod. I think that should work, now I just have to figure out how to attach the ribbons or get Ryan to for me!

Tessa's Photog

When Tessa was born, I "graduated" from PregTASTIC to New Moms, New Babies. In fact, you can listen to me as a podcaster soon! Anyway, I've been listening to many of the past podcasts, and recently listened to one about taking pictures of your baby. The guest gave a lot of good tips. His main three points were: 1. Turn off the flash and find your own light, 2. Get up close, and 3. Push the button A LOT!! (which is easy with a digital camera, not so much with film!)

Yesterday I had a photo shoot with Tessa. I wanted to try out the three tips and see what I came up with. I am by no means a great photographer, and my camera is a simple point and shoot camera, so I still have quite a way to grow, but I am pretty happy with the early results! Following the guest's advice, I:
1. turned off my flash and laid Tessa on her changing table. It's right by the window for beautiful natural light, and she LOVES laying on her changing pad!(I had to play a little with my camera settings. I should read the manual, but I really hate reading manuals!)
2. used zoom, since Tessa isn't a big fan of having a camera in her face!
3. took over 100 pictures in about 10 minutes.

Here are some of the results:





I wanted to get some good angles to show her breathtaking eye color.
As you can see, I have a long way to go, but with as beautiful of a subject as I have, I really don't mind practicing!!

Just My Luck

I've been pretty lucky this week! First off, I won TWO prizes from different blogs! I won a digital scrapbook kit for my mom from The Design Girl Studio!

Aren't these cute? I think she's going to choose the green apple kit.

I also won a Passion Spice gift certificate from Baby Makin(g) Machine!

Then, yesterday I received my final lay-off notice for next school year. This would normally not be lucky, but now I get to stay home with Tessa for at least a year! How lucky is that!! (Does anyone have ideas on how a SAHM can make a little money?)
Here's a picture of Tessa upon hearing the news that I'll be staying home with her next year:

She's one happy girl!

My First Mother's Day

I didn't get any pictures of me with Tessa in Ventura! So, these are of us after a long day and a three hour drive. Not the best, but I HAD to have a picture of us on our first Mother's Day!

What a wonderful day! Ryan and I drove up to Ventura as a last minute thing on Saturday evening. Tessa is such a good traveler, which is a good thing, since Mommy loves to travel!!
Mother's Day morning, Naunie (Laura) and I took Tessa for a walk to Starbucks. When we got back, Ryan took over while I was able to shower and actually do my hair and make up! We headed over to Papa's for Mother's Day brunch, prepared by Aunt Molli and Papa Greg. Delish!
Tessa got to meet LOTS of people that day: Great Uncle Tootie, Great Aunt Susan, Great Uncle Beeze, Tyhler, Kari, Lisa, Ronnie, Mia, and her new cousin Adriana!
Get ready for picture overload!!

Tessa with Daddy and Papa (Ryan's grandfather)

Tessa with the Lopez Family ~ Ronnie, Mia, and their daughter Adriana

Tessa and Ronnie

Tessa and Mia

I love this picture of Ryan, Ronnie, and their daughters. I can just imagine the conversations Tessa and Adriana are going to have in 20 or 30 years about this picture!

Tessa and Tyhler (Ryan's cousin)

Tessa and Aunt Susan

Tessa and Uncle Toot ~ Tessa had to show Uncle Toot that she's giving him a run for his money by tooting for him!

It was a busy day for our little one, but spending time with family was a great way to celebrate my first Mother's Day!

Future Pad Squad-er!

(Pronounced "Pod" Squad)


When I found out in October that I was having a girl, I immediately went home and looked up tutus on etsy. They looked fairly simple to make, so I looked up how to make my own! I figured once Tessa was walking, I'd start making her tutus. Then, yesterday, Baby Makin(g) Machine had a tutorial and showed off the multitude of tutus that she's already made. Her daughter isn't even here yet! That inspired me to head to JoAnn's today to try my hand at tutu making.


I decided that since it's still early baseball season, I'd look for Padres' colors - navy blue and sand. Who would have thought they'd have sand-colored tulle! I'm bad with estimating measurement, and the guy at the cut table way underestimated, so I have to go back for more tulle to finish the tutu, but so far, I'm pretty impressed with my crafting skills!
Pardon the sleeping model, but you NEVER wake a sleeping baby, even if it IS to model an adorable outfit! (plus her Padres shirts probably won't fit her for a few more months!)