Count On Me

Tess likes numbers and she is a good counter. She can count all the way up to 15, though she usually skips either 4 or 5 (but never both) and sometimes gets stuck at the number 10.

She likes counting objects, but she can't seem to grasp the concept that each item only gets counted once. And some never get counted at all. So she often ends up with 13 fingers and 7 toes.

I've been trying to get her counting on video, but she has to be in just the right counting mood and she's a reluctant performer. You have to listen closely.

Tess' favorite number is 7. Could you guess?

Happy Birthday, Ry Guy!

In planning for Ry's birthday this year, I thought back to the first November 6th I spent with him 12 years ago. It was a gorgeous autumn day and we took a romantic picnic to the park, where we ate lunch and snuggled on a blanket under the bright blue sky and golden, changing leaves. He was so cute and I was so HAPPY!

So, I planned picnic and we headed over to Clemyjontri Park. It is an amazing playground designed so that special needs children and other children can play together. Everything is low-to-the ground and easy to access, which makes it great for toddlers!

It would have been the perfect day if it didn't turn out to be so cold and windy! There was tons to do and Tess wanted to try it all, no matter how cold it was. We braved the frigid temps long enough to test the out the maze, ride-on cars, airplanes, trains & school bus, playhouse, 3 different playgrounds (but she refuses to go down any slides), seesaw, swings and the Sway-fun glider.

But it would have taken a whole lot of snuggling to endure a picnic outside. Instead we took it home for a picnic in the living room. Less romantic, but much warmer!

For the record, Ryan is still cute and I'm still HAPPY! Happy Birthday, Ryan ! Your 2 girls LOVE you!

Hidden Pond Park

We took a field trip today with a few friends to Hidden Pond Park. It's a small nature preserve with a fun, hands-on nature center. Tess loved seeing the fish, turtles, snakes and frogs. For the record, turtles are her favorite.

They even had little binoculars for kid-sized bird watching.

It was a golden autumn day at the pond. Tess particularly enjoyed running back and forth over the bridges.

Tess running with her funny friend, Cade.
We rode up together and they made each other laugh the whole way!
They like to hold hands when they walk together.

And with all those kids, only one fell in the pond (nope, it wasn't Tess). Come on, those are pretty good odds!

Happy Halloween!