Put Me in the Zoo

"They would put me in the zoo, if they could see what I can do!"

I guess I must really have a thing for pink polka dots. I actually didn't buy this outfit and blanket together--cosmic forces must have come together in the middle of the night when I grabbed this blanket after dressing her for the night. In the morning I realized why she had a hard time sleeping--who could sleep in the midst of all those spots?



Ry thinks she looks like she has chicken pox; she reminds me of a Dr. Seuss character. Anyone else remember this one?

Even with all those spots, she does have a few tricks up her dotted sleeve. Baby Tess is a remarkably strong girl. Ry has plans for her to either be a tennis or golf star, but I think she needs a sport where she can utilize her amazingly strong neck. I'm not sure exactly what kind of a sport that would be--maybe we'll have to invent our own sport.

In the meantime, we're learning to play "Dodge the Spitup"--she can really let it fly when she arches her head back for a burp!

She's showing off in the video below.

The Many Faces of Tess

We are so proud of how well our baby girl has been doing these past few days. It's amazing to see her change so quickly. I wake up in the morning and could swear that she grew fatter in the night!

She is very expressive and seems to have a million different faces, even while she sleeps. Here is a sampling of some of my favorite expressions from my beautiful girl.







Tess is doing really well with her nighttime sleeping and spends up to 2 hours at a time awake during the day. We weren't really sure what to do with her during her awake time--Ryan says he thinks she needs a good book.

We try to hold her and snuggle her, but she just gets feisty because she thinks we're trying to put her to sleep. Sometimes we sit her up in her Boppy, but as it turns out, she just likes to stretch out on the floor and listen to some tunes. She was going crazy to the BYU Men's Chorus--evidently, she's a big fan!

A Rose By Any Other Name

Today is a day of celebration--baby Tess has made it to the ripe ol' age of 3 weeks!

Ry and I both think she's looking older and more grown up. Her face, tummy and legs have filled out nicely; she spends more awake time focusing and observing what's going on around her; and much to Mom's delight, she's had 2 nights in a row that she's spent more time sleeping than screeching (hallelujah!).

Ry is concerned at this point about the number of nicknames we have for her. He told me that he's really settled on only two names: "Shnug" (that's like "Snug," but with a lisp) and "Lil' Shnug." Hmm...only 2 names and they sound surprisingly similar to each other. He's also thinking about adding "Babylove" to the list, but I believe it's still under consideration.

I choose my nicknames based on how Tess is acting at the time: "Eaglet" has been a favorite moniker for the screeching Tess during her post-midnight feedings. I've also recently adopted "Nutkin," since I finally realized what she reminds me of with her fuzzy brown hair, little beady eyes, and her insistence on having her hands up by her face.



















So, we're open to suggestions if anyone has ideas for fitting nicknames. Don't be offended if your idea is not readily adopted--Ry is pretty particular when it comes to names for the lil' Shnug.

Happy New Year!

It's been a REALLY busy week for us here! It all started Friday when I finally figured out why my socks kept getting wet every time I walked into the kitchen--a water pipe was leaking inside the wall behind our washer and dryer.

So, in come the flood of people and devices to remedy the problem--insurance agents, the plumber, the water remediation guy with his big, noisy fans that have to run 24/7 for 3 days straight. We did our best to seclude baby away upstairs. The house has dried out pretty well now--the fan guy just came to haul away his equipment--hooray!








Other less eventful happenings include:

• our 7th wedding anniversary (we celebrated by buying a Christmas ornament for Tess);
• a chocolate chip cookie fire in the microwave (with flames and everything--evidently 2 mins. is too long to nuke a cookie);
  
• my mom and Ry's shopping spree in the preemie department for clothes that actually fit the wee baby Tess;
• Ry's mastery of Excel to chart the baby's growth (including her head circumference, which he mistakenly thought we'd measured in inches, not centimeters: "35 inches! She's off the charts!")
  
• an actual public outing (to somewhere besides Kaiser) to a restaurant for a festive New Year's Eve lunch (where I lost and later found my camera--hence, the recent lack of pics on the blog);
• 
• a fun and relaxing New Year's Day evening with the Higginbothams, including yet another gourmet dinner and a night of fast-paced puzzle action;
  
• and the occasional jig-dancing by me since I've now weigh 20 lbs. less than I did before I got pregnant (this baby ate it right off of me!)

And the very best happening of the New Year: we learned at Tess's pediatrician visit today that she has made incredible strides over the past couple weeks. She has grown a full inch, and now weighs 7 lbs., 8 oz! That is 1 1/2 lbs. more than the 6 lbs. she weighed 2 weeks ago! She is strong and thriving (despite the chaos) and we adore her sweet spirit.