Fatal Error

I killed our computer. Sigh. It's killing me! I can't believe how I need the computer for pretty much anything I do! The withdrawal symptoms are starting to ease off, but it's been a rough week.

Until we figure out how to resurrect Lazarus (the optimistic name I've given our hp when I'm not calling four-letter words) or we decide what kind new computer I get, I'm pretty much resigned to 15-minute spurts of computer access at the library while Tess shrieks, squeals, pulls books off of shelves and scampers in and out of stacks of books. As you can imagine, I don't get much done.

So, no--I haven't forgotten you and I'm not ignoring you. I'm just in digital exile.

Happy B-day today LK and tomorrow to Reen!

This May Sway Your Decision

Tess had a mini-breakthrough tonight. This is the first time she's ever used her walker for its intended purpose. We are so proud of her!

P.S.--The washer & dryer are gone! Phew!

1 Year & 2 Months

Saturday was not only Valentine's Day, but it was also little shnuggy's 14-month birthday! Tess is changing and growing up so quickly. Every day she is becoming more and more a little girl and less a baby. She is a sparkly, happy, independent, social, curious, funny and sweet baby girl. She has a good life and she enjoys it to the fullest! She brings us so much joy and we are blessed to have her in our family.

Bubbles with Dad.
It's more fun than shampooing the carpet.

I haven't been great at recording her developmental milestones. For the record, her 14-month accomplishments are as follows:

Words Tess Can Say

• Dada/Dad
• Mama/Mom
• Hi!
• Brrm brrm (for a car)
• I love you! (she repeats the words if you say it to her)
• Duck
• Papa (But not Nana or Dipsy yet. The guys always come first. It took her a long time to say mom, too.)
  

Words Tess Signs in ASL

• food
• All done!
• Wash hands
• baby
• drink
• signing (when she wants to watch her signing video)
• banana
• more
• milk
• hat
• dog
• shoes
• book
  

Words Tess Understands (but doesn't say or sign)

• kisses (responds with a wet lick, when she's feeling affectionate)
• soft (as in, "Be soft! Be careful!" This applies to anything breakable: books, babies, Dad, glassware, small animals, etc.)
• wheels
• eyes
• bottle
• no
• Pee-ewww! (What I say when she has a stinky diaper. She will reach out and plug my nose, or plug her own nose.)
• diaper
• car
• meow (for kitty)
  

Playing Pretend (Things Tess Likes to Act Out)

• Talking on the phone. She can use the real phone, my cell phone, the remote control, her fist--just about anything can serve as a phone. She usually holds it backwards to her ear and will ramble on in guttural sounds.
• Blowing her nose. She holds up a baby wipe, scrunches her nose and blows in and out furiously. I've even seen her try to use the nose bulb on herself, which is strange because she hates it when I use it on her!
• Brushing her hair, usually with a brush or just pretending with her hand. She does it whenever she comes in the bathroom and I'm doing my hair.
• Feeding her baby. She feeds her baby doll her bottle and goldfish crackers.
• Reading. She holds a book up (often upside down) and "read" out loud in guttural sounds.
• Playing cars and trucks. She pushes them around and says "brrm, brrm."
• Peek-a-boo. A favorite game with many variations--under a blanket, hiding behind a pillow, around a corner or through the banister.
• Computer geek. She loves typing on the keyboard and has started to figure out the mouse. She can manipulate the mouse wheel to scroll up and down.
• Chase. You chase her; she chases you. Either way, it's great entertainment.

All of these remarkable accomplishments, and alas, she's still not walking. She pulls up, walks around holding onto furniture, but she can't even stand up by herself. We've been encouraging her, but she's been very stubborn. Here's a little clip of where we're at when it comes to walking:

So does anyone have any idea when she's going to have a breakthrough and actually start walking? Care to make it interesting? Submit a comment with your prediction as to the date when Tess will take her first steps! A prize goes to the person whose date is the closest, without going over. Only one person per date (so if it's been guessed, pick a different date).

It's kind of like betting on a horse race, only with an infant. Good Luck!

True Love

We've been feeling the love this Valentine's Day weekend! Ry & I had a romantic date to the opera Friday night, and Tess got in some Nana & Papa love while we were away.

We studied up on Tosca before the performance, so we understood pretty well what was going on. Subtitles (the opera's in Italian) help out a lot too. Tosca is a dramatic love story that is kind of a mix between Romeo & Juliet (starcrossed lovers that meet a tragic end), Hunchback of Notre Dame (think hypocritical, lecherous religious/political figures), and Les Miserables (set with a background of revolution).

It was new experience for both of us that we'll always remember. I think we'll do it again--I hear that La Boheme and Porgy & Bess are coming in the future. (Now, Metallica, that may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, if you know what I mean.)

We descended from high culture on Friday to the banal on Saturday, but it was still romantic, if you ask me. A lady in our ward was moving and was selling her practically brand new washer & dryer for a song. Only catch--you have to come get them yourself. Luckily the ward was helping her move, so we borrowed a friend's truck & dolly and twisted a few arms (quite literally) into helping us haul them down her two flights of stairs. Ryan was patient, longsuffering, and only cursed my can't-pass-up-a-bargain nature under his breath.

We finally get them off the truck, into the house, installed and ready to go, and then I go to plug in the dryer. And the dryer plug doesn't match the outlet in our house. Uh-oh. So, I frantically call my dad and he tells me it may not be the end of the world: you just take the dryer apart, disassemble the plug and install a new one that fits. Disassemble electrical components?!

Oh sure, we can fix that! Piece of cake!

Believe it or not, it really was that simple. We got a new plug, Ryan installed it, and I ran outside with Tess and hid under a tree while he plugged it in to see if it worked.

The washer and dryer are really nice. Now we only have one minor problem left:

Yeah, we still have the OLD washer & dryer taking up most of the kitchen. They still work, so I put them up on Freecycle but the person who wanted them never showed up to take them. Aarrgh. I'm still working on getting them out of here. In the meantime, you'll notice how they're functioning as sort of a kitchen island, perfect for storing all your kitchen essentials.

Ryan sure loves me. Who else would put up with me?