Growth: Based on our bathroom scale, Jonah is still around 30 pounds and Tessa is around 23. She'll get official measurements soon. She is starting to look more like a toddler to us, especially when she has shoes on! Jonah just became tall enough to open the storm door at the front of the house.
So, it's time for the big look-back at how much Tessa has grown in a year. Here she is in the same pajamas at birth, and now, as well as next to Samantha, the American Girl doll.
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| 1 Year |
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| 1 Year |
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| 1 Month |
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| 1 Year |
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| 1 Year |
Sleep: Not a lot has changed since last month. Tessa had a brief period where she would cry for a minute after Lindsay put her in her crib, but she seems to have gotten over this. She still generally takes a morning nap though will skip this without complaint if there are other activities going on and then they both sleep from around 2-4:30 or 5, then overnight from 9-7 with Jonah bounding into our room first thing. Sometimes we can get him to lie down with us and relax, but often he insists on playing or watching something.
Eating: Yes. They do. A lot. Especially Tessa. She still shovels in everything she can get her hands on, including (spoiler alert) birthday cake. She's still working on her
drinking problem. She got to try cows' milk for the first time and seemed to enjoy it. She has started to enjoy eating lettuce, which is good because we get a lot of it through our CSA which is delivered to the house every Friday. Jonah loves opening up the cooler every week to see what the farmers have delivered. Jonah has been requesting macaroni and cheese basically any time we go out to eat but does wind up being very agreeable if they do not have it on the menu. Tessa nurses 5 times a day but if we end up missing the mid-morning
feeding if we are out and about she is fine with that.
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Enjoying french toast during Grandma and Grandpa's visit.
Jonah has taken to requesting Grandma makes it every Saturday morning! |
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| Tessa nearly "asleep at the wheel" after a morning at the pool |
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| The boy and his sushi. True love. |
Personality: Lots. Jonah has not slowed down his questioning ways. We'll have to do another daily count soon to compare and we will not be at all surprised if he surpasses his prior total. He does seem to be more agreeable these days to changing situations and tantrums, while never too frequent in the past, have really been almost nonexistent. He seems to have gotten over pushing Tessa down as well. Tessa is as happy as ever and really, really funny. She still delights in getting the attention of everyone around her with her teapot noise and water "growl." She has lots of love to go around as well, and this month has started giving kisses! (Along with the occasional very hard bite on the shoulder or biceps - it's difficult sometimes having a one-year-old who has twelve teeth and is actively working on numbers thirteen and fourteen!) She loves anticipating seeing people; when she sees someone she's been waiting for her whole body fills with excitement and she kicks and squeals in delight. She loves peek-a-boo and any time someone says "Ready, set, go!" about something. Most of all, though, she loves Jonah, who loves her right back.
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| Learning to like piggy back |
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| Bathtime laundry chute exploration committee |
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| Our little Jonah likes things clean and tidy. He loves that dustbuster. |
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| Tessa has been enjoying spending time at the play kitchen. Hat courtesy of Jonah. |
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| When Mommy takes her coffee hot, Jonah requests to push the plunger down. It's a highlight of his morning. |
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| Trumpet lesson |
Milestones: Jonah keeps talking away and giving detailed accounts of things he has done in the recent and distant past. His descriptions, however, always begin with "So, last night..." He can easily determine the first letter in a word unless it's a vowel, then it takes a few guesses sometimes. He is starting to sound out words when he sees them. He started off camp being afraid of the pool and would sit on the edge. After a few lessons, he got in, and now participates in the swim lesson, including scooping imaginary lessons with his hands and will almost let them help him do a backfloat. He just doesn't want his hair to get wet.
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| Our little Sea Turtle |
Tessa is doing basically the same things as last month in the gross motor department, but with less support on the walking and a few steps of cruising. She got her hands on a push toy and walked across the room with it once. She has been enjoying her new baby walker and baby car and can walk her feet a little bit in those toys, but mostly backwards. She is up to a whopping 12 pearly whites with canines on their way soon! She makes the same noises, and now communicates that she wants water with an open mouthed growl. Jonah thinks it's hilarious.
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| First time on a riding toy. Pushed it back a few feet. |
Events: It seems there were many! We took a trip to Bloomfield Hills, MI, to visit Grandma and Grandpa while some friends were in town too. It was a treat getting to see everyone and we all had a wonderful time.
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| This silly boy wanted his own private dining table for breakfast |
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| Grandma and Grandpa took us to Kensington Park with ducky boats. |
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| The park had a farm and Jonah has been telling everyone he's 9 hands tall |
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| Tessa braved some animals. She didn't cry, but she clung. |
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| A special trip to Trader Joes trip with Grandma |
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| Pretending to drive Grandma's car |
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| Tessa meeting Dave, Melissa, and Ethan |
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| Tessa and Ethan eating toys |
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| Making french toast with Grandma. A special treat! |
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| Father's Day with Grandpa |
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| Happy Father's Day, gentlemen! |
For the second part of Father's Day, we were back in Columbus were we grilled pizzas, built a big fire, and made smores.
We had the Eliana, Asher, and Lauren Rubin over for dinner. The kids had a fun time playing together and pretending to make their own dinner in the play kitchen.
We made some 4th of July art in preparation for the holiday using paint and straws to make fireworks.
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| Cleaning up the fun way. |
Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a weekend of festivities. You'll notice the dining room in quick transition between Independence Day and Tessa Day!
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| Watching the parade in front of our house |
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| Jonah has been looking forward to "the parade where they throw red white and blue bagels" |
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| Happy boy with his bagel |
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| He gave up the bagel for a blue lollypop. See all other pictures for aftermath. |
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| Tessa enjoying her first brunch at Mary and Greg's house. Nor surprisingly, she enjoyed it. |
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| Swing nap with Ainsley |
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| Jonah wasn't 100% confortable at Cheryl and Larry's pool, but he did alright. |
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| Tessa was one happy little fishy |
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| Cousins! |
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| Jonah's first time going to the fireworks. He watched with peaceful fascination. |
Then it was Tessa's birthday! We were so thankful to have so much of the family visiting, we celebrated with all of them. Julian, Lauren, and I baked a big pink cake and Grandma and Grandpa helped out preparing food and decorating the house for the celebration. The theme was Printessa's Tea Party due to the tea kettle-like squeals that she has made for the better part of the last year. Tessa loved having everyone here and was happy as can be the whole party. She was in her element with the cake: singing, mess, and food!
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| Baking the cake! |
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| Cousins playing tea party |
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| Cheers! |
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| Making some birthday art with the teacup pictures Grandpa took |
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| Frozen watch party! |
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| Mimi and Poppy got Tessa a Bitty Baby. No one was sure what kind of connection she would have if any, being only 1. She looked dolly in the eyes, touched her face, and went in for a kiss! |
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| (Daddy got a kiss too) |
With such nice warm summer weather, the kids played out at the water table. It's a messy experience since all the bits of dirt and leaves are wet, then Tessa crawls through it and tries to eat it. Yuck, but they're happy.
Jonah's friend Evan invited him to see animals at Easton. The boys had fun playing and Jonah bravely pet a legless lizard (a snake, per Jonah)
The kids have been playing in the basement where Jonah teaches Tessa how to make art and use tools.
Bexley hosts the Main Event during the summer, featuring food trucks, inflatable slides, and music. There's also a movie but that's too late for this bunch. Poppy performed some original hits and asked trivia questions. We all enjoyed the show!
We took the kids to their first Pride Parade. We dressed our family as a rainbow and cheered. Jonah liked the lesbians on motorcycles and the marching band. Tessa waved and smiled to everyone equally.
After the parade, we headed south to COSI where they were featuring large construction machines for the kids to explore. Jonah was on cloud 9! He darted from one to the next excitedly.
We have spent some time on the playground where Tessa and Jonah share in their love of swinging.
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| A different morning at COSI, exploring the corn crop |
We are so happy it's summer and there are food trucks at Columbus Commons on Thursdays. After Boker Tov play group at Tifereth Israel, we come downtown for a spin around the carousel, a romp in the blocks, and a tasty lunch. Sometimes Daddy can come too!
Another highlight of summer: walking to Johnson's. On a Thursday there's a band, so there's an added bonus!
Just some post-porch lunch silliness in the grass. Jonah decided they both needed to sit in a mixing bowl. Cuz.
We went to the Bierleins' house for dinner and the kids played in the back yard.
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| Anna and Tessa. 1 month apart. |
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| The kids are always up for Costco. Cart high 5! |
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| What fun they had in the baby pool! |
Both kids take gymnastics simultaneously now. We had to move it to Wednesday to arrange it that way, but Whole Food changed their beer tasting night anyhow, and this way is more fun for Tessa. Jonah was pretty distracted the first time she had class too, but he got his groove back.
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| He can get his feet up there by himself now |
Summer sillies
Jonah took his first soccer class. We were certain he would cling to us, and also knew he had never played a sport, so we imagined this would be cute, though generally unsuccessful the first few weeks. Man, were we wrong! We were both perma-grin the whole time, watching in amazement as he listened to the coach and did exactly as he was asked. He dribbled the ball quite successfully through cones, stopping it when the music called "freeze." He learned sharks and minnows and played it as if he had done so dozens of times. Mostly, he ran and smiled! What a dude.
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| Taking one quick break to visit Tessa |
Since we had a family birthday party, we have had a smattering of little get-togethers with friends in honor of her birthday. Here we are at Columbus Commons yet again, but this time with cupcakes! I love that everyone is focused on the treats!
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| Jonah and Tessa with Hazel, Vivian, and Amy Lee |
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| "Tessa! Lets pretend we are on a roller coaster. Here is your seatbelt, baby" |
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| PBJ and Jazz with Allie, Ian, and Suzanne Ecker. Tessa likes Ian, clearly. They shared a moment over the box of cupcakes. |
