Tess is reaching for and grabbing stuff. I’m holding firm and not checking when that should be happening, but I know it’s on the list somewhere! She hinted at this Harvard-level accomplishment a few weeks ago with a few timid stretches towards the birds attached to her swing, but I didn’t think that counted. First officially was mom’s beautiful pillowcase, so clearly Tess already has a taste for the finer things in life. Then it was her parents faces: mouths, chins, eyes, hair. Recently, it’s the stuffed animals attached to her binkies. I appreciated her starting with the elephant on the day she was wearing her elephant pjs from nurse Aly! Such a cutie – Tess too. 🙂

Tess’ sleeping and eating patterns are changing; she’s more alert for longer periods of time during the day, and seems to be making connections between the crucial things, like the sight of a bottle being shaken means food is eminent. She’s entranced by light and shadow, and is reacting to toys. Dave and I were laughing the other day as Tess looked shocked every time we shook a bell toy.

My favorite change is watching her respond to laughter. She laughs when she hears people laugh as a group, so briefly that we’d miss it if that breathless giggle wasn’t our favorite sound in the world. Even better: she is starting to match our smiles, and has even broken out in a grin from time to time. Today I was just holding her and she looked up and rewarded me in the best way possible. Instant mommy melt into a puddle.

I’ve always been a baby addict, loving to cradle those curled-up little bodies and gaze at those tiny faces. I could never understand when moms said they preferred older kids since they’re more fun – until now. Finally getting to take care of Tess as an infant was amazing, as our ability to do so got postponed for so long. Still, seeing her figure out the world and grow up little by little is incredible. To be more specific, she just pulled a little blanket blanket over herself. It wasn’t intentional, but it will be soon!

We enjoyed a relaxed Saturday – wallowed in it, actually. We hung it with Colin a bit (when he found us watching tv at the kitchen table on a laptop, he kindly set up the giant tv in our room!), enjoyed some quiet time with Tess the tooter, and went for a lively walk with Patty and Liam – where we discovered perhaps the most diverse playground I’ve ever seen right between our two houses! You can’t see it from the road, and it looked like sesame street. it’s brand new, too! We love lake park. There, Tess isn’t the attraction: Stella is. She’d normally get nervous with so many kids around her and shake, but instead she ate up the attention! A three year-old threw Tess a bone on his way past, and yelled, “Cute baby!” over his shoulder. 🙂