When we were waiting for Tess to graduate, I played the “what am I looking forward to the most?” game. My answer was invariably Saturdays. Waking up with domestic chores, no schedule, the weekend stretching out before us, and a house devoid of workmen (all charming, but usually present!) delights me over and over again.

Today lived up to my expectations. The crates of laundry have dwindled to almost nothing. We took Tess to our favorite cafe, where we sat outside away from people and kept her completely covered. Still, we were there! Sitting at a sidewalk cafe in the sunshine, we three. Dave ran a few errands, mostly because Tess seems to be a bottle connoisseur and only wants Dr. Brown’s! Then we had a quiet dinner and gave Tess a bath. You know how the best meals are always the simplest preparations and the best ingredients? Well, I don’t think weekends are any different!

Tess seemed a bit shocked by her bath. She’s been quite exhausted all day, and slept most of the afternoon. Adjusting to a totally new lifestyle is hard work! She used to do this before gaining a bit of weight in the NICU, and we’re hoping that’s the case again now. As a teacher’s pet, I’d like us to knock the “fatten up baby” homework out of the park.

Today’s new activity was tummy time! At first she cried, but then she’d lift and turn her head to follow the rattle sound. We kept moving it, and she went right along with us! Her legs are really strong, and she kept moving her self off the blanket with an inchworm move. By the end of it, she looked quite pleased at the freedom!

Parental challenge of the day? Fingernails. That’s some scary stuff the first time! Got it down now, we think.