Tess’ newest trick? She grunts and tries to pull herself up to a sitting position by mental prowess alone (aka no arm support). It shouldn’t make us laugh, and yet it gets us giggling every time. Once she’s sitting propped up, she’s happy as a clam – then suddenly she’ll do a sideways slide and land on her face, almost as though she’s doing it on purpose! It doesn’t seem to upset her and we’re always with her, but I delight in the fact that we’re talking about Tess sitting up! That coupled with her starting to hold her own bottle, and our little girl is making huge strides.

Tess, shockingly, isn’t our biggest news off the day. There’s a new Oplinger in the family! Vivien and Andrew got married today, and the Wisconsin contingent is still jumping up and down for joy. Lucky us!

Dave and I are just starting to settle into our life now that I’m home; there’s work to catch up on, house stuff to deal with, the holidays coming, and Tess time. This weekend will give us a chance to catch up – so expect an avalanche if photos! In the meantime, I wish all of you chefs out there happy cooking. Bring on the turkey!