Tess's Ballet Showcase

Tess's ballet teacher,  Miss Alley, chose to end the "semester" with a ballet showcase.  Not quite like a recital, this was "just an opportunity for the girls to show what they have learned so far."  Ha. ha. ha.  Well, Tess joined the class late (beginning of October, maybe?) and we missed a few lessons, so we were this Mommy was feeling a bit anxious and unprepared.  Despite my best intentions to practice our ballet moves at home, and help Tess understand that a jete' does not mean jumping like you're playing hopscotch, the day of the showcase arrived and all I could do was hope that SOME of the teaching had sunk in and that Tess would be decently attentive and cooperative.  

Miss Alley wanted the girls to wear Santa hats.  Hmmm.... we will call that distraction #1, as if the floor-to-ceiling mirrors in the studio aren't enough (so alluring when you are three years old and enamored with yourself!). Distractions #2 and #3 came in the form of an overly emotional cousin Coco (also performing in the showcase) and a room full of strangers... Distraction #4 was cookies in the lobby.  It's a good thing Tess is too young to really be nervous, because I was plenty nervous for both of us.  I didn't even have any special guests attending!

Thank God my cousin Lisa was there to laugh and share the anxiety with.  The morning felt like a total comedy of errors, for both of us, but the show went on, and we all survived.  Tess and Coco are both such individuals, and it was completely evident in their performances.  

Without further ado, I bring you (below) the PSCA "Prima Ballerina Showcase" of 2014...complete with Kate interlude at the end!

Silliness!

I wish I could capture them all on film, but they happen so randomly and unexpectedly....all those moments where Tess does something ridiculously silly and adorable.  We are thoroughly enjoying her FUN personality and watching the little person she's becoming. 

 

Thanksgiving & Meeting Santa

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Modesto with Chad's family, which was a real break from tradition for us since we usually head to sunny SoCal to see the Suich clan.  Chris and Kristi hosted us in their home with beautiful holiday place settings and a delicious smoked turkey.  We enjoyed stuffing ourselves (since the turkey wasn't), sitting around talking, and playing "The Thanksgiving Game."  It was so good to see Tess playing with her cousins Elise and Everlee, and we were excited to hear that E&E would also be coming to Fresno to spend the holiday weekend with Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Paul. On "Black Friday" we took all 3 girls to see Santa and have their pictures done.  They had a great time running around in anticipation, but when it came time to see the man himself, Tess got a little freaked out!  It surprised us, because normally she doesn't know a stranger and is very outgoing!  We think she may have been fighting a bug and/or getting some teeth...as you can see in the adorable (and kinda hilarious) pic below, it did not go well.  She is just like her mother, who also had a major freak-out when the parents tried to put me in Santa's lap.  We have a very similar picture of me in the photo albums at home!  Maybe someday I will frame them side-by-side for us to enjoy during the holidays.

 

Tess In Action!

Here are some recent videos of our very talkative and adorable soon-to-be two year old!  More and more often she surprises us with new words, counting (up to 10 on her own!), and silly little antics. 

Future Fashionista?

She's getting in her practice for her future as a fashionista.....it's adorable!

Easter 2013

I was excited about Easter this year, since Tess is now of the age where Easter baskets are more exciting and the Easter-egg hunt is a viable source of entertainment for her. (Well, let's face it, it's really more for us.) We had a couple of Easter celebrations this year, given our extensive family tangle....we started with pre-Easter dinner in Reedley with my parents and Aunt Debbie/Uncle Dick, where Tess did a "dress rehearsal" of the big hunting event. What a hoot! Grandma had made real, dyed Easter eggs which Tess was able to run around and pick up with her basket. However, whenever she bent over to pick up one egg, another toppled out of the basket. For a bit, we thought the hunt would go on forever! It was quite funny. Next up, she modeled her Easter dress for the family and we attempted to take some backyard pictures. 

 

On Easter Sunday we drove up to Modesto with Paul and Barbara to spend the day with Chris, Kristi, Elise and Everlee. We joined them for church at Calvary Chapel, and then had a delicious lunch while the babies (Tess and Everlee) napped. In the afternoon, Kristi staged a MASSIVE Easter-egg hunt, which included a few dozen "real" (dyed) eggs and then about 10 dozen plastic eggs filled with candy. This didn't work so well for Tess....every time she came across an egg, she plopped onto the ground and wanted to open it and eat its contents. OR she wanted to run off with it ("put it in the basket" was like speaking Chinese to her) OR chase after the neighbor's dog.  This REALLY was the hunt with no end in sight, so after about 15 minutes of trying to get her to comply we decided to just take the little ones inside and open Easter baskets.

 

Here's a big "thank you" to the Grandmas (Melody & Barbara) for making sure Tess is always the most beautiful/adorable baby girl in sight....I absolutely loved both of her Easter dresses!  Below are pictures and video of our fun family day.
 

Sourpuss!

We were out to dinner with some friends the other night and discovered that we may have a little HAM on our hands! Tess had fun making all of us laugh by sucking on a lemon for a good 5 minutes, at least. I was able to get some of it on video -- it's so cute!

 

 

Duck Tales

We spent the weekend after Thanksgiving in Fullerton with our Suich family, and on Saturday afternoon "Grandma" suggested that we take Tess to the park to feed the ducks. Below is a pictorial of our fun little adventure.

Beautiful Tri-City Park in Fullerton.  We initially tried the Fullerton Arboretum but they now have very conspicuous signage that ducks are NOT to be fed.  I was glad though, because this park was so beautiful!

Here, ducky ducky ducky!

Getting started....that's Grandma Meg (The Instigator), Great Uncle Dan, and Grandpa Ron along for the adventure.

Woops! We did not account for the fact that as soon as Tess saw bread, she would eat it. How would she know any better?  This was so hilarious to us, all the bread she kept shoving in her mouth, toddling around with puffy cheeks wondering why we were laughing at her....

Then Daddy stepped in and helped her learn how to toss the bread to the eager ducks....

And M ommy got in on the action, while Tess continued to snack....

And of course Grandma was at the center of it all, and was on-hand as the geese got brave and took the bread right from Tess's hand....look at that shocked expression!

Sometimes you randomly get a really great shot of a duck....

Or of the sunlight in your little girl's hair as she is playing on the grass....

Or of a PRICELESS Daddy-Daughter moment.

I PROMISE we did not see this sign until after we had fed 2 loaves to the ducks and were on our way back to the car!  I am sure the ducks survived.



Our Little Bachelorette?

We have some really fantastic friends!  And many of those friends have adorable, well-behaved boys who all have big dreams for their future.  So naturally, in the course of conversation between the parents, the "what if?" question comes up regarding their boy(s) and our Tess. We would be honored to have her marry into any of their families.  And it will be fun to see which of them, if any, develop a little "crush" as the years go by! This post is a little bit ridiculous, I know.  But since the main reason I keep up this blog is so that our Tess can read all about Mommy & Daddy and her childhood someday, I'm writing it with her future embarrassment/entertainment in mind.  So here are the contenders....there are some pretty adorable big/little brother duos, too! 

Max.  He is actually 6 weeks younger than Tess, but exactly twice her size already. 
Tess Kopper? 

Connor.  He's in first grade this year, and doesn't he look distinguished in those glasses! 
Tess Hamlin?

Kolbe (in second grade this year) and Kaden (in Pre-K, with a hilarious personality). 
Tess Myers?

Brandt (in kindergarten) and Reed (age 2). 
Tess Strickland?

Dominic (age 2) and Ethan (age 4 -- almost 5 -- in Pre-K, wants to skip high school and go straight to college). 
Tess Coyle?

Tess Saying "Ma-Ma" & Just Plain Cuteness

"Don't Bite The Cat"

Here's some action-packed footage of Tess trying to eat the cat, leading up to a very special "grand finale." How many times do you think we will have to say, "Tess, don't bite the cat!"  She is putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, as babies do at this age.  Tonight she was doing a complete forward bend and chewing on the toes of her shoes -- it was so funny!

Cutie Patootie?

Derby Dreaming...

If I EVER make it to the Kentucky Derby, this MUST be my hat! Thank you to Danifornian Hygge for the recommendation. I must add it to my "Tribute to Donuts!"

What A Difference Some Clippers Make...

We took Milo to the vet last week to get a basic "checkup" and vaccinations. Kitty was NOT a fan of the process, as you can tell from the pic below. Another important reason for our visit was to find out just how old he is. Because of the petite paws and facial features, I was sure Milo was a "teenager," maybe 1-2 years old.

Well, the vet looked at Milo's teeth and concluded he is about 4 years old. And then the vet told me he thought Milo might be a GIRL. I had never explored this issue for myself, because I didn't want to upset kitty, and also because he has one furry belly. I figured that the people we got him from, who have 6 pets and 6 children, were pretty confident they were giving us a "neutered male." However, upon close inspection and a little fur trim, it became undoubtedly clear that Milo truly IS a female.

Wow, what a shock! It took me a few days to comprehend this news, adjust my pronouns, and figure out whether Milo deserved a new name. In the end, I decided I just couldn't call her Milo because it felt like her identity had completely changed. So, she was renamed Burnadette Bijou Hayden. Bernadette is the middle name of a dear friend of ours, who is also a cat lover, and means "little bear." I spell it with a "U" because she loves to lay up against the heater until her fur is too hot to touch. Bijou is French for "jewel" or "pretty little trinket."

Once the new name was decided upon, we quickly fell in love with the idea of a girl kitty. And I also know that "Burnie" joining our family was meant to be -- had I known that she was a girl, I probably wouldn't have agreed to take her, because for some odd reason I had it in my head that I needed a male cat. But Burnie is so sweet and playful and well-behaved, and brings us a lot of joy. Meow!

One Of The Many Reasons I Love Shopping At Trader Joe's...

"Hi, I'm a bag of Trader Joe's Russet Potatoes. My best friends are butter, sour cream and cheese. I dig holidays, ketchup, and hanging out in the garden."

Is This Too Much To Ask?

I Had To Laugh...

After a long and arduous week, I stopped to get gas and pulled up next to this: