More summer fun...

A few more pictures of our summer...

{some of our harvest from our garden...Tess loved being outside and sampling all the produce}

{I was sure she would love "pudding paint", but I was totally wrong! one day she will.}

We've been working so hard on getting Tess's legs strong to prepare her for standing and walking. Most babies have this standing reflex really young where they stand on your lap and bear weight on their legs...and then of course are starting to pull up and cruise around a year or so. Tess never did this due to her low muscle tone because of her prematurity. But here she is...finally standing! We were so proud! Major progress for this little wonder girl!

 

{proud mommy and baby!}

{We knew one of us would eventually hit the garage backing out. I thought I would do it and spare Dave the embarrassment. I'm always taking one for the team! Dave's handy skills and super glue...cheap fix...just can't rotate the mirror at all.}

 

{This girl loves sunglasses. Something tells me she is totally going to be into accessorizing as she gets older...totally my girl!}

{our lil' monkey}

This summer I was a bit lazy in the canning and preserving department, but I did manage to freeze some peaches (way easier than canning), can a few bottles of tomato soup and salsa verde. Hopefully I will be more on the ball next year!

Random Pics

Just a few random pics from the camera of this cute girl. 

She loves grapes...usually.

 We are trying to expand her ethnic food tastes by exposing her to chicken coconut curry. I was surprised that she liked it, but who wouldn't love curry with coconut milk in it?
 

 We've had to utilize the baby gate these days. Tess is quick on those stairs! Going up the stairs are what really helped her to get 4 point crawling down. We are so glad that she is such an expert going up...still working on coming down. She gets to the top of the stairs and can't figure out how to turn around. She gets really mad until someone helps her out.

 And her favorite show these days...Teapot. She goes WILD for this show. She absolutely LOVES watching it.

18 month check up!

So I took Tess to the doctor today for her 18 month check up. I was excited to see what she weighed...she feels like she has packed it on the last 3 months. So imagine my surprise when Tess was just 20 pounds and 13 ounces...just up a pound and a half from her 15 month check up. I could have sworn she was 25 pounds at least! Now I'm not really complaining...she is 20 times her birth weight, so I would say her growth has been AWESOME! I guess it just says for me that I need to get to the gym and work out a little more. I'm getting weaker. Tess is 29 1/4 inches long and her head circumference is 17 1/2 inches around. She is in the 10th percentile for weight and head circumference and 5th for height. Guess she is taking after her mom in one thing after all! We are grateful she has done so well. It's amazing to look back at her pictures when she was born and see her so teeny tiny. We are grateful for our little wonder girl!

Last Camping Trip

At the end of August, we decided to squeeze in one more camping trip. I don't know what it is about summer. You think you have 3 whole months to do all of these fun summer plans and before May is over, the whole summer is already planned with family trips, scout outings and such. There's hardly any room for leisurely camping or hiking or all of the fun things that you had planned in your head. Luckily, the summer is always fun no matter what!

We went up to Lake Cascade about 1 1/2 hour away and camped near the lake. It was sort of different camping for us. We are used to being in a more secluded area, but this is all we could find on short notice. We still had a ton of fun. Tess really got into the pine cones.

{getting the coals ready for our tin foil dinners}

I had to take a couple of pics of the "camp host" digs...pretty nice, huh? They even have some floral arrangements!

And our camping digs...a little more basic.

It was fun to just hang out that night around the camp fire and enjoy the warmth and beauty of the lake! Tess liked it too! So much that she wouldn't go to sleep...no lie. We even brought her pack and play this time to make sure she was comfortable and would sleep. But nope...midnight hit and she was still happy as a clam. If we weren't out in the "woods" with a bunch of other campers, we would have just let her cry, but you know that "quiet time" rule. Finally Dave got her to sleep. Thank you!!!

 

 

 

 

{our yummy camp fire cones...way more tasty than just your average s'more...these are going to be our new camping tradition}

The next morning...lookin' happy even though she went to bed SO late!

We went on a little jaunt/hike around the lake the next morning. It was beautiful!

Having a little picnic in the weeds...

So sleepy...I wonder why??? Her head would keep bobbing to one side or the other. I kept trying to arrange it so she would stay in one place...no such luck. She was SO tired!

 

What a fun way to end our summer!

Good Bye Summer....and Good Bye Friends!

Our good friends, the Holdens, moved at the end of the summer...sad...sad...sad. They were only moving an hour away, but still, they would be farther than just a 1 minute car ride. Where we would go for delicious Sunday dinners and good laughs? On the bright side, at least it's not too far...way better than a state or two away and we would never see them. And our friends the Allens were moving too...luckily not too far either. We had a little going away party/end of summer party with them at the pool (basically took the pool over in the neighborhood for the night).

 

{Rockwood clan}

{Dave and Ryan doing what they do best...eating...or looks like they are done}

:: pool time ::

{Gracie lovin' on her dad getting warm}

:: sparklers ::

{Tessie having some pool time with Daddy!}

Dave and I have often talked about how grateful we are for our friends here in Boise. We couldn't have asked for better friends. We have limited family here in Boise, so our friends have become like our family. When we first got married and were building our first house in our current subdivision, I was worried about finding friends. We made the decision to build so quickly after getting married and getting home from our honeymoon, that we hadn't really put a lot of thought into everything. I remember praying and asking Heavenly Father to bless us with good friends. That was one of my biggest concerns and worries about moving. I just wanted us to have a good group of friends and I know we were blessed beyond that! We are lucky!