Tess versus the great outdoors

Last weekend, we braved the (not so harsh) elements (well, unless you include a two year old) and went camping! Just Tess, Norman, Dad and Mom. What fun! We went to Bruin Lake in Pinckney. Tess had a great time. How can you beat sleeping in a tent, eating marshmallows, s'mores, hot dogs and watching a Tom & Jerry DVD next to the campfire?!

Helping Dad set up the tent

A not-so interested Tess next to her first campfire

Sitting next to the fire in her new chair

First morning... singing "wheels on the bus" (obviously, duh)

Whatcha lookin' at?

How excited was she to see this old friend?! (yes, unfortunately we hit a "boring period" during camping where nothing except playing in the street seemed appealing for Miss. T. It was time for the reinforcements.)

We'll call this video "The Little Camper in a Zone."

Wow, somehow she looked up! I must have said the word "marshmallow."

Going' to the beach!

Sitting with Daddy
Manicure time with Mom. Ya gotta blow on those nails to dry 'em fast, ya know.

Tess' first pedicure!

Trying to blow up her beach ball. After a few failed attempts, she declared that it was "broken."

Fun video of Tess talking... if you look/listen closely she does her sign for lion/tiger roaring, but she says "Tom & Jerry roaaar!" as the MGM lion is at the beginning of all of the cartoons.

Tess eating her first s'more
"Deeeelicious!"

Norms, Mom and T

Playing in the sand

Helping Dad to put away the tent

Putting her hat on a thrilled Norman

A last song just for fun!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Mike!

Tess goes to Mackinac

Tess had a fun trip to Mackinac Island last weekend for the annual Lilac Festival (although they weren't really blooming yet... apparently they didn't get the memo). She went with Meena, Papa, Uncle Mike and even Uncle Brendan! (Oh yeah, Mom and Dad went too.) She enjoyed the horses and the fudge!

Getting ready to ride the ferry

Running around in the park in front of Fort Mackinac

At the toy store
Playing peek-a-boo with Uncle Michael and Papa

Tess' new hat

Uncle Mike running in the race (can you find him?!)

Uncle Mike finishing the race

Group shot

Smarty pants Tess!

Someone alert the authorities!

I think we have a serious problem... they obviously sent us home from the hospital with the wrong baby.

This cannot possibly be MY child:


(Yes, that is a HUGE stalk of broccoli that she is devouring.)

Catching up...

Sorry, we've been a little behind with our blog postings lately. Here are some pictures from here and there, bringing everyone up to speed with what Tess has been doing lately.


Tess and her buddy Avery


With Great Grandma on Mother's Day


With Uncle Brendan


With Riggs


With Mickey and Papa at the Tiger game


Tess at the Tiger game (in a suite!)

Happy Birthday to Great Grandma!

Today is Great Grandma's birthday! We went to dinner with her to celebrate.

We love you, Grandma!

It's time for baseball!

Sorry that we've been a little slow updating lately! It's probably because we've been spending lots of time at the ballpark over the last week. In fact, Tess attended three - count them, three - Tiger games within the last week. What a fan! She did a pretty good job and only slept through about 2.5 innings total. Not bad. That plus a handful of carousel rides makes for good times. Although we had to be sure that there were no close encounters with Paws, the team mascot. When she unexpectedly ran into him, she pretty much told him to "go home." Ouch.

Here are some fun pics from her first few games this season:

Fashion show

Tess sported her new birthday jacket today, compliments of the creative prowess of Grandma Geraldine (aka Meena). Pretty darn cute!

So Tess asks, "How do I look?!"

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Tess!

Here are a few highlights of Tess' holiday weekend:

All ready for church (No, not Norman, silly!)

Looking for eggs in the backyard after church

A Saturday trip to the zoo for "Bunnyville"

With Grandpa and Grandma T.
Checking out some animals with Dad
Wiped out!

Easter Egg Hunt!

We went to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt this afternoon. Such fun! Tess took her pink beach pail with her to carry her eggs, so during the whole wagon ride down to the park, Tess kept saying, "Goin' to beach!"

Tess got the hang of it pretty quickly! We were only allowed to take 10 eggs, so I had to keep sneaking eggs out of her basket when she wasn't looking as she was in serious violation of the rule. Luckily, she only caught me (and yelled at me) once.

Maybe next year, we'll be able to get a picture of Tess with the Easter Bunny that made a special appearance. We had to be careful to keep our distance from him this year.

Going to the beach park for the hunt!

Tess and Mom getting ready to talk strategy
Having fun at the park while waiting for the hunt to begin

And we're off! (But BEWARE of the scary rabbit lurking in the background)




Here is a video of Tess doing her thing:

Here is another video of Tess doing her thing at swimming earlier this morning: