Pumpkin Time (again)!

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch tonight! Tess was all about the baby pumpkins. Every time we tried to steer her towards a larger one, she shot it down saying that it was "too big!" So Mom and Dad bought a couple of normal size pumpkins, while Tess picked one that was just her size.

To take a stroll down memory lane, you can look back on Tess' 2008 pumpkin time adventure here.

The 2009 edition of the "pumpkin time" pic:

And a look back at the 2008 version:

What happened to that baby girl?!

Bike riding

Although a little late, Tess finally got her bike outside this year. She is doing pretty good!

Not so fast...

Although Tess graduated from the parent/child swimming class and was elevated into the tadpole class, she wasn't at all ready for it. Today was her first day of the new class and the picture below pretty much sums it up. She cried the whole time. She was missing her Daddy. It looks like one more session of classes with Daddy is on the agenda.

Wheeeeee!

Tess was lucky enough to be invited to a fun birthday party for her friends Nathan and Drew at a bounce house over the weekend. She was a little apprehensive at first, but quickly became a pro! Check out the videos of her flying 100 mph down the slides!

A Swimming Superstar!!

Tess received her very first medal today at swimming! She has graduated to the next class. (This means that next session, she is all by herself in the tadpole class with no Daddy... we'll see how that goes.) But for now, check out her new bling!

P.S. I am sure these pictures will resurface many years from now in Sports Illustrated when Tess is an Olympic swimming champion.

A much needed recap...

Apparently, we've been busy enjoying the last few weeks of summer and we haven't been posting much. To catch up, here is a recap of what Tess has been up to lately...

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Grandma and Papa Tillman came to town a few weeks ago. We took in some of the Dream Cruise, a Tiger game and even squeezed in a picnic at the zoo!

Daddy, Papa and Tess on the carousel

Go Tigers!
At the zoo

Playing at the zoo park

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Tess' BFF Kadie came to visit recently too. Kadie brought her new baby sister, Charlie. So fun! The BFF circle just keeps growing. (Charlie is patiently waiting for her new BFF to be born.)

Enjoying some yummy fruit snacks
Best Friends Forever!

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And here, Tess is reading up - apparently getting ready for law school. Uh oh.

Fun at the zoo!

Today, we made an last minute decision to go to the zoo for the afternoon. Such fun! Tess had a good time catching up with her zoo buddies. She especially enjoyed the pesty peacocks that lurk at the snack bar hoping to snag a french fry.

Random pictures from the last few weeks...

Tess has been pretty busy this summer... going here and there and visiting her peeps when she can. Here are a few snapshots of her recent public appearances:

Getting ready to head to the Beaumont picnic and meet up with Matthew
A rare pic with Mom
Fun on the playground
Tess is trying to figure out how Matthew is sleeping while standing up
The Dads with the kids

Mmmmm... oreos...

Having fun with Dad's hat at a Tiger game

Tess' pic of Meena

Tess' pic of Papa and Uncle Mike

"Daddy, who could you possibly be talking to?!"

Silly Uncle Mike

The little fish

Here are some pictures and videos of Tess at swimming lessons at the Y. As you can see, she is getting good at kicking her legs!

Here is a video of her kicking away!


Here she is throwing her frog and going after it...


And now she's jumping!

Happy Birthday to Grandma Muriel!

Hope you had a great day!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! Tess has had a fun day going up to Meena and Papa's for a cookout. Great Grandma, Uncle Mike and Uncle Brendan were also there along with Meena's friend Sharon. Tess had a good time going in and out and in and out of the house and also playing some baseball with Papa.

And Tess may have also found her calling in life... she seems to be quite a magnet to the camera. Not the front of the camera, but the back of it. She demanded that she finally get to take some of her own pictures, so if you scroll down a little bit, you'll see the debut photography of Miss. Tess Tillman, amateur photographer.

Tess and Uncle Mike

Bouncing on her rocking horse

The Fam
Baseball with Papa


Reading with Meena


And without further ado, Tess' first photographs...

We'll call the collection "Life from Tess' Perspective"

Now that we have facilitated this bad habit of allowing Tess to hold and operate the camera, we'll be lucky if we ever get another picture of her! Every time she sees the camera now, she demands to have it. Oops.