1 year, 2 months

It is hard to get me to sit still for pictures now. These are the best of the 20 or 30 dad took this morning. You'll also notice that I'm sporting a new outfit from Lindsey and Susie!

And I apologize for my hair. Tonight is bath night so it'll look better soon!

Go Broncos!

 Ok, that's enough, Dad.

Highlights from the month:

I'm not in a cast. That's probably the biggest news. The new surgery date is Friday, January 17th.

I'm making the most of my cast-free time by crawling all over the place. Sometimes so quickly that Mom and Dad are surprised when I'm not where they left me. I also like spending time on my knees and I'm getting better at pulling myself into a standing position. Dancing is always fun and it doesn't take much of a song to get me bobbing my head. 

I'm starting to get just a little pickier when it comes to eating. I'll no longer just shovel anything into my mouth. And if Mom or Dad tries to sneak something in with cottage cheese or apple sauce, I'll calmly pull it out of my mouth and offer it to Keillor. But I'm still a really good eater overall. In fact, over the last couple weeks I've become quite skilled at pointing to what I want and giving a little grunt (food, books, toys, whatever). Dad made a new batch of lefse on Christmas and I like to say, "Mmmm" after each bite of that.

I'm saying several words now, too. It's just that no one really understands me. Banana, milk, and book are all part of my vocabulary, but it's still my own sort of language.

Dancing with Mom

Rocking out in the living room...

Snuggles

Getting ready for bed with my buddy...

 Kiss attack!

The end.

Christmas turkeys

Sneaking around

What you can't tell from this picture is that I was quietly on my way over to play with the Christmas tree when Dad popped up from the other side of the table and caught me!

This is me looking casual. Nothing to see here, folks. 

Move along and let me get on with my business.

Keillor and his toys

The dancing video from a couple weeks ago was a hit, so I'll try to post more short videos more often.

Here's one from us goofing around last weekend. I asked Dad to include subtitles since everyone isn't used to hearing me talk yet.

Hair styles

My hair is getting long enough for Lindsey to start styling it!

Pigtails.

Feeding my buddy

Keillor and I have an unwritten agreement: He lets me climb all over him and then I sneak him some of my cheerios.

Cuddling

I've recently learned what to do when Mom or Dad ask me to "cuddle with Keillor."

Look out, Keillor, I'm coming to give you a hug!

Tunnel

Mom and Dad built me a tunnel of couch cushions over the weekend. Super fun!

Baby Alexis

Dear Baby Alexis in New Jersey,

Love,
Cousin Tess

New date

Quick update for my readers who are interested in my hips:

My "new" surgery date will be January 17th. Which isn't really a new surgery date. That's the date my other hip was supposed to be operated on. But there aren't any openings in the next couple weeks so the only option was to keep that date.

Positives: I get to enjoy Christmas cast-free.

Negatives: It pushes back the date that I'll eventually get out of the casts (tentatively Memorial Day weekend).

Dancing

Here's me enjoying myself last week while Dad was dusting the living room.

Click here for the link to the HD version. Youtube won't let us embed the higher-quality file since it includes third party music.

Surgery postponed

Do you know how to get yourself out of surgery? Catch a cold the day before the procedure.

Yep, that's what I've done.

The decision has been made to postpone my surgery because they won't let babies with colds go under anesthesia.

Mom and Dad were very upset about the circumstances, but as Dr. Brazil explained, "This is an elective procedure and we're not going to risk Tess' health when we can easily reschedule for a couple weeks from now." Amen to that.

We don't have a new date yet, but will hopefully get that tomorrow.

Badgers

Game time.

Leftovers

What to do with all those leftover cranberries? Put them in pancakes, of course!

Ready, set, eat

Right before Thanksgiving dinner. Hair pinned up and ready to go!

1 year, 1 month

Dad totally lost track of time this month and we forgot to post my monthly update!

He remembered right before bed on the 29th so I was relaxing in my pajamas and enjoying a beverage at the time.

This last month was very exciting. In the past couple weeks I became a very good crawler. Almost anything is in reach for me now! I'll just crawl across the room to grab it. It has certainly kept Mom and Dad on their toes.

Keillor and I are getting really good at entertaining one another, too. I'm learning to throw his toys for him and he seems to have fun fetching them even though it's only a foot or two away.

Dad taught me how to say "dad" a couple weeks ago while Mom was out of town, but I still think both Mom and Dad are "dada." I'll say "mama" every once in a while but Mom and Dad aren't convinced I actually know what I'm talking about quite yet. I'm getting good at learning all sorts of vocabulary, though. Ask me where my belly, nose or mouth are and I'll show you. I'll give you a high five, kiss or snuggle if you ask, as well.

I'm off formula and onto whole milk now. And my favorite new food from the last month was lefse although I enjoyed nearly everything at our Thanksgiving dinner, too.

On Friday we head to the hospital for my first hip surgery. I'll be in casts for several months so we'll have to put the crawling on hold for a little while!

Me and my buddy

It's been a while since I've shared a video! It's just me and my pup playing in the living room.

Notice how he doesn't really care when I whack him on the head with the bone (38 second mark and 1:10 mark).

Also, at the 1:15 mark, I lean in to give him a kiss, but Dad doesn't really catch it on camera.

Cold weather

"People who stay inside just because it's cold are dumb."  -Dad and Keillor

Matching neck warmers!

Socks

I love pulling my socks off as soon as they're put on, but Mom outsmarted me this time!

Dad, please put down the camera and help me.

Waiting

I go in for my first hip surgery on Friday, December 6th, but first it was our pre-op visits last week at Children's Hospital. I had plenty of play time between our two appointments!

New food

My Norwegian friends and family will know that I'm not enjoying a tortilla in the pictures below.

I'm pretty sure I saw a tear come to Dad's eye when I tasted this and smiled.

 

Hmmm...ham versus lefse.

Toys

We received a new load of hand-me-down toys over the weekend!

That looks pretty fun!

Ok, I'm coming to get you!

Bears

When Dad and I visited Montana a few weeks ago we caught a bear cub and made it into a super soft coat for me!

Basketball

Sunday afternoon was the first home basketball game for the Buffs so Dad and I took a little trip over to Boulder.

The stadium wasn't too loud for me, but the cheering annoyed me when we first arrived so Dad put my pink ear muffs on and I sort of liked it. I only wore them for about half the game, though. I liked to cheer along with the crowd when I wasn't wearing them, as well.

Dad and I bought a stadium seat at the store last week and we rigged it up with my very own chest strap (the seat buckles to the bench, as well). So I had my very own fancy chair!

 Reading during the first half.

Even though I had a fancy new chair, I spent most of the time on Dad's lap. 

Watching the action with a refreshment.

Zoo

Mom went to New Jersey this weekend for Aunt Judey's baby shower so Dad and I hung out on our own.

And we kept busy!

Grandma Candy and Grandpa Rick gave me a zoo membership for my birthday so Dad and I decided to head over there on Saturday afternoon. I can't repeat many of the words Dad used when he saw how crowded it was, but it was safe to say that the zoo was a zoo. We had fun in the sunshine anyhow. 

 Waiting by the underwater viewing area to see the polar bear swimming.

Here's me observing a unique creature. 

Visiting with Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe near the front entrance.