Iceland

We decided to visit Moody Garden’s Ice Land this year. This was the first year that the ice sculptures were in Galveston. Clayton and I have been to ICE in Dallas for many years and thought this would be something cool that Tess would enjoy. We had a pretty big crowd, Mona and Kevin were in town for the weekend, my parents came and so did Diana and Matt. Everyone had lunch before heading over to Moody Gardens. Since we went during the day it wasn’t that crowded, some people said that if you went during the Festival of Lights it was a madhouse.

We had to wait in line to get the special jackets to withstand the freezing temps and the smallest jacket that they had was still way too big for Tess. We had to roll up the sleeves but really couldn’t do anything about the height. She walked around and people laughed because you really couldn’t tell if there was a person in there or not because you wouldn’t see any shoes or hands and the hood would cover her face for the most part. But it was pretty adorable.

 Tess and I decided to do the ICE slide and we happened to pick the slowest one possible. I had to propel us down using my hands which I could not feel by the end of the slide. I think she had fun, I couldn’t see her I was just trying to get down as fast as possible so I could stop putting my hands on the ICE.

We walked around and saw all of the sculptures. When Tess was little she would watch a lot of Sponge Bob, more of her Dad’s influence than mine. I tried to get her to watch anything else. Finally she got interested in Mickey and Sponge Bob left us for a while. I wish the theme was different but I think Tess had some fun. Towards the end I think she was over being cold and some of the designs scared her a bit. If the theme is more her style next year we might go but this might be something that might wait a couple of years to repeat. Overall we had fun and it was something new to bring to our ever changing Christmas traditions.

 

Potty Training

We decided to take the big step and transition Tess from Diapers to Panties. Clayton and I bought her a bunch of panties and set up the potty in the living and starting one Friday we hit the ground running. We had a rough time the first couple of days but by Sunday peeing in the potty had clicked and Tess has not turned back since. Tess has always had a hate-hate relationship with poop. We started with regulating her bowel movements and she has started to make progress by pooping in the potty. We started with not pooping at all, moved to pooping in her panties, and then moved to her telling us while pooping in her panties. She has progressed to giving us a little lead time to get her to the potty and has pooped in the potty several times. She gets excited when she goes in the potty because she gets to feed her pig (piggy bank).

As you can see from the pictures this was a process, on Saturday she didn’t want to take a nap until her and I were watching a movie and she passed out in my arms. It was a hard weekend but overall I am glad we took the plunge

 

At one point we tried to use the iPad to get Tess to use the potty, we tried anything and everything. In the end she needed to decide when she wanted to start using the potty.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving weekend at the Ranch

 Most years after we eat a wonderful Thanksgiving Day meal with my family we head to the ranch on Friday. Well this year was no different except we had a ton of people at the ranch this year, and Tess loved the attention for the most part. I tried to take pictures but it took her a while to warm up to most people and we are out in the country so I would usually put my phone down and forget about it. That’s an awesome sentence, wish it could happen more often.

When we got there most everyone was out at the land putting a blind up but when they got back Tess latched on to Maggie right away and would refer to her as brown dog for the rest of the weekend. She thought that Maggie was the coolest thing because she was a big dog and Tess only gets to play with little dogs. Maggie was pretty patient with Tess and would let her pet her, lay down with her and play with her but after a certain time of night it was Maggie’s bed time and she would disappear. It was pretty cute to see her try and play with a dog that was bigger than she was.

Rays boys shot a couple of deer that night and Tess was actually pretty interested in the deer, it surprised me a little. We went out to the truck and looked at them and she even congratulated the boys. It was pretty cute.

The next day we went over to the land to walk around and look at the old dinosaur tracks. The boys walked around with us because they didn’t want to be around the older guys putting up another blind. Zach had been trying all evening and morning to get Tess to pay attention to him and she would not give him the time of day. It was pretty funny. She eventually sat next to him but that was it.

While we were on our walk, Martin pulled her in the wagon and then she latched on. She walked next to him and held his hand. He helped her over puddles, trees, and big holes. She trusted him like he was her big brother. You should have seen Zach’s face it was pretty funny since he had been wanting her to play with him and she wouldn’t. Little ones will pick and choose who they like, and one day they like you and they next it’s like you have never met.

We walked back up to where the bunk house is and Tess started picking up sticks and rocks and was making a little house. Being at the ranch solidified how much this child likes being outside. Anytime someone else was outside she wanted to be out there with them, she did not want to be left inside when there was fun to be had outside.

I don’t know what she is going to do if there is ever another little person around because she wouldn’t be the center of attention. She convinced her PawPaw to play horsey with her, it got a little rough but nothing this little cowgirl can’t handle. 

I love that we get together every year at the ranch and have this whirlwind weekend of family time. You walk away from it with a bunch of stories to tell, time well spent and full stomachs. Just wish we could do it more often.

Halloween 2014

Before everything happened in October we had planned on spending Halloween weekend in Dallas, Tess and I would go to Canton with Mona, go Trick-or-Treating and spend some time enjoying each other’s company. Little did we know that by the time Halloween rolled around it would be the 4^th weekend in October that a Harris was in Dallas, Nana and PawPaw got used to having Tess around in October.

So the morning of Halloween we woke up early and got dressed and headed out to Canton. It was only Tess, Mona and I so we were able to visit some areas that we normally miss because we have a bigger crowd. We made one stop at the car to unload and then we went back for some more shopping. I was looking for stuff for the new house and Mona was just looking. I would say that it was a pretty successfully trip overall and to top it off, Tess even took a nap in the wagon.

 Tess was a strawberry this year, I think this might be that last year that I am able to pick out her costume. We went over to Marge and Terry’s house to trick-or-treat. She has known Marge and Terry since birth and sees them if not every time we are in Dallas almost every time we are there so she is pretty comfortable with them. We still have a slight stranger danger issue so I didn’t think going to multiple houses was going to work for us. She got pretty good at saying trick or treat so I think she will be good for next year.

Kevin and Ray went on their Hog hunting trip so we decided to make s’mores by the fire, these were Tess’s first taste and I think she liked them. She wasn’t too sure about how messy they were but who wouldn’t like marshmallows and chocolate mixed together?

After this last weekend in Dallas we really haven’t been back, we went to the ranch for Thanksgiving and Mona and Kevin visited us for Christmas.

Fort Worth Zoo

While we were up in Dallas saying goodbye we spent that Friday at the Ft. Worth Zoo at Boo at the Zoo. It was a hot but a good day overall. Tess loved seeing all the animals and I think she could have spent all day being carried and visiting with all the different animals. It’s funny now when we go to a Petsmart she says I want to see the Giraffes, so we haven’t yet figured out the difference and I think visiting the zoo is going to be a big part of our future with how much she talks about animals.

We started and finished with the Gorillas. We saw them from the outside at the beginning and then went inside the exhibit as we were leaving. I think we were a little close at the end but overall she was pretty intrigued with this giant animal. The big silver back gorilla was eating his dinner when we returned right before we left the zoo. Tess was interested until he started making some loud noises and then she got a little scared so we moved on to look at the other monkeys before we left.

The white tiger was up next and he was a little lazy at first but once people started showing up he got a little bit more active. I don’t know what it is about animals but they seem to have a calming effect on my child. She can’t really sit in one place and do anything for an extend amount of time except for watch animals. If an animal is up walking around or doing something she could watch them for probably hours, it’s the adults that get bored first.

We walked around and saw various other animals, the Ft. Worth zoo is setup pretty nicely with the different exhibits that mimic their normal terrain, everything flows nicely between different areas, and a wide array of animals to see. I am glad that it was a good day to be outside, it wasn’t too crowded because it was a Friday. It was more crowded than I thought it would be but I think that was because it was Boo at the Zoo.

We spent most of the afternoon walking around, taking our time looking at the animals and enjoying the sunshine. Tess is at this age where it doesn’t take a lot to empress her especially if you are an animal. There were a couple baby animals around the zoo and she loved to point out the babies and their mommas. Tess had to bring her giraffe with her and carried it most of the time. She was pretty funny when she saw how big real giraffes were.

They have a little kid area that Tess enjoyed playing around in, she wasn’t so sure about the other kids playing also but she made do. Even though she is in daycare 5 days a week she doesn’t really like to play with other kids. She likes to play and figure things out on her own. When we were ready to head out Tess got this bright idea that she wanted to push the wagon, she did pretty well and we did have to go up some big hills. It also tuckered her out which was good for all of us.  

Overall we had fun at the zoo! We met up for dinner with the rest of the Harris Fam at a Dallas Favorite, Babe’s. Tess chowed down on some chicken and mashed potatoes and gave the place a thumbs up, we would have had to have a talk if she didn’t like it!

Saying Goodbye...

A couple of weeks ok we had to say goodbye to a very special person. Clayton had a very unique relationship with his grandparents. He grew up very close and still has a lasting bond with his father’s parents. That bond is the type of relationship that I am trying to replicate with my little one and her grandparents. Clayton’s grandfather hadn’t been doing very well and was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. We got the call that he had decided to let nature run its course and we packed our bags and headed to Dallas to make sure we were able to spend some time with him and the family before everyone had to say goodbye. We got to Dallas Friday evening and headed up to the hospital and spent a little bit of time with him but didn’t stay long so that he was able to rest. Clayton got up early Saturday morning and headed up to spend some time with Granny and I headed up around lunch. To say it was a great day is an understatement. The babies all played together in the waiting room, most of the cousins were together hanging out and you could feel this peace around everyone. Each of us had our moments where we would break down but we were all there for each other, that’s what family is for. Most everyone left early afternoon to either get ready for the Aggie game or start getting dinner prepared and give the little ones some outside time because it was truly a beautiful day outside. Granny had just finished dinner and received a call from Ray that he had peacefully passed away on the night of October 11, 2014. Family and Friends gathered a couple weeks later to say their goodbyes and well wishes. I still to this day catch myself talking about him as if he is still here. I don’t think that goes away in an instance. When I realized Clayton was going to lose his grandfather I realized that there was so much repressed emotion from when I lost mine, and I think through this process of saying goodbye it has helped me say goodbye to both.

The End of Summer

August and September went by in what seems like a blink of an eye. Tess has always loved Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but Clayton and I have worried that if we bought her anything Mickey that she wouldn’t put it down. Well at the beginning of August we decided to give in a little and give Tess her very own Minnie Mouse stuffed toy and she loved it. She was so excited when we gave her the toy. She danced around with the toy and didn’t leave it at the house for weeks. Eventually the newness wore off and she could leave it at home but she has to sleep with it every night.   

 

 That next weekend the motor in our outside AC unit went out and I came home from work to a very hot house. Tess went to my parents’ house and I stayed at the house hoping that someone would come out and take a look at it. Clayton was at work that night so he was at least in the A/C. Since no one was able to come out to take a look until Tuesday. I stayed at my parents’ house all weekend and then we stayed in a hotel on Monday night. I had to fly out to Denver for the day on Tuesday. The AC finally got fixed and the house returned to its nice cool usual self.

The same weekend the AC went out we had already planned on going to the Astros game with my parents after we went to dinner to celebrate Clayton’s birthday. Clayton turned 30 on August 4^th , he is an old man now. Well the Astros were playing the Rangers in the Lonestar Showdown. They were giving away cowboy hats and Tess was thrilled to have one. The Astros won that game, which was nice since usually the Rangers win.

 The following weekend, Clayton got a new phone since his was messing up. We brought his old phone to the mall to sell it back to this new machine which happened to be right by the carousel. Tess saw the carousel and had to go for a ride. I went with her and she had fun until she realized that the ride was over and she didn’t get to go again. I got a little motion sick on the ride, I think I will let Daddy go the next time.

One of the weekends that Clayton was at work and Tess and I were home alone, she put my heels on and started walking around. I think she walks better in them than I do.

 

Clayton and I had been getting ready for a garage sale for a while and putting things away in the guest room. We left the door open by mistake and Tess found her old walker. She went in and sat on her walker and kept saying she was driving the car. She had a towel on her head which she wouldn’t take off. She was pretty cute and I couldn’t resist taking a picture

 

We went to HEB and Tess saw the pumpkins and I put her up there and took one of the best pictures we have of her. We haven’t been to a pumpkin patch since she was a baby and I had thought maybe we could go this year but with everything going on we weren’t able to go back this year. There is always next year.

 

Clayton has been working a lot of weekends so Tess and I went up to visit Clayton up at the station one Saturday. Tess hasn’t been up to the station since she was little so it was a little weird for her. We took some pictures in front of the fire truck and watched a little bit of the A&M game and then I was about to go and meet my parents for dinner when Clayton was called out on a run. Tess was not happy that Clayton had to leave so we stood out in the bay and waved at him as he left and she still as we were getting in the car was crying for her daddy. She went through a couple of weeks of some separation anxiety and didn’t want to leave any family member. It was not awesome when we went to visit anyone.

 

We broke down again and bought a couple Mickey shirts. She hasn’t been that bad, she understands when her shirts are dirty and that mommy has to wash them before she can wear them again. One day I took her picture before daycare because she was wearing one of her beloved Mickey shirts and she was extra cute because her hair was braided in pigtails. I may be a little biased but I think I have the cutest kid around.