baby 3 - half a year!

tess anne!  half a year!  goodness, time flies when you're giving zerberts on a daily basis!

oh, she's funny and giggly.  smiley and chubby.  she has the biggest belly laugh of all the kids - likely because she has the big kids causing those fits!  she squeals and screeches and shrieks.  she's the heart of our family.  the baby of the family.  the last grandchild.  they're all special in their own right, but i have a feeling (based on her arrival and weeks to follow) that she's always going to be a little more, extra-gooey, special.

six months.  she's sitting up (mostly) on her own.  consuming rice cereal with fruits and vegetables here and there.   bananas, most recently.  she's just beginning to pick up those tiny puffs; so neat to watch those fine motor skills at such an early age.      

first nap with her big sis

first sink bath
{makes me think of all the pre-thanksgivings
where i discovered a turkey defrosting in the sink... no?!}

fell asleep while i was making dinner

and like so many posts from the past, so much time has gone by - she's now 7 months old!  sheesh!  i will say not only have i been too busy to blog, but i've been busy doing so many things i love... traveling, sewing projects, taking pictures, enjoying our amazing autumn.  jack's birthday is days away, and i always love planning their parties - shopping, decorating and envisioning their adorable faces, tearing into their gifts.

but, tess!  i started this post, saying how she was practically sitting up on her own.  well now, she's close to crawling.  up on all fours, rocking back and forth.  she's kinda army crawling, too.  she's never in the same place that i plop her down.  she sleeps on her side and her belly mostly.  oh - and she has two teeth!!!  i say this with three exclamation points because i just found out she has them.  ugh, she's SO the third child.  in for vaccines yesterday, the doc asked if she had teeth yet.  i confidently replied no.  well, a look with the ol' tongue depressor and presto - she has two!  to my own defense, she loves her pacifier.  my window into her mouth is limited, alright?!

 6 month photos on an incredible autumn afternoon 

 7 months!

 can we please talk about her double chin?  

 will forever be a favorite picture.

you can practically hear her, right?!

it's hard to believe we're moving into her 8th month.  the big kids are likely more excited than i am with all her new moves.  they encourage her to crawl, constantly moving her toys just out of her reach, and they take turns feeding tess her rice cereal.  i know i've said it before - the best gift you can give your kids are siblings.  i love the bond they're creating.

      

feels like yesterday...