tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59132147787635473962012-02-15T23:18:42.202-08:00Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-16955832395936005662011-07-10T18:50:00.000-07:002011-07-10T18:50:09.952-07:00

Tessie's latest drawings have taken on a scientific aspect. Here, she shows the entirely fictional (as far as we know) Red Footed Sparrow. The largest image shows the adult of the species, and its life cycle proceeds clockwise. Folow the arrows to the four eggs, which then hatch into "baby birdies," who then become "teenagers." The range map, at lower left, covers "Mexico and a little bit of

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-37819201627621031492011-02-17T21:37:00.001-08:002011-02-17T22:03:59.084-08:00

It's 9:30 pm and Tessie is not asleep. Not only is she not asleep, she's not in bed, nor even in her room. No, she is in the kitchen doing her homework*. She is doing her homework because, in search of something to keep her occupied while "not at all tired" (her all-too-frequent words) and therefore not at all interested in going to sleep, she found herself in the kitchen and started filling out

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-25106625685630336962010-12-29T14:27:00.000-08:002010-12-29T14:27:11.038-08:00

So Tessie and I were looking at photos together when we came across a few of her. Tessie: Aww, cute! Me: Don't say that about pictures of yourself, it's immodest. Tessie: What does 'immodest' mean? Me: To be immodest is to be too proud of yourself. It's like showing off. Tessie: But I am proud of myself. Me: You should be, but don't be too proud of yourself. Tessie: I'm proud of myself but not

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-46164842700616589162010-12-22T20:50:00.000-08:002010-12-22T21:08:28.689-08:00

It started with Tessie and me in the car talking about the weather...Me: We're going to Legoland Friday. Hopefully the weather will be nice. [as compared to the deluge of almost Biblical proportions that was in progress]T: Why hopefully?Me: Well, all we can do is hope. We can't control the weather.T: Why not?Me: We just can't.(pause)T: God controls the weather.(pause)Me: Really, now? Tell me

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-80475311930478424892010-11-12T20:43:00.000-08:002010-11-12T20:49:19.193-08:00

In the car on the way home from work today:Tessie (iPhone in hand): Mommy, I don't like the maze game. It's too tricky so I got rid of it.Me: Got rid of it? You mean you deleted it?T: Yes. I deleted it.Me: Um... how did you know how to delete it?T: I just clicked on the "x."Me: Tessie! Do NOT delete apps from Mommy's iPhone without asking.T: Sorry, Mommy. Me: That's ok, that was a free one anyway

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-52824172170812768492010-09-29T13:03:00.000-07:002010-09-29T13:03:00.575-07:00

We did the math: it actually works out economically to purchase park memberships, so long as we plan on coming back again at least one more time within the next twelve months. We do not anticipate any argument from Tessie about return visits. Having thoroughly covered the park on the previous day, we went back to some of our favorite rides early. First up: the Miniland boat cruise. Dinosaurs,

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-85238139881706032452010-09-28T14:31:00.000-07:002010-09-28T19:59:17.354-07:00

Now that Tessie has turned four -- and, more importantly, has surpassed 40 inches in height -- we decided to make good on our earlier resolution to return to Legoland California.Her height is important, because at 40 inches she has now met the minimum height requirement for all but two of the park's rides. (When she hits 48 inches, or 4'-0", she'll have the run of the park. Judging by her

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-16176110024543105082010-08-05T21:08:00.000-07:002010-08-12T20:47:33.763-07:00

Tessie's been taking swimming lessons this summer, as she did last summer, at our local community pool. She's already successfully completed the "Tiny Tots" and "Advanced Tiny Tots" swim classes, and has matriculated through to "Kinder Kids." According to the brochure, in this class she'll learn how to do the "Front crawl with rhythmic side breathing, elementary backstroke, and backstroke with an

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-52654576666870020232010-07-07T17:52:00.000-07:002010-08-17T10:35:23.243-07:00

Day 5 At last, the final chapter of our New Orleans adventures. Having finally run out of Audubon Institute attractions, we had to find other ways to amuse ourselves for our last two days in the city. Fortunately, this was not difficult. One of my priorities for this trip was a visit to the National World War II Museum, formerly the National D-Day Museum, so while Tessie and her mother

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-54982667698252268862010-06-23T20:11:00.000-07:002010-08-17T10:35:48.757-07:00

Day 3 Our next day's journey began with a celebrity sighting just outside our hotel: Recognize him? It's Lightning McQueen, from the Pixar film Cars, which is Tessie's current favorite movie. (O.K., maybe it's not an exact match, but really, that #95 has to be a reference to the character, wouldn't you think?) Our destination for the morning was the Audubon Insectarium, just up Canal Street

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-20242750720893449552010-06-19T19:41:00.000-07:002010-06-19T19:42:13.115-07:00

I took Tessie to the park today. She played in the sandbox, climbed on the play structures, rode the bouncy cars, and, oh yeah, totally smacked down some little punk chauvinist. Tessie and this little boy were chatting as they played side by side. The boy, whose name I'll omit to spare him future embarrassment, asked Tessie how old she was. "Three and a half," Tessie replied. "I'm three and a

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-37361576443189221012010-06-03T19:42:00.000-07:002010-06-23T10:54:33.223-07:00

Day 2  The conference continued with its demands on Tessie's Mom's time, so again we had to find ways to amuse ourselves. We planned to visit the Audubon Zoo, which was too far away for a walk. We left the hotel and headed up Canal Street toward a streetcar stop when we ran into another conference-attendee-spouse and his son looking for something to do. We joined forces and boarded the St.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-18409842640840171642010-05-05T09:56:00.000-07:002010-05-05T09:56:59.738-07:00

Tessie's Mom had a conference to attend in New Orleans, so just as we did in Copenhagen, Tessie and I chose to tag along and extend the trip into a family adventure. Experienced traveler that she is, Tessie has got waiting in the airport lounge while wearing a jaded expression down pat: We arrived  in the Crescent City on a very pleasant St. Patrick's Day in the early evening and, after checking

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-16621635244977210922010-05-04T13:35:00.000-07:002010-05-04T13:35:08.507-07:00

There's a veterinary college in the San Fernando Valley. Who knew? Pierce College, in Woodland Hills, holds an annual Farm Walk event. The campus is opened to the public, and visitors get to experience a bit of farm life. Farm life apparently includes fire trucks: Actually, the LAFD had representatives at this event to encourage us to follow their guidelines on brush clearance. This event

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-34351129831567343972010-03-27T21:18:00.000-07:002010-05-04T20:03:51.298-07:00

So we have this state flower out here, the California Poppy. And it blooms from time to time. So we get in our cars and drive off to go see entire hillsides covered in the things. We drive and drive, because the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve isn't all that close to any actual population centers. (Which is not to say that there aren't a lot of residences nearby, just that many of those

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-54495385239048714752010-03-26T18:03:00.000-07:002010-03-26T18:04:45.138-07:00

Tessie's pre-school held another Olympics-inspired fundraising event today, just as they did two years ago. Tessie donned her "50% American, 50% Canadian, 100% CUTE" t-shirt, and strove to represent both of her countries to the best of her ability. Since NBC wasn't there, we got to see it all! The Opening Ceremonies went off without a hitch, mostly because nothing needed to rise up out of the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-62991604289216843532010-03-09T21:14:00.000-08:002010-03-09T21:14:40.609-08:00

While making our weekend plans, Tessie asked to visit a natural history museum. Really; she specified natural history. So, as part of our ongoing efforts to thoroughly explore the Inland Empire, and because it's on the way to the outlet mall in Cabazon -- and because they were holding a free-admission 'Family Fun Day' event -- we visited the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, California.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-76091243603572495402010-03-08T18:16:00.000-08:002010-03-08T18:16:00.201-08:00

Our long weekend continued with a visit to the Riverside County Fair. Actually, the full name of the event is The Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival. Located in Indio, California, the fairgrounds are about midway between Palm Springs and the southern entrance to Joshua Tree National Park along I-10. Tessie loves animals, and there were animals in abundance, not just in the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-61541875927923604932010-02-19T10:00:00.000-08:002010-02-19T10:00:02.021-08:00

Presidents' Day gave us a long weekend, and that coupled with a desire to see our car's odometer hit 100,000 miles while doing something more memorable than a mundane commute inspired us to revisit (and introduce to Tessie) one of our favorite places, Joshua Tree National Park. (It's such a favorite place that Tessie, had she been a boy, would likely have been named Joshua.) Three hours of

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-31640012573188406242010-02-18T10:58:00.000-08:002010-02-18T10:58:21.330-08:00

You'd think I'd be able to update this blog a little more regularly, wouldn't you? No such luck. In what is becoming an annual tradition, I have allowed myself to be overwhelmed by Christmas. We spent two weeks visiting Tessie's Canadian grandparents, and I shot almost one thousand photographs in that time, which leaves me with a rather daunting editing task in front of me. Rest assured, however,

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-1044476615925313862009-12-12T13:35:00.000-08:002009-12-12T13:35:00.576-08:00

Tessie's pre-school held its annual holiday pageant this week. In case you have trouble finding her, Tessie is in the back row on the right. We're pretty sure she's in the back row because of her height, not her level of talent. Yeah. Height. That's it. (Actually, Tessie's performance lacked much of the gusto we saw in rehearsal. We believe she dialed it back a bit for the actual performance

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-66055463443263072112009-12-11T13:34:00.000-08:002009-12-11T18:35:17.405-08:00

Our Thanksgiving trip to Boston continued with a visit to Boston's second-best-loved tourist attraction, the Museum of Science. (Any guesses what #1 is? Answer below.) So to Cambridge we drove. Yes, it's the Boston Museum of Science, but it straddles the Charles River, and the parking garage is in Cambridge. We found the parking to be quite a bit more crowded than we expected, but the museum

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-41192594777288589872009-12-07T15:19:00.000-08:002009-12-07T21:52:52.379-08:00

Not having been back east in almost a year, we decided to take Tessie to visit her American grandparents at Thanksgiving. We had a very pleasant visit, but before long we had eaten all the turkey we could handle, had solved the world's problems in conversation with Aunt Leslie, and even invented new rules for dominoes. What else could we do? Well, Boston is one of the world's great cities

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-18682177828096823282009-11-09T21:05:00.000-08:002009-11-09T22:16:35.956-08:00

Tessie's been making some attempts at representational art lately. Above are a portrait and a self-portrait. I know; could have fooled me, too. That thing that looks like a spoon? That's the self-portrait, "Tessie in a Dress," according to the artist. The other is a portrait of "Chris." It took us a little time to nail down who Chris is, and that's the real reason I'm posting this. At first, we

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-11622653836937459742009-11-06T21:05:00.001-08:002009-11-06T23:20:55.042-08:00

Before the event recedes too far from memory, we should get some details from the past Hallowe'en recorded. Tessie, a strong believer in recycling, joyfully reprised last year's personification of the Pumpkin Fairy. She'd probably be perfectly happy to wear the same costume again next year, if only she would stop growing. (That's not likely, though.)With the 31st falling on a Saturday this year,

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-22625606150893109722009-09-30T09:24:00.000-07:002009-10-09T23:15:02.624-07:00

Actual conversation with my three-year-old, shortly after sunset on a recent evening:T: "Mommy, look! Real clouds!" [ed. note: while the Station Fire was raging, we were making a distinction between the columns of smoke sent up by the fire, and "real" clouds]Me: "I see. Aren't they pretty?"T: "Yes! They're orange and blue! Why?"Me (thinking): "Umm... Well, when the sun is setting, the light has

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-38989857567819522202009-09-13T15:04:00.000-07:002009-09-13T15:15:50.659-07:00

After a round of singing the Sesame Street classic "C is for Cookie," and including variants like "T is for Tessie": Tessie: C is for cookie, that's good enough for me... C is for cookie,that's good enough for me... P is for pneumonia, that's good enough for me...Tessie's Mom: Did she just say "P is for pneumonia?"Tessie's Dad: Yes, she sure did.Tessie: I'm a strange child.And there you have it.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-8643046438176770002009-08-28T08:29:00.000-07:002009-08-28T08:29:00.926-07:00

We didn't celebrate Tessie's birthday with just cupcakes and a haircut, of course. That was just Day One of Tessie's Birthday Festival. (Despite the title of this post, though, we didn't follow up with a baseball game.)The morning after her actual birthday, we piled into the car and set out. First stop? A brewery. Stone Brewing in Escondido, CA, to be precise. O.K., so Tessie still has 18 years

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-85792342770908753892009-08-23T13:09:00.001-07:002009-08-23T13:25:27.950-07:00

Tessie turned three not long ago, and of course we didn't let the occasion pass by unobserved. Her birthday was on a Friday, which meant she would be in preschool, so Tessie's Mom and I went there to help her celebrate with her classmates.Celebration had to wait until after nap, though. That's Tessie at the far right:Once all the kids were awake, they were treated to cupcakes Tessie had made

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-28649194809054542222009-08-17T21:48:00.000-07:002009-08-17T22:23:21.127-07:00

The tidbits from Tessie's weekdays at pre-school continue. Her wide variety of interests is evident:6/5: "During circle time when we say what [day] today was, Tessie said, 'today is Friday and I'm going to the library.'" (ed. note: we actually go to the library on Mondays)6/8: "Today we talked about ice cream. We asked Tessie what's her favorite flavor? She said, 'Chocolate.' She was a little sad

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-16974802467230659502009-06-16T12:40:00.000-07:002009-06-16T12:40:00.704-07:00

This week, Tessie is taking swimming lessons at the local pool. Mostly just frolicking in the water, the "lessons" consist of an instructor lobbing pool toys over the kids' heads, then urging them to "scoop" (i.e., dogpaddle) their way toward them. Tessie enjoys it quite a bit, even though it was very cold in the pool today. She was shivering, but resisted all attempts to get her to come out and

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-25439198933715274822009-06-09T08:38:00.000-07:002009-06-09T08:43:23.407-07:00

On our rather drizzly commute this morning, Tessie was amusing herself by coming up with new lyrics to "The Wheels on the Bus," such as:"The bees on the bus go 'buzz buzz buzz, buzz buzz buzz, buzz buzz buzz...'"and, somewhat less comprehensibly:"The honey pot on the bus goes 'honey honey honey, honey honey honey, honey honey honey...'"But my favorite has to be this one:"The Daddy on the bus goes

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-22967773031759372342009-05-26T21:30:00.000-07:002009-09-30T09:24:20.932-07:00

Every day at pre-school, Tessie's teachers provide a report on her activities of the day: what she ate and when, timing of nap and potty visits, and a free-text comment. Some recent extracts from Tessie's daily reports:4/15: "While we were playing we saw the garbage man and before he left Tessie said, 'Thanks for the show.'"4/16: "During Kitchen Creation we made cookies. Our friend Sophie left

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-8532755946632761882009-05-23T16:32:00.000-07:002009-05-24T19:52:59.753-07:00

[...continuing with the overdue updates...]In February, the Presidents' Day long weekend gave us the opportunity to visit some friends in San Diego. There's lots to see and do in that area, but we started off with a walk around the neighborhood. With that exploration under our belts, we headed into downtown to see the new New Children's Museum. (That's not a typo; it's called the New Children's

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-91826588209261827632009-05-22T11:44:00.000-07:002009-05-22T11:44:00.730-07:00

Tessie's reading and writing skills are improving. She knows her letters very well, and can recognize the names of her friends and classmates. She's still not quite reading, but she's sooo close. And she can write her own name:Oh, and she can count to twenty. In Spanish.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-92001433108273746882009-05-21T19:34:00.000-07:002009-05-21T19:35:40.106-07:00

I'm beginning to suspect that Tessie may not hold me in quite the same regard as she does her mother.Tonight, Tessie had apple slices for dessert. A whole apple's worth were piled on a plate in front of her, and she was working her way through them slowly when Tessie's Mom asked if she could share. Permission was given, and Tessie's Mom picked a slice off of the plate. Tessie immediately asked

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-36362989108753813432009-05-21T10:01:00.000-07:002009-05-21T11:44:29.607-07:00

After we returned home from our Christmas trip to see her American grandparents, Tessie's Canadian grandparents come for a visit.My kind of Christmas tree: We chose New Year's Day for the second round of present-opening, and Tessie got right to work under our new fake tree: Hopefully, we haven't created the expectation that she'll be getting TWO Christmases every year...More books are always

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-12301679040029926902009-05-14T11:46:00.000-07:002009-05-15T09:04:51.087-07:00

Still getting caught up. After Christmas, we went to Boston's outstanding Museum of Science, which actually straddles the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge.The view from the parking garage:Our first stop was a temporary butterfly garden, which Tessie enjoyed: No, really; she liked it. I just didn't get any pictures of her smiling!After that, the museum was filled with other exhibits to

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-69674297167397339942009-05-11T10:23:00.000-07:002009-05-11T11:46:00.285-07:00

A few (long overdue) pictures from our trip to see the American grandparents. There was plenty of snow, and Tessie hasn't yet learned to properly loathe the stuff: Reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with Aunt L. on the night before Christmas: Christmas morning arrives, and Tessie gets going on her stack of loot: Followed by another chilly walk around the neighborhood:

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-38297923161733519352009-05-09T13:53:00.001-07:002009-05-09T13:54:43.691-07:00

Goodness me. It seems I've got a bit of catching up to do on this blog. Yikes. I intend to return to regular updates soon. What have we been up to? Among other things, after returning from our Christmas visit Tessie began potty training in earnest, which did put a damper (no pun intended!) on some of our travels, in turn leading to a lack of postable exploits.In addition to that, Tessie herself

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-32307297932131053312009-01-30T23:15:00.000-08:002009-01-30T23:29:31.959-08:00

Tessie found yet another way to endear herself to me tonight when she announced, "I want to get Daddy a beer!" and proceeded to do just that.This is what fatherhood is all about, isn't it?

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-56675052010293769632009-01-25T08:08:00.000-08:002009-01-25T08:08:00.372-08:00

Before Christmas, Tessie's day care held a "Holiday Extravaganza" pageant featuring all of the children, split up into their various age groups. Tessie and her cohort of two-year-olds, the Ducklings, were in fine form as they kicked off the evening's entertainment in front of a restless audience of parents, grandparents and electronic recording devices:

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-22597613171245604762009-01-25T00:07:00.000-08:002009-01-25T00:08:17.811-08:00

Has it really been over a month since last I posted anything here? Yikes. Serious catching up needs to be done. In the coming days, I'll try to get caught up with all of our Holiday adventures, including Tessie's first-ever Christmas Pageant performance, our trip to Massachusetts to see her American grandparents, and the following visit to our home by her Canadian grandparents. Much to do!

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-65015114416275568472009-01-18T20:06:00.000-08:002009-01-18T20:14:27.858-08:00

"I like lobster. I like it very much. It's good food for me. It's good food for everybody. It's good for Babi and Děda and Mommy and Daddy and Tessie!"- Tessie, 1/18/08, after being told that the steamer basket is for cooking lobster (and yes, she has had lobster, courtesy of Babi and Děda)

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-58408395419684937432009-01-14T21:06:00.000-08:002009-01-14T22:44:12.065-08:00

I really should keep a tape recorder running the car. This post won't do justice to the running commentary on our daily commutes. (Items below are all from one day's drives.)Family fun(to fully appreciate this one, you need to know that my dad is an avid photographer and my mom an avid videographer, particularly when it comes to (a) travel and (b) their only granddaughter; they came out for a

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-39601626174204632392008-12-21T21:30:00.000-08:002008-12-21T21:30:00.955-08:00

Tessie has been trying to be helpful around the house by doing small tasks. Today, she emptied the garbage for us.I have no explanation for the pants. Tessie is normally quite good at dressing herself. Not today.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-72130569922534360982008-12-10T21:58:00.000-08:002009-05-21T11:53:38.038-07:00

Tessie not only posesses a rapidly expanding vocabulary, she also has become capable of stringing together complex sentences. She uses prepositions correctly, not only to describe the relative positions of objects (on, over, below, etc.), but also relationships in time (before, after, etc.). She can follow sequential instructions, like "Put the toys away, then go wash your hands and go to the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-65910806426435276212008-12-06T16:13:00.000-08:002008-12-06T16:49:09.253-08:00

A few weeks ago, we figured it was time Tessie moved out of her crib and into a toddler bed (same mattress, but "uncaged"). The move has gone smoothly so far (other than a few unauthorized excursions during what is supposed to be nap time) and she seems quite content in her Big Girl Bed:Unlike most adults, she generally wakes up in a good mood: Other days, though, she joins the rest of humanity

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-28918309849272588922008-12-03T22:46:00.000-08:002008-12-03T22:46:00.268-08:00

Tessie enjoys watching movies. Lately, she's been asking to watch "Tessie movies," videos from our collection in which she plays a prominent role, but the other night she wanted a different movie. We watched some strangers' YouTube vacation videos, but she quickly tired of that (not as quickly as I did, though) and asked for something still different. I popped a "Muppet Show" DVD into the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-63000037100187755062008-12-02T22:22:00.000-08:002008-12-02T22:22:00.199-08:00

Simple toys are best. Lately, Tessie's been getting a lot of play out of a set of wooden blocks. She builds towers, castles and train stations, and has a particular and surprising fondness for symmetry. She has also impressed us with her ability to balance blocks on their edges. This tower is entirely her own creation, orange corbels and all: And while one might expect her to be upset when these

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-20959086905857692942008-12-01T22:06:00.000-08:002008-12-01T22:38:47.332-08:00

Saturday night at the Undisclosed Location was "Dickens Village" night in downtown, sponsored by a local community organization. Streets were blocked off and there were horse-drawn carriage rides, photos with Santa, amazingly off-key and rhythmically-challenged carolers, and the lighting of the town Christmas tree. Tessie slept through all of that. After dinner, though, she was wide awake for her

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-57613863586771458232008-11-25T20:07:00.000-08:002008-11-26T09:15:06.791-08:00

Evidently no longer satisfied with straight-up deliveries of songs and nursery rhymes, Tessie has started to mix things up a bit.Mary had a black sheep, black sheep, black sheepMary had a black sheepGently down the stream.Tessie's Dad and I burst out laughing when she came up with this one in the car, so she spent the rest of the ride coming up with other new combos and laughing hysterically at

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-37287465294421276602008-11-24T19:48:00.000-08:002008-11-24T20:10:44.783-08:00

A couple of days ago, while running errands, Tessie and I stopped at a Bank of America ATM to make a few transactions. Today, as we left the grocery store, we passed a different branch of the same bank. Tessie pointed to its ATMs and announced, "We went to there yesterday buy money" (followed by "Mommy needs money").Other kids recognize Disney, McDonald's or Nickelodeon logos. Our kid: Target,

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-67581596337144095972008-11-22T07:20:00.000-08:002008-11-22T10:22:53.135-08:00

In my former life as a management consultant with a Firm that shall remain nameless, I both appreciated and dreaded the all-too-frequent performance reviews. In no job before or since have I received such a thorough and unflinchingly honest evaluation of my strengths and weaknesses -- excuse me, "development opportunities." So the "Child Skills Checklist" that Tessie's Dad and I reviewed with

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-50370156863619989182008-11-11T22:12:00.000-08:002008-11-22T07:41:56.173-08:00

Hello -- Tessie's Mom here. Long-time reader, first-time blogger. (I'll be chipping in from time to time.)Most of my own travels with Tessie consist of our daily commute to work and daycare, respectively. But even that routine drive along the surface streets of the San Gabriel Valley takes on new meaning with a toddler in the car. Topics of "conversation" range from the mundane to the sublime...

Tessie's Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10236918745520923044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-59164416546752272492008-11-11T21:57:00.000-08:002008-11-11T22:50:46.738-08:00

Here's a bit of video from our recent trip. This was taken atop the Petřín hill in Prague on the day described in this earlier post. The sneezing gag is something she picked up from her cousin Andrejka; as you'll see, Tessie thinks it's hilarious. We think it's pretty darn cute.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-22237368287238218162008-11-10T21:33:00.000-08:002008-11-11T21:48:57.225-08:00

Tessie was invited to attend a birthday party for one of her day care "classmates" who had recently turned three. It was held at a party facility in South Pasadena that we can wholeheartedly recommend. We rode the Gold Line train down to Mission station and walked a short way to the party. Amy's Playground has all sorts of toys and fun things for the kids to do. (So does her day care, though.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-33895212831352047152008-11-01T18:15:00.000-07:002008-11-02T09:30:51.275-08:00

To Tessie's great relief, Hallowe'en did eventually arrive. The anticipation built up in her so much that every evening for the last week she stated, repeatedly, "I want to go to Hallowe'en!" Well, Hallowe'en came to her, and she made the most of it. Her day care had a costume parade and sent her home with a bag of treats, but the majority of her trick-or-treating was done closer to home, in the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-59668956964137965062008-11-01T16:20:00.000-07:002008-11-02T09:30:44.503-08:00

Now that we're all caught up after our European extravaganza, it's time to get back to writing about our more mundane activities near home.One of the ways in which we in southern California become aware of the approach of autumn is through the appearance on the calendar of pumpkin-related activities. (What, you think we see leaves change color or something? Palm trees are green year-round, my

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-8087008019216156012008-10-24T22:03:00.000-07:002008-10-26T22:04:45.903-07:00

Our last morning in Copenhagen began as the previous ones had: with the complimentary hotel breakfast. Since this was to be our last breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, we spent a little extra time enjoying the art on display. Both inside and outside the restaurant were works by local artist Keld Moseholm at varying scales. This one was my favorite:We had one last thing to do before leaving for

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-74490015901569982862008-10-24T01:00:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:38.802-08:00

For our last day of sightseeing together, Tessie and I had a goal: to find a playground, preferably one with both swings and slides.Armed with the tourist office map we'd picked up the day before, we boarded a train at the Hovedbanegården. After realizing we were on the right train but headed in the wrong direction, we disembarked. Oops. Fortunately, the trains come at closely spaced intervals,

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-3350284245639669032008-10-21T19:53:00.000-07:002008-10-22T17:07:47.873-07:00

Having learned a lesson the first day, I decided to leave Tessie's stroller at the hotel. Carrying her, when necessary, was actually less trying than pushing the stroller had been, and we made quick enough progress that we had time to kill before the Danish National Museum, our intended first stop, would open.So we found ourselves outside the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, an art museum with a wide

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-87239178428221337512008-10-20T21:51:00.000-07:002008-10-20T21:04:23.871-07:00

With Tessie's Mom at her conference, Tessie and I got to explore Copenhagen together. Our first destination was the Copenhagen Zoo, which I knew Tessie would enjoy, but first we had to get there.I should have splurged for the bus, but I still had sticker-shock from the price of everything in Copenhagen, and it really didn't look that far on the map, so we set off on foot from our hotel. Well, I

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-24398485167599491612008-10-20T12:43:00.001-07:002008-10-20T12:46:16.883-07:00

I've got some catching up to do, but now that the Red Sox have been eliminated from the playoffs, I will soon be getting back to blogging about the tail end of our trip to Europe. (Totally lame excuse, I know, but I can't help it if they have an overwhelming command of my attention. If I could do anything about it, I would!)I just uploaded a whole bunch of photos last night and set up templates

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-31013897414035285262008-10-02T12:14:00.000-07:002008-10-02T15:24:16.431-07:00

Tessie finds ways to amuse herself that, in turn, amuse us. Here she is playing in a forest of 'Swan chairs,' the iconic Scandinavian design by the iconic Scandinavian architect Arne Jacobsen. The tables may also be famous, but somehow, not knowing their design pedigree makes me feel less guilty about what happens at the end of the video...

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-33359729557530141042008-10-01T18:12:00.000-07:002008-10-02T21:25:01.559-07:00

The three of us had a full day available for exploring the city before Hannah would be required to spend her days in a trade show booth at the conference that provided the impetus for us to come here.We started off with breakfast at the hotel, which was the typical northern European spread of cold cuts, bread, cereal, yogurt, etc. but was surprisingly devoid of herring. On our 1999 visit to

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-90831800503630343412008-09-21T21:06:00.000-07:002008-09-21T21:34:46.754-07:00

Leg #8, Prague to Copenhagen. Still clutching her Krtek, Tessie made it through airport security. More helpful and less obnoxious than their American counterparts (but, apparently, equally effective), European airport security personnel were, on the whole, very attentive to the needs of parents with small children. Water-filled sippy cups did not need to be dumped out, as was once required of us

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-55246878860851232462008-09-21T16:04:00.000-07:002008-09-21T16:10:45.167-07:00

So the most recent poll has been sitting there for a while, closed out for over a month and thoroughly ignored by me. The results were pretty conclusive: nobody cares but me, so the current video arrangement of me uploading videos to YouTube and linking to them here will continue. Expect some new videos soon.The results for "Anyone got a a video preference?":5 votes (71%) for whatever's easiest,1

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-17298746702917198962008-09-19T14:25:00.000-07:002008-09-20T14:35:57.792-07:00

Trust me: Tessie enjoyed the streetcar rides a lot more than you'd guess from that picture.After the castle, lunch. We stumbled upon a pub named for the beloved Czech literary hero The Good Soldier Švejk. As this is one of Tessie's Deda's favorite characters, and one he frequently cites, it seemed to be an appropriate place to stop. Also, we were drawn in by the menu, which featured delicious

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-82054126202455547522008-09-10T13:00:00.000-07:002008-09-10T12:58:13.582-07:00

The top tourist attraction in Prague is Prague Castle, located in the Hradcany district. (Hrad = castle, cany = hill.) So, since we only gave ourselves one full day in the Czech capital, we decided to bring Tessie up the hill for a visit.I love little details like this because they remind me that this isn't a movie set or Disneyland - it's a real, working city:Tessie charms her way past the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-23657664494214370592008-09-09T08:23:00.000-07:002008-09-09T08:31:08.110-07:00

The Boston Red Sox set a record last night with their 456th consecutive sellout at Fenway Park, and have created a list of 456 "Reasons to Say Thank You." I call your attention to #215.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-57105929433768933022008-09-07T14:25:00.001-07:002008-09-07T15:09:48.206-07:00

Yes, I get to travel. Yes, I get to see some of the world's best and most interesting places. Yes, I appreciate it.But I do have a complaint about Europe.They serve coffee in teeny-weeny little cups. Honestly, how is that (above) supposed to do me any good? At home I drink roughly a quart a day. (Think two Starbucks grandes, although I never go to Starbucks if there's a 7-11 or McDonalds nearby -

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-79782444998283859822008-09-07T11:36:00.000-07:002008-09-07T15:21:17.537-07:00

Gratuitous shots of a beautiful city, taken on our walk from the Cafe Savoy to our hotel:

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-78911670247506770592008-09-07T10:22:00.000-07:002008-09-07T15:22:08.385-07:00

Back to Prague, and this time we get to leave the airport.After spending the morning packing and eating an early lunch, we and a large and helpful entourage headed to the Tatran Hotel to retrace our steps and catch a Czech Airlines van to the Kosice airport. Already laden with luggage and souvenirs, we had to decline more gifts, but not before Tessie latched on to a stuffed mouse from Aunt

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-36267713923027623162008-09-07T07:01:00.001-07:002008-09-07T13:08:02.940-07:00

We spent our last full day in Slovakia in the ancient town of Kežmarok. A large contingent of us (let's see if I can get everyone from memory: Pet'o and his daughters Zuzka and Andrejka, Katka and her children Mat'o and Alica, Vlasta, Helenka and her grandson Marek, Tessie's Babi and Deda, and of course Tessie and her parents; 14 of us all together) caught a bus from Poprad.Kežmarok is one of

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-715729476441284872008-09-06T18:49:00.000-07:002008-09-06T18:59:25.468-07:00

Apologies for the sudden lapse in posts. Our trip continued, but computer access didn't after we left cousin Pet'o' s.We're all safely back at home now, so more pictures and posts are coming soon.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-24054642369372981612008-08-26T14:29:00.000-07:002008-08-26T14:51:26.842-07:00

Another reason for our visit here was to attend a memorial service for Tessie's great-grandmother Olga. Babička (Ba-beech-ka, grandmother) passed away last spring after a stroke, but the final disposition of her remains was left until now to coincide with last Saturday's wedding so that more family members could attend both by combining trips.Her ashes were laid to rest in the family tomb in

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-22387111508664071142008-08-26T14:05:00.000-07:002008-08-26T14:53:03.971-07:00

Hawaii is a wondrous place. Warm tropical breezes and bright sunshine abound, and the inviting beaches and lush scenery easily make for enduring memories.Slovakia is also a wondrous place, but it is not likely ever to be mistaken for Hawaii. Weather and scenery aside, there is a simple reason for this: in Hawaii, you are never far from a vowel. Every word has at least a 1:1 consonant-vowel ratio

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-56599597131914843612008-08-24T14:53:00.000-07:002008-08-24T14:54:49.425-07:00

This kezboard is driving me crayz!

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-41772450578675033602008-08-24T13:37:00.000-07:002008-09-07T13:10:44.354-07:00

Poprad has a population of 55,000, making it the tenth largest city in Slovakia (don't ask me to name the top nine - there's no way I'd spell them correctly). (By the way, 55,000 is roughly the capacity of Dodger Stadium.) Still, it is a very walkable city, and this morning's stroll took us into the downtown pedestrian shopping district.Tessie enjoyed being chauffeured by her ever-helpful cousins

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-55059129374043373742008-08-23T13:57:00.000-07:002008-08-23T17:40:48.676-07:00

On our arrival at the Poprad train station, we were greeted by a large contingent of relations eager to see Tessie (and possibly the people she brought with her). For once, we actually had more people available than pieces of luggage. Everyone pitched in and we made the short walk to the apartment of our hosts Peter and Danka and their daughters Zuzka and Andrejka.For the rest of the first day

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-74987198924448428472008-08-23T04:20:00.001-07:002008-09-07T10:26:47.618-07:00

Combine a family wedding in Slovakia with a professional conference in Copenhagen, and what do you get? A great excuse to travel. What don't you get? A convenient way to connect the dots.So we strung together a series of flights, punctuated by a two-hour shuttle bus ride, to get to where we need to be when we need to be there. Los Angeles to Seattle to Copenhagen to Prague to Kosice, Slovakia, to

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-66982923106598224822008-08-07T21:50:00.000-07:002008-08-07T21:59:25.395-07:00

...before Tessie can come here on her own.This may not get us any "Parents of the Year" awards, but when Tessie expressed her birthday dining preference not simply as "Pub!" but as "Pub pub pub pub pub!" what else could we do? A pint glass of ice water, a kiddie plate of fish and chips, and she's a very happy birthday girl. (The party hat came from her day care - the pub doesn't provide them!)

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-58707215589790353872008-08-07T12:10:00.001-07:002008-08-07T22:09:31.418-07:00

Today is Tessie's second birthday. Hard to believe it's been two whole years since I nearly missed her birth while sitting at a Wendy's. (Long story. Short version: I was hungry.)In honor of the anniversary of her appearance in this world, I'd like to post the text of the announcement I sent out the next day:Subject: Tessie is Here!Dear Friends and Family: I am thrilled to tell you all that our

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-18626808198191347622008-08-03T18:16:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:47.898-08:00

By a twist of fate, we happened to have tickets to today's Dodgers game. Unlike many of our fellow visitors to Dodger Stadium today, our tickets were purchased long before the trade that brought the Dodgers their new left fielder, Mr. Manuel Aristedes Ramirez. Last week's trade made us all the more eager to attend; Tessie was too excited to sleep last night, so she napped on the way to the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-57668992187639880432008-08-02T19:58:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:48.805-08:00

Travels with Tessie World Headquarters is starting to shape up. We still don't have pictures up on the walls, and there are just a few cardboard boxes remaining to be unloaded, but just about everything has settled down and we can get around to living in our new home. (Or as Tessie calls it, "New House." As in: "Where are we going, Tessie?" "New House!")I've spent a considerable amount of time

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-16402333947876228322008-07-31T20:39:00.001-07:002008-07-31T21:01:04.047-07:00

Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox' dreadlocked, baggy-pants left-fielding malcontent, has gotten his wish and been banished, er, traded, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Note: Not the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles, just the Los Angeles Dodgers. Period. See how that works, Arte Moreno?) The Red Sox may miss his powerful bat, but the man had worn out his welcome with his erratic defensive play,

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-28990009195076833662008-07-29T21:22:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:50.339-08:00

Unbeknowst to us, the Undisclosed Location to which we have moved does the Fourth of July in a big way, with events in town beginning on the Third and including free concerts, activities for the kids, a beer garden for adults who can tolerate Budweiser, and vintage aircraft flyovers. Even better, Travels with Tessie World Headquarters is located a scant 50 yards from the parade route. Better

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-35508012507082583002008-07-29T12:12:00.000-07:002008-07-29T19:57:14.478-07:00

Just what we needed to get me out of my procrastinating malaise and start posting again!And by the way, we're all fine.Tessie's second earthquake (the first was back in September) was a 5.4, centered approximately 20 miles southeast of the Undisclosed Location. Tessie is at her day care, probably delighted by the rocking and rolling but otherwise heedless of the nature of the event.Travels with

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-42394362361616088492008-07-22T13:01:00.000-07:002008-07-24T14:19:44.940-07:00

Tessie doesn't show a lot of interest in television, and I have to say we like it that way. She still has a favorite show, however. She asks for it almost every time she enters the media room, even though she is well outside of the show's target demographic. We've even got an episode recorded on the DVR in the event she asks for it and it's not on. This isn't a habit she picked up from her

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-46635401136021314682008-07-10T12:47:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:50.517-08:00

The move to Travels With Tessie World Headquarters has been dragging on a bit, hasn't it? Just yesterday, we (finally) got a new desk delivered and (mostly) set up the computer, so blogging activities will resume shortly.When they do, we'll have plenty of material to post, as the last month and a half have been exceptionally busy. For now, though, I present the above photograph, taken after the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-37917800444201470282008-06-11T09:22:00.001-07:002008-08-04T10:52:36.102-07:00

A quick post to let you all (and Google) know that I haven't abandoned this blog. I have a few items to post, but we are still dealing with setting up after our move to the new house (which Tessie refers to as "new house"). Among the things that we still need to do is set up the computer; one of the things keeping us from doing so is lack of a desk, one of the things keeping us from getting a

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-19676835397876114122008-05-23T13:06:00.000-07:002008-05-23T13:18:11.673-07:00

We moved. Note use of the past tense.Tessie seems to have adapted right away. We weren't sure how best to handle her transition from one residence to another. What we ended up doing was take her from the old apartment to day care in the morning and bring her directly to the new house at the end of the day. In the interim, the moving company did their job and roughly five tons of domestic detritus

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-80372463876893200212008-05-21T10:46:00.000-07:002008-05-21T11:35:44.128-07:00

It's been a while since my last post, and I thought I'd explain why: we're moving!Travels with Tessie World Headquarters is relocating from our small yet cramped Pasadena apartment to an actual house in an undisclosed location. Tessie will soon have her own room, a backyard in which to play, and even her own bathroom complete with Tessie-sized wash basin. We will also be near a large park with

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-14530925194054578142008-05-05T22:47:00.000-07:002008-08-04T10:47:16.153-07:00

The Red Sox beat the Tigers tonight, 6-3, and hit three home runs in the process. After the game, Tessie and I watched highlights on MLB.com. (I think Big Papi is her favorite player.)

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-69338587767285684832008-05-03T18:20:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:51.101-08:00

So I decided to spend a little time on Saturday doing a few household chores, including tightening the screws that hold Tessie's changing table together. They'd loosened up some since the thing was first assembled, and the whole structure had become a bit rickety. No cause for alarm, of course, and Tessie was never in danger of the table collapsing out from under her, but the squeaks and rattles

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-17756502659179480102008-04-27T20:06:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:51.582-08:00

Tessie's latest favorite pastime is blowing bubbles. Fortunately, we found a spill-proof soap solution container that she can use on her own without creating a mess. Now, she asks for "bubbles" all day long, but she is well able to entertain herself quietly with them, and she's really cute doing it.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-82023290106151020642008-04-27T18:31:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:48:51.824-08:00

Tessie's day care held a fund raising event on Friday and modeled it after the Olympics. Tessie and her cohort (the "Pooh Bears") "competed" in a total of three events, and the whole thing took about twenty minutes, which is a significant improvement over the usual two weeks the real Olympics consumes. While there was no specific "cat herding" event, the staff certainly had Olympic potential; the

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-82534883186851527692008-04-19T21:43:00.000-07:002008-04-19T22:01:17.478-07:00

Tessie was even more delightful than usual at bedtime tonight. She seemed to really enjoy playing peek-a-boo with Mommy.

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913214778763547396.post-47569914584275967702008-04-11T15:12:00.000-07:002008-04-11T16:25:27.963-07:00

Over fifty years ago, the Barstow family of Wetherfield, Connecticut, won a trip to Disneyland in a contest sponsored by, of all things, Scotch tape. Proto-blogger Robbins Barstow shot some Super-8 footage, then added narration about 40 years later, and as all such things do, it ended up on the internet. This movie runs over 34 minutes, but every bit of it captures a quaint vision of

Tessie's Dadnoreply@blogger.com0