Tessa!

One of my favorite sisters Tessa (aka Teesa, aka Tessie) had some pto and decided to drive down for a visit! It was so much fun to have her and Reese was in heaven with Tessa in town to play with her and spoil her. The beginning of her trip was consumed with baby shower preparations. (I seriously could not have done it without Tessa.) Of course, what would party prep be without a trip to Wegmans?! I have talked it up so much to my family that Tessa couldn't go home without at least one trip to Wegmans. So, for two days straight Tessa and I spent most of our time in the kitchen--I think she said it was like going to cooking camp.

On Friday, after the baby shower was behind us, we went downtown to hit some museums. It was pretty rainy that day and parking is usually a disaster downtown, so it took us about 45 minutes to get down there, find a spot, and get to the museum. ugh.

Later that night, Dean flew into town for a quick sleep over before heading to Annapolis to attend a leadership seminar. Dean is the greatest guy...even though Tessa and I only got to visit with him for a few hours, it was so fun to get to see him. And the day trip to Annapolis was great! It finally stopped raining, and it turned out to be a really beautiful day. We went to the Naval Academy and walked around the campus a little bit before getting some lunch. The campus is really beautiful and right on the water in Annapolis--I haven't been there for a few years and was really excited to have the chance to go back.
As a side note: Reese was absolutely obsessed with Tessa for the entire week...constantly wanting Tessa to read to her, play with her, hold her hand...except for the few hours that Dean was with us--then Reese wanted to hold Dean's hand. As soon as Dean was gone, she was back to Tessie. And how cute are these three in this picture?!

On Sunday evening, Mike took us on his famous driving tour of DC. Along the way, we stopped near the Lincoln Memorial and walked along the Mall to the World War II Memorial. It was the perfect weather for an evening walk.

Reese loves to push her own stroller and I think it is hilarious when she gets in this position, as though it is such hard work! I promise, she begs us to let her push her stroller...Michael wants to channel that into mowing the lawn or something. You know, put that energy to good use, and all that.

A shot of the Lincoln Memorial from the fountains at the World War II Memorial.

Back on the driving tour, Reese was getting pretty tired and was ready to be in bed...so instead of stopping the car to get out and take a picture, Michael just slowed down in the intersection and Tessa popped out the window for a quick shot.

Reese and I were so sad to see Tessa go. We had such a fun week with her...baking, playing, staying up late every night to watch the Burn Notice marathon...oh, Tessie, come back soon!!!!!

Baby Girl Shower

I have been involved in quite a few baby showers over the last couple years, and they have all been for baby boys! Of course all baby showers are fun and I love to plan a menu for any festive occasion, but a couple weeks ago I co-hosted a shower for my friend's baby girl and I was so excited to make some fun food for the little princess!

On Martha Stewart's baby shower episode this spring, Dani Fiori made the most adorable onesie cookies and I was dying to try them. When I offered to help with Ashley's shower, I knew onesie cookie favors were going to be on the menu. My sister Tessa was in town and was such a big help in all the baking and preparations--we spent almost the entire day before the shower baking and decorating these onesie cookies (we even had Ashley come over late the night before to help us decorate...just because we were having so much fun and wanted her to join us!). I was very impressed with how they came out, if I do say so myself.
Other items on the menu were as follows:
Meringue cookies with mini chocolate chips...I left out the espresso powder and they were so delicious!!!
Chocolate raspberry bars with white chocolate and almonds...very good, if you like the chocolate/raspberry combo, but I would probably go easier on the jam next time.
Chocolate fountain with strawberries, bananas, and pineapple...compliments of Christin and Jessica
Yellow butter cake with vanilla buttercream...the most delicious frosting ever! (Even my husband, who says he doesn't like frosting, wouldn't eat the leftover cake without some extra frosting!)
Adorable pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and topped with sugar flowers...such a festive (and delicious!) addition to the table scape.
The party was a success and Ashley scored a ton of loot for the baby girl! Can't wait to meet the little dear!

Dinner time!

Dinner time with Reese is usually very entertaining. She opens up really wide for each bite, her lip-smacking is so funny and sweet, and when she likes something, she pauses to make a yummy sound. Reese has recently discovered that she loves corn on the cob--especially now that she's got eight front teeth!

Pinball

Reese has been doing so many cute things lately (well, always) and with Tessa in town (along with her functional camera), we've been taking lots of video! Reese loves her Aunt Tessie...only wants Tessa to read her books and hold her hand...and has been loving playing with her for the last few days! This is a new game that Reese taught Tessie.

who's the cutest baby?

Now that Reese is starting to talk a little more and mimic the things that others say, I thought it would be fun to teach her something new. She's been doing it for a few weeks now (my camera has been on the fritz) and I still think it is funny every time!