Dada is showing me how to build a sand castle.

Tessie's first time playing in the sand.

Nothing says July 4th like cupcakes and homemade banana ice cream!

Happy July 4th from an all-American girl!

Don't I look cute in my watermelon dress?

Tess loved her first time in the pool.

Tess' favorite place to snooze-on Grandmere's lap.

One of Tessie's favorite pasttimes is dancing and lip-syncing to her favorite Colbie Caillat CD.

Tess is walking! Tess took a few steps on April 24, 2009. Then on her 13 month old birthday, April 25, 2009 she began to walk. She has been practicing quite a bit since then. Here's a video of one of her practice sessions.

Honorary grandparents- Cathy and Grant

First cupcake

A Happy Family

Happy Birthday, Tess!

PaPaw is a babyhog.

Tess' First Easter Basket

Two of our favorite girls Annelise and Ella Forrester had a bunny party and invited Tess.

Today is Tessie's first birthday. She spent the day with her Mom and Grandmere. We went out to eat lunch and supper! The big party is Sunday but we had a nice day together. Aunt Barbara sent Tess her first flowers. What a fun surprise. They are beautiful!!!

I know everybody thinks their child is "advanced for their age." But here's proof that Tess is definitely beyond her years. Not only does she read the local Chinese newspaper she also speaks fluent Chinese. We can't understand a word she is saying but we're sure it's proper Chinese.

Tess has had a hard couple of days with a runny nose, cough and fever. We were concerned about her passing her physical exam with all her symptoms. If they thought she was too sick, China would not let us take her out of the country until she got better. Fortunately, her fever went down and she started feeling better the morning of her exam. Thank goodness because there was no way we were leaving without her. Today she still has a cough but no fever or runny nose.

Here is Jane, our guide, doctor, teacher, caregiver, protector, bargainer and much more.

Tess is still battling her bad cold but she's such a trooper. This life on the road is hard on a little girl with a stuffy nose and sore gums.

We had a wonderful time yesterday at the zoo and art museum. By the end of the day Tessie started sneezing and coughing. Today she has a full blown cold. We have decided to keep her in today in hopes that we can get her better before we fly out to Guangzhou tomorrow. Here's a few pictures of Tess and her Grandmere per Abbie's request.

More Tessie Pictures.

Playing peek-a-boo