Another large batch of pictures... I get a little behind on updating the website when I'm busy at work.  This bunch of pictures covers almost a whole year!  Tess finished first grade, had her ballet recital, we went on a camping trip to Point Lookout, played outside, played inside, went to Ocean City a few times, had a couple field trips, and had a lot of fun in general.  Many of the pictures in this batch are out of order, but hey... they're close enough =)

At the end of the school year, Tess has her annual ballet recital.  Here are some pictures from this year's show.  To save time and space, I'm not including any pictures that don't include Tess this year.

Wow, a lot has happened since the last update.  Tess entered the first grade, and graduated (with a ton of awards and recognitions, I might add), we went to the National Zoo on a field trip, Tess had a ballet performance in the Salisbury Festival, a ballet recital at the end of the school year, played in the snow, went to Williamsburg (again), went to Busch Gardens with Grandpa, made friends with Lilly, became Word Girl for Halloween, went to the beach, went to a birthday party on a horse farm, AND lost her first several teeth! 

Busy year...

Tess had her 2nd ballet recital not too long ago.  It was an interesting and entertaining show.  She had two performances (one ballet and one tap dance) in this show.  There were some really great performances put on by the senior classes and the little girls were very funny at times.  Most of the photo credits here go to Harris, as my Canon S2IS camera doesn't perform well in low light/fast action scenarios.  Tess's class only has 4 girls in it, so that's why she looks like she's all alone on stage.

This little girl has way too much going on in her little life.  The pictures are a little out of order, but here are the highlights.  Tet (Vietnamese New Year) came and went.  That's her in the yellow and white dress (aoi dai).  We went to church a few times... it almost seems like an excuse to dress the girls up in little dresses and let them run around.  Tess and Eliza had matching Easter dresses; I'm noticing a trend.  I'm not really sure yet, but I think there's definitely a trend.

Tess's school had "Spirit Week", and there's a picture of her on "Mis-Match Day" with her Pippy Longstocking braids.  It was so cool she wanted to keep them forever.  Erica did an amazing job of making her hair stay up.  Tess also had a mini-ballet recital at the local Salisbury Mall - that's the picture with the heart-clad balley costume.  The other ballet picture is of her in her normal class.  We also went to Colonial Williamsburg, again.  It was on the cooler side of comfortable, but Tess loved it anyway.

"She's growing up so fast."  For anyone who's not a parent - you can only get a small idea of what this statement means.  I used to think I understood this line - but I now realize what it really means.  And perhaps my understanding will grow as she moves on to high school, college, gets married and has her own family.  I get nervous just thinking about it.  For those of you who are parents, I need not say more.

Tess started school this fall.  She goes to a private school about 15 minutes down the road.  Each morning when I see her in her uniform getting ready for school, I just want to squish her until she turns purple, although I never have.  She loves school, and she's doing well with the kids and teachers. 

We've gone fishing a few more times since the first trip.  She's getting much better, and really enjoys fishing.  I'm so proud each time she pulls one out and screams like a little girl.  She's still taking ballet once a week, and still likes it. 

The last few pictures are of her at church in her Christmas dress, and also the cookies and milk that she set out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.  The carrots are for the reindeer.

Tess's 5th Birthday Party (Neverland)

Tess wanted a Peter Pan birthday party this year.  Amazingly enough, with all of the kids attending, we only had ONE Tinkerbell!  Erica played the part of John, I was Peter Pan (the things we do for our children...), Tess was TigerLily (Indian Princess), Eliza was a pirate baby, and the massive piñata was the head of Captain Hook. 

Erica gets all the credit for pulling this party together.  If it were left up to me, she would have had an inflatable crocodile taped to the wall and a Peter Pan poster from eBay on the wall.

We've had a few more trips to the beach, and a few stops on Chincoteague here and there.  The pictures of Tess on the docks are behind Saigon Village restaurant on Chincoteague. We also went to the annual Salisbury Festival where I snapped a couple great pictures of her.  The first picture in the swing actually made it into the local newspaper and may be used for the flyers for next year's Festival ads.  The Festival coordinators and Salisbury Chamber of Commerce happen to be clients of mine; which is how Tess gets "magic bracelets" that let her ride everything as many times as she wants.  It sounds like a good deal until she wants to ride everything over and over and over again.

We also went to World War II Weekend in Reading, PA.  Tess was good sometimes, and bad some other times, but over all, she wasn't too terrible.  She regularly ran as hard as she could for a few hours, then fell asleep wherever she stopped.  There's a picture of her asleep in a lawn chair, and on the floor that weekend.  Tess spent some time outside riding her bikes and playing in the yard, swimming in a pool,  going to the zoo, learning to use power tools, going to the beach, and learning to roller skate... all good wholesome activities for a little kid. 

I was thrilled to have/make the opportunity to take her fishing for the first time.  We went to the local reservoir in Laurel, MD.  The water level was really low, the algae was really bad, and it rained right after we got there - but she loved it nonetheless.  She caught her first fish (5-inch baby Yellow Perch), and cried when we went to throw it back.  When asked why she was crying, she said that she wanted to take it home and eat it - so we did.  Please, don't call the DNR.

Tess had her first ballet recital, too!  It was great.  Little girls in costume trying to remember their moves and all watching each other for the next move.  Priceless.

There's also one picture of Tess in a yellow sun dress.  I made that for her after seeing the 1.5yd scrap on the remnant pile at the fabric store.  It's not stained, it's a tie-dye print.  Lastly, there's a picture of Tess in a gun turret - this is a real picture, and the safety was on... we're not bad parents.

So much has happened this year.  Tess enjoys Tet (Vietnamese New Years) at Great-Grandma's house, a wonderful spring time in the yard and at the beach.  Since we live so close to the beach, we often take Tess (and now Eliza) to the beach before the summer for a few hours every now and then.  It's still a little cool, so the beaches are almost completely empty; it's wonderful.

In March, Tess met her new little sister, Eliza Lee Nguyen.  She's been a great big sister and loves her Eliza dearly.  Then Tess turned 4 years old!  She chose to have a "pink party" this year.  Nothing but pink, pink everywhere.  Erica crafted another nearly iron-clad piñata in the shape of a pig.  After 30 minutes of beatings from children and adults alike, the piñata was eventually torn open by hand when the timing seemed right.

There's also a picture of Tess in a black and red cloak.  I made this for her on a whim while at the fabric store.  It's black faux velvet on the outside, red fleece with embroidered ladybugs on the inside, and faux fir trimmed all the way around.  It also has a matching muff (breaks down for machine washing).