The Best Year

Happy FIRST Birthday, Tenley!!

You are doing SO much these days that it's hard to keep up with you. Lets see if I could remember all the new things you're doing this month...

• Believe it or not, you only weighs 22.5 pounds and are almost 31 inches tall- super model status right there.
• You now have 8 teeth- 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom.
• You now wear a size 6 diaper and a size 6 shoe (for now).
• You started to walk right after you turned 11 months old and quickly took off with it. Now you can pick things up as you walk and carry them all around the house. You're a total walking machine and it is thee cutest thing I've ever seen!
• Your favorite words are Momma, Dadda, "Golly" (we think you are referring to milk), and "Oggie" (referring to Pearl).
• You love to shake your finger at Mommy as if you're saying, "no, no, no!"
• You can sign milk, all done, hello/goodbye, and you can also point to what you want. Although you know the sign for milk you still think it is appropriate to lift my shirt while signing because you're impatient- silly girl.
• When you need your diaper changed you walk to your room, when your ready for a nap you go to your swing, and when you are ready for a bath you go to your bathroom. You are very good at communicating what you want.
• You love to be a "big helper". You carry your diapers that are in trash bags to the garage, you love to "fold the laundry", and you love to clean the tile with dryer sheets or your picnic basket blankets.
• You are now able to climb into the bath tub and you refuse to sit in the tub; which makes bath time very difficult. For some reason you are terrified of your butt touching the bottom of the tub, but I've grown to accept this phase because I know this phase will soon be over and then you'll be doing something that will show me that you're an even bigger girl so I better cherish this phase while I can and make the best of it.

It seems like just yesterday that your Daddy and I were welcoming you into this world and now we are looking back at your monthly photos to see all of the changes you have made over the past year...

...you have developed thee cutest/silliest/funniest personality and everyone that knows you will agree that your giggles are contagious. I don't know what I did before your smile woke me up everyday. Your presence truly makes each day brighter. You have changed me into a stronger person and really shown me what it is to be a mother. I would do anything for you and I love you more than words can express. Your father and I always say that you're a pretty awesome kid and that you "crush it" a lot because you are so awesome. I don't know what we did to deserve you as our daughter, but we thank God for you everyday. Thanks for making this year the best year of our lives!

Here's to another happy and healthy year of you "crushin' it"- I'm sure it will go by much faster now that you are practically running!

Mommy and Daddy love you, Sugar!

Weekly Update

Baby girl continues to walk everywhere (with her main squeeze- Piglet):

She sneaks Pearl puffies alllll the time (and Pearl throws them up the next day):

She carries her picnic basket around like a purse:

She signs for milk non-stop...

...post-milkie face:

She also laughs non-stop:

Big girl had to be switch to forward-facing in her car seat because every time I tried to put her in her car seat she'd flex her legs and stand so I could never get that maniac buckled in... Now she gets to stare at me the whole time:

Poor thing is getting her canines and was fighting naps so badly this week that I found her like this in her swing...

...it even made her cheek red!

She was fine when she woke up though because she was back to running around with Piglet (or Shiglet as we like to call him):

One of T's birthday gifts came in the mail and I couldn't help but notice how long and lean she looked as she peered into the box:

(Total Model Status)

She walked up and down the hallway:

Since Ed's work schedule changed, Tenley has been enjoying waking up and snuggling with Daddy...

...she also loves Daddy's blueberry pancakes for breakfast:

She still loves Mommy's chicken, too:

She tried Cheerios for the first time:

(However she will NOT be eating them anymore because they make her suppper gassy.)

I made Tenley mini homemade organic pumpkin pies for her 1 year photo shoot:

Autie Frannie came over and Tenley was excited to show off her walking skills:

Tenley passed out after her 1 year photo shoot:

Presents from Ohio started to roll in and Tenley Bear was beyond excited:

(Waiting to open these until her actual birthday!)

She also started getting presents from us for her "Week of Presents"- Day 1 was a Halloween book:

Day 2- Doc McStuffins DVD:

She continues to say "Golly" all the time:

(She says "Golly" and "Oggie" non-stop!)

Francesca came over to watch the Steelers beat the Bengals and Tenley enjoyed her first bite of pizza (and couldn't get enough!):

Until next time! :)

Weekly Update

Remember how I told you that Tenley started to walk last Sunday?!

Well, they say it isn't official until it is documented. So I took pictures, of course...

...and video to prove it!!

(She took 20 some steps there!! One proud Momma right here!!)

After all that walking Tenley and Daddy were exhausted and needed a break:

I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY IS WALKING!!

She is still crawling as her main means of getting around, but now she walks without us even telling her to and she is getting better each day! It's amazing and fun to watch her learn. It's also funny to see how proud she gets of herself; she is just too cute.

After her walking skills took off, we went to the pumpkin patch the following day where baby girl continued to walk up a storm!

I used to think that Tenley was a maniac before, but now she is even more crazy! She is always on the go so I can never seem to get this kid fully dressed...

She only takes quick breaks for things that she wants to do, of course:

She can now walk around on the tile and likes to play peek-a-boo behind the walls:

She is going through thee most annoying phase where she will only stand in the bath tub; which makes bath time SUPER hard when I'm by myself. Walking has really opened a can of worms for bath time, but lets hope it's just a phase. In the meantime, I'll make due with bathing her standing up:

Poor thing is getting a bunchhhh of teeth and we've had a rough couple of nights trying to rock her to sleep. Luckily, Tenley has always been the type to just nurse in the middle of the night and fall back to sleep (if she even wakes up), but for the first time EVER we experienced 2 long and exhausting hours of screaming in the middle of the night. After those 2 hours she slept for 2 hours and woke up at 6 am. It was rough, but I am so fortunate that Ed is such a present father. A lot of guys would sleep through the 2 hours of screaming or just ignore it, but there he was tapping my shoulder offering to take over after I couldn't calm her down. We take turns so we don't lose it. We're a team and that's why I love him. He is so patient with Tenley and will never complain about helping out. He didn't mind rocking her at night one bit and I think he liked the extra cuddles he got from our typically not-so-cuddly baby girl:

Since our friends, The Robbins, were also up early due to lame teething issues we met up for breakfast at The Sunset Cafe; which was delish! Tenley's handsome boyfriend, Conrad, even shared his Mickey Mouse pancakes with her so she forgot allll about her aching gums. After our scrumptious breakfast T immediately passed out in the car:

During the past few weeks Tenley has transitioned back into a Daddy's girl and will NOT let him leave her sight. She screams, crys, and grabs for him when he tries to leave the room:

(Sweetest thing EVER.)

The next day we went to Sofia's FIRST birthday party where T continued to remain close to Daddy (she has to get in extra cuddles when she can). She also stole Daddy's cantaloupe and loveddd it:

When it was time for Sofia to smash her cake she wasn't too sure about it...

...so Karina picked Tenley up to give her some encouragement:

...and Sofia, being the sweetie that she is, shared her icing with T:

...then she chowed down and went on a sugar high:

I can't believe Sofia will be 1 on the 16th! It seems like just yesterday Karina and I were in our HypnoBirthing class and now we have become so close! What a fun birthday party for the little munch! I just love that lil' girl.

Until next week! :)