Weekly Update

Christmas is officially over (whomp, whomp, whomp) and believe it or not, but T-bird is 14 months old...

...she is what I like to call a "carboholic". Carbs are her second favorite thing next to breastmilk. My little Italian loves pasta, ravioli and bread. She HATES beef. I mean, if she accidentally grabs a piece of meat, while shoveling mashed potatoes in her mouth, the meal will be over because she will be so utterly pissed. She has become the biggest copy cat and it is so, so funny. Every time I pump gas I put hand sanitizer on after and she mimics the gesture (this has been going on for awhile now, but whatever). If you tell her to put on her lotion she'll start rubbing her hands and arms as if she's greasing herself up. Her favorite thing to do (beside reading books) is to help me with the laundry. If my closet door just so happens to be open, then I better be prepared to do laundry because she will start taking the clothes out of the hamper and "sorting" them how she sees fit. So once I accept that I'm going to do laundry, I begin to sort the piles and my big helper will grab these massive loads and carry them to the laundry room and she will go back and forth until the whole pile is in the laundry room. While she does this she runs back and forth, panting and grunting because she takes the laundry very seriously. When Ed witnessed her in action the other day her was laughing so hard. She also likes to scrub the floors with wipes...she will literally copy everything you do. I swear I'm not making her CInderella or anything she just sees me clean and do the laundry so she does it, too. 

 It's scary. She is getting very independent- trying to feed herself with utensils and washing herself in the tub. I just wish I could freeze time because I think this is my favorite age so far. Don't get me wrong I totally miss cuddling my teeny baby, but I love that I can ask Tenley for a hug or kiss and get it. I can't get enough of the moments at this age when Ed and I are dressing Tenley after her bath and were taking turns giving her raspberries on her belly while she lets out the loudest laughs, then I nurse her and rock her to sleep. Seriously, those are the nights I live for- I will always remember them and when Tenley is fighting with me because I won't let her stay out late with her boyfriend (if Ed ever lets her have one) I will tell her of those moments so she knows that I do everything with love.

Anyways, baby girl turned 14 months and is already driving...say wha?? Well not quite, but she totally warmed up to her plastic Benz...

...Grammy even got in on the action:

...when Daddy found out Tenley Bear warmed up to her Benz he was thrilled:

All that driving really exhausted T because she slept super late and kicked me out of bed the next morning:

When she finally woke up she took Dolly for a ride:

We went to breakfast at Egg Works and Miss Chunky Cheeks was stoked...

...all the scrambled eggs, turkey sausage and bread really had her fired up:

The next morning Tenley showed me that she's a firm believer of 'sharing is caring':

Tenley took pictures with her Minnie Mouse camera...

...and played with her holiday Minnie:

We went to The Venetian to check out their light bulb tree with my in-laws:

The next day we took them to see the Christmas Conservatory at The Bellagio...

...we even got to take Tenley to see the fountains from the front:

...and she was in awe:

Sunday was the Steelers last game of the season (BOO!!) and since my mom bought Tenley a jersey for Christmas we had to get all decked out in our Steelers gear for their last game:

Baby looked so cute as she watched them destroy the Browns:

Tenley and Daddy goofed off while I watched the game...

...and Tenley even figured out how to use the gas pedal in her Benz:

Until next week! :)

A Very Blessed Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve relaxing since I did most of the cooking the day before. Per tradition, Tenley opened 1 gift (jammy jams that came with a puppy) from Mommy and Daddy, but this year we added to the tradition and everyone got matching pajamas (even Pearl). Tenley also got a cookie plate for Santa:

That night, Tenley also got a box from Ohio with a bunch of goodies. We decided to open them that night so she wasn't opening presents ALL day on Christmas...

...first she opened her gifts from Grandma Cathy:

 

(Thanks, Grandma!!)

...then she got a Jingle snow globe from The Georges (she is obsessed with snow globes):

(Thanks, Great Aunt Jul, Great Uncle Bill, Sara, and Rachel!!)

...then she got a Holiday Minnie Mouse from her Great Grammy:

(Thanks, Great Grammy!!)

...per tradition, my Grammy also sent us some Oplatek to have with our dinner:

After Tenley finished opening her presents we did some more light-seeing and found these gems...

...this was our favorite:

When we got home Tenley passed out from her busy day of opening presents and light-seeing, then Ed and I got to play "Santa"; which we were looking forward to so much this year! We were cracking up sneaking around the corners and whispering... As we snuck Tenley's "big" gift - her Benz - in through the garage I almost peed my pants because Ed was trying to be so quiet while I kept saying, "Beep! Beep!"  and we were cracking up... Can you tell that Tenley made the super duper good list this year?

We even left proof of "Santa's" visit:

Tenley woke up at 5:30 on Christmas morning ready to open presents...

...at first she was just not sure of her biggest gift from Santa- her shiny Mercedes Benz:

...she began to warm up to it once Pearl hopped in the passenger seat:

...then Daddy showed her how it worked:

...and she still was not impressed:

...so she moved on to the rest of her presents:

...luckily, Santa came through with a second car and Tenley instantly loved this one:

This year, T got to chow down on our traditional Christmas morning egg soufflé in her big girl booster seat:

Then, Grandma and Grandpa D arrived and she was so excited that she stood at the window saying, "ooooooh" as they got out of their rental car:

Once they arrived it was like Christmas all over again...

...and Tenley had fun opening presents again with Grammy:

...so much fun that she started to get sleepy:

Then my mother-in-law surprised me with my favorite Christmas desert- BUCKEYES:

Then they surprised Ed and I with this awesome gift... When I was pregnant, Ed and I played cornhole in Ohio for the first time and had a blast! A while ago my in-laws told me about this guy in Struthers who custom made these legit cornhole boards. Then two weeks before Christmas they had this 50lb box shipped to us and I had no idea what it was. Ed said he had an idea, but wouldn't tell me. It drove me nuts for 2 weeks. My mother-in-law said we could open it, but I told her I wanted to open it when they got here since we hadn't spent Christmas with them in 8 years. This is what was in the box:

I screamed and went nuts. No one can ever surprise me and I was totally shocked- 100%. They are perfect! Tenley wasted no time playing (she must've remembered playing while in my belly):

Ed and I also got these super cute Mickey and Minnie coffee mugs:

(Thanks so much!!)

Once we were done opening presents we finally got a family picture in our matching PJs:

Then, we got ready for dinner at our place with the fam:

(Seriously?! Her personality is unreal!!)

Since moving to Las Vegas, I do as much as I can to keep our families traditions alive in Vegas so I make Christmas Dinner from scratch (even if it's just for Ed and I). However, this year was even more special to us because my in-laws were here to celebrate with us. I was beyond excited to be able to cook and bake for them for once. The last time we sat together for a Holiday meal I was just Eddie's high school girlfriend in Ohio so this was really special. The only hiccup with dinner was that the pierogies didn't take since I made them 2 days earlier as opposed to 1 day like I normally do, but it ended up being fine because we still had wedding soup, pasta, meatballs, sausage, stuffed cabbage, and salad. It was a delicious meal and even better because it was with our family.

Last year, I thought that it had been thee best Christmas ever because we were blessed with the greatest gift from God just 2 months earlier; however this Christmas was unreal! Santa was unbelievably generous to my little angel, my husband spoiled me with a spa gift card for Green Valley Ranch AND bought me the new iPhone 5, Tenley and I bought Ed tools, but most importantly it is not the material items that we received, it is the love that we have and that we are healthy and able to spend the holidays together.

I hope everyone had a very blessed Christmas!