Last Tuesday, September 27, Tenley turned the big 1 year old! We celebrated all weekend long. Below is a picture of the onesies I made for her big week. I loved the idea, but didn't want to spend the money on them - and I'm sure glad I didn't. They were super easy.
First, we had a family party with my side of the family, celebrating all 6 of the September and October birthdays (Tenley, Annie, Stephen, Angie, Sam, and Gary). Ages ranged from 1 (Tenley) all the way up to 70 (my dad). Ya know, I used to think 70 was old, but my dad keeps proving me wrong every year. I think he is the happiest, most hard-working, and most sharp 70 year old I've ever heard of. He keeps up with Tenley better than me on many days. Although, I am now just over 6 months pregnant, so I blame the slowing up on that. :)
Anyway, the party was a lot of fun. I always enjoy spending time with our family together. Only wish Scott, Beth, Gabi, and Matt could have been there. Dad made his famous homemade ice cream and it looked like Christmas with all the presents floating around. Tenley got some really fun toys, but I think her favorite part of the night was her first taste of chocolate & icing - a cupcake she devoured with her bare hands. I think she especially enjoyed it because I never let her get dirty when she eats, and she was a mess!
The next night, we celebrated with Stephen's family. We were going to have the party at our house, but we were counting on outdoor space and it poured rain all weekend long. So we moved the party to my parents' house, which worked out great. We still had ping pong set up in the garage from the previous night's party, and there was enough room for everyone to eat together. Again, I think Tenley's favorite part was the cake. I had made Bungy cake for that party - only the best cake ever invented on the whole planet. Scott made it up. It's Devil's food layer cake with chocolate pudding in the middle, all covered in whipped cream and topped with chocolate shavings. YUM!! With all of that gooiness, Tenley was even more of a mess that night. We stripped her down to her cute green cloth diaper and a pink bow afterward. That girl is so stinkin' cute! She had a super fun time playing with Navy too. She just loves getting to play with other kids.
She spent most of her real birthday with good ole Momma. We played and tried to make the day special in little ways. She spent the evening with Grandma and Grandpa Roehr while I had Bible study. While she was there, she learned to play the piano. Well, she learned of the piano - and loves to play her own little songs.
It is just crazy how fast she is growing up. I feel like I have really tried to drink in every stage of her life, but no matter how hard I try to hold on and remember, she just keeps growing! Kids are good at that. :) I absolutely love watching her learn new things and grow up, but it's also hard to let go at each stage. I just feel so blessed that God created Tenley and allowed me to be her Mommy. Thank you, Lord.
Tenley is walking like a pro, as long as she has a hand or two to hold. I don't think it will be long before she lets loose and realizes she can do it all by herself. Her favorite things to do are walk around the backyard with Grandpa, play with blocks, dance, play with other kids, take walks in the stroller, talk, and learn about new things by chewing on them. She is still the happiest, most content kid I've ever met.
As far as other developments, she sleeps about 12 hours at night and naps 3 hours a day, still hates to chew her food - but will bear it anyway because she's such a trooper, and her only 2 words are Mama and Dada. Dada is a new development as of yesterday, and Stephen is eating it up. I can't blame him!
Another fun thing Tenley got to do recently was bond with my childhood kitty cat, Midnight. We got her when I was just 7 years old - so this fall she was 18 1/2! Tenley and Midnight loved each other right away. We wouldn't let Tenley touch Midnight, because her playfulness may have hurt kitty. :) Also, Midnight sheds a lot and is an outdoor cat, and I thought it better to avoid all of that mess. You could tell Midnight was getting older and slower, but she just loved Tenley. She would run after her and my dad in the backyard and watch her play from outside the patio. Tenley got a kick out of Midnight too. She just loved to watch her and giggled so much! I'm glad they had their moments, because just a couple days ago we had to put Midnight down. She was getting so old, and her joints were not doing well. She was so skinny and had lost a lot of muscle. She had a few other problems too, and wouldn't have held up well for another cold winter. It was sad, but it was time. 18 1/2 years is a long time for a cat, and I'm glad Tenley got to meet her.
Just a short update on baby #2 - Hayden Titus Helm: So far, so good. The last ultrasound looked great, so fortunately, no more of those! The only things we really check on at my appointments are his heart rate and my size. Measuring right on track, and his heart rate is great. We have roughly 3 months left until we meet this sweet little boy. I have a feeling Tenley will just love him. She loves babies and doesn't get jealous when Stephen or I hold a baby. She is just very interested in playing with babies, so I think our biggest obstacle will be making sure she is not too rough. I think Tenley will welcome Hayden into the family with big wide open arms!
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