Last Flight of the "Busy Bee"

Here’s Tenley modeling the adorable yellow “Busy Bee” pj’s that Susan gave to us in China when it turned out that I only brought 1 item of sleepwear that was going to fit. They were great – just a bit big, and the theme was oh so appropriate. I had Jeff hold her hands so I could get this picture, because it’s probably the last time they will be worn. My little girl is 13 months today, and the once “a bit too big” jammies are now “a bit too small”. As tiny as Tenley is by US growth charts, I’m amazed at how much she’s grown in the 14 weeks since we’ve been home. The day after Gotcha, I put her in a 3-6 month outfit that actually fit her (at 9 months old). Mostly she was a solid 6 month size; many 6-9 month clothes were too big. Now, the 6 months are history, and I’m slowly retiring the 6-9’s in favour of solid 9’s and a few 9-12’s. Sadly, I think she has some precious outfits that will never fit again, and many that never made it on her body!

In other news:

Tenley also has her first cold. Her nose was a little runny and we attributed it to teething, but a couple days later the sneezing began, and now she’s all stuffed up with gobs of disgusting green goo leaking out of her olfactory appendage. It’s sticky, gross, vile and relentless. It also means that my mostly non-drooling child now rivals a St.Bernard because she has temporarily turned into a mouth breather. Sleep has been spotty: sometimes the Benadryl lets her sleep, but she wakes up every time she rolls over and can’t breathe. She tries very hard to go back to sleep, but it’s extremely difficult to suck your thumb and breathe through your mouth, and that makes her angry and then the screaming begins. But, misery loves company, and like any good little germ monger she has shared her nasty cold with Mommy & Daddy. Gee, thanks!

The cold has not stopped her from practicing her new found walking skills. She still has a tendency to lead with her chest, and sometimes you can see her standing there wanting to take a step – but forgetting how to make her feet move! However, if there’s something she wants badly (like say, a blissfully unaware sleeping cat to terrorize) she’ll take off at a trot without thinking twice. She’s also most comfortable walking barefoot (which I’m told is normal), if you put her tennis shoes on she becomes very awkward & clumsy because she can’t bend her feet the same way.

And since she’s got a whopper of a cold, she has suddenly figured out how to give kisses! For the last few weeks if you puckered your lips and made the kissy-kissy sound while you showed her your cheek, and if it was an odd numbered day, the moon was full, and the tide was breaking to the left she would gift you with a toddler kiss that’s really more like getting your cheek licked as she presses her open mouth and tongue against your cheek. This week she has started giving them out spontaneously, and has decided to kiss/lick on the lips. While I treasure every gooey second of them, I wish she had figured this out when she wasn’t sick!