Conversation with Tenley

So there I was minding my own business, actually sitting down to do some business, when the bathroom door comes flying open as Tenley is yelling "Daddy, are you in there?" She was carrying this catalogue from BBC America with her. Following is what was said...

-

T: Daddy, is the doggy ok?

D: Yes the doggy is fine. Go back out to the living room!

T: But she is laying down, is she ok?

D: Yes she is fine.

T: Who is that man? What is he doing to the doggy?

D: He is petting her and she is laying down. She is fine!

T: Does she own him?

D: Yes, he probably does own the doggy.

T: Why is she laying down? Does she feel ok?

D: They were probably hunting and now she is resting. She is fine.

T: What were they hunting?

D: Birds.

T: Are the birds ok?

D: Probably not since they were being hunted. Go out to the living room!

T: So the doggy is resting?

D: Yes the doggy is resting.

T: I will give her a kiss to make her feel better.

D: That's nice. For the love of God, please go out to the living room!

-

She left the magazine with me and trotted off happy in the knowledge that even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the doggy, she made it all better by giving her a kiss.

Meanwhile, I forgot why I was in the bathroom in the first place. Better luck next time!

The Disneyland Birthday Party

What do you say about a day at Disneyland that involved 11 kids?? Well, the best thing about the day was, as usual, getting to see everybody. The bad thing was that as a group of 20+ people it was too hard to move together, and as a result we didn’t get to see some of the group nearly as much as we would have liked to.

We did all come together at 2 o’clock for “My Disneyland Birthday Party” where everyone (adults included!) got to decorate a small (dry, oversweet) birthday cake, be harassed by Pat E. Cake and visited by the giant rats. The kids loved it.

Tenley used her pretty smile and birthday girl status to full effect. By day’s end she had a sucker, a balloon, a pointy princess hat with mouse ears and her face painted.

My notes on the day:

1. Many thanks to Uncle Kev who not only signed us in, but used his Disney Slave discount to even things up at the birthday party when we found out that they raised the pp price from $10 to $18 between the time we made the reservation and the day of the party. Additional thanks for the plush Cinderella doll which Tenley spent the rest of the day clutching and is cuddled up with in bed as I type this.

2. If you attempt a gathering such as this, make sure everyone has your cell phone number. My apologies to Natalie who only had my home number, and who we didn’t find until the party at 2!!!

3. I brought 36oz of Costco trail mix with me on Sunday. Why? Because last time I brought 1 measly sandwich size ziplock and the kids (and parents) mowed through it in .2 seconds and were begging for more. This time I brought most of it back with me. Those of you who attended and did not eat your fair share of the 10g of fat per oz trail mix will be held personally responsible for my new CK jeans not fitting. My thanks to the girls at Jeff’s office who are “doing me a solid” and disposing of the offending snack.

4. Do not ride the Matterhorn unless you have a reliable chiropractor.

5. My sincerest thanks to everyone who came. It was quite the drive for some of you, but Tenley talked about seeing her friends and “China Sisters” the whole week before, and the 3 days since: you were the people she wanted to see and she (and we) were so excited that you came.

Ok, here’s the part everyone wants: the pictures. Here are just a few of the pictures we snapped during the birthday party. Enjoy!

Tenley & "future husband" James



Lauren wonders "What's in this??"
Answer: Lemonade on crack

James & Mommy admring his party hat

Unlike James, Jaxon is only happy about a hat when it is not on his head.

Lila does big sister duty and gets Ten's party hat just right.

Mmmm...frosting for lunch

James recieves artistic assistance.

Lila & Roxy: Cake decorators

Amanda & Katie: Cake destructors

Alexis (who undoubtedly had the best time) on sugar overload.

Tenley does candy shooters.

Someday you'll make Mommy's sorority proud.

A bad case of Frostingitis

"That tickles!"

Flutterby face

Mirror mirror on the wall...

Tenley Turns 3!

So 1 week ago today, the Tenster turned 3!

The special day was marked with a visit from Grandma & Grandpa who drove all the way down from Clovis just to be with her. Actually, they kicked things off the night before and brought Great-Grandpa over & we all had dinner at Ruby’s. Unfortunately, Ruby’s is in the mall, and not too far from the Build –A- Bear store. So it was while I was scoring a “birthday princess” t-shirt (for only $10!) from Gymboree, that Jeff walked in and told me I had better hurry up because George was about to get a new friend. Oh, God no- another stuffed animal is the last thing Ten needs- as it is there’s barely enough room in the bed for her. It was no use: a WWF cheetah had already been selected and was being stuffed. Tenley selected a fairy outfit for her, and named her Sarah- so at least she’s not a cross-dresser like George.



On Thursday morning, Grandma & Grandpa came back over and whisked the Tenley away with them to run errands. I have no idea exactly what they did, but I know they went back to the mall, because a stuffed Bambi (oy vey!) came home, courtesy of funds provided by Great-Grandpa. She returned home in the afternoon in time for a nap, but she was far too wound up. So instead we opened presents. Tenley really didn’t care too much about the contents of the box or bag; it was all about shredding the paper and throwing the tissue everywhere. Among the things she could have cared less about: Backyardigans color-by-number, a wild animal peg puzzle, a San Francisco 49ers track outfit (from Grandpa, of course), 2 new pairs of jeans (she was excited about those) and a giant floppy stuffed (here we go again) moose (from Aunt Beth & Uncle Bill).

Leave me alone. I'm busy.

Hey! Where's the rest??

With Daddy home and the shredding concluded, we headed off to the day’s main event: the LA County Fair. Having learned from our trip to the OC Fair, this visit was dedicated solely to Tenley activities. We headed straight for the livestock to admire the swine & cows and drink some of the yummy chocolate milk. Then it was off to the cheesy carnival rides. We hit kiddie midway number 1 and took a spin in some rocket ships and then a psychedelically painted rocking train.

The train reminded Jeff that there are some vintage trains that live at the fairgrounds (who knew?) and that they’re open for climbing on & whistle blowing. So we trouped off across the fair to see the cool trains…and grab some Hot Dog on a Stick on our way. Tenley liked the trains until someone blew one of the horns, and then that was enough of that.

However, we could see kiddie midway #2 from the trains, and that was where we spent the remainder of our visit. Ferris wheel, tea cups, carousel- she did it all. Eventually we were broke and exhausted and decided to pack it in. But the fair was a huge hit.

After we got home from the fair, I stayed up and baked cupcakes to take to her pre-school class the next day. I was gratified to see frosting smeared faces when I picked her up.

We didn’t get to see Grandma Suzie on the day, but she popped over on Saturday to present the surprise she’s had hiding in our garage for the last 3 weeks: Tenley’s first bicycle. It’s this adorable little 12” Schwinn Tigress. She loves it. As soon as Grandma wheeled it out she tossed her trike aside and hopped on. She then happily rode around the driveway & up and down the sidewalk for a good 40 minutes. Once again, Grandma Suzie shoots & scores in the gift game. We’re still working on the steering and getting her not to try to pedal backwards- thus engaging her brakes rather abruptly, but she’s doing better with the bike than she ever did with a trike!

All in all a good 3rd birthday for Miss Tenley Grace! And it’s not over yet! This Sunday we’ll be having a party at Disneyland with 25 of Ten’s (and our) closest friends. Plus the gifts just keep rolling in! She’s also received a cool matryoshka doll from Bumpa Don & Banana Beeps (she’s played with it daily and may already have lost pieces), and cute t-shirts and pearly pink tennis shoes (which she immediately decided looked like her ballet slippers) from Aunty Kim, and from Grandpa Duke a gift card to buy fish for the aquarium we got her. I may be writing thank you notes until next year!