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!