The 12 months of Tesla

One!

Where has this year gone!! I cannot believe Tesla is one already--it's been a fun year, that's for sure!

On the morning of her birthday, we took her to the beach, which is where her party was a couple days later.  She loved the water...

...and the sand!

 

Birthday dinner:  homemade pizza!

Her cake...with a lot of frosting on it!

She devoured the cake--really just the frosting.  She squished the frosting in her hand, looked at us and then proceeded to rub it all over her head!

The Frosting Monster trying to get me--she thought it was really rude that I carried her with arms stretched out on the way to the bath!

Post-cake bathtime--we now know that pink hair looks good on her!

 

Presents!!  Lennon was a slow present-opener and just preferred to play with his new clothes on his first birthday.  Tesla, got the hang of opening presents quickly and then was ready to move on to the next present after a minute of playing with each gift.  She also is more typical when it comes to getting clothes--she flings them over her shoulder to find out if there's anything under the clothes!

Tesla is loving books--and this one from Grandma and Grandpa is a hit!

Lennon with his new solar system ball that he got to open--though I don't think we really needed to get him his own present--a perk of being the older sibling is that all the presents she got, he gets to "share" as well, as Lennon likes to put it!

Lennon opening his states puzzle from Aunt Patti

Tesla not understanding the point of pulling the doggie--she just likes to carry it around!

Kisses for Grandma while she's reading a new book from Emery, Auntie Leah and Uncle Drew:

Tesla's Beach Birthday Party!

It couldn't have been a better day for a beach party--it was warm, but just as it began to feel hot, a gentle breeze started up.  Adam, Grandpa and Papa loaded up the truck with the canopies and tables and headed off to the beach early to claim our spot, sandwiched between the beach and the playground!  Tesla was ready to party!

Liking the second round of cake, which wasn't so bright pink and had less frosting on it.

Kisses from her brother!

Having a blast in the water!

All the kids having a blast!

The effects of missing naptime was starting to appear during presents:

Loving the hand-knit tunic from the Dows!

Popsicle Pinata!

Jordon was stone-faced most of the party...until the pinata appeared.  He was giggling, grunting during his swings and loving every minute of it!

Candy!

Silly faces before crashing after the party!

We love our little girl--she's becoming more and more fun as she gets older!  We took her to her 1-year doctor's appointment--she got a couple shots, which she does really well with--she only cries for about 30 seconds and makes sure to give the nurse a good scowl.  In the past, she hasn't had any side affects from the vaccinations, but this time she ran a mild fever for about 2-3 days (I think it was the MMR, the nurse said that's a tough one for them).

Here's where Tesla measures with her growth:

     *17 pounds, which puts her in the 5%, maybe a bit lower.  The doctor wants her to come back in a couple months for a weight check, since she's gained less than a pound since 9 months.  I told her that I wasn't concerned and that Lennon followed the same growth pattern, but she still wants to check.
     *28.5 inches long, which puts her in about the 40% for length
     *Her head circumference is about 18 inches, which puts her in about the 75-80%

Family Love

We've had a fun time with family this summer!  

We watched Jordon a couple times in May and had lots of fun...and Jordon seemed to have fun too, which we consider success!!  Jordon had a grand time being pushed by Tesla for like 15 minutes!

 

 They were supposed to switch off pushing each other, at least that's what Tesla thought.  Except when it was Tesla's turn to ride in the car, Jordon had no interest in pushing her, as you can see!

 

Emily & Jordan!

Emily and Jordan came into town for a visit, which was the highlight of May!  We haven't seen Emily since she moved to DC three years ago--too long!  And one of the best ways you can tell the greatness of a friendship is how you can pick right back up where you left off--love it!!

 

Lennon scooting on his skateboard that he got from Auntie Em and Jordan for his birthday!

 

 Lennon and Tesla were comfortable with Jordan right off the bat (which is saying something for Tesla to warm up to someone that fast).  Lennon had a great time playing with Jordan and Auntie Em!

  

Grandma & Grandpa!

We always look forward to Grandma and Grandpa coming for a visit...party!!

 

 

 Tesla doesn't get pushing toys--she just likes to carry them around.

Watching the Baby Beluga video on Grandma's computer has quickly become a tradition during their visits:

  

We ventured to the Nature & Science museum for the first time.  Lennon loved the Space exhibit, as we assumed he would.  We had tickets to the Planetarium and Lennon was not loving the experience.  I think the last time I went to a planetarium was in the 5th grade, so I forgot what it was really like.  Poor Lennon said he felt like the planets were going to fall on him, since the screen goes above and behind the seats.  He made it through the show, though, he just wrapped his hands around his eyes to eliminate his peripheral vision.  Tesla, on the other hand, was liking the show--she was waving and saying "hi" to all the planets!

 Liking the dinosaurs:

 Tesla was "roaring" throughout the prehistoric exhibit!

 Tesla's favorite word:  Hi!

 Digging for fossils:

 Tesla was just throwing the rubber pellets from the dinosaur dig on her head--I found a decent collection of them in her diaper that night!

 

 When did he get so grown-up!!  Our handsome boy!

 Bowling!!  Tesla took awhile to warmup to bowling--she was alseep and then awoke in a strange place, but she eventually had fun and started cheering everyone on!

 This was Lennon's "wait-for-it..." stance--so cute!

 

As with every visit--time goes too fast.  We're trying to convince them to come out in the fall--during a non-birthday/party time!

  

As with Lennon, Tesla knows her beer at an early age...

 And she's not happy if you deprive her of it!

 Silly Lennon--I'm loving his goofy side that we see more and more!

 LOVE!  When they come to visit, Grandpa is on bedtime duty per Lennon's request.  The night they left, Lennon sighed and said to Adam, "I guess you'll have to put me to bed tonight," followed by another sigh.

 

 Grandma is the perfect silly partner in crime!