Happy 1st Birthday Tessa!

*I came in to get your pic on your b-day morning... I guess I didn't come soon enough!*

Tessa-girl is 1 yrs old. Yikes! How does that happen?! I'm not sure, but it always does. Even difficult years have a way of going by fast. So thankful for all of the grace this year that the Lord has given. It has been a challenging year, but a wonderful one all at the same time. And one filled with much, much love and warm memories. So... to show gratefulness for a year of life God has graciously given, we celebrated on Sunday with Aunt Beth, Uncle Devon, Reuben, Theo, and all of your brothers. I made you a vanilla bean cake with homemade vanilla bean frosting tinted pink with beets from the garden. Yum!

Tess, you are very spunky little one year old -- you are very grabby and will cling onto us like a monkey if you want to be held. You smile a lot, and you can keep up with your bros just fine. Myles is in for it as soon as you start walking... it won't be long as you are  pulling yourself up and cruising around furniture! You sign 'more,' 'all done,' 'eat,' and 'drink.' You wave bye-bye and say sounds to imply 'thank you,' 'all done,' 'hi,' and 'bye.'

You know all of your brother's names - and if we say give Myles a kiss, you look right at him and open your mouth wide. He loves it! The boys are in love with you... you can do no wrong... except cry in the car endlessly! Then they'll say you're annoying. For the most part, you sleep all night. You are not a big cuddler but you will put your head down on Daddy's shoulder, not Mommy's. You are missing your two front teeth, so you look a bit like a vampire! :) Hopefully they'll grow in soon. You are stinking adorable!!! You play with matchbox cars and balls all the time - sorry, we did get a baby doll for your b-day and so did Aunt Beth. And you even have another one from a baby shower.

*I think you're wondering who's b-day it is???*

So, maybe you'll play with girl toys after all! All in all, you are the sweetest thing and we love, love, love you!!!!!!!

Vacation

Jonathan's parents now permanently reside in the sunny state. The perks to that is we can go when we want and return when we want. So, this year, we stayed for a full 14 days. And it was wonderful! They live in a golf-cart community, so once we arrived, we only had to get in our car about 4 times the entire trip. That was awesome! Kids had a blast doing 'grandparent camps' - they did Tae Kwon Do (sp?), magic camp, made their own pizzas at the pizza shop, and a golf cart scavenger hunt. Overall, it was an incredible time of relaxing and spending time with family. We came back feeling very rested!

*I took 5 bathing suits for Tessa.. all given to me. She loved them*

*Just a small sampling of all our rides on the golf carts* 

*Everyday is pool day when you're with our kids! Even Myles and Tessa LOVED the water!*

*We took a day trip to Tarpon Springs. The pictures tell the story...*

*Every morning... these two monkeys were up and at it bright and early!*

*Rainbow Loom... ever heard of it? The boys spent HOURS working making bracelets.*

*Happy 4th of July!*

*The boys slept in a screened-in porch... kind of like glorified camping. Grandma put the boys to bed almost every night. She read books and kept the boys very calm... :)* 

*These 4 spent a lot of time together*

*Grandpa took the boys golfing most evenings and even got them clubs cut to their size. *

*The three amigos. After 7pm, you can golf on any course for free. So they'd head out right about when the babies went to bed. Worked out great... the house always felt very quiet and calm.* 

*A lot of pre-dinner hours looked like this... tired kids!*

*Love these kiddos!!!* 

*Buds* 

*Anybody want a pretzel stick?*

*The very last day we were there, Wyatt and Myles woke up with 102 fevers and ear infections. Glad it was the last day. But of course, Grandma never disappoints when it comes to entertaining :)*