The Little T Turns One!

I know it is cliche to say I can't believe how fast the time goes, but seriously, I can't believe that my little baby girl is already one. She has been such a wonderful baby and now she is turning into an adorable little toddler with her own personality, funny expressions, language, and "party tricks".


One Year Stats:

Weight {as you can see in the photo above} 22.5 lbs / 70%

Height 30.5" / 89%

Head Circumference 97% {It has to be those cheeks!}


At one year old, Teagan...

• has four teeth on the bottom and almost two on the top
• smiles all the time
• is still in love with her brother and laughs at almost everything he does
• lets you know when she wants something
• has no problem telling her brother to leave her alone
• talks a lot
• loves babydolls and is very sweet with them as she rocks, covers them with a blanket, and pats them, although not very gently
• also loves real babies and gets upset if she can't touch them
• knows that a comb is for her hair, actually lets you do her hair, and leaves barrets in
• holds up her foot when you say you want to put her socks or shoes on
• LOVES food
• likes to drink from a cup and use utensils even if mama really still wants to feed her
• can hold her own when tackled and has a funny laugh when tickled
• likes to climb up and down stairs
• crawls faster than any baby I have ever seen {maybe that's why she isn't in a hurry to walk}
• takes three or four steps before she sits down, and when she is taking those steps she is almost running while laughing hysterically. She'll be walking for real any day now, we think?!

At one year old, Teagan says...

• Mama
• Dada
• Bra {when addressing Owen, maybe for brother? Not sure, but it is definitley for Owen.}
• Bubba {for Diesel, which is also what we call him most of the time}
• Manda {for Amanda}
• Na-na and Pa-pa {both of which is a very distinct higher ending}
• Na, na, na, na {for FEED ME}

At one year old, Teagan signs...

• the sign for milk whether she wants milk or something else to drink/eat
• the sign for eat
• the sign for thank you {however only to imitate what you are doing, not on her own, and if she does it on her own she really means she wants food}
• the sign for all done in an exagerated way, or she just pushes her chair away from the table ever so lady-like

At one year old, Teagan's party tricks are...

• how big is Teagan? So big!
• clapping
• shaking her head no on command and then whenever she feels like it
• blowing bubbles and imitating other noises with your mouth
• dancing
• giving baby dolls and stuffed animals hugs and kisses
• giving us kisses when we say puss puss {Swedish for kiss, kiss}

We love our sweet and silly Teagan and enjoy watching her change, grow, and develop into her own little personality every day! Thank you for being you!

Thankful for Amanda

I am making a collage for Teagan for her first birthday and I realized I didn't have that many pics of her with Amanda, our nanny. So I snapped a few before I went to work. Amanda has become a very important part of our lives and we are very thankful for her. When I found out that I was pregnant with Teagan and knew I wouldn't be able to stay home with her or take her to work with me like Owen, we decided to hire a nanny rather than sending her to daycare as an infant. We are so happy we made that decision and even happier we found someone like Amanda to care for The Big O and Little T.




Thanks Amanda, we love ya!

Teagan EATS...

...and eats, and eats, and eats!
Seriously though, I am thankful to have two very healthy eaters. Both Owen and Teagan will eat just about anything I put in front of them. In fact, the other day Owen and I were pretending to set up for a party and I asked him what kind of food we should have at the party and he said Indian and Thai food. Hilarious.

Halloween

We started out the day at Keller's second birthday party, then it was off to the Wildeman's for their annual Halloween parade and party. We had fun at the Greene's and it was nice to celebrate Keller, who is Mike's godson.
Here is a pic of Keller about to start one of the games we had set up for the party.

His birthday cake made by Auntie Linda. She makes amazing cakes for every celebration and we all keep telling her she should make them professionally.

This year Owen was a pirate, so we all dressed up as pirates. I had bought Teagan a pj set of a skeleton that glows in the dark and thought she could wear that for Halloween. However, whenever someone asked what she was going to be for Halloween, Owen kept telling people she was going to be a princess, which obviously I would never choose to dress my daughter as. So, I thought a good compromise would be a skeleton princess. I added the tutu and head-dress that my friend Nancy had given her and she was adorable.

It was fun to see so many of our friends throughout the day at the two different parties. Caitlin and baby Kaia above at the Greene's, Steve and baby Myles below when we arrived at the Wildeman's.

Tom and Henry, who is dressed as a monkey.

The gang walking in the parade.

Willy D and baby Mason adorable together.

Kristen and Hagan, Tat and Teagan


The Powers Family




After the parade and a few pics, it was time for trick or treating. Owen was extremely excited because he remembered last year.

We went around the block plus a few more houses with Lilli, which was enough for both of them.

The two of them were so cute together. They waited for one another and ran and laughed together.



While Owen was having fun with his little girlfriends Lilli and Carey, Teagan was lovin' baby Myles, who was also dressed as a skeleton.


I knew it was going to be a late night and that the Powers were staying over at the Wildeman's, so I brought the kids pj's and we put them all down for the night so we could hang out a little longer. It was fun to catch up on some adult time too.

Overall, it was a great Halloween. It's hard to believe that next year Teagan will be running around and walking in the parade too. I wonder what they both will choose to dress up as...

Halloween Pre-K Style

First of all, I can't believe my little guy goes to school. Even if it is only for 2 1/2 hours a day. Owen really seems to enjoy it, although some mornings it is hard to get him out the door. The Friday before Halloween he got to wear his costume to school for a parade and then Teagan and I came back for their Halloween party.
Here is Owen saying "arg" as he ate breakfast as a pirate before we left for school.


Owen and Michael. How funny is his hotdog outfit?!

The fun thing about Owen's preschool class is that it is the same school he will be going to for elementary school. So the friends he makes now, he could potentially have for life. It will be fun to look back on this class picture years from now.

Teagan has no problem getting involved in the classroom and making herself comfortable. She does get a little annoyed though in the mornings when we drop her brother off and all the kids run over to her. They all love baby Teagan.

The parade! Owen wanted to hold his teachers hand and be at the front of the parade. Mrs. Robey said Owen is very affectionate and often wants to hold her hand. She loves it.

After school Daddy was being silly chasing the kids around with the camera. I was making Halloween cookies for a party the next day otherwise I would have caught it on video. Owen and Teagan were both making hysterical snorting and laughing noises.


One of Teagan's favorite new things is to climb the stairs. Watch out! We take her off and put her on the other side of the family room and then she laughs as she quickly crawls back to the stairs. It's pretty funny... sometimes.

Eva-Lena Och Robert

The Monday after my birthday Eva-Lena and Robert came to visit for the week from Sweden. Eva-Lena was my "host mother" when I was an exchange student in high school, and Robert is therefore my "Swedish brother". They were in NC visiting my "Swedish sister" Anna, who is studying at Pembroke. It was so good to see them, to have them see where I live and spend time with my family. The last time I saw them was when my mom and I took Owen to Sweden for Madde and Andy's wedding. Owen was only five months old then, so Eva-Lena really enjoyed seeing the little person he has become. We did the usual touring of downtown Providence and Barrington, and then went to the Willards for a night too. I made Eva-Lena make some of my favorites like her Swedish meatballs and pancakes, and then we had some American classics too like having pizza delivered.
The Roger Williams Park Zoo was having a pumpkin festival, which is very American, so I made sure to take them to see it. After an extremely long line, in which I bought Owen a glow stick to entertain him, we made it to the pumpkins. They were very impressive and well worth the wait.



See all the tiny lights on the trees? Those are actually hundreds of mini pumpkins on strings of lights. Very cool!






Teagan and Eva-Lena hanging out. I missed doing this with Eva-Lena and it reminded me of all the time we spent together just talking the year I lived with her.

Teagan was showing off some her party tricks like clapping and "so big".

It was fun to see how Teagan really warmed up to Robert. At one point I came downstairs and found her asking him to pick her up, and then she just snuggled in on his lap on the couch.

The beach in Barrington.


The playground.

Mimi had just taken in another horse, Pilot, so we were excited to meet him. Pilot is an old family horse, unlike Moonbeam that she rescued from the racetracks. Because of this, Pilot is easy to ride. Owen and I took a little ride bare-backed. I can't wait to really ride him. I think this might have been Owen's first time on a horse. Eva-Lena and Robert really enjoyed the Willards'.

I thought I took more photos of their visit, but I guess it was really Robert taking most of the pics. It was a nice visit though and fun to catch up. Tack!