Christmas Celebrations, Vacation, and More!

We're on our way to Florida!

First Airplane Ride

Christmas Eve

Morgan's First Christmas

Morgan and Mama at Bonita Bay

Daddy golfing at Tyndall AFB

Morgan is 1/2 year old!

Christmas at the Susallas

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Patrick's 28th Birthday. Morgan decided the celebration needed to start early....and I mean REALLY early. She kept her Daddy up until 3:30 this morning! She woke back up at 7:00 to sing to Daddy and help him open his presents (Morgan gave her daddy the hat he is wearing in the pictures). Tonight we are taking Patrick out to eat. I wanted to take him to the Olive Garden for lunch today, but alas my plans were thwarted by work plans that came up. Oh well....guess I'll have to put off lunch for another day.

Singing Happy Birthday to Daddy

Helping Daddy open his presents

Happy Birthday babe....Morgan and I love you very much.

It's Beginning To Look A Little Like Christmas

It's been really hard for me to get in the Christmas spirit this year. I finally managed to get in the attic and get out a few decorations for the house. Since we are going to Florida this year for Christmas, Patrick and I decided not to go "all out" with the decorating since no one will be there to appreciate them. But I did put out a few things, including our very tiny, not so grand Christmas tree that really is my office tree. Artie Jr, the Christmas Stick, who plays the normal role of Tenney Christmas Tree is still packed away in the attic. It's sad, but it's as festive as I can get this year.

Even so, we do have a few presents under the tree, and the rest are packed in Santa's sack to go to Nana and Big Pop's this weekend. Santa will be making a second stop in Florida on Christmas Eve with the rest of the gifts.

We have been enjoying our friends' Christmas decorations, however, and Morgan really seems to enjoy Christmas lights. She has already received a few Christmas gifts, and she really loves tearing the paper! Of course, all she really wants to do is eat the paper, but we pretend that she is trying to get the gift inside!

Santa's Baby

Ever since I read my friend Catherine's post on Christmas music and her distain for the song "Santa Baby" (you know the one...where the woman sings breathily to Santa about what she wants, like a '54 convertible, light blue), I haven't been able to get it out of my head! (Thanks a bunch Catherine!) And since I don't know all of the words, I can hear that woman singing just the few snippets of verses that I do know. So since I am doomed to sing that song for the rest of the year (unless, of course, I hear "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"), here are some pictures from Morgan's 5 month photo shoot that I thought turned out adorable.

We are debating about whether or not to have Morgan's picture taken with Santa this year. I hate to deprive her of such an experience, but I am having issues of putting my precious baby on Santa's lap after a million other kids have drooled, snotted, and done goodness knows what while telling Santa their deepest desires for Christmas. I guess if the line isn't long and Santa looks clean, we'll do it!

Morgan is 5 months old

My little girl is 5 months old today. Today I read 25 things that change when you have a baby, and thought it would be appropriate to reflect on these things given today's milestone.

Happy 5 month-a-versary Morgan! We love you so much.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.
16. You discover how much there is to say about one tooth.
17. You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth.
18. You now know where the sun comes from.
19. You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have.
20. You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night.
21. You discover an inner strength you never thought you had.
22. You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule.
23. You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one.
24. You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late.
25. You realize that you can love a complete stranger.

Thanksgiving Memories

Here are a few memories from Morgan's first Thanksgiving. You can view all the pictures from that week on Morgan's website.

It's my very first Thanksgiving!

Can't wait to eat

Oh look! It's a turkey.

Birds of a feather

With Uncle Jeff at the Teagarden Merry Thanksgiving Celebration

The Price of Christmas

Every year PNC figures out just how much it would cost to "purchase" the 12 days of Christmas. I am always amazed at the final tally. This year, your drummers drumming, milking maids, swans, rings, french hens, partridge and pear tree would cost $18,920! That comes out to $1,576.67 a day. Apparently low unemployment and ornamental fruit trees have caused a 3.1% inflation in the price of Christmas.

While the price of Tenney Christmas is certainly smaller than the 12 Days, I always seem to be surprised at how much I spent over the holiday season on January 1st. As all of you know, I like to shop (I can hear my husband groaning in the background). And not for myself....I like to shop for other people. Christmas is my favorite time of year (for far more important reasons than shopping, but that's for another post) as it allows me to give gifts to people I would like to give to all year long but can't. And although most of my Christmas shopping has been done for weeks, this year I find myself in a crazy predicament where I don't have everyone's gift yet. I can blame it on the fact that I was hugely pregnant for over 2 months, then home with a newborn for 2 months, then back to the craziness of work for 3 months...but none of that is really the reason. I have had a hard time shopping this year. My heart is in the giving mood, but I just can't seem to find anything that truly fits what I am looking for. This is a first for me. I am hoping with the festivities and decorations that have sprung up all over Morgantown I might just get into the mood and get out and get the rest of my gifts. I hate waiting until after Thanksgiving, because as much as I love to shop, I LOATHE Christmas crowds (ask me sometime about the reason I don't go shopping on Black Friday). Anyway...here's to happy hunting, Christmas bargains, and a pigeon in a dandilion, which would certainly be cheaper than a partridge in a pear tree!

Can you find the turkey?

Patrick taking the turkey to the peanut oil jacuzzi

How many men does it take to fry a turkey?

It's finally ready!

Giving Thanks Today

As the Tenney family gathered today, I spent a lot of time thinking about how blessed we have been this past year. Patrick and I have so much to be thankful for, especially for our precious daughter. We successfully made it through our first pregnancy with no complications. We have been able to spend time with both sets of our parents and siblings. We welcomed our first niece. We attended weddings of friends and found out that others were expecting. We both continue to be employed. As I look into my daughter's beautiful eyes, I want to tell her how much she has brought to our family. She reminds us every day that life is precious. She is sunshine where there is darkness and brings joy to us with the slightest smile. While at times life has seemed too much to bear, today I want to remember those who have less and need more. My prayers are for them today. We wish you all a wonderful, blessed, and happy Thanksgiving. We hope you have as much to be thankful for as we do.

A (Secret) Family Affair

Family Moment

Cousins

Over the weekend we made a TOP SECRET trip to my in-laws' house for a Thanksgiving spruce up before the big day. Charlie and Janet are flying to Alabama from Idaho today and will be driving home from Alabama tomorrow. With a house full of guests planned for Thursday, Janet has been stressed out about having to prepare for Thanksgiving in one day. We met my sister-in-law and her family as well as Great-Grandma June and Great-Grandpa Ralph at the house to spend some time together and decorate for Thanksgiving. We had an awesome time together. The two Thankgiving Turkeys pictured above had a wonderful time visiting together and got lots of love and attention from their Great-Grandparents. We had a great time trying to get a picture of the girls together. When one would look at the camera, the other would look away. Morgan refused to sit up straight, and Julia kept wanting to fall forward. It was all very comical, and really should we have expected more from an almost 2 and 5 month old? Morgan and I will be traveling back to Exchange on Tuesday evening for the rest of the week and Daddy will join us on Thursday. We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and gets lots of good food!

Welcome Home Nannie and Big Pop!

Happy Birthday Mutti!

Happy Birthday To You!
Happy Birthday To YOU!
Happy Birthday, dear Mutti....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUU!

Ouch!

This week the Tenney girls have both felt the sting and subsequent pain from getting a shot. I went on Tuesday to get my flu shot and yesterday Morgan had to get her 4 month battery of shots. It always amazes me that my arm hurts more the NEXT day....Morgan, however, seems to be a much better sport than Mama and hasn't complained about her legs today at all. They are still a little red and I am sure they are sore, but she's a trooper! We both stayed home yesterday for a snuggle-fest to help our aching limbs.

Udderly Adorable

In My Mind, I'm Going to (North) Carolina

Over the weekend we made a whirlwind trip to Greensboro, NC to attend the wedding of one of my oldest friends, Jennifer Magoon (now Tate). Our drive down on Friday was horrendous...it rained the entire trip and the Virginia State Police closed I-77 but neglected to put up detour signs. God was with us though, and in addition to keeping us safe (we saw multiple accidents) provided us with direction in the form of a 10 year old map that I just happened to have in the car from a trip to NC. The ONE page of the map that was even close to our route did have the place we were and the roads we needed to be on. Morgan was a trooper and was extremely good on the 7.5 hour trip down. We got to see my parents, brother, and sister-in-law this weekend which was wonderful. We also saw many friends from the past. Everyone commented on how beautiful and good Morgan was (of course!). We headed back home on Sunday. We all got sick this weekend (Patrick has a stomach thing, I had a migraine and a stomach thing, and poor Morgan had stomach cramps really bad) and the trip home was less than pleasant. But we made it and are getting back into the swing of things. Patrick and I are both back to work and after spending 2 weeks at home with Aunt Anita, Morgan is back at the sitter's. I certainly hope we all start feeling better soon!

Jeff, Jennifer Tate, Me

Morgan and Grandpa

Morgan and Mutti

Riding in the Car

Pilot Mountain, NC

Snow

Morgan's first snowfall

First Snow of the Season

Snain

Well, it seems that Old Man Winter has decided to take up residence in West Virginia. Today's high is going to be a chilly 43 degrees with a mixture of snow and rain...commonly refered to in our house as "snain". It's snaining right now. It's hard enough to get out of bed on a Monday morning, but with the days getting progressively shorter and the weather getting increasingly colder, it was really hard today. I am sure next Monday will be even worse after we fall back an hour! I spent the weekend packing up the summer clothes and getting Morgan's winter wear washed and ready. It was a sad weekend for this sun lover. The ray of sunshine I found in all of this was that each day it's cold it is one day closer to being warm again. Plus it was fun to look at all the new outfits I get to put on Morgan! How's that for optimism?

The Drive Home

The Monongahela River

I-79 in West Virgnina

I-79 in West Virgnina

Here's what I get to enjoy on my drive home (don't worry...Patrick was driving!)