mother's intuition

A few days ago I was putting the diapers in the washer while Vi was playing upstairs. While I was in the basement, I thought to myself "Self, I wonder if she could get into anything. What if she could get the kleenexes and eat them. No way, she just plays with her toys and scoots around." I came upstairs and guess what I found!!


So, let me get this right, the kleenexes should not be my first food?

Favorite new toy

She loves to "help" us type when we're on the computer, so Nate was talking about her having her own keyboard. The next thing I know, he brought an old one up from the basement, cut the cords off, cleaned it, and it was transformed into baby Violet's new favorite toy.


Just firing off an email to Grammy


Phew, it was a hard day at the office

Boo Boo

Ya'll, I got my first boo boo today. I got so excited when my mom came to get me out of my crib this morning and I was just kicking and wiggling all around. I was overzealous with the wiggling, however, and bonked my head right into the crib. Ouch!

What, you can't see my horribly terrible boo boo?



Does this help?

Videos

Gate

Yesterday baby Violet was playing and I went to put away the dishes. I turned around a couple of minutes later and this is what I saw. It's officially time for a baby gate. Good thing we had one in the basement that was left when we moved in.



Whoa, what is this thing?


Hey mom, why don't you go ahead and start locking it, too? These stairs look pretty treacherous.

Fun Weekend

We had a super fun weekend! Saturday was Babe Day and it was fantastic! A long time ago, we created Nate day and Babe day. We like to surprise each other with a fun day once a year. We love these days because we love each other and planning fun things to do, and also because we're dorks. So there.

This year Nate took his sweeties to the top of the Arch! I had never been and unless Vi is sneaking out of the house already, she hasn't been either. We loaded up on french toast and pancakes at First Watch and then headed to the Arch grounds.

Such a big girl in the stroller!


Um, guys? What are we doing up here?


Check out my cool city!


Although I was grateful for the experience, this is pretty much how I felt. We had to sit in these tiny claustrophobia-inducing pods on the way up and down and then once we got to the top it was super crowded. It was crowded, hot, pressurized like an airplane, slanty, and weird. Even thinking about it now makes me feel a little nauseous. But I'm glad we went!


We even tried on Amish hats in the gift shop.


Feeling much better outside in the fresh air


It was a long and fun day!


Sunday was the Rams opener and if you know the Tenholders you know we are huge RAMS fans!


Go Rams!

Faces

Oh, the many faces (and poses) of baby Violet.




I have no words for this one


Hello, chubby cheeks!


I think she looks so cute when she sucks on her bottom lip like this!

bbq

Our 4th annual Tenholder labor day BBQ was a huge success! We had 47 people stop by to eat, play games, and catch up. It was a great weekend to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and to open our house to people we love so much. Baby Violet also had a lot of fun! As long as her mama was within arm's reach, she was pretty happy all day long.

Every year, we say we'll take more pictures. Every stinkin' year. This year, I think we took 6.

This one is my favorite! As the main picture taker, I don't have a lot of pictures with me and my baby girl. She was wearing her special watermelon outfit for the day, super cute!


We ate these - red velvet cake balls
Recipe: Cake Balls


The Minute to Win It games were so fun! Jim showed us all how to transport cotton balls using our nose and petroleum jelly.


Nice!


My mom showed that Grammy has some serious moves!

Saturday morning with daddy

Someday she will know, but for now she has no idea how blessed she is to have a daddy who will tickle her in bed, share his lap to read the paper, let her pull on his chest hair at 6:45 on a Saturday morning, and who completely adores her. Every time someone asks my mom what her favorite part about being a grammy is she replies, "Watching my daughter become a mom." I know what she's talking about because I cannot tell you how much I love watching my husband become a dad. These silly pictures are for her to realize how much he has always loved and adored her.











(and I was there, too)

Mad Face

Now THIS is a mad face!

Bow

So this is the thing that's always on my head? And I can eat it?!?

Fast Scooting

Sitting

Tasty things

We've been eating well (and surprisingly pretty cheap) at the Tenholder house lately.

I made homemade bread for the first time and it was pretty delicious. The 10 minutes I spent kneading it by hand counts as a workout, right?
Recipe: Bread


My mom got us an ice cream maker (thanks, mom!) and we've put it to good use. We made coffee ice cream which was very tasty and was savored by many. One night I even made lava cakes to go with the ice cream. They were a little too chocolatey and too intense for me but just right for my main squeeze.
Recipe: Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes


After the success of the bread, I decided to try my hand at making rolls for our pulled pork sandwiches. The pork was my fav, Nate loved the rolls!
Recipe: Crock Pot pulled pork and wheat rolls

5 months

Oh baby Violet, we love you so much. Now at 5 months your personality is really shining. You love to "fly" and to dance around and be silly. You like to stand up holding onto our hands and you can sit by yourself in a tripod for several seconds. You love to be on your belly and aren't very fond of staying still for long. Even diaper changes have become more like wrestling matches. She's getting to be a lot to keep up with and she always knows what she wants. She's the sunshine of our lives and we are so thankful for her!


Serious baby on the grass. Maybe she'll have a similar pose for her senior pictures?



Is there anything cuter than a baby girl in a sun hat?





I LOVE this month's chair pictures. Even with both of us trying to keep her still, she was so wiggly and silly. It's a perfect illustration of how life really is right now!





I think those big blue eyes will get us in trouble later. And by trouble I mean having a hard time saying no!


Check out the perfect little spit bubble!